Noting the resistence in Iraq has "effectively created a reign of terror throughout the country, killing thousands, driving Iraqi elites and technocrats into exile and scaring foreigners out," Newsweek reports that even Secretary of State Colin Powell "has acknowledged... privately to friends in recent weeks" that the insurgents are winning....
Part of me hopes that if Kerry wins, he gives Powell a job. He is the only person in that entire organization who seems to want to tell the public the truth.
Powell looks like a man whose skin constantly itches... like he wants to just step up to the stump one day and let the cameras have it. "you know what i really think about this bullshit state of affairs? have you got a few days? *rant*"
Valen said:
Part of me hopes that if Kerry wins, he gives Powell a job. He is the only person in that entire organization who seems to want to tell the public the truth.
i feel bad for powell. i used to respect, even admire him. i thought he was intelligent, measured and capable.. i still think he could be, but based on the fact that he was willing to compromise his ideals and, for a time, toe the bush line makes him drop considerably in my estimation.
It sucks this is from the November 8th edition of Newsweek. It did take some balls on his part to say this before the election even if it's not being widely reported atm.
doctashock: do you remember the SG game?
PunkNiteMike: SG game?
doctashock: the one about what words appeared in peoples profiles the most?
PunkNiteMike: i dont remember that
doctashock: like what books they had read
doctashock: or what movies they liked?
doctashock: the number game
PunkNiteMike: i vaguely remember
doctashock: I'm trying to bump that thread
doctashock: I'll tell you why later
PunkNiteMike: ok
doctashock: I'm gonna post this convo on the boards
doctashock: if that's alright with you
PunkNiteMike: what for?
doctashock: so other people will help find the thread
doctashock: and bump it
PunkNiteMike: ok
doctashock: I'l ecxplain later tonight
PunkNiteMike: thats fine
Colin Powell has a much better understanding of the siutation than Bush. He was on the side to target Afghanistan and Bin Laden after 9-11, while Bush wanted to go directly into Iraq.
Powell's credentials as a person who wants to defend America are good. Coming from a military background, he has far more understanding of the need to avoid war than Bush, and far more undertanding of the need to direct war at your enemies and not at your hobby horses (or do I mean business interests).
lostarchitect said:
i feel bad for powell. i used to respect, even admire him. i thought he was intelligent, measured and capable.. i still think he could be, but based on the fact that he was willing to compromise his ideals and, for a time, toe the bush line makes him drop considerably in my estimation.
I've been torn on this for awhile. In part, I lost a lot of respect for Powell because of his willingness to not only compromise his ideals, but also lend his credibility to such incredibly questionable administration actions.
On the other hand, I can picture him thinking to himself, "OK, I'm the only sane person left in this nuthouse that still has the access to the President and can try to have some influence of reason. If I either resign or speak out too strongly such that I get fired/silenced, Bush'll replace me with another yes man, and probably one with less stature and influence. Even though I wholeheartedly disagree with this administration, I've got to suck it up and throw away my credibility so that I can stay and at least provide some voice for sanity." I don't know, I'm probably just projecting what I hope has driven him to stay with the administration, but it sounds real to me when I picture him thinking that.
lostarchitect said:
i feel bad for powell. i used to respect, even admire him. i thought he was intelligent, measured and capable.. i still think he could be, but based on the fact that he was willing to compromise his ideals and, for a time, toe the bush line makes him drop considerably in my estimation.
I've been torn on this for awhile. In part, I lost a lot of respect for Powell because of his willingness to not only compromise his ideals, but also lend his credibility to such incredibly questionable administration actions.
On the other hand, I can picture him thinking to himself, "OK, I'm the only sane person left in this nuthouse that still has the access to the President and can try to have some influence of reason. If I either resign or speak out too strongly such that I get fired/silenced, Bush'll replace me with another yes man, and probably one with less stature and influence. Even though I wholeheartedly disagree with this administration, I've got to suck it up and throw away my credibility so that I can stay and at least provide some voice for sanity." I don't know, I'm probably just projecting what I hope has driven him to stay with the administration, but it sounds real to me when I picture him thinking that.
yeah, i actually suggested exactly the same scenerio when talking to my friend about this the other day.
Without getting into the politics of it all, this is why I feel bad for him:
As a military officer, he was a highly respected, obviously capable man. He was also part of a generation of African-American officers who proved that skin color is neither an automatic qualifier or disqualifier for leadership; nor was it a valid reason for setting a lower standard of expectations.
As a Secretary of State, I can hardly imagine how trying it was for him to do his job--likely with the same mentality that he had as a General. Don't get me wrong... when you get a "flag rank", you automatically become political, but life is still easier in the sense that you have rules, traditions, and codes that you are obliged to follow. When he became a policy maker, though, he ceased being a policy executor and became a policy shaper/maker. Again, I can only imagine how much harder it is to live with that responsibility and the consequences of your actions.
bedukay
Endicott, NY
March 2003
NOV 01, 2004 02:56 PM