Colin Powell on Sunday’s Meet the Press:
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 feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards — Purple Heart, Bronze Star — showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old.
And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross; it didn’t have the Star of David; it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.
Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I’m troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
Army Spc. Kareem R. Khan, August 6, 2007
Posted by The Star-Ledger August 09, 2007 4:34PM
Categories: Iraq:2007Age: 20
Home town: Manahawkin
Circumstances: He and three other soldiers died of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.
NJ soldier dies in Iraq
by Claire HeiningerThursday August 09, 2007, 4:21 PMA 20-year-old Ocean County man has died in Iraq, officials said today.
Army Spc. Kareem R. Khan of Manahawkin was killed Aug. 6 in Baqubah, according to the Department of Defense. He and three other soldiers died of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device, the department said today.Khan was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), based in Fort Lewis, Wash. He is at least the 80th service member with ties to New Jersey to die in Iraq.
Khan had been awarded the Purple Heart for injuries from previous combat, according to the Associated Press.
The e-mails Army Spc. Kareem Khan sent from Iraq to his parents in Manahawkin never mentioned the dangers he faced.
Instead, the 20-year-old infantryman chose words and pictures to assure his parents that a young man who had never traveled outside New Jersey before enlisting would be okay. The images included shots of him playing soccer with Iraqi children and hugging an adoring young boy in Baghdad. Khan usually added words about his belief in the mission.
“He told us many times that whatever they were doing is working,” his father, Feroze Khan, said last night.
On Monday, two soldiers from the casualty notification team arrived at Khan’s parents split-level home to tell them he was dead, the 80th service member with ties to New Jersey killed in Iraq.
Khan and three other soldiers from the Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis, Wash., were killed when a blast destroyed a house they were clearing in Baqouba, Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, operations chief of the offensive there, told KIRO Radio of Seattle.
Last night, members of Khan’s extended family, some of whom came from as far away as Trinidad, gathered at the Ocean County home, waiting for his body to be returned to New Jersey so they could make funeral arrangements.
“We were never prepared for this,” said his stepmother, Nisha Khan. “He was supposed to be coming home. It’s not supposed to be like this.”
Khan shipped off for basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., about a month after graduating from Southern Regional High School two years ago. He’d relished the trip to boot camp — it had been his first plane ride.
Khan had also talked about joining the Army for a long time.
“From a boy, that’s all he wanted to be. A soldier,” his stepmother said.
“The Army was his life,” his father added.
After several months of training, Khan was assigned to the Stryker Brigade. He was in the Pacific Northwest only for a few months before his unit shipped out for Iraq last July. The unit was originally scheduled to return to the U.S. last month, but the troop “surge” in Baghdad extended its combat tour until September.
If Khan was upset about the extension, he never shared it with his parents.
Instead, he sent the e-mails and the pictures that now fill his parents’ dining room.
In one, he’s holding a cherubic-faced boy to his hip.
Nisha Khan said her stepson told her the boy simply took to him during a week his unit spent in the Iraqi capital.
“No matter where they were going, the kid would follow him and walk and not leave him alone,” she said.
As U.S. troops stepped up combat operations around Baghdad over the past several months, Khan’s e-mails to his parents slowed from perhaps three a week to maybe one.
He wrote about missing the chance to watch the war movies he loved — “Saving Private Ryan,” “Letters from Iwo Jima.”
Khan also kept in touch with several of his high school classmates.
One, Diana Haggerty, said they traded e-mails on their Facebook accounts earlier this week and that Khan had talked about coming home soon.
“He was an amazing person for that fact that he put his life on the line for his country,” she said.
Last September, Khan came home on two weeks’ leave. It was the last time he saw his family.
He spent much of his leave playing with his 11-year-old sister, Aliya. He also went to her school and talked to her class.
Khan told his family he was unsure whether he wanted to make the Army his career or get out and go to college.
But in the near term, his plans were made.
He envisioned a family vacation to a place where he could snowboard. And he wanted to buy his sister a dog. Maybe a husky.
“We had plans,” his step-mother said.
