I had thought that Colin Powell was one of the more honest and reputable members of the Bush Cabinet until he gave the dreadful WMD presentation to the UN Security Council in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. You might recall the satellite photos of ‘mobile weapons labs’ etc etc. As I recall the presentation followed Tony Blair’s release of the notorious ‘sexed-up’ intelligence dossier.
Now, Colin Powell has gone public with a ‘Colin Powell regrets’ interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday US time. He says he spent five days at the CIA headquarters ahead of the speech studying intelligence reports, many of which turned out to be false, and admits the speech is “a blot” on his record.
More below fold…
This report comes from Australia’s ABC:
Former US secretary of state Colin Powell says his United Nations speech making the case for the US-led war on Iraq was “a blot” on his record.
Mr Powell has also said that he had “never seen evidence to suggest” a connection between the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States and the Saddam regime.
In the February 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council, Mr Powell forcefully made the case for war on the regime of Saddam Hussein, offering “proof” that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The presentation included satellite photos of trucks that Mr Powell identified as mobile bioweapons laboratories.
After the invasion, US weapons inspectors reported finding no Iraqi nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
In an interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday (US time), Mr Powell said “it’s a blot” on his record.
“I’m the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and (it) will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It’s painful now,” he said.
Mr Powell spent five days at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters ahead of the speech studying intelligence reports, many of which turned out to be false.
He said he felt “terrible” at being misinformed.
However, he did not blame CIA director George Tenet.
Mr Tenet “did not sit there for five days with me misleading me,” he said.
“He believed what he was giving to me was accurate.”
Some members of the US intelligence community “knew at that time that some of these sources were not good, and shouldn’t be relied upon, and they didn’t speak up,” Mr Powell said.
“These are not senior people, but these are people who were aware that some of these resources should not be considered reliable,” he said.
“I was enormously disappointed.”
Just goes to show the truth usually outs… But does this restore his credibility?
[Cross-posted at European Tribune.]
Sorry this post offends a bit against the principle that one shouldn’t just post material reproduced from elsewhere. I thought, though, that you US Tribbers should be alerted to the interview!
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Offensive is his nature to consider the Iraq War and deaths of innocent victims, a mere “blot” on his personal record.
It was painful. It’s painful now.
He felt “terrible” at being misinformed.
“He [Mr Tenet] believed what he was giving to me was accurate.”
“I was enormously disappointed.”
This is not the truth – it’s just hogwash. Horrible to hear Powell speak on the issue, absolutely lacking any credibility. If he would speak the truth, he would fight this administration. Powell is just sitting quiet, enjoying his pension and trying to be the elder statesman. A Kissinger in replica.
Powell bears great responsibility for Iraq … and yes, also for the 10,000 American deaths on the Gulf Coast. Powell was and still is part of this evil administration, a “blot” a mea culpa cannot erase.
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a smudge…
Perfect, Oui. So this means Powell will be receiving the Nobel prize for peace very soon.
All I can say about Mr. Powell is – what a waste!
Nice of him to reduce hundreds of thousands dying as a ‘blot’ on his record..it’s always about their sorry asses isn’t it. Crocadile tears never look good on anyone.
In this mea culpa, he joins McNamara who was responsible for millions of deaths in another illegal and immoral war.Look at it this way.It is progress when the number of deaths caused by our “leaders” goes down from millions to a few hundred thousand. Presto, we are a humanitarian superpower unlike the evil Soviet and Chinese communists or Saddam Hussein!
Well, gee since you put it that way…and I’d forgotten about McNamara’s very delayed mea culpa so to speak.
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The major media in the US seem intent on following a script worthy of an Agatha Christie mystery. They lay out a few clues at best and withhold or obscure facts that could give you a better picture of why and how the crime was committed.
The plot? The missing 8,000 pages the United States edited out of Iraq’s 11,800-page dossier on weapons before it passed on a “sanitized” version to the 10 non-permanent members of the United Nations security council, according to a December 22 story in the Glasgow, Scotland Sunday Herald.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council –the US, the UK, France, China and Russia– were given access to the complete “top secret” version of the dossier.
Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan called it was `unfortunate’ that the UN had allowed the US to take the only complete dossier and edit it. Norway, a fellow (non-permanent) member of the Security Council, was miffed; its UN spokesperson said Norway felt like it was being treated like a “second-class country” because it wasn’t made privy to the complete dossier.
Without all the information, the authors point out, the non-permanent members of the Security Council will have no way of testing the US claims for themselves. If the US and the UK go back to the Security Council seeking authorization to wage war on Iraq due to alleged breaches of resolution 1441. The UN weapons inspectors’ report, is expected to be made to the UN this month.
Hans von Sponeck, former assistant general secretary of the UN and the UN’s humanitarian co-ordinator in Iraq until 2000, told the Scottish authors, “This is an outrageous attempt by the US to mislead”.
