Colin Powell, military leader and first Black US secretary of state, dies
Source: CNN
(CNN)(CNN)Colin Powell, the first Black US secretary of state whose leadership in several Republican administrations helped shape American foreign policy in the last years of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st, has died from complications from Covid-19, his family said on Facebook. He was 84.
"General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19," the Powell family wrote on Facebook.
"We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," they said, noting he was fully vaccinated.
Powell was a distinguished and trailblazing professional soldier whose career took him from combat duty in Vietnam to becoming the first Black national security adviser during the end of Ronald Reagan's presidency and the youngest and first African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush. His national popularity soared in the aftermath of the US-led coalition victory during the Gulf War, and for a time in the mid-90s, he was considered a leading contender to become the first Black President of the United States. But his reputation would be forever stained when, as George W. Bush's first secretary of state, he pushed faulty intelligence before the United Nations to advocate for the Iraq War, which he would later call a "blot" on his record.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/politics/colin-powell-dies/index.html
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)make him more susceptible? It is very sad
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)I know that he's very much hated by many in these parts who won't feel the same sense of loss.
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)to his part in the misrepresentation, something much of the media has never done, going to war based on a lie
I think He resigned as Secretary of State because of his involvement in that, and actively supported President Obama, and Biden.
He definitely saw where the Republican Party was heading
niyad
(113,293 posts)a lie, so there was no excuse for those in charge.
PatrickforB
(14,573 posts)As I said lower in this thread, aside from the 'blot' he did his best, and he cared about this republic.
Voltaire2
(13,027 posts)You've confused the perpetrator for the victim. Also the democrats in congress who voted for the war were either idiots, cowards, or also complicit in a war crime.
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)involved in that, especially the media, and a public who was looking for any excuse for someone to pay for 9/11, whether it was true or not
While Knight Ridder got it right, it hardly got a mention anywhere else
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-reporting-team-that-g_n_91981
A lot of people may not remember, but it was the gulf of Tonkin lie, that engaged us full time in Viet Nam
samsingh
(17,595 posts)samplegirl
(11,477 posts)I always held it against him. He had his chance to clear the air but sat back and let Cheney and Bush
Lie to the American people.
NH Ethylene
(30,811 posts)He was a good man who regretted his one big mistake.
The real villains were Bush/Cheney, who did a snow job on him, got his endorsement, then went full blast toward death and disaster. I think Bush came to regret it later on, too little, too late, but the evil one never did.
HUAJIAO
(2,385 posts)Maybe I should have been Sec of State.... or one of the million others....
Sorry. his 'one big mistake' was a death dealing whopper !!
LT Barclay
(2,598 posts)He gave a speech months earlier saying Iraq was contained and did not pose a threat to neighboring countries because it lacked the capability to mount an attack with conventional weapons or WMDs.
But Bush/Cheney also announced him as SOState during the campaign when Bush's poll numbers were down. I've never seen a cabinet secretary named during a campaign before or since.
NH Ethylene
(30,811 posts)What would be his motive? We know why the puppet and puppetmaster would do it, but why the general?
He had a very rapid shift in tone. I assumed at the time that they convinced him with some 'evidence' of WMD . Given his honorable record and his eventual regret, I still believe that.
LT Barclay
(2,598 posts)Why else would he also betray his core values, and precedent in elections to accept a role with the neo-cons?
Any other explanation would require either willful or inexplicable ignorance of the Project for the New American Century who's stated goal was to take over Iraq to ensure that the U.S. was the sole super-power in the 21st century.
Personally I've never seen anything honorable in his record. If I had any regard for him I might have saved the article, but from what was written, apparently he was quite the opportunist throughout his career.
on edit, found the link:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/112604.html
CaptainTruth
(6,589 posts)The PNAC needed a respected face to sell their lies to the world & they used him. He believed them just like millions of others did.
I will never forgive our media for not reporting the truth of the PNAC agenda & background before the Iraq invasion. 20 years of war might have been avoided if they had done their job.
AdamGG
(1,291 posts)So, maybe the chemotherapy messed with the effectiveness of the COVID vaccine.
