Powell Praises Obama, Fears Afghanistan Growing 'More Difficult' Than Iraq

[muryan]

Source: ABC News

"The United States Armed Forces are very, very stretched. It appears that after the surge is over, we're going to go down to 140,000 troops in Iraq. That's 10,000 more than we had before the surge," Powell observed, reacting to the testimony Petraeus delivered over two days.

"There is something of a continued surge there with that extra 10,000. And based on what Gen. Petraeus has said, he wants to let the surge troops go by July and then take 45 days to see what it looks like, and then begin a process of assessment. Well, that tells me that we know what the administration strategy is going to be through the end of the term of the administration. And that is, we're going to maintain a very significant presence," Powell said.

Read more: http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/Story?id=4622268&page=1

---

Although I will never forgive Powell for his part in creating the mess we're in. I have always noted that he has been against the Bush doctrine and hasn't been shy in speaking out in favor of progressive politicians on the matter. An endorsement for Obama or Clinton would go a long way with the moderate vote in the GE.

[bluestateguy]

1. I think he is setting up for a general election season endorsement

While I remain no Powell fan, it could help Obama a lot in the fall.

[samsingh]

2. Powell is a whore and a has been

he really hurt america.

[RufusTFirefly]

4. Indeed. Powell has been hurting America for almost 40 years

Remember the My Lai massacre? Powell supplied a roadblock that helped to keep the truth from getting out.

[samsingh]

13. yes - one of many of his crimes against humanity

[Golden Raisin]

3. An endorsement from Powell

would make me NOT want to vote for that candidate.

[happygoluckytoyou]

5. EXAMINE WHAT IS FAIR------------->

I cannot forgive Powell ever for his error... and error is not even close to defining the lie which caused the deaths and misery he has caused.....

ON THE OTHER HAND... AND TO BE FAIR...

his actions of the past year, his speeches etc, beg for forgiveness

COULD HE HONESTLY BE SUFFERING FOR HIS ACTIONS...

i believe he has realized what he did...

i don't EVER want this man in a position of power or trust again...

BUT FOR A MEMBER OF THE BUSH CO TO REALIZE HIS SINS... TO ANNOUNCE SO PUBLICALLY HIS ACCEPTANCE OF HIS PART... AND TO EXPLAIN THAT HE HAS SWITCHED SIDES.....

...........................I WILL NOT FAULT THAT SINGLE ACTION ONE BIT

[RufusTFirefly]

6. Valid point. Forgiveness is important. If repentance is genuine.

In addition, Powell's Chief of Staff (who some suggest may yet be conveying Powell's opinions as well as his own) has lately been quite outspoken against the BFEE's unapologetic use of torture.

No Torture. No Exceptions

[Solly Mack]

7. Fuck Powell. Just another war criminal...nothing more.

[maddezmom]

14. no fooling, I originally thought he was used by bushco

then I came to my senses. Now this:

Sources: Top Bush Advisors Approved 'Enhanced Interrogation'
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LawPolitics/story?id=4583256&page=1

[Mira]

8. Powell is not on my radar ever again. He owes this country big time.

He should have stood up like the "good soldier" he is, and denounced BushCo the minute he caught on to what they are doing. He should have gotten out by loudly resigning and should have reported the truth to us.
I think he is whipped, and I cannot respect him.

[skepticscott]

9. Exactly

For him to simply slink around and look for absolution with a few lame mea culpas isn't even close to enough to make up for what he's done. He's complicit in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and, despite Bush's lies, he KNEW that going into Iraq was horribly wrong. He put loyalty to an evil and corrupt administration above loyalty to his country, and he should pay for that for the rest of his life. If he wants to even start evening the score, he needs to stand up and tell the COMPLETE truth about what was said and done in the run-up to war and afterwards.

[Mira]

10. You said it way better than I could - thank you !

[Maureen1322]

11. I agree,

i don't see how any of them make up for this mess. His endorsements mean nothing to me. Then again I'm not a moderate.

[mwb970]

12. Powell lost me forever with his lies in front of the UN.

We are stuck in Iraq because Powell played the "good soldier". Thanks for nothing, chump.

[Number9Dream]

15. Powell is a huge hypocrite

"I am angry that so many of the sons of the powerful and well-placed... managed to wangle slots in Reserve and National Guard units...Of the many tragedies of Vietnam, this raw class discrimination strikes me as the most damaging to the ideal that all Americans are created equal and owe equal allegiance to their country." (Colin Powell’s autobiography, My American Journey, p. 148)

And yet Powell was delighted to work for the chickenhawks in the White House.

I wonder how many Americans still have any respect for him?

[SquireJons]

16. I like Powell

My affection for him has taken a few body blows over the years, but remains intact. His responsibilities have always been Faustian, weather a soldier, general, adviser or politician. It's all about the extremely hard decisions that have to be made, and to keep your head and humanity is difficult, to say the least. Is he perfect? No. But he does have integrity, courage, discipline and intelligence. These are qualities I'd like to see in the service of the country.

And for those of you who will scream about his testimony at the UN, you must remember that he fought to go to the UN, fought Rumsfeld and Cheney about the content, removed whole sections himself without approval, required Tenant to sit with him in camera view and did believe that Hussein was a threat. But he never wanted pre-emtive war.

The allegations that Powell was present at meetings where torture was approved in specific detail... I have serious doubts about. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Adington kept Powell, Tenant and Rice out of almost everything. If he was there, I'll bet he opposed it.

If Powell endorses Obama and especially if he campaigns with him, it would be extremely powerful. It could even allow Obama to run affectively against McCain with the military and moderate to right leaning middle america. I hope it happens.

[High Plains]

17. He will go down in history as a war monger.

His UN propaganda appearance just before the war started will define him.

[Leo 9]

18. Powell: Troops in Iraq Must Be Reduced

Source: Associated Press

Powell: Troops in Iraq Must Be Reduced
12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that President Bush's successor will have to come to grips with the reality that the United States cannot continue to keep such large numbers of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Without taking sides in the race for the White House, Powell said, "Whichever one of them becomes president on Jan. 1, 2009, they will face a military force that cannot continue to sustain 140,000 people deployed in Iraq and the 20 (thousand) odd or 25,000 people we have deployed in Afghanistan and our other deployments."

Powell's comments in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" seemed to undercut Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain's position that the U.S. should stay the course in Iraq. But Powell also said that the next president will face limitations on bringing troops home, as Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton — rivals for the Democratic nomination — have promised to do.

"They will have to continue to draw down at some pace," he said. "None of them are going to have the flexibility of just saying we're out of here, turn off the switch, turn off the lights, we're leaving. They will have a situation before them."

snip

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLBkzdVupoA9_e7D2-5tjiN8xzTAD8VV8UFO0

[izquierdista]

19. Colin is sure a sorry ass

Five years late and trillions of dollars short.

[Beaverhausen]

20. Obama needs to reject any praise from Powell

What Powell did was unforgivable, and anyone spinning this as a good thing for Obama is sadly mistaken.