"He was a product of Vietnam," said retired Marine Col. Jim Van Riper, who lives in Jacksonville. "He saw what a disaster that was."Does this sound like someone who "voted Republican for year and years and years"?Van Riper, who served in Vietnam and the first Gulf War, believes the Bush administration erred by not heeding the Powell Doctrine before marching to Baghdad. And while he "reluctantly" voted earlier this month to re-elect the president, a cabinet minus Powell is now even less appealing, he said.
"Politics determines policy, and policy drives war," said Van Riper, 66. "Powell clearly understands that. He understood that winning the war wasn't the entire thing - that knocking off Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi army wasn't going to be the end of it.
"I don't think he's perfect, maybe too cautious. But he's a hell of a lot better than Rumsfeld."
"... he "reluctantly" voted earlier this month to re-elect the president."
That is the piece I referenced: back in the Jacksonville Daily Times. :)