I seriously doubt the White House was basing it’s decisions on Freerepublic posters.
He was correct about the lack of WMDs. IMO Powell is correct that they would have been there in spades had we not invaded an sanctions lifted…..So the guy who actually opposed the invasion in private with Bush but went to the U.N. with all that false information now wants to do some CYA by saying "does anyone doubt that if left unchecked, Saddam would have made WMD"...well, who the hell was suggesting that we lift the sanctions anyway? It's a straw man argument. Neither the GOP nor the Dims were saying we should lift the sanctions on Iraq.
I don’t think he went in front of the UN with false information, that’s conspiracy theory stuff. I think Bush and Powell firmly believed there were WMDs in Iraq, as did most of the world.
My understanding is that Powell’s opposition to the invasion centered around troop levels. He felt they were inadequate to maintain order and seal the borders. In retrospect, he was correct. Sanctions wouldn’t have been maintained indefinitely, nor would inspections. And I agree with his assessment that once lifted, Sadaam would have reverted to his old ways.
Powell is irrelevant and was almost as incompetent as Rice is. And I don't have to tell you that they are both essentially enemies of Israel's vital security interests. Whatever the question is, Powell and Rice are not the answer. Especially if you care about Israel.
Politically irrelevant, perhaps, he’s not in office, which is irrelevant as to the validity of his opinion. What Israel has to do with all this is beyond me. Why Israel and my religion frequently come up on Ron Paul threads is quite bizarre.