DU Flashback One Year Ago: Powell Was Told His UN Speech Was Fabrication - Said It Anyway

[wyldwolf]

In late January 2003, as Secretary of State Colin Powell prepared to argue the Bush administration's case against Iraq at the United Nations, veteran CIA officer Tyler Drumheller sat down with a classified draft of Powell's speech to look for errors. He found a whopper: a claim about mobile biological labs built by Iraq for germ warfare.

Drumheller instantly recognized the source, an Iraqi defector suspected of being mentally unstable and a liar. The CIA officer took his pen, he recounted in an interview, and crossed out the whole paragraph.

A few days later, the lines were back in the speech. Powell stood before the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5 and said: "We have first-hand descriptions of biological weapons factories on wheels and on rails."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2695369&mesg_id=2695369

[Tellurian]

1. Yep, many who flogged Powell for his traitorous sell out

now welcome him to the breast of presidential hopeful, Barak Obama.

Can short term memory loss be the cause of misguided judgment?
Or are our esteemed colleagues blinded by hero worship?

[inthebrain]

2. Not for nothing

But does it matter?

I think most folks on this site seem to have their candidate selected. In the end everyone has to go through the same primary process.

I have a feeling that whether Powell was not with Obama your vote would still not be swayed.

Am I correct in that assessment?

[Tellurian]

4. Information should always matter..

whether real democrats want to accept the unthinkable, a democrat crossing party lines aligning themselves with the enemy, speaks more to their idol worship than their intelligence. I don't want 8 more years of Bush policy by an apostate leadership to continue killing our children and making Global War. Do you?

[inthebrain]

5. That wasn't answering my question

I wasn't challenging your democratic party loyalty. And to be honest, I could care less about the feud between Hillary and Obama. I think it's boring.

[Tellurian]

7. Well, then, you don't understand the meaning of my post..

you can reread it if you wish or discard it. That is my best and my final answer.

[inthebrain]

8. I do and I find it fundamentally flawed not to mention avoidant

of my question.

The problem is that what Powell did was follow. He took orders and viewed his position as a guy "only doing his job". If I was going to go after Powell I'd attack him accuratly and send a message about what I stood for at the same time. He had nothing to do with actually setting the policy and everything to do with a guy "Just to doing his job".

In that respect I don't see him as a guy who can effectivly lead anything. Much less a political campaign.

And the question was about removing Powell from the equation. You didn't answer it at all. Ir you were presiposed to supporting the guy I would have been interested in the answer.

[Tellurian]

9. No one can force you to break the Law..Powell could have resigned.. (in protest)

Powell was breaking the law by lying to the UN and the American People. I'll never forget Powell holding up a vial of purported "yellow cake" used for uranium enrichment as the example of Saddam's quest for producing WMDs. Adding that verifiable CiA and British Intel confirms Saddam procurement of yellow cake in Niger.

Powell perpetrated a fraud on the American People and the UN resulting in the loss of thousands of American lives and 100's of thousands of Iraqi lives. He is an accessory to premeditated murder and is just as culpable for War Crimes as the administration's ordering of a preemptive strike on Iraq.

To answer your original question. Obama's speech at the 04' Convention was impressive and captivating. Theres no doubt about it, he was a gifted speaker. Everyone had high hopes for him. Enough time has gone by reinforcing my original decison....and I've chosen Hillary as the best choice for the presidency because of her intelligence, experience and competence.. (Obama made that decision for me!)

I don't see where anyone in this next election would want to remain lashed to Bush and his perpetual lust for War. Apparently, Obama agrees with the Neocons push for World domination and is showing his colors by surrounding himself with Bush operatives and now, Colin Powell. Obama's Foreign Policy statement lauds Rumsfeld, Bush and Cheney as Patriots benefiting the country.

And as I'm slowly learning, Obama has 2 versions of Foreign Policy. One for public consumption and the Real one:

similar...but not quite the same impact..

Real Policy:

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html

Public Consumption Policy:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/04/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam.html

[inthebrain]

10. I don't see why anyone would consider Hillary a viable alternative.

She did nothing but support the Iraq war the whole entire time.

She even has the backing of that greaseball Murdoch.

You're complaining about Powell?

[eweaver155]

11. It is not only Bush's War it is Hillary's War as well!

She helped to put our troops in harms way. She did not even care enough to read the bill before she voted.

[acmavm]

3. I don't know what their problems are but apparently if Barry

would decide that bush** is the greatest pResident since Honest Abe, his supporters would have no problems swallowing that shit.

People who pitch a fit and moan and groan about a lack of integrity in politicians and then turn around and support a guy who doesn't mind collaborating with one of the bush** admin traitors just amaze me. They hypocrisy is astounding.

[Tellurian]

6. What is more astounding is..

their attitude "It's ok..I don't see anything wrong with it" to just "let it ride"...Like this is a board game of Tiddly-Winks.. and no one gets hurt if Bush succeeds in duping the American People again.

[zulchzulu]

12. At least Powell apologized for his mistake...

Not sure about some others that were all for the war...

It takes character to admit your mistakes.