MetaFilter posts tagged with colinpowell

Ret. Gen. Colin Powell endorses Senator Obama

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:08:37 -0800

Former US Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell, a controversial, if reluctant supporter of the war on Iraq, offers his endorsement (Flash video) of Senator Barack Obama for the office of President of the United States. Excerpts from the transcript: ``And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made... ``I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America... ``I have no truck for William Ayers. I think what he did was despicable, and to continue to talk about it in 2001 is also despicable. But to suggest that because Mr. Barack Obama had some contacts of a very casual nature — they sat on a educational board — over time is somehow connected to his thinking or his actions, I think, is a, a terrible stretch. It's demagoguery... ``It isn't easy for me to disappoint Senator McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that. But I strongly believe that at this point in America's history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects, who will not just continue, basically, the policies that we have been following in recent years. I think we need a transformational figure. I need — think we need a president who is a generational change. And that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama. Not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain.

Bush's War

auralcoral — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:29:01 -0800

In honor of the 5-year anniversary of the Iraq War, PBS' Frontline presented a fantastic 2- part special on the issue this past Monday and Tuesday. It is now available in it's entirety online along with interview transcripts from senior officials, a video timeline of the war, and battlefield stories from soldiers. Bush's War

Political Roundup.

delmoi — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 19:10:30 -0800

Turns out Colin Powell was actually fired. In other administration news, it looks like one of the pre-9/11 anti-terrorism meetings wasn't mentioned to the 9/11 commission. According to Bob Woodward's new book, where we also find out that Bush meet with Henry Kissinger at least once a month, and Kissinger's theories on Vietnam inform Bush's reasoning on Iraq.

The American Military Coup of 2012

augustweed — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 01:34:38 -0800

In 1992, General Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, awarded the prize for his strategy essay competition at the National Defense University to Lieutenant Colonel Charles Dunlap for 'The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012'. Rumor is, Colonel Dunlap's essay has been circulating among the military's top brass and strategists.

Vice Adm. Allen's appointment as successor to FEMA Director Michael Brown could be conditioning Americans (intentional or not) to accept the idea of Martial Law. Rep Cynthia McKinney's (D-GA) mention of "impeachment" four days ago on the House floor was omitted from the record. If our representatives will not be heard and if we do not want to live under a military dictatorship, then what? It makes me think of Romania (1989) Of course there's always concentration camps and slave labor.

A Blot??

Effigy2000 — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 18:43:04 -0800

In an interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday (US time), Colin Powell , former Secretary of State, describes his speech to the UN Security Council on Iraq's WMD capabilities as "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," [Powell] said. Finally, some recognition of this fact, albeit two years too late.

Politics

semmi — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 11:40:08 -0800

The shift from Colin Powell to Condoleeza Rice at the State Department could have important implications for the future of American foreign policy. Some of the commonalities and differences between them are revealed in Powell's essay, and Rice's essay. (via Foreign Affairs)

Powell's gone

alumshubby — Mon, 15 Nov 2004 07:45:19 -0800

Colin Powell resigns. He'll be missed.

Let justice be done, though the heavens fall

four panels — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:44:30 -0800

The United States has lost Iraq. "Even Secretary of State Colin Powell, a former general who stays in touch with the Joint Chiefs, has acknowledged [the insurgents winning] privately to friends in recent weeks. The insurgents have effectively created a reign of terror throughout the country, killing thousands, driving Iraqi elites and technocrats into exile and scaring foreigners out."

Colin Powell described neo-conservatives in the Bush administration as 'fucking crazies'

rough ashlar — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 07:46:39 -0800

Colin Powell in Four-letter Neo-con 'crazies' Row Perhaps Colin should have said they were cheney crazies.

Genocide in Darfur (Officially)

hank_14 — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 20:11:47 -0800

Powell declares a genocide in Darfour , marking a turnaround in America's appraisal of the situation in Sudan. Will something finally be done? And is Powell off the ranch on this, or this actually the policy of the Bush administration? Previously discussed in a number of threads.