In addition to his mother, Khan is survived by his father, Feroze Khan, of Manahawkin; his grandparents, Sultan and Zenith Mohammed, of Diego Martin, Trinidad; five aunts, Rasheed Mohammed, of Trinidad, Roshani Kernahan, of Trinidad, Shamoon Asgarali, of Columbia, Shereln Sookhoo, of New York, and Jerisha Maharaj, of Trinidad; three uncles, Dillanswer Mohammed, of Baltimore, Khalick Mohammed, of Trinidad, and Zul Hosein, of Columbia; six cousins, Hezida Hosein, of Columbia, Frizoa Ali, of Hollywood, Fla., Jenny Hosein, of Hollywood, Sham Hosein, of Hollywood, Fazan Hosein, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Farida Hosein of Newark, N.J.; and other relatives.
“All he wanted to be was a solider,” Feroze Khan said. “It’s something that just stuck with him, and we were behind him 100 percent.”
But Khan didn’t want to be just any kind of solider.“He wouldn’t even discuss going into the Marines or the Navy, that never interested him,” said Khan’s stepmother, Nisha Khan. “It was his dream to be a solider in the Army.”
Khan’s mother, Elsheba, lives in Columbia, Md.
Feroze Khan said his son never had a negative experience in Iraq being a Muslim in the U.S. Army.
Iraqi children even gravitated toward the always-smiling Khan when they would see his name.
“Kareem called me and told me this kid wouldn’t stop following him around. But he didn’t mind,” said Feroze Khan, who proudly displays a picture in the family’s dining room of the Iraqi child hugging Khan.
Khan would regularly take gifts that were meant for him and share them with the Iraqi children.
But despite the name, Khan was as American as they come. His favorite football team, after all, was the Dallas Cowboys — “America’s Team.”
That is why, his family said, Khan didn’t complain when the Army extended his tour, which was supposed to end in June.
“The way he thought of it was that he was an American and he had a job to do,” Nisha Khan said.
Also blogging:
Bottomline Upfront
Previous posts:
October Surprise: ” ‘Cause the One on the Right was on the Left”
“What Do You Do With a General When He Stops Being a General?” [Reader Post]
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
This has never been about being a Muslim. Saddam Hussein was a Muslim. Members of al qaeda are Muslims. This is about associations and relationships. General Powell knows full well the requirements for a Top Secret Security Clearance with the required Extensive Background Investigation to work with sensitive information. Associations and relationships are important and to say they are not negates any serious security clearance he may have had. Associations and relationships are not important says the General. Why then did the US Government spend over $100,000 to give me mine and his security clearances. They must have been important to someone, just not the General, at least not now. How very convenient!
Cecil, thank you for your service. The perspective I took from gen Powell is similar to one I too believe re Sen Obama, the gwot, and Sen McCain. While I agree with some conservatives who think that Sen Obama will be as useless in power as his record shows he’s been in the past, and I agree that the best way to end political opposition to the war on terror is to have a popular Democratic leader explain the threats to those who politically oppose the war on terror (in Iraq, in Afghanistan, or around the world). However, while I can see those things, I just can’t see myself personally endorsing Sen Obama for a long list of reasons. I think Gen Powell should be honored for his service, thanked for it, and respected, but that doesn’t mean anyone should shape their opinions or beliefs to follow his.
Follow…
That-to me-is the core of the ballot. It’s a system where we go behind a curtain, a wall, a divider, and we don’t have to follow ANYONE. In fact, we’re not supposed to. We’re supposed to state our own opinions and thoughts; not follow Gen Powell’s, or some pundit’s, or some tv commercial’s producer/director. It’s a time where we have a responsibility to form our own opinions and vote them.
Let Powell be Powell. I will be me, and for the system to work, we all must be ourselves. That’s why we present information, and not spin.
How can someone defend Powell for endorsing Obama? Some say, its okay he is a liberal. What is that BS? I know liberals who endorsed Hillary and would never endorse Obama. Obama is a socialist/communist bum who hangs around with terrorists, crooks and Anti-Americans. Powell knows that. And he doesn’t give a damn? What kind of a human being is Powell? Never forget that like attracts like. Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are. Fidel Castro is endorsing Osama today. Now, this is no surprise, it was to be expected. But Powell? Despicable!