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)LeftInTX
(25,305 posts)Lulu KC
(2,565 posts)OneCrazyDiamond
(2,031 posts)"Mr. Powell received his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February, said Peggy Cifrino, his longtime aide."
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/10/18/us/colin-powell
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... but (for now) I do not have any underlying conditions or comorbidities that would make me more vulnerable to Covid.
BumRushDaShow
(128,924 posts)apparently posted on his facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GenPowell
18 mins ·
General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19. He was fully vaccinated. We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment. We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American.
The Powell Family
4.2K
FailureToCommunicate
(14,014 posts)bullwinkle428
(20,629 posts)that seem incredibly eager to declare victory over the virus. This is just further evidence that there's a long way to go.
amcgrath
(397 posts)Sorry hes passed but three strikes and youre out.
aggiesal
(8,914 posts)but he lied to the U.N. about the Iraq resolution.
How many soldiers died because he propagated GW McIdiot's Iraq lie, at an international level?
wnylib
(21,447 posts)but he lost my respect afterward. He admitted later that he regretted doing it. But the damage was done. It cost lives and American respect in the world and he had to live with the consequences and the regrets.
AdamGG
(1,291 posts)May have been a victim of Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz et al.
whathehell
(29,067 posts)Last edited Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:08 AM - Edit history (1)
which, if true, puts a rather different slant on things, doesn't it?
dalton99a
(81,481 posts)Cheney used him real good
Escurumbele
(3,389 posts)He could have changed history, he missed one of the greatest opportunities any man/woman has ever had to change the course of history, but he betrayed his principles and his country by playing the good soldier.
RIP. I believe his days after his United Nations presentation of lies were not happy ones, I have to think that he knew he had done wrong. It is s shame because prior to that his life had been a great example.
niyad
(113,293 posts)DENVERPOPS
(8,818 posts)Martin Eden
(12,864 posts)Going with his own judgment or deferring to the directive from his CinC was a crucial decision, which he later regretted.
They capitalized on his sterling reputation, tarnished as a result. Unfortunately, the consequences were much worse than that for so many who died or continue to suffer for what he helped to enable.
GW Bush and Dick Cheney will always be war criminals in my book, and it galls me to see them living lives of privilege with no consequences for their crimes.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,185 posts)I think many, including Powell, never expected an administration would LIE us into a war. But he fell for the lie and he sold it. I hold GWB and the PNAC evildoers responsible for the IRAQ war, but he was certainly culpable. I think calling it a "blot" on his legacy was putting it mildly. He may not have had as much blood on his hands as others, but he still had it, and I think he knew it.
yardwork
(61,599 posts)PJMcK
(22,035 posts)That war resulted in the deaths of thousands of our soldiers and tens of thousand Iraqis.
That's all I can think of.
hibbing
(10,098 posts)Backseat Driver
(4,392 posts)in the "creepiness of intelligence" run-up to war in Iraq, and sparked many conspiracy theories including the murder/suicide death of UK weapon inspector, Dr. David Kelly, during Tony Blair's days as PM--resulting in the Hutton Inquiry.
So now, yet another "black hat playing games" is gone. General Colin Powell's perfected and owned 20/20 hindsight apology in that last case if not in other "blot(s)" on his GOP watch/record notwithstanding.
You know what they say, "C'est la guerre." To me: Irreparably forever tarnished credibility.
That said, condolences to his family who likely see him as one of the uncompromising American military.
LT Barclay
(2,598 posts)of vaccination fueled pandemic, pandemic killed Powell.
I'm not a believer in "Karma", but it has a strange circularity to it.
Botany
(70,501 posts)dalton99a
(81,481 posts)Colin Powell: U.N. Speech Was a Great Intelligence Failure
May 17, 2016
by Jason M. Breslow
Colin Powell has called his 2003 speech to the United Nations, laying out the Bush administrations rationale for war in Iraq, a blot on his record. The speech set out to detail Iraqs weapons program, but as the intelligence would later confirm, that program was nonexistent.
...
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)NY Times
niyad
(113,293 posts)destroyed, nor did it replenish the treasury.
