Colin Powell: War With Iraq Never Debated

Lakhota

Diamond Member
Jul 14, 2011
154,450
66,472
2,330
Native America
By Dan Froomkin

WASHINGTON -- In his new book, former Secretary of State Colin Powell provides what may be the most authoritative confirmation yet that there was never a considered debate in the George W. Bush White House about whether going to war in Iraq was really a good idea.

In a chapter discussing what he calls his “infamous” February 2003 speech to the United Nations where he authoritatively presented what was later exposed as gross misinformation about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Powell notes that by that time, war “was approaching.”

“By then, the President did not think war could be avoided,” Powell writes. “He had crossed the line in his own mind, even though the NSC [National Security Council] had never met -- and never would meet -- to discuss the decision.”

The National Security Council, which was at the time led by Condoleezza Rice, is the president’s foremost advisory body for national security and foreign policy.

The book, “It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership,” which will be released May 22, is largely a series of leadership parables from Powell, who now spends a lot of time on the lecture circuit. The Huffington Post obtained an advance copy.

Bush insisted in his own 2010 memoir, "Decision Points," that the invasion was something he came to support only reluctantly and after a long period of reflection. During his book tour, he even cast himself as “a dissenting voice” in the run-up to war. “I didn't wanna use force,” he said.

But Powell supports the increasingly well-documented conclusion that there was actually no decision-making point -- or decision-making process -- during the events between the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, which had nothing to do with those attacks.

Former CIA Director George Tenet made an admission similar to Powell’s in his own 2007 memoir. "There was never a serious debate that I know of within the administration about the imminence of the Iraqi threat," he wrote. Nor "was there ever a significant discussion" about the possibility of containing Iraq without an invasion.

Indeed, history shows that Bush had long wanted to strike out at Saddam Hussein and was trying to link Iraq to 9/11 within a day of the terrorist attacks.

The first concrete evidence was the Downing Street Memos first published in 2005, which documented the conclusions of British officials after high-level talks in Washington in July 2002 that “[m]ilitary action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.”

More (worth reading): Colin Powell's New Book: War With Iraq Never Debated

NOTE: The above link also contains live source links.
 
Powell was against the 1st Gulf war and when it turned out well he took credit for the victory so maybe nobody bothered soliciting his opinion. Bush told the whole freaking world that Saddam was living on borrowed time for violating UN sanctions. What did Powell think was going to happen? Congress gave permission for boots on the ground, presumably after some discussion and investigation, and a resolution was passed. If nobody talked to Powell it's his own damned fault.
 
By Dan Froomkin

WASHINGTON -- In his new book, former Secretary of State Colin Powell provides what may be the most authoritative confirmation yet that there was never a considered debate in the George W. Bush White House about whether going to war in Iraq was really a good idea.

More (worth reading): Colin Powell's New Book: War With Iraq Never Debated

NOTE: The above link also contains live source links.

bush_littlebigman.jpg



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irMeHmlxE9s]BUSH - THE DECIDER - YouTube[/ame]​
 

Forum List

Back
Top