Others say that Obama is an eloquent speaker with charisma. So what? So were Jim Jones and Hitler. They say he brings hope to youths in this country. What kind of hope? Waiting for a wealth fare check to be in the mailbox every month? That kind of hope? Or hope to become a POTUS someday? And to realize that the only way to get there is to mess around with people like Ayers, Resko, Farrakan,Wright and Odinga? Or with crooked organizations like ACORN and many more?
If conservative people defend Powell choice or brags about Obama charisma, I guess they merit Obama as a President. They are completely blinded. Their nose is to close to the tree, they cannot see the forest. They have no vision. Conservatives outside the U.S. sees that, but Conservatives in the U.S. doesn’t. It is scary. I find some liberals blogs to have more insight on Obama and Powell than some conservative blog sites. Remarkable!
I have a great respect for the General as well. Always have and always will. I have heard him speak on many occasions while I served at the DIA and elsewhere. In fact, I saw him and Cheney everyday during that period as they walked by my cubicle to get their daily briefs. I had high hopes for Powell to run the good race and I certainly would have been a vote he could have counted on. The issue still remains, associations and relationships are important per my earlier comments. In the shortened version of his endorsement, he was wrong on two counts. Conservatives, as a group, did not pick up the banter and call Obama a Muslim. I remember that came from the Hillary supporters. He was wrong to say we did. Both counts he was wrong and he should have known better. I do believe that he endorsed for other reasons. Why not keep quiet and let things go as they would. I am not a mind reader but . . . IMHO, there was more to it than what he said.
The reference to Kahn was a non sequitur and served no real purpose in his endorsement. Kahn was a hero. I worked closely with and taught many Muslims while working and living in Thailand. One in particular was from Bengladesh, my student, and one from Iraq, my dear colleague. If I ever had doubts about Islam as a religion, I just visited with them for awhile and my head got straight.
BTW, yours is the first blog I read before I go to teach here in China.
This article might give some answers on Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama and might also bring the Jewish vote to McCain.
SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR COLIN POWELL
At every turn, regardless of what Israel has done to defend itself against intensifying Palestinian terrorism, Secretary of State Colin Powell, or one of his underlings, has been quick to launch a verbal broadside against the Jewish state.
Whether it is the use of economic sanctions against the Palestinian Authority, the pinpoint targeting of wanted terrorists planning attacks, or even the demolition of buildings used to carry out armed assaults against soldiers and civilians, Israel, it seems, can do nothing right in Powell’s eyes.
On February 25, (2001) shortly after assuming his post, Powell told a press conference that it was time for Israel “to lift the siege as soon as possible to get economic activity restarted” in the Palestinian areas.
The “siege” to which Powell was referring was Israel’s decision to limit the entry of Palestinian workers and to encircle Palestinian cities to prevent the smuggling of suicide bombers and to punish the PA for sponsoring terror. So, it would seem, then, that the secretary of state is adamantly opposed to the use of economic sanctions against a recalcitrant foe. And yet, America itself imposes such sanctions when it comes to rogue countries that sponsor terror such as Iraq, Iran, Libya and Afghanistan.
This raises an interesting question worthy of being addressed by Powel:
Read the rest:
http://christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/aug01/7questions.html
Craig, you’re making flawed assumptions, leading you to equally flawed conclusions.
Mr. Wordsmith, please inform us what those flawed assumptions and flawed conclusions are. I am not sure what I believe or not believe about Powel’s time at the State Department. I have absolutely no use for the majority of the people I was forced to deal with at the State Department. The ones I know and worked with (if one really can work WITH a dedicated left-wing liberal) were not nice people. But after spending a year studying Hebrew at FSI in Roslyn, Virginia, the Israelis teachers (big time Zionists for sure) there were not nice people either. I came to have a low opinion of both Israelis and the State Department people at the same time.
My student from Bangladesh commented that Israelis and Palestinians deserved each other for their hate-filled rhetoric and action. Having spent time in Israel, it is not difficult to agree with him. The Israelis are NOT nice people. The Palestinians are not nice people. Geez, everyone I had to deal with on that assignment ended up being NOT NICE PEOPLE. Guess that is why I was so happy to get back to Asia!
I look forward to the flawed assumptions and flawed conclusion because I simply have no idea what you meant.
Cecil, it’s part of a conversation carried over from this post.
