Colin Powell: No Good Samaritan, only Bush's Deal Sealer

[mmonk]

It might not be exactly kosher to repost somebody else's opinion piece, like Ray McGovern's May 28th one, "Colin Powell: No Good Samaritan" (first posted at Consortium News) but I need to add my two cents. Specifically I can confirm that it was indeed Colin Powell's presentation to the U.N that was the straw that broke the camel's back in convincing the main stream media of Bush-Cheney's pretexts to invade Iraq.

-snip-

Although it's still painful to remember and recount--as throwing oneself at a train always is--I've just promised to write a little summary of my "60 Minutes" interview that landed on their cutting room floor on March 7, 2003 for SIBEL EDMONDS: Announcing 'Project Expose MSM'. There were probably many reasons that nothing from the canisters and canisters of film produced from that painful "60 Minutes" interview ever aired on their program that war-fevered week. The significant investment of time and resources Scott Pelley ended up wasting on my warnings about launching war on Iraq less than 48 hours from their Sunday night show time, however, was evidence itself of the bit of open-mindedness the show's producers retained even at that late date. But Victoria Clark, Rumsfeld's media assistant, and other Pentagon officials had not been hard at work for nothing the prior couple of months, not only leaking the Pentagon's "Embedding the Media" Plan to sway them but also inserting the Pentagon Pundit Program participants--all pro-war military retirees--into media talking head positions. Still, the 60 Minutes Reporter candidly admitted to me on March 7, 2003 that it was Colin Powell who had closed the deal for him and other main stream media.

-snip

Ray McGovern doesn't hold back, either, in discussing Powell's key role as Bush's deal sealer:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/coleen-rowley/colin-powell-no-good-sama_b_209704.html

[thunder rising]

1. Powell took an oath to uphold the CONSTITUTION; instead he upheld the psychotic killers

No sympathy from me ... a vet.

[mmonk]

2. Then you'll appreciate this in the piece from Ray McGovern's reposted piece:

-snip-

Powell's well-documented disregard for those who have borne the brunt of the battle places him in the company of the priest and the Levite - in the Good Samaritan parable - who, seeing the man attacked by robbers on the side of the road, walked right on by.

Sadly, Powell has a long record of placing the wounded and the vulnerable on his list of priorities far below his undying need to get promoted or to promote himself. Powell's rhetoric, of course, would have us believe otherwise.

-snip-

[ecoalex51]

4. Powell has an history of ignoring Morality

The UN lies,which he knew were lies wasn't the first moral lapse.He has shown at least 2 other times his allegiance is to power, not his service members,or innocent people.His attempted history rewrite in his speaking jaunts is disgusting.It ain't gonna work,just like Cheney, Feith,Perle,et al they can't rewrite ,it's on video you bastards video doesn't lie.

[mmonk]

5. Yes he has because he has been a yes man to leaders a long time

probably for advancement purposes.

[mmonk]

3. So was Powell indeed a closer or an all too easy excuse for the media or both?

[Gabi Hayes]

6. you could go back to My Lai, but here's a stop worth revisiting, from the Consortium

Behind Colin Powell's Legend: Arms to Iraq?

By Robert Parry & Norman Solomon

For the past five years, Gen. Colin Powell has basked in the glory of the Persian Gulf War victory. That fame elevated Powell to Washington super-star status, as his best-selling memoirs wowed the news media and his celebrity left many Republicans pining for his entry into the 1996 presidential race.

But newly declassified documents suggest that in 1986, Powell was a player in the secret -- and possibly illegal -- policy to supply Saddam Hussein's military with American-designed equipment that boosted Iraq's air mobility, a capability that helped Iraq conquer Kuwait in 1990 and touch off the Persian Gulf crisis in the first place.

Two notations written by then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger on Jan. 6, 1986, describe discussions between Weinberger and his chief military assistant, Powell, about shipments of Italian Agusta-Bell helicopters to Iraq, while Saddam's forces were fighting the Iran-Iraq war.

"Saw Colin Powell - re Italian Agosta helicopters," Weinberger scrawled, "try to let them sell to Iraq." According to the notes Powell returned later that day with a response. "Colin Powell," Weinberger wrote cryptically in a barely legible hand, "all to add 110 million to get Italian helicopters."

Though the precise context of the Weinberger-Powell discussion was unclear -- and neither man would agree to clarify the meaning -- the notes fit with other evidence showing that Weinberger and other top Reagan-Bush officials were working to ship military equipment secretly through third countries to Iraq.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/colin10.html

[mmonk]

7. Yes they all saw Saddam as important against Iran.

I guess they also had to counter the weapons the Republicans gave Iran. Anyone have a score card?