Commentary: Colin Powell in Aspen: "I tried to avoid this war"
Here's a perfect example of “the leisure of the theory class”-->
Over the last week the Aspen Institute has been holding its annual “Ideas Festival” up in the Colorado Rockies. Here is the mission statement from the website:
“In this, its third year, Aspen Ideas Festival will once again gather scientists, artists, politicians, historians, educators, activists, and other great thinkers around some of the most important and fascinating ideas of our time. As these thinkers present their provocative ideas, they engage a sophisticated and highly motivated audience.”
Colin Powell this week in Aspen:
“I tried to avoid this war…I took him (Bush) through the consequences of going into an Arab country and becoming the occupiers.”
“The civil war will ultimately be resolved by a test of arms…It’s not going to be pretty to watch, but I don’t know any way to avoid it. It is happening now.”
“It is not a civil war that can be put down or solved by the armed forces of the United States.” All the military can do, Powell suggested, is put “a heavier lid on this pot of boiling sectarian stew”.
“We have to face the reality of the situation that is on the ground and not what we would want it to be.”
“America’s volunteer army is already overstretched. Bush will be forced to face the situation on the ground and alter course by the end of this year.”
“Al-Qaeda is only 10% of the problem in Iraq and Nouri al-Maliki (prime minister) lacks the political will to establish an effective government.”
On Syria and Iran: “You have to talk to the people you dislike most in this dangerous world.”
“Shi’ites will ultimately prevail because they are 60% of the population and their militias can be pretty violent. They will prevail also because they are determined not to be ruled again by the Sunnis.”
“The Sunnis are struggling for power and survival and it’s going to be resolved by a test of arms. It’s going to be very ugly.”
Comment:
I applaud Mr. Powell for his candor, I agree with his assessments, but it’s hard to get the memory of his WMD charts out of my head. It's not that Powell is responsible for getting us into Iraq. It's that he failed to stand-up for his principles against Cheney at the time. In not making a full disclosure to Congress that we were heading for disaster Powell in effect gave his consent, albeit reluctantly.
One wonders where we’d be now had McNamara caved so quickly on the naval blockade argument in the Cuban Missile Crisis? The Joint Chiefs were pushing Kennedy for an all-out invasion of Cuba. As the deliberations wore on McNamara built support; Kennedy chose the blockade, wisely as it turned out.
Powell on the other hand we now learn spent a whole 2 ½ hours trying to persuade his boss not to blunder into our worst tragedy since Vietnam. He should have resigned when he realized Bush would use bad intelligence to deceive Americans—instead he chose to play the starring role. Now he says he tried to stop the carnage but his pleas fell on deaf ears, sounds a bit like George Tenet doesn't he? Colin Powell's statements this week were accurate, and I am glad he is advocating for withdrawal, but isn’t it too little too late?
Sadly…sometimes what lies at the center of a storm is a deafening silence.
Powell tried to talk Bush out of war. July 8, 2007