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)out there to push back on the regarding WMDs before the invasion, but the television and most major newspapers ignored it
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-reporting-team-that-g_n_91981
I would go as far as saying they actually encouraged that war. If you caught the Judy Miller interview by Jon Stewart she as much admitted that by using the excuse they couldnt present the full story because something to the effect that there wasnt enough room in the paper to present that
niyad
(113,293 posts)Response to JohnSJ (Reply #31)
JohnSJ This message was self-deleted by its author.
whathehell
(29,067 posts)Botany
(70,501 posts)... by using DNA used after 9/11 and it came from Maryland's Ft. Detrick biological warfare center.
And he also sold the bullshit story about Saddam's mobile labs to make biological weapons.
justgamma
(3,665 posts)how he held up a pencil drawing of a rolling lab as proof. Not a picture. A effing pencil drawing!!
riversedge
(70,205 posts)More complete headline
Colin Powell, former secretary of state, dies from COVID complications at 84
https://www.axios.com/colin-powell-dead-covid-secretary-state-a8c604a6-ffbf-43d1-9e00-240d4c55be9f.html?utm_campaign=organic&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=twitter
LeftInTX
(25,305 posts)WHITT
(2,868 posts)of some of the fools at the FDA advisory board that were arguing against booster vaccines, saying that current vaccine levels were working just fine, and pooh-poohing what they called "so-called breakthrough" cases. I forget where, but someplace was reporting that 25% of their ICU hospital admissions were VACCINATED.
Makes me just wanna SMACK these jackasses.
obamanut2012
(26,069 posts)WHITT
(2,868 posts)that's not what I was referencing. Some hospital system announced that 25% of their ICU admissions were vaccinated.
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)taking medicines that affect his immune system
We also are not told what vaccine he was given
That being said, I agree with you, and was glad to see Rochelle Walensky essentially over-rule the FDA restrictions on boosters, to make to more flexible so essentially any adult who believes they are at risk, can get the booster
Elessar Zappa
(13,979 posts)that youre 11x more likely to die if youre unvaccinated. So I seriously doubt 25% of icu admissions are vaccinated.
KS Toronado
(17,229 posts)obamanut2012
(26,069 posts)And, most are elderly, very elderly, like Powell.
oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)But in any major hospital generally over 90% are unvaccinated. Only when you have low numbers can the % get skewed
Fauci gave the example that your odds of being hospitalized is the same, if you were unvaccinated in New York state, which has a very high level of vaccination, and vaccinated in South Carolina, which has a very low level of vaccination.
berni_mccoy
(23,018 posts)So yes, even with a vaccine he was at risk
MyMission
(1,850 posts)And older people are at more risk, even when vaccinated.
The same population who were most vulnerable before the vaccine is also more vulnerable even with the vaccine. Elderly, cancer patients, obese people, those with autoimmune or heart conditions, and with other conditions should wear masks and avoid crowds.
Breakthrough infections can be mild or severe, but we know some vaccinated people still die.
So you're right, even with a vaccine there are many who are still at risk.
whathehell
(29,067 posts)mcar
(42,309 posts)that a physician representing a hospital system would be lying about admissions, unless a celebrity/politician was involved.
mcar
(42,309 posts)COVID-19: 99% of hospital admissions were among those not fully vaccinated
WHITT
(2,868 posts)that I wasn't referring to nationwide.
Do try and keep up.
mcar
(42,309 posts)One anecdote does not a fact make.
WHITT
(2,868 posts)IDPH data also shows that 75.3% of patients in Iowa hospitals are unvaccinated.
IDPH says 24.7% of patients in Iowa hospitals are fully vaccinated.
https://www.kcci.com/article/25-percent-of-those-hospitalized-with-covid-19-in-iowa-are-fully-vaccinated/37929056
You're welcome.
former9thward
(32,002 posts)Powell had several underlying conditions including Parkinson's and melanoma.
BooScout
(10,406 posts)He lied and a completely unnecessary war ensued where a lot of innocent civilians died.
niyad
(113,293 posts)dalton99a
(81,481 posts)Auggie
(31,168 posts)Guess that could be called careerist. Or idiot.
Scrivener7
(50,949 posts)sarge43
(28,941 posts)As flawed as it was, DADT was better than the regulations that were in place at the time.
niyad
(113,293 posts)The Iraq lies were not his first rodeo
He soooo much wanted to be a member of the white republican male boys club, he would do anything, even sell out the nation.