Interview

semmi — Fri, 13 Aug 2004 14:35:15 -0800

P. J. O'Rourke interviews Colin Powell in The Atlantic.

In policy reversal, US signals possible acceptance of theocracy in Iraq

Postroad — Sun, 16 May 2004 08:29:36 -0800

In policy reversal, US signals possible acceptance of theocracy in Iraq Bringing democracy to the area...Ladies: do we have some surprises in store for you. Is Iran to be the model? "The United States signaled its readiness to put up with an Islamic theocracy in future sovereign Iraq, with Secretary of State Colin Powell saying the US administration "will have to accept" any government created as a result of free and fair elections there. ..."

You'd say I'm putting you on

emelenjr — Tue, 04 May 2004 16:28:12 -0800

Now GQ magazine isn't one I'd normally turn to—for anything, really, let alone a serious story such as this. But a writer has interviewed Colin Powell, Condi Rice, various Pentagon insiders and some unnamed friends of Powell, and they all (save Condi, whom one of the GQ writer's sources calls "a jerk") agree: Colin's tired.

Plan of Attack

homunculus — Sun, 18 Apr 2004 12:00:26 -0800

Behind Diplomatic Moves, Military Plan Was Launched. An excerpt from the new book "Plan of Attack" by Bob Woodward. Amongst its claims are that Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar was informed of the plans for Iraq before Colin Powell, and that $700 million designated by Congress for the war in Afghanistan was used to prepare for the war in Iraq.

Kashmir

SandeepKrishnamurthy — Tue, 30 Mar 2004 06:42:37 -0800

Has the US promised Kashmir to Pakistan? During his recent visit, Colin Powell named Pakistan a US ally. This move has people in India concerned about what the US is willing to give Pakistan to fight Al-Qaeda. [The site has pop-ups. Sorry.]

That's it, I'm done. Simply can't top this.

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 12 Dec 2003 13:49:07 -0800

Australian news media as well as the AFP have reported that Secretary of State Colin Powell has unofficially appointed James Brown US Secretary of Soul and Foreign Minister of Funk.

powells low point

specialk420 — Wed, 15 Oct 2003 08:57:25 -0800

“Various people would laugh at various times [during Powell’s speech] because the information he was presenting was just, you know, didn't mean anything -- had no meaning,"

Breaking the silence

donfactor — Tue, 23 Sep 2003 05:45:19 -0800

Breaking the silence Last night ITV1 in the UK ran a documentary that is unlikely to be shown in the USA. It is by a respected journalist called John Pilger and amongst other tidbits it shows Colin Powell saying in 1991 that Iraq poses no threat and also Condoleeza Rice confirming the same thing. It also quotes some US officials that the current bunch who seem to be running US foreign policy were known during the administration of Bush senior as "the crazies". Plus much more.

This is bullshit, I'm retiring.

Ignatius J. Reilly — Mon, 04 Aug 2003 11:05:52 -0800

Powell and Armitage Intend to Step Down The WaPo has reported that Colin Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage intend to vacate their posts in January, 2005. They allegedly told this to NSA Condi Rice, though the White House--staying true to form--is denying it. So, is he just getting old, or is he finally sick of all the bullshit?

I'm not reading this. This is bullshit.

CrazyJub — Sat, 31 May 2003 08:16:28 -0800

Dissent in the ranks. US Secretary of State Colin Powell was under persistent pressure from the Pentagon and White House to include questionable intelligence in his report on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction he delivered at the United Nations last February, source: US News and World Report Magazine. According to the report, the draft contained such questionable material that Powell lost his temper, throwing several pages in the air and declaring, "I'm not reading this. This is bullshit."

This just in -- now the mainstream media knows what everyone else does!

