Colin Powell Admits Knowing WH claims of WMD was Bullshit!!

[cynatnite]

“The CIA was pushing the aluminum tube argument heavily and Cheney went with that instead of what our guys wrote,” Powell said. And the Niger reference in Bush’s State of the Union speech? “That was a big mistake,” he said. “It should never have been in the speech. I didn’t need Wilson to tell me that there wasn’t a Niger connection. He didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. I never believed it.”

When I pressed further as to why the president played up the Iraq nuclear threat, Powell said it wasn’t the president: “That was all Cheney.” A convenient response for a Bush family loyalist, perhaps, but it begs the question of how the president came to be a captive of his vice president’s fantasies.

More important: Why was this doubt, on the part of the secretary of state and others, about the salient facts justifying the invasion of Iraq kept from the public until we heard the truth from whistle-blower Wilson, whose credibility the president then sought to destroy?

In matters of national security, when a president leaks, he lies.

By selectively releasing classified information to suit his political purposes, as President Bush did in this case, he is denying that there was a valid basis for keeping the intelligence findings secret in the first place. “We ought to get to the bottom of it, so it can be evaluated by the American people,” said Sen. Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I couldn’t have put it any better.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060411_bush_leak_plame_libby_powell/

[Kutjara]

1. Powell wouldn't be clean if...

...you scoured him with steel-wool and rinsed him with a fire hose. He's just trying to pin the blame on Cheney out of loyalty to the Bush family, while distancing himself from the mistakes the Administration is making today. After all, he's got his candidacy in '08 to think about.

[William769]

2. Amen to that brother!.

[cynatnite]

3. How's that? :)

He said 'he knew' and as much as he tries to pass the buck to Cheney, it won't fly. I think his quotes are going to blow the lid off the administration....least I can hope they do.

[saigon68]

4. SCOURED

The stench however would remain

[seemslikeadream]

13. Some more Colin stench

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4810982

[saigon68]

16. He really helped that little girl ???

Didn't he ???

[seemslikeadream]

18. Spreading democracy

bush style


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5170040

http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/March2006/22/c4813.html

Survival is greatest challenge for Haiti's children
As new Haitian government prepares to take office, UNICEF report calls
for urgent action to save Haiti's long-neglected children

MONTREAL, March 22 /CNW/ - Children born in Haiti are more likely to die
during early childhood than in any other country in the western hemisphere,
according to Child Alert: Haiti, a report released by UNICEF to the
international community today from Montreal, Canada and from Madrid, Spain.
"The fact that one out of every 14 babies in Haiti is dying before ever
reaching his or her first birthday is a horrifying reality we are battling
every day," said Christian Skoog, senior programme officer for UNICEF Haiti at
a news conference in Montreal. "We are here today to tell Canadians about an
immense humanitarian tragedy happening only a short airplane ride away. In no
other country in Latin America and the Caribbean are children more likely to
die before they reach age five."
Child Alert: Haiti, the second in a series of UNICEF papers presenting
the core challenges for children in a particular crisis location, reports that
thousands of Haiti's children lead lives of daily struggle simply to stay
alive. In rural areas, children lack even the most basic services, often
walking for hours just to reach the nearest health centre or water source. In
Haiti's cities, violence and abuse lock children in a cycle that is almost
impossible to break.
Despite the desolate picture for Haitian children, UNICEF sees hope in
the recent election of a new Haitian government committed to improving the
lives of children. This commitment provides a window of opportunity for change
- but rapid international humanitarian response is also required to help
Haitian children survive through childhood and grow up to brighter futures.
"We applaud the public commitment of President-elect René Préval to
improving the lives of Haiti's children, and UNICEF will work to hold the new
Parliament accountable," said Skoog. "Political leadership can bring the types
of changes needed so that a good, basic education and decent health care is
not a matter of good fortune for a child, but is instead a common standard.
But as a country struggling with extreme poverty and recovering from a history
of violence, international humanitarian funds are desperately needed to help
children live in healthy and safe environments."

Child Alert: Haiti details the threats to the health and well-being of
Haiti's children:

- Insufficient health care -- Diarrhoea is the leading cause of death
and illness for children under five, as contaminated water is rampant.
Across the country, almost one-quarter of all children under age five
suffers from moderate to severe malnutrition. Many Haitian children
have no access to basic health services at all. Immunization rates for
measles (which is highly contagious and often fatal) are much lower in
Haiti than anywhere else in the region, and lower than immunization
rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Just over half of all children in Haiti
are vaccinated against measles, while two-thirds have no access to
even basic sanitation facilities.
- Environmental degradation -- Haiti faces severe environmental
degradation; only three percent of the entire country is left with
forest cover, which led to high fatalities during the hurricane season
(3,000 deaths in 2004 alone).
- Lack of education -- While education offers hope for a better life,
many families cannot afford to send their children to school because
the fees are too costly. Only 55 per cent of primary-school age
children attend school. The average girl attends school for only two
years. One-third of Haiti's youth aged 15-24 are illiterate.
- Violence and abuse -- There are thousands of street children
throughout Haiti. Many children are forced to fight in gangs or become
part of the restavek subculture of bonded servitude, where 300,000
children work as unpaid domestic servants. Girls account for
three-quarters of these workers.