Craig says Powell knows that “Obama is a socialist/communist bum who hangs around with terrorists, crooks and Anti-Americans.“. That’s a flawed assumption. That Colin Powell “knows this” or “believes this”. Like many who live in the mainstream and follow mainstream media, many don’t know or don’t believe “Obama is a socialist/communist bum who hangs around with terrorists, crooks and Anti-Americans.“.
Do I really need to point out how that leads to wrongful conclusions, based upon “projecting thoughts into other people’s heads”?
Wordsmith, you got to be kidding me. Powell wouldn’t know about Obama’s evil associations? You really think that Powell is a complete idiot? Come on! Get real!
Craig,
Do you think most Americans who follow a newspaper “know about Obama’s evil associations”? He’s heard of Ayers, Rezko, Wright, etc. I’m sure. But he probably does not share your “right-wing” beliefs on the extent of the connections. Do you not understand that? If he, and mainstream Americans did share your beliefs on the depth and breadth of those connections, then I doubt they’d be supporting Obama to the extent and degree that he has their support.
Obama: Powell will have a role in adminstration
Just read this headline over at Freerepublic. Ulterior motive? Did I mention something about such a thing? Now it all makes sense to me. The General sold out, otherwise, why not keep silent on endorsements in deference to a “supposed” friend. Me thinks the General just got bought since the General figures Obama has won this race.
A false assumption leading to a false conclusion? No, just expressing an opinion. I am deeply disappointed in General Powel. Reality or the appearance of reality play a very important role in how people are perceived.
Powell is not just another “mainstream American”, Wordsmith. I can’t believe I have to remind you this.
With regret I disagree with you wordsmith. I respectfully add that there is no one that wants to know, that doesn’t know about Obamas FRIENDS. We assume too much sometimes that others aren’t as smart or inquisitive as we are. The Obama supporters all know, but just don’t care. As to being a Muslim, it’s the Muslims that claim him and not us saying so, they say once a muslim always a Muslim. Who’s right, and is it true, is in the mind of the beholder isn’t it?
Go around and ask your average person. Most get their news from mainstream sources. Not right-wing blogs. Even following FOX News doesn’t draw the kinds of connections to Ayers that you and I might see on blogs like this. And those who have read deeper into the connections still come to reject our “facts” as speculation, if not “right-wing fantasy”.
It doesn’t matter what Muslims may feel and say on this. What matters is what Obama considers himself. And that is Christian.
Should Islamic rules apply to the rest of us, when they say cartoon depictions of Mohammed is blaspheme and sacriligious; or should that apply just to Muslims?
I thought Powell’s referencing of Khan was the most noteworthy part of the interview. I sensed more emotion behind his recollection of the photo than I did in his endorsement of Obama. Unfortunately, I can see by some of the posts here that some people still don’t get it.
Fit, you saying anyone doesn’t get it is the height of stupidity and projection on your part.
I have not respected Mr. Powell since the first Gulf War. His direct role in letting the Republican Guard get away was disgusting. He didn’t want us to be seen as “bullies”. That told me he is only worth a damn in peacetime-as a manager. BTW, obama does have associations with radical anti-Americans. They are homegrown, tho.
I was speaking only of his views of the Americans of Islamic faith who are giving their life to defend this country. Thanks for proving my point.
My tolerance for politicians of all hues has finally reached its limit.
Can you say follow the money? http://www.kpcb.com/team/index.php?Colin%20Powell
(kpcb is a leading green consulting firm…http://www.kpcb.com/portfolio/portfolio.php?greentech)
ht: belmont club
Hard Rght,
You need to relax a bit about the First Gulf War. Bush the Elder had brought together a coalition like know other ever seen on the planet. It was a great feat. If we had gone after Saddam, the coalition would have fallen apart and things could have gotten very ugly with the subsequent strife. The pursuing and the removal of Saddam was not part of the agreement among the coalition party. Powel’s hands were tied by the mandate he was operating under. The coalition’s objective was to remove the Iraqi military from Kuwait. That was how Bush the Elder sold it and that was how it had to be played.
