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| Powell Says U.S. Was 'Too Loud' Over Iraq |
| 2005-03-31 |
| The United States made errors in presenting its case for war against Iraq, but Saddam Hussein had to be removed, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told a German magazine. "We were sometimes too loud, too direct, perhaps we made too much noise," Powell told Stern magazine in an interview released on Wednesday. "That certainly shocked the Europeans sometimes." He said terms like "Old Europe," the expression coined by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to describe countries such as France and Germany which opposed the war, had not helped ease European concerns about Washington's policies. But he said that despite the problems facing U.S. troops in Iraq, it was better that Saddam Hussein was no longer in power. "Yes, the insurgency is much bigger than we anticipated. But I'm glad that Saddam is in jail," he said in the German article. Powell said he had argued for a diplomatic solution against cabinet colleagues such as Vice President Dick Cheney, who did not believe that diplomacy would work. "The situation with Saddam Hussein had to be resolved, either by taming him or by removing him by military means," he said. "I'm sure that the Vice President's view from the very beginning was: we'll never solve this through diplomatic means." Powell said he was "furious and angry" that he had been misinformed about Iraq's stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction when he laid out the case for war before the United Nations Security Council in February, 2003. "It was information from our security services and from some Europeans, including Germans. Some of this information was wrong. I did not know this at the time," he told the magazine. "Hundreds of millions followed it on television. I will always be the one who presented it. I have to live with that." But he said he had never considered resigning and rejected suggestions that his relationship with President Bush was a cool one. "Anyone who says that has no idea. We are friends," he said. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 Once again, we are supposed to apologize for who we are and how people respond to us? We don't do that, Mr. Powell, you ought to know better and not shame your country in this way. You were there during the real duress and didn't flinch; now you want to apologize for our nature? You are no better than those Americans who were quick to send email apologies to Europeans about the results of our elections. Sickening. Too f'ing bad if the Europeans thought we spoke too loud. They are no people to judge. |
| Posted by: jules2 2005-03-31 1:08:42 PM |
| #5 "We were sometimes too loud, too direct, perhaps we made too much noise," Powell told Stern magazine in an interview released on Wednesday. "That certainly shocked the Europeans sometimes." Tough. Shit. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-03-31 12:12:47 PM |
| #4 Sarge, Good points. While I'm not a Powell fan (always thought he was too much an insider), I'm constantly amazed at the flak he took on sites such as this one for pushing for a diplomatic solution when he was (after all) the nation's top diplomat. As you said, where he really failed was in either not realizing the inmates were running the asylum at State or not being able to stop them. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2005-03-31 12:01:14 PM |
| #3 Powell is in a no-win situation. Everything he says will be viewed through a prism by the MSM and the worst points about Bush will be highlighted. He was offering an honest opinion about the policy in with clear hindsight. He is a good soldier and statesman but he likes to play the referee more than the participant. For that reason I thought he would have done well at State. Unfortuantely he didn't realize the extent that the 'old guard' were entrenched and he go little support for the aggressive Bush policy. They would rather a tyrant stay in power for decades (or die of old age, see Arafat) than help remove him from office. I really thinbk that Powell should run for the Senate in New York. He would clobber Hillary and he would probably be a better fit in the Senate. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-03-31 11:46:54 AM |
| #2 Colin's wife, Alma, didn't want him to pursue a poliitical career. I think she need no longer worry. Start working on those memoirs, Colin. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-03-31 10:26:45 AM |
| #1 The last time I checked, you are the one who made the presentation. So blame yourself, take the moron survey then go and hide in your retirement hole. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-03-31 10:20:48 AM |