[NNadir]

6. Powell has the same chance of being elected President as I have of being

elected Pope.

I'm not Catholic.

[sandnsea]

5. Carlyle

Didn't he get some cushy board seat at Carlyle? He must know something is coming down and he's trying to make the Niger documents unimportant. He's still trying to protect Bush and the cabal. Same Powell. He'll be loyal to these jackals until they devour him.

[cassiepriam]

7. It is clear that Bush is totally out of the loop. nt

[Jose Diablo]

8. Powell sold his soul a long time ago

When he covered-up the My Lia slaughter in Nam, he compromised his integrity and from there on, he was nothing but a bought operative for the 'machine'.

He knew that herding civilians and then killing them was wrong, but he chose to protect the organization instead. All of his integrity and pride from that point on, was just a charade, a front for a bought man. He was turned and anything from that point on, means nothing.

He knows he is nothing but shit. Shame really, he could have been so much more.

[the observationist]

10. How many politicians do you think fall into this category?

I doubt Powell will never run for president. He said he wouldn't a long time ago. I think he sold out during the lead up to the Iraq war, but he resigned his position and that means something, to me anyway. I'm biased on this topic because I like Powell. I think in spite of his failures he has more integrity, honesty, and loyalty to this country than just about every other politician in Washington. Washington is filled with corruption and if you all think it is just the Republicans, think again. I switched parties for the 2004 election and will continue to vote liberal, but it wasn't too long ago that Dems were in charge and guess what? There were corruption allegations back then too. I am beginning to realize that most politicians could careless about the country and the people. The masses have been duped.

[cynatnite]

11. ...

:popcorn:

[Jose Diablo]

14. I don't know how many politicians, but that doesn't excuse Powell

Look at Kucinich. Back when he was the Mayor of Cleveland, he was offered a deal, sell the Cleveland power company and pay the debts the banks loaded Cleveland with or face certain defeat in the next election. Selling the power company would screw the people of Cleveland, place them in the hands of the money people and all Kucinich had to do to keep in office, was go along with the plan. What did Kucinich do?

He held by his principles and did what was right for the people of Cleveland. He refused to sell and let the city go in default, but the people were allowed to retain ownership of the power company, benefiting the people.

Kucinich sure enough lost the next election and was all but unelectable, a pariah, the papers raked him over the coals, but he stuck by his principles, and he got another chance in politics about a decade later.

Even though Kucinich comes across as a loser, squeaky speaking voice. I tell you that guys got a set of gonads. He stuck by with what he knew was the right thing to do. He didn't sell out his principles like Powell did.

These elections depend too much on people that look good, on camera, and too little on the person inside.

Look at Reagan, if anybody had reported truthfully what he did, that guy wouldn't even have been able to run for dog catcher. But the media played him as some kind of superman. What he did was rat out the other actors, and in this way he gained power. Reagan was as phony as they come, but he ended up president.

The image builders put Reagan in office. No wonder our country is so screwed-up.

[GeorgeGist]

9. Same sh*t...

different colin.

[xchrom]

12. powell is a good republican...

he is as guilty as bush, cheney, rumsfeld or anyone else in the admin for the iraq debacle.

he is responsible for the needless deaths of our soldiers.

[Beelzebud]

15. Powell, for not saying this in 2004, I have 2 words for you:

FUCK YOU

[wordpix]

17. Powell is GUILTY of not resigning earlier & telling America the truth

it dumbly followed * to war. He's an accomplice to the illegalities and fraud perpetrated by Monkeyman & Dickhead to start the Iraq War. Powell could have prevented it but he went along to get along. And if he's profiting now with a seat on the Carlyle board, he's worse than scum.

[Initech]

19. Impeach the motherfuckers. NOW!!!

[flordehinojos]

20. did anyone give him a truth serum?

is he just in love with the spotlight and will do anything to be on it?

why wasn't he a man of honor and integrity when he should have been, when he should have said, i won't go with this shit to the UN, and i won't play hardball for you mr. bushit boy.

now it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy toooooooooooooooooo
laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate mr. colon powell.

[WiseButAngrySara]

21. Colon Bowel will certainly be in the bowels of hell if there is such a

place (i for one think that 'hell' is what we make of it on earth)...he has blood on his hands once again. He is revolting.

:kick: and R.

[tabasco]

22. You stabbed your fellow soldiers in the back, General Powell.

We call that a buddy-fucker in the Army, don't we Colin?

You murderous traitor bastard.

You can stop trying to shift the blame to others.

You were neck-deep in this conspiracy to start this needless quagmire and you played right along.

Fuck you scumbag.

And your scumbag bosses.