Now, since you brought the First Gulf War up, I will throw in some addition “stuff” for fun and relaxation. I was working in the Pentagon in direct support of the war. At the same time, I felt strongly that it was a mistake for us to do what we did. Saudi Arabia could have taken care of the amassing of Iraqi troops on its borders without firing a shot. Hint: the N word.
Please do not be upset with Powel over the First Gulf War. He was following Presidential orders. Hind sight is always better than any general or president in history. I think we have a big reason to be upset with Powel now for selling to Obama.
If Powell had run for president in 1992 I would have voted for him. He was courted assidiously by both parties. In subsequent years I have lost all respect for him. He bucked the president at every turn. He forgot he was a political appointee who served at the president’s pleasure. He forgot he was an advisor whose policies were not the most important. He failed to get Turkey to let us use their entries to Iraq in 2003. I felt he could have succeeded if he had really tried hard enough but he was against the war from the start and did what he could to prove his point.
But the crowning blow was in the Plame affair. He had to have known Armitage was the guilty one and he kept silent and let the democrats have their heyday. It was all a tempest in a teapot and he let it grow to enormous proportions. He let the president and his administration be trashed on a lie. He let an innocent man’s professional life be ruined and if Bush had not stepped in Libby would have gone to prison for years on this lie. It was like he had a grudge against the administration for not following his advice and decided to give no more than token support. It was also like he was in collusion with the dems and Fitgerald in this farce. I think he was so angry about his speech with the UN and never forgave Bush for his perceived betrayal.
The truth of the matter is 1. he is black and they will stick together period. 2. He has been bribed with a position in an Obama admistration. I was not surprised he endorsed Obama. That was a given. He had to have known he was finished as a republican. Very few republicans thought well of him after all that he had done or not done. He, Like most Washington elite, does not care about anything but their own positions in life.
Powell has always been ambilent about his politics. In 1992 no one knew whether he was a democrat or a republican. He has always kept one foot in each camp. And any republican who becomes associated with the State department becomes tainted. (Dems who are associated with the State department are already tainted.) In 2000 he threw his weight towards the republicans. Now he has thrown his weight to the democrats. Four years from now which party will he support? Probably the one that appeases his ego the most.
About Barack Hussein Obama:
Poll finds Americans reject redistribution of wealth as suggested by Barack Hussein Obama
PRINCETON, NJ — When given a choice about how government should address the numerous
economic difficulties facing today’s consumer, Americans overwhelmingly — by 84% to
13% — prefer that the government focus on improving overall economic conditions and
the jobs situation in the United States as opposed to taking steps to distribute wealth
more evenly among Americans.
================================================================================
Barack Hussein Obama is a national security risk: a clear and present danger.
Quote from the Barack Obama book, Audacity of Hope, “I will stand with the Muslims
should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” And this man wants to be
President? I and several tens of millions of people think NOT.
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=32
================================================================================
On February 27, 2007, Barack Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is “one of the
prettiest sounds on Earth.” In an interview with The New York Times, Senator Obama
recited, “with a first-class [Arabic] accent,” the opening lines of this Muslim prayer:
“Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that Muhammad is his prophet… ”
http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-muslim-call-to-prayer-one-of.html
================================================================================
Dubai Ports rejection helped US economic growth
http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0307/0307dubaiportsrejec.htm
Reject Barack Hussein Obama, the Dubai candidate and help US economic growth!
Obama is a national threat:
Quote from the Barack Obama book, Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama: “I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”
And this man wants to be President? I and several tens of millions of people think NOT.
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=68
Ya know, a McCain/Powell ticket would have been a tough one for Obama to deal with as it would have refocused the election on natsec issues. Maybe Powell is just expressing sour grapes that he wasn’t picked and Sarah Palin was? I dunno. Either way, he’s still a moot point to me.
Barbara, you level of ignorance is absolutely astonishing and tragic to say the least. You have completely discredited yourself as a thinking human being and should reframe from infecting the rest of us with your presence. The silver lining in this race is that it is evident that “most” Americans have evolved beyond the level of hatred and racist ideology that some of you display.
Thanks, Adrian, for all the info. Two days ago, I sat across the table from a former Hillary supporter at the McCain volunteer office, and she DEFINITELY did not want Obama as president, and said she spoke for many people like her who think he is far from honest as a candidate. I thanked her for her desire to put country first, and not just party. It took courage to do that.