NEW YORK UN Dec. 19, 2002 — Only the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – were given the complete document, with the 10 rotating members, including Syria, receiving an edited version.
As well as the “Do-It-Yourself” nuclear, chemical and biological weapons instructions that were cut from the Iraqi report, Hans Blix managed to persuade the Council, to the relief of some of the countries involved, that the names of the companies that had previously tooled up the Iraqi war effort should be cut out of the version that went to the non-permanent members. The reason: these were companies that had cooperated in the past with UN inspectors.
However the political damage was done. The Berlin daily, Die Tageszeitung (SP) leaked the names and thus reminded the world that the West was not always so interested in disarming Iraq. The list of companies that allegedly supplied Iraq with nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile technology includes Honeywell, UNISYS, Sperry Corp., Rockwell, Hewlett Packard, Dupont, Eastman Kodak and Bechtel.
Peacelab.de existed till July 12, 2003
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I try to understand that Powell went to the UN and gave his speech with what he thought was accurate information. Hell, I even started to believe him because at the time I really respected him. I can forgive him that. But now, he knows the truth and he is still excusing this administration. THAT is unforgivable.
I still hold Powell in high esteem and as a man of integrity. The evidence is pretty clear that he was used by the Administration throughout his tenure, a “show pony” of sorts that wasn’t liked or respected or given much in the way of a voice within the Administration, but was publically used, unknowingly part of the effort to “fix the intelligence around the policy.” He allowed, to some extent, himself to be used in this manner under the honest belief that he was the only voice of reason within the Administration and the only one that had any chance to hold back the neo-con agenda.
This is spelled out pretty clearly in Woodward’s book, “Plan of Attack.”
I’d be interested to read the Woodward book. I always felt that Powell seemed less than totally, blindly, obedient to the Bushistas.
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In the land of the blind,
cyclops is King.
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I had great trust and hope in Colin Powell. He squandered all of it that morning before the UN Security Council – a forum before world opinion. Powell is fully culpable.
True, Powell waged a raging conflict with VP Cheney, NSA Condaleezza Rice, SD Donald Rumsfeld and CIA boss George Tenet, plus a dozen loose neocons running wild between cabinet departments and the White House. Hatched men like Hadley, Bolton and Likud man Feith, you can add AG Alberto Gonzales and you have a deck of cards.
I had so much faith in Powell that I was certain he would resign in March 2003, before the final decision to go to War and rebuke the UN and the world community. HE DID NOT RESIGN!
Therefore, Powell, is even more accountable for the deaths of American soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians. Include the torture of Iraqis and the scandal of Abu Ghraib, etc. – giving cover for the Bush cabal – SHAME.
Scooter Libby and Steve Hadley
A Blog Post — Sept. 30, 2003 On Preparation UN Speech Colin Powell
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Powell didn’t discover today that he was “misled”. His loud, public resignation giving specific reasons would have gone a long way toward preventing a lot of needless bloodshed.
I’m sorry Colin but your pretty little regrets don’t mean shit to me..you’ve got blood on your hands period. If I knew from my reading that lead up to Iraq invasion that most of that shit he was spewing at the UN was crap..well no matter how much he tries to creep out from under his bloodstained rock I’d just as soon kick him back under and never see his lying face again.
Did I make myself perfectly clear.
Sorry, Colin, baby. You’re nearly a thousand days and billions of dollars short. The time to object was years ago, before thousands of innocent people were murdered by your blithering boss.
This stinks of Powell trying to clean up his public image in order to . . . what? Get more high-priced lobbying work, run for something, become even more of a cover-up sycophant than he has been?
Do not forget that this is the guy who tried to cover up MyLai.
His regret is a good thing for him, I guess; better than having no regrets.
But it does nothing for the lives shattered or lost, the national wealth squandered, the social fabric torn asunder, hell, even the priceless artifacts looted from the Baghdad museum, in the 2 1/2 years since then.
All well and good, Colin, but as others here have said: a day late and a dollar short. So sad, too bad, baby. Of all the Bushistas, you were the one we hoped wouldn’t drink the kool-aid, but you cast your lot with the devil, and you’re goin’ down on the hell-bound train with the rest.
His regret is a good thing for him, I guess; better than having no regrets.
It’s not a good thing. If he truly had no regrets, and had acted on his beliefs, at least he would be integral — evil, but integral. Colin Powell is that worst of all creatures, a good man who did nothing.
Interesting point. I guess I was thinking of him as a bad person who regretted his past, rather than a good perosn who did nothing and regretted his past. Maybe the difference is splitting hairs in this case.
he could have been a very credible candidate for the Presidency. Instead, he is a major cause of the most criminal foreign policy decision in the history of our country. I pity him, but I pity the victims of this war a whole lot more!