Ignatius J. Reilly — Tue, 06 May 2003 12:11:23 -0800

Did Bush know? An article in today's New York Times (link to mirrored site with no reg. req.) pieces together data that the author claims proves that Bush and his inner circle were well-aware that they were using false "evidence" of Iraqi WMD. Sy Hersh from the New Yorker is also chiming in, as is Salon's Joe Connason and Katha Pollitt of The Nation. A pretty decent subsection of media is finally descending on this story. If Bush or Powell or Rumsfeld are proven to have been knowingly deceitful, will the American public be even half as angry as the rest of the world?

Uncle Sam Through Saudi Eyes

hairyeyeball — Sat, 15 Mar 2003 13:59:18 -0800

Colin Powell and the Marketing of Uncle Sam is an idiosyncratic rant by Afnan Fatani, professor of stylistics at King Abdul Aziz University, in the English-language Saudi journal Arab News, arguing the sinister implications of Colin Powell's employment of advertising experts to put the American message to the world. Starting with Nelson Mandela's recent comments, among them that the U.S. is disregarding the U.N. because its leader, Kofi Annan, is black, Prof. Fatani achieves some rhetorical fireworks from the observation that "Uncle Ben is not Uncle Sam."

During the days of slavery in America, white men discovered the powerful singing voices of their black slaves. Today, judging from the sleek performance of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, American leaders have apparently discovered and successfully utilized the articulate skills of their black citizens. Too bad the message these black politicians are promoting is Zionist war and destruction, and not Christian peace and goodwill. Too bad that Powell and the Bush administration have between them tainted the white wholesome goodness of Uncle Ben’s Rice.

According to a December 2002 story in Salon, Powell had said, upon hiring ad mogul Charlotte Beers at State, "Hey, she got me to buy Uncle Ben's rice." Interestingly, Richard Lyons posted an op-ed based on a very similar conceit in February 2002 — though without the bizarre racial overtones. Didn't German soldiers taunt black GIs with the fact of their second-class citizenship during WWII? Stylistic it is, a mishmash of apocalyptic scriptural interpretation and Internet antiwar rhetoric. Fellow Netizens, I give you our Saudi allies on this, 12 Muharram 1424, the eve of war.

John Brady Kiesling's resignation letter

skallas — Tue, 04 Mar 2003 18:31:53 -0800

Is the Russia of the late Romanovs really our model, a selfish, superstitious empire thrashing toward self-destruction in the name of a doomed status quo? From U.S. Diplomat John Brady Kiesling's resignation letter to Colin Powell.

A resignation

acrobat — Fri, 28 Feb 2003 05:59:18 -0800

«The policies we are now asked to advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with American interests.» A US Diplomat’s Letter of Resignation. Yes, there are also people like this in Politics. From NYT. It requires registration, but it’s for free.

Every needs a little therapy now and then...

troutfishing — Sun, 16 Feb 2003 14:26:26 -0800

War as national therapy- revisiting the Gulf War: (scroll down 5 paragraphs to "Powell and the Persian Gulf War") Some 100,000 retreating Iraqi troops were incinerated, blown to bits, etc. (Schwarzkopf's estimate) with unexpectedly light US casualties (383 from all causes). “Even in Vietnam I didn’t see anything like this. It’s pathetic.“ said Major Bob Nugent, Army intelligence officer. But the stunning victory - and the ensuing US euphoria - were almost sabatoged by a Russian peace plan.... "The President's problem was how to say no to Gorbachev without appearing to throw away a chance for peace"(wrote Colin Powell in American Journey) “We have to have a war,” Bush told his inner circle of Secretary of State James Baker, national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and Powell" (narrates Bob Woodward)...."Fear of a peace deal at the Bush White House [wrote columnists Evans and Novak] had less to do with oil, Israel or Iraqi expansionism than with the bitter legacy of a lost war. 'This is the chance to get rid of the Vietnam Syndrome,' one senior aide told us." Peace threatened, but Colin Powell had a plan......