General Powell says, “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.”
General, which senior leaders? If you’re going to level the charge, better say who it is. Certainly not President Bush, not Vice-President Cheney. In matter of fact, they have gone out of the way to make sure such connotations/insinuations not become the norm.
Craig, INRE your comment:
Americans of all political parties could and should defend *anyone’s* right to make a choice. That *is* America. I may not like someone’s choice, but I’ll fight to the death for his/her right to make that choice…. or I shall lose my own.
I can’t speak for all, but I’d agree with Mike’sA and Scott that it’s disappointing that Powell decided to finally pick a party with which to align… and that party ended up being the Obama party of socialist design. I personally don’t care what Colin Powell thinks, but that is his right as an American. All I can say is, so bloody what? Powell’s opinions do not rule my life, and I doubt he rules most others either.
However we are not “blinded”, nor do we “merit” anything because one man… who’s been liberal in what principles he did deign to speak up on… and decided to support Obama.
Whether Powell actually takes some cabinet position I think remains to be seen. I doubt he’ll go the high profile route, such as the State Department again. He may, however, take a subordinate Defense Dept position. My guess is Powell will no longer want to have his arse on the political front lines…. but consider a supporting role instead. If at all.
~~~
As for the subject of this post, which many wish to ignore to head off on – again – other tangents…. We, as a nation, were lucky to have Khan as part of our military. Considering the nature of the enemy, and his own faith, he must have had firm convictions in America. And I am proud to have called him one of our best and brightest.
Regardless of how much good we try to achieve, for ourselves and for others, it is likely that all of us made mistakes along the way. Powell is no exception to this; he is human. I do defend his right to choose sides, as much as I defend the rights of others to support John McCain. In the Marines, we observed that life isn’t always fair; one “aw crap” has a tendency to wipe out a thousand “atta boys.” At the same time, it is fair to observe a pattern of behavior and make judgments about them. In Powell’s case, he didn’t “win” the first gulf war, Schwarzkopf did . . . and as CJCS, Powell was a message boy between the theater commander and the White House. That Powell had influence with Bush I, there can be little doubt.
But if we are compelled to discredit Colin Powell, (now that he’s endorsed Barack Obama), we only need to observe that Powell sent Paul Bremer to Iraq as special envoy. Between these two diplomatic geniuses, a decision to pursue a hands-off policy with respect to Moqtada al-Sadr set into motion sectarian violence and insurgencies that killed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, and at least three-thousand American servicemen—including Specialist Khan. No matter how you slice it, it was a heavy price to pay for errors in judgment.
Now of course, Mr. Powell suggests that he is disheartened with the vitriol among conservatives that seem to center on Mr. Obama’s past associations. Personally, Obama’s religious preference is not a major concern, other than to say that as an American, I find “black liberation theology” offensive. I would also say that I agree with McCain that William Ayers is a “tired old terrorist.” To what extend Obama is connected to such people has yet to be revealed, but I hardly think it is irrelevant. We do judge people by their associations; it is something our parents warned us about when we were still teenagers. Nevertheless, we can argue that there are only two differences separating William Ayers from Timothy McVey: (1) the amount of explosives used, and (2) McVey is dead.
When Mr. Powell attempts to play-down the Ayers connection, he does himself and our values a grave disservice. He may argue that it doesn’t matter, but I think it does. But what matters even more than Obama’s association with a tired old terrorist is that he has not been honest with the American people about any of his Chicago cronies. If Mr. Obama cannot be up-front with us during a campaign, can we really trust him in the White House? In my view, Mr. Powell has made an error in judgment. Worse, I believe that he traded personal integrity for political expediency. And you know, that really is a shame.
Well Cecil, my understanding was that Powell made the final call on not going after the RG. He himself said as much and for the reason previously stated. He made the decision out of touchy-feely politics. This cost lives later. I have seen nothing that would indicate the RG’s destruction would have hurt the unity of the coalition. When I learned he made the decision, that was the start of a growing dislike I had for him. It only got worse over the years as he displayed his liberal roots. This really came as no suprise to me.
BarbaraS you are correct, despite what james manning says.