If he had called bullshit about the landscape sprayers being called weapon of mass destruction, more would have voted against the war.
Cheney/Rumsfeld needed him to vouch for their justification and he swayed a great many votes.
Not that much different than Comey, in a way........
NCjack
(10,279 posts)of having a sustaining income, he became a Republican.
CountAllVotes
(20,868 posts)n/t
whathehell
(29,067 posts)Perhap you could at least get it straight on My Lai:
This was written by David Corn of The Nation, likely the most respected publication of the American Left.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/colin-powells-vietnam-fog/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/18/statement-of-president-joe-biden-on-the-passing-of-general-colin-powell/
sinkingfeeling
(51,454 posts)niyad
(113,293 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,454 posts)niyad
(113,293 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,454 posts)oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)niyad
(113,293 posts)usaf-vet
(6,181 posts)Two would never have happened after he failed the American people.
Failed us by lying at the UN and not speaking the truth about WMD..... NOT in Iraq.
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)what the the bush administration said. The wheels of war were well on their way, and much of the media was behind the lie, including The NY Times. Knight Ridder was one of the few media outlets who were reporting that WMDs were not there, and they backed it up
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-reporting-team-that-g_n_91981
usaf-vet
(6,181 posts)At the time of his UN speech, I have always felt if anyone could have stopped it would have been him.
The NYT reporter Judith Miller was wrong at every step of the way. She was being fed misinformation by the Bush Cheney stovepipe of warmongering.
https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s5/road-to-the-iraq-war/e7/judith-miller-iraq-wmd
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)was completely ignored.
They also ignored the UN inspectors who made it clear they could not find any evidence of WMDs
Yes, Powells UN presentation was a catalyst that helped propel us into a war that was already feeding into the public narrative looking for someone to pay for 9/11, regardless of its veracity
AdamGG
(1,291 posts)Before 9/11 and the Iraq War. He would have been a much more challenging opponent for Clinton's re-election than Bob Dole was. Also, there was some talk of Obama appointing him as Secretary of Education in '08. I think he would have been a good choice and done good work in that role.
NewHendoLib
(60,014 posts)RobertDevereaux
(1,857 posts)Last edited Mon Oct 18, 2021, 11:56 AM - Edit history (2)
https://davidswanson.org/colin-powells-own-staff-had-warned-him-against-his-war-lies/?fbclid=IwAR0HsdBScbb7jX61sTYpFUrSbyRJCnvQIdNEHrFooDXXBFicW4qQECVh-5Q"For most of his presentation, Powell wasnt inventing dialogue, but he was presenting as facts numerous claims that his own staff had warned him were weak and indefensible. Powell told the UN and the world: We know that Saddams son, Qusay, ordered the removal of all prohibited weapons from Saddams numerous palace complexes. The January 31, 2003, evaluation of Powells draft remarks prepared for him by the State Departments Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) flagged this claim as WEAK.
"Regarding alleged Iraqi concealment of key files, Powell said: key files from military and scientific establishments have been placed in cars that are being driven around the countryside by Iraqi intelligence agents to avoid detection. The January 31, 2003 INR evaluation flagged this claim as WEAK and added Plausibility open to question. A Feb. 3, 2003, INR evaluation of a subsequent draft of Powells remarks noted:
"Page 4, last bullet, re key files being driven around in cars to avoid inspectors. This claim is highly questionable and promises to be targeted by critics and possibly UN inspection officials as well.
"That didnt stop Colin from stating it as fact and apparently hoping that, even if UN inspectors thought he was a brazen liar, US media outlets wouldnt tell anyone.
"On the issue of biological weapons and dispersal equipment, Powell said: we know from sources that a missile brigade outside Baghdad was disbursing rocket launchers and warheads containing biological warfare agents to various locations, distributing them to various locations in western Iraq.
The January 31, 2003, INR evaluation flagged this claim as WEAK:"
. . .
turbinetree
(24,695 posts)US taxpayers have reportedly paid an average of $8,000 each and over $2 trillion total for the Iraq war alone
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-taxpayers-spent-8000-each-2-trillion-iraq-war-study-2020-2
DENVERPOPS
(8,818 posts)I distinctly remember Rumsfeld saying Iraq war/invasion would only cost three billion, and that Iraq would pay us back out of their oil revenue.......
turbinetree
(24,695 posts)FoxNewsSucks
(10,429 posts)think Mexico would pay for the wall.
Probably thought there'd be chocolates and flowers for that, too.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)... no guilt, but in close proximity.
https://edwardrynearson.wordpress.com/behind-colin-powells-legend-the-my-lai-massacre/
RIP, General.
whathehell
(29,067 posts)The measure of hate and blame being heaped upon him here appears to be in great disproportion to his actual responsibility.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)[Search domain edwardrynearson.wordpress.com] https://edwardrynearson.wordpress.com behind-colin-powells-legend-the-my-lai-massacre
After mentioning the My Lai massacre in My American Journey, Powell penned a partial justification of the Americal's brutality. In a chilling passage, Powell explained the routine practice of murdering unarmed male Vietnamese. "I recall a phrase we used in the field, MAM, for military-age male," Powell wrote.
whathehell
(29,067 posts)He basically said that many war situations are so dire, with soldiers scared shirtless, a "kill or be killed" mentality arises.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)whathehell
(29,067 posts)Try again.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)I joined the wrong political party.
3Hotdogs
(12,375 posts)James48
(4,435 posts)He was a good officer, and a very knowledgeable man.
You might not like him. I had a great deal of respect for him, even though he was a republican.
Farmer-Rick
(10,163 posts)But I still feel betrayed by what he did to get us into a useless war in Iraq. I actually believed his UN speech.
Calista241
(5,586 posts)oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)Cheney played him. And Bush & much of Congress.
JohnSJ
(92,187 posts)That presumes he had knowledge that the information he was being given was false. I dont know how much he knew or didnt know, but he later came out and admitted the invasion of Iraq was a mistake
What I do believe is only Congress could have stopped us going to war, and they didnt
I also know most of the media was pushing for us to invade Iraq, and it was only Knight Ridder that got the facts correct, and most of the press and new outlets willingly ignored that
and most of the media and Congress shared that blame. Knight Ridder was one of the only voices
out there to push back on the regarding WMDs before the invasion, but the television and most major newspapers ignored it
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-reporting-team-that-g_n_91981
I would go as far as saying they actually encouraged that war. If you caught the Judy Miller interview by Jon Stewart she as much admitted that by using the excuse they couldnt present the full story because something to the effect that there wasnt enough room in the paper to present that
Hav
(5,969 posts)I think he knew that what he presented was bogus but the hawks of the Bush Admin would have gotten their war anyways. It's not as if he came even close to persuading the representatives of other countries like France or Germany to buy what he sold them.
ZZenith
(4,122 posts)like he did privately. I can only hope he spent the rest of his time on Earth regretting that cowardice, haunted by the ghosts of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi dead.
Theres a price to be paid for being a company man and I hope he paid it in full.
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)I am so sad to learn that he died from COVID.
We need to do better with the vaccines. More research and better understanding. Fully vaccinated people should not be dying.
My sympathies to his family.
Javaman
(62,528 posts)Last edited Mon Oct 18, 2021, 02:10 PM - Edit history (1)
At the UN with cartoon pictures of the mobile labs (that never existed) was the final nail in the coffin in the right wings march to war, fuck him
He will always be a willing participant in the killing 100s of thousands of people.
War criminal is too mild a description for him and his ilk
Fuck him
And rest in peace Casey Sheehan.
Snackshack
(2,541 posts)🕯
I think at heart he was a good person. He got used by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld.
R. I. P. General.
PatrickforB
(14,573 posts)Aside from the blot on his record, Powell did his best.
oldsoftie
(12,533 posts)Because whatever it would be would likely be insulting.
Naio
(167 posts)Rest In Peace General powell
jaxexpat
(6,820 posts)Elessar Zappa
(13,979 posts)sarchasm
(1,012 posts)Remember, Cheney had many intelligence connections, and Powell relied on intel from that cabal.
Regardless, I always felt Sec. Powell was a good man, giving us the truth as he knew it.
