Notice that the General did not say the comments Cheney made were untrue. I am a military wife and both my husband and I have lost all respect for this General officer who has put skin color ahead of country.
Alma might have been worried about a different lind of “assassination” — one far more common in DC — the kind where political rivals try to kill your reputation. Alma probably understood that Gen. Powell’s private views did not mesh well with Republican values. This would undoubtedly draw the kind of fire that destroys careers.