I’ve never had very much respect for Powell, but I had more respect for him when he was in the military. He showed what I always suspected him to be, once he got out of uniform, a political ladder-climber, along the lines of Wes Clark.
Powell’s endorsement of O’Bama proves that he’ll put politics (and race) above what’s best for America. I don’t want either one of them near the controls of this country.
James Manning
WOW. What a put down. I must have hit a nerve. The only probelm is that I really don’t care what you think about me or my opinions. You are totally irrelevant. Just another troll at odds with the rest of us. I, like you, am free to offer my opinions as long as the host allows them. You are not the arbitor of this blog.
If you feel you have to be insulting about someone’s opinion then by all means do so. You are free to say whatever you want and anyone interested in reading them can do so. Unfortunately, I am not in that number. Please have the courtesy to let others speak their minds without vitrolic attacks.
Hard Right,
“Well Cecil, my understanding was that Powell made the final call on not going after the RG. He himself said as much and for the reason previously stated. He made the decision out of touchy-feely politics.”
I do not recall that Powell said any such thing. He did, however, repeat and support President Bush’s decision on the situation. In Bush’s book A WORLD TRANSFORMED, Bush makes the argument that taking out Saddam would have fractured the alliance and would have caused much more hardship and lives than the coalition would have allowed. Remember Syria was also part of the alliance and they were Ba’athist along with the Saddam regime.
In 1992, the United States Secretary of Defense during the war, Dick Cheney, made the same point:
“I would guess if we had gone in there, I would still have forces in Baghdad today. We’d be running the country. We would not have been able to get everybody out and bring everybody home. And the final point that I think needs to be made is this question of casualties. I don’t think you could have done all of that without significant additional U.S. casualties, and while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the (1991) conflict, for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for their families, it wasn’t a cheap war. And the question in my mind is, how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is, not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the President made the decision that we’d achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq.”
I was led to believe at that time, that the hope was for the Iraqis to rise up and do the job on Hussein themselves. Unfortunately, when several thousand Iraqis tried to do this in Basra, President Bush and the coalition did nothing to help. This led to the slaughter of those who stood up against Iraq. Basra was not very excited to see troops come in during this last war. Reserved would have been a good way to describe their attitude.
As I stated earlier, relax a bit about Powell and the First Gulf War. He was following orders, orders which were well known at the Pentagon during that time. That was then, this is now. I am completely convinced that Powell has sold out and based on what I have read here and in other places, it did not take much for him to make this decision. It was his decision to make but I question why he made it publicly. Just read where McCain wondered why he was not informed of it. Adds to my strong feelings that Powell sold out bigtime!
Why did Powell do this? To put it simply, payback and opportunity
He wasn’t a fan of both Persian Gulf Wars, he probably resents his role at the UN conference in 2003, Obama has been stroking his ego for the last 12 months, and Powell wants to get back into power again (secretary of state, defense, etc.,).
Barbara! I read your post and found nothing either untrue or racist. some have real problems with the truth and show their ignorance when they attack it. One thing I think you forgot. Powell was responcible for many security leaks, and the real reason Bush didn’t charge anyone, after all he was supposed to be on his side. He was asked to resign and not to stay on until Condi was affirmed, just shown the door.
Cecil, I’m not talking about going in and taking out saddam. I’m talking about destroying his Republican Guard when we had the chance. It was the Discovery channel years ago that I saw the “bully” comment. Destroying the guard and removing saddam from power are not the same things.
Let me clarify:
1) Bush acted on Powell’s recommendation to end hostilities. He was not “just following orders”.
2) Destroying the Republican Gurad was not the same thing as removing saddam from power.
LOL! You have to read this, it is incredible. Joe Biden gaffes again, but this time it is a gift for McCain/Palin
Biden Makes Fantastic Commercial – for McCain
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/
Yeah I saw that Craig, hilarious;
Wordsmith you are the voice of reason on this topic.
And I did not see it above but confess the rants made my eyes sad so I pushed down to the bottom:
Thank You for your Service Kareem. Oorah from this former Marine.
I thought Powell’s referencing of Khan was the most noteworthy part of the interview. I sensed more emotion behind his recollection of the photo than I did in his endorsement of Obama. Unfortunately, I can see by some of the posts here that some people still don’t get it.
Remembering Cpl Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan: