| Sunday, October 01, 2006 |
| 'Fall on your damn sword and kill yourself, and I'll be happy, too.' |
The WaPo has a fascinating, long account of Colin Powell's constant humiliation by the Bush team, including a lengthy recounting of Powell's lowest moment in public life: his now infamous Iraq speech before the United Nations (it's a clip from an upcoming book on Powell.) The piece contains nothing new, but it's a sad and rather pathetic account of just how badly Powell allowed himself to be used by the hawks inside the administration, who were bent on war, but cared nothing for what the drive toward war would do to America's standing in the world, let alone Powell's. On the infamous U.N. presentation, the piece reads:
In addition to proving the charges against Iraq, Wilkerson believed, they had to protect Powell's integrity against those within the administration who had long been out to tarnish it. There was a widespread belief among the secretary's loyal aides -- privately shared by Powell himself, although he brushed it off as meaningless political gamesmanship in conversations with them -- that both White House political adviser Karl Rove and Cheney had actively plotted to undermine him for the past three years. Powell had laughed when he described to his aides how the vice president, after a discussion of the upcoming U.N. speech, had poked him jocularly in the chest and said, "You've got high poll ratings; you can afford to lose a few points." Cheney's idea of Powell's U.N. mission, Wilkerson thought, was to "go up there and sell it, and we'll have moved forward a peg or two. Fall on your damn sword and kill yourself, and I'll be happy, too."
What must really eat away at Mr. Powell is the fact that he, not the president, is probably the person most responsible for selling a majority of Americans on the idea of going to war with Iraq. As the article points out:
The next day, opinion polls indicated that national opinion had shifted literally overnight; most Americans surveyed said they believed an invasion was justified to protect the nation. Those closest to Powell were relieved, but worried about both him and the nation. His wife, Alma, had a sense of foreboding; her husband, she thought, was being used by the White House. Powell's daughter Linda, who had listened to the speech on the radio, had found his performance unsettling. His voice was strained, she thought, as if he were trying to inject passion into the dry words through the sheer force of his will.
Wilkerson, who had left the United Nations immediately after the speech and returned to his hotel room to fall into a deep sleep, awoke depressed. Later, when it became clear that much of the speech on which he had worked so hard was based on lies, he would come to think of that week as "the lowest moment of my life." Back in Washington, he ordered special plaques with Powell's signature made up for the State Department aides who had worked so hard to make the presentation happen.
When they were handed out, Powell asked Wilkerson why he hadn't ordered one for himself. Wilkerson replied that he didn't want one. (The piece also points out that Powell's wife, Alma, knew right away that her husband was being used.)
And Powell still won't speak up? (Unless you believe the story that most of the Bush bashing tell-alls have relied heavily on Powell as a source).
The good soldier thing is wearing thin, Colin. If you detest these people (like Mr. Wilkerson clearly does) just say so. It might even be liberating for you.
Tags: Bush, White House, Politics, Bush, Iraq, President Bush, Colin Powell |
posted by JReid @ 2:07 AM   |
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