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| Colin Powell: White House's Murtha Attack 'Disgraceful' | |
| 2005-11-25 | |
| An angry former Secretary of State Colin Powell is blasting the Bush White House for attacking Rep. Jack Murtha, who undermined troop morale and encouraged al Qaida last week with his call for an immediate U.S. pullout from Iraq. "To attack him the way he was attacked, accusing him of being a Michael Moore, was disgraceful and was not worthy," a Powell told the New York Post's Deborah Orin, who described him as "livid." "Jack Murtha is great friend of mine," Powell declared. "He's a great patriot. "I don't agree with his position," the former top Bush diplomat said. "But he has started a debate which is a good debate to have as to how long we should be there." Hours after Murtha called for an immediate pullout last Thursday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan compared him to Michael Moore. Two days later, however, both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney went out of their way to describe Murtha as "honorable." Still, Powell focused instead on the earlier remark, and said nothing about the olive branch offered by Bush and Cheney. The one-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also suggested that the war on terror wasn't quite as serious as other challenges the U.S. has faced. "We're not facing a world war anymore," Powell told the Post. "We have pretty much convinced the world that democracy is a better system than communism or fascism or totalitarianism." Colin continues to slink into Neverland. At what point does a retired Marine and retired general become normal humans again, not beyond reproach?
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| Posted by:Captain America |
| #13 Well said, YA. |
| Posted by: mac 2005-11-25 21:29 |
| #12 I'm sorry and I'm sure I'll be attacked and accused of lying, but I don't care. I spent over 21 years on full active duty. I knew many senior officers in charge of me and junior enlisted I was in charge of who may have dedicated their lives to the military. Here's the bad part. Not all were deserving of my respect. Any honest person who served for long periods will admit that serving should not be a free pass for respect (unless your talking to extreme leftists). Even some who were, by circumstances, placed in a position that brought praise upon them, were not someone I would trust with my life most of the time. While I don't know Murtha's whole life experience, I do know that he was considered a Marine officer during my entire career, and yet he never was active, in a war or peaceful operation, during that entire time. He was a "fortunate son" rep during that entire time and yet he continues to use that time as a reason for credibility, and for a higher retirement pay. This is a whole different world, militarily, than when he was active duty. And yet his opinion is given more weight than the majority of the officers and enlisted on the ground. The same, unfortunately, goes for Colin Powell. Doing a good job in one circumstance does not translate into an expert in all circumstances. I respected him for some specific jobs he did, but overall, in my opinion, he has been a detriment to many of our operations. And Shipman: I could give my true name and it would mean absolutely no more than yours or any one else's name on this site, so get of your high horse. My belief: Judge people by what they do, not by what they've done. |
| Posted by: Yes, anonymous 2005-11-25 20:00 |
| #11 Shipman: Note it's from anonymous Woulda Shoulda1066 nitwits. It's politically incorrect (among conservatives) to say it, but veterans are citizens like other people - they are not beyond criticism. Shipman thinks we should regard them as gods on earth, but I don't. Powell's defense of Murtha is unworthy because Murtha is advocating a military withdrawal that could result in thousands of American civilian deaths when the terrorists come calling, emboldened by their victory in Iraq. To people like Murtha and Powell, civilian deaths don't count - the only ones that matter are military ones. The fact is that 9/11 occurred because the military failed to deter the Arab world thanks to people like Powell, who engineered the humiliating withdrawal from Beirut after the bombing of the Marine barracks that resulted in the deaths of 200 Marines. I guess to Powell, they were just Marines. Powell's State Department plotted and leaked against this administration domestically, while not only failing to make its case to foreign countries, but actively disparaging it as well. If he were white, this saboteur would have been booted out in GWB's first term. |
| Posted by: Elmenter Snineque1852 2005-11-25 19:29 |
| #10 Is Collin posturing for a run for the prez on a Dem ticket? Or is he back to smoking crack. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-11-25 19:19 |
| #9 When the only media that covers you is NewsMax, you've really sunk low, especially when you're stidking up for a MSM hero. Somebody should stick a fork in Colin so he knows he's done. |
| Posted by: Slesh Clavising6784 2005-11-25 19:09 |
| #8 Here is the link: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/11/25/100016.shtml |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-11-25 18:41 |
| #7 Powell is probably on the Saudi payroll, like a lot of ex-generals and State Department people who used to cover the region. Affirmative Action! Be, all that you can be! Note it's from anonymous Woulda Shoulda1066 nitwits. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-11-25 14:57 |
| #6 "And never entirely clear to me how his record up til that point translated into his elevation into the Joint Chiefs of Staff position." Affirmative Action! Be, all that you can be! |
| Posted by: Jeaper Threaper4347 2005-11-25 14:07 |
| #5 Veterans are just like everybody else - no one is beyond reproach. Powell is probably on the Saudi payroll, like a lot of ex-generals and State Department people who used to cover the region. It's kind of weird that Powell thinks terrorism's not such a big threat, given that more civilians have died on American soil from it than from any other international conflict in history. I guess he thinks big threats are ones that endanger the US military. |
| Posted by: Elmenter Snineque1852 2005-11-25 14:04 |
| #4 "We're not facing a world war anymore," Powell told the Post. "We have pretty much convinced the world that democracy is a better system than communism or fascism or totalitarianism." Except for 1.2 billion Muslims who fervently believe that Islam is better than everything else and are determined to kill everyone who disagrees. But nooooooo, that doesn't qualify as a "world war," no sir... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-11-25 13:51 |
| #3 his boy Armitage is now widely understood to have been the original Plame -outer to Woodward...thanks for standing up, Colon |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-11-25 13:41 |
| #2 He's sounding more and more like Jimmy Carter. Is there a cardigan under that suit? |
| Posted by: Curt Simon 2005-11-25 13:25 |
| #1 Colin continues to slink into Neverland. At what point does a retired Marine and retired general become normal humans again, not beyond reproach? Quite. I'd expect a former US Marine (Murtha) or soldier (Powell) to be more likely than a civilian to understand a military situation. But it's only 60/40, not a lead-pipe cinch. And Powell always was squishy. Always. And never entirely clear to me how his record up til that point translated into his elevation into the Joint Chiefs of Staff position. |
| Posted by: PJC 2005-11-25 13:04 |