RIP Sec. Powell
jmowreader
(50,557 posts)The fucking antivaxers are going to use General Powells death as a rallying cry: See? He was vaccinated and died anyway. The vaccines dont work and it was the hospital that killed him.
MustLoveBeagles
(11,599 posts)Wingus Dingus
(8,052 posts)RIP.
FakeNoose
(32,635 posts)I choose to believe that he was used by the Repuke Party. Maybe he was naive about it, he actually believed the crap they told him about the WMD in Iraq. It's just further proof that great military men do not make great politicians. One is all truth and the other is mostly lies.
Rest in Peace, General Powell! Thank you for your service, sir.
Wingus Dingus
(8,052 posts)for evil liars in their midst.
onecaliberal
(32,852 posts)He was a patriot.
bdamomma
(63,848 posts)Rest in Peace General Powell
cab67
(2,992 posts)Had he simply told Cheney that the whole box of bullshit he was being asked to bring to the UN was exactly that - bullshit - and resigned as Secretary of State, I think a lot of people might have thought twice about invading Iraq, or at the very least about the rationale behind it.
But I prefer not to judge someone because of one mistake. I'm not minimizing the size of this particular mistake - it was a whopper - but he worked honorably throughout the breadth of his life and career.
DENVERPOPS
(8,818 posts)research his past, in particular Mai Lai
cab67
(2,992 posts)He was asked to investigate a letter claiming abuse on the part of US forces against Vietnamese civilians.
The letter didn't mention My Lai, though - the writer of the letter wouldn't have known much about it. The massacre happened before Powell arrived in Vietnam, and I don't know how much contact he'd have had with those were there. The reports available to him claimed that most of those killed were "enemy combatants" and that only a small number of civilians were inadvertently caught in the crossfire. These reports were flat-out lies, but Powell might not have known that. So whether Powell actually looked into that particular incident, or how much he'd have learned, are open questions.
(Whether he should have known about is another matter - and solving it would require a thorough investigation of everything Powell had been told up to the point he submitted his report.)
That being said, I would agree that the report he submitted didn't take the claims in the letter seriously enough. That is, indeed, a stain on his record. And whether he knew about it or not, given his role in the Amerocal Division, he certainly should have known. I hold the report against him, but am undecided on how much responsibility for knowing (or not knowing) about the massacre should be laid at his feet.
As an aside - I remain forever shocked that so few Americans know who Hugh Thompson was.
DENVERPOPS
(8,818 posts)And thanks for the other info. I remember reading at the time that Powell had nothing to do with the massacre, but a lot to do with the attempted cover up.......Oh well..............He sold out big time to Cheney/Rumsfeld.
ananda
(28,859 posts)That's the best I can say.
RIP
chowder66
(9,067 posts)fizzix137
(21 posts)Fawning over this war criminal is disgusting. Name one "great" thing he did. He was a liar plain and simple. When he was caught, he acknowledged that he made a mistake. A mistake! He could have saved his soul by testifying against his fellow war criminals, but he just smiled and remained silent. Was he charming, eloquent, and striking in his medal-bedazzled uniform? Oh, yes. Will he burn for all eternity with W, Cheney, and Gonzales? I'll let the thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis decide.
CountAllVotes
(20,868 posts)Thank you for your truth filled post!
whathehell
(29,067 posts)but I'm SURE you know more.than he does -- "War criminal" my ass.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/18/statement-of-president-joe-biden-on-the-passing-of-general-colin-powell/
roamer65
(36,745 posts)Just like they have been murdering thousands of others.
YoshidaYui
(41,831 posts)He would run for some kind of office. May you have a swift journey to where ever you are going...
ecstatic
(32,701 posts)ever heard when he endorsed Senator Obama. He spoke for like 5 to 7 minutes straight, no "ummms" or "uhhhs," just pure substance and eloquence. At that moment, I "saw" him and my opinion of him changed.
oasis
(49,382 posts)RIP Colin Powell.
Rhiannon12866
(205,320 posts)Deminpenn
(15,286 posts)For as many "firsts" as he was, he was a bold-faced liar about Iraq having nuclear/chemical weapons. Nothing can ever erase the legacy of the thousands of US soldiers killed and wounded by his deception.