The tragedy of Colin Powell's life

[mia]

Colin Powell Had the Chance to Be a Great Man in a Crucial Moment. He Chose to Be a Loyal Apparatchik.

That is the tragedy of his life.

...One October night in 1973, an attorney general named Eliot Richardson was ordered by Richard Nixon to fire a special prosecutor. This was Richardson’s chance to be a great man, and to influence history for the better, and he took it. He resigned and he told the country why. In February 2003, Colin Powell faced the same choice. I always will believe that he could have stopped the whole catastrophe, or at least tossed a ton of sand in the gears, with one press conference after he’d resigned as Secretary of State. That's if he’d used that sterling public reputation on which Cheney had counted so heavily to tell the country that there were people who wanted a war and who did not care how they got it.

They got their war. Colin Powell helped when he didn’t have to do so, when he knew he didn’t have to do so. Hundreds of thousands of people died. The moment needed an Eliot Richardson. It got Colin Powell, may he rest in peace, a guy who was a good soldier once too often.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a37991036/colin-powell-obituary-george-w-bush-iraq-war/?fbclid=IwAR0aVW6vnxKvaeRi8YYTfzB8OVDD4t5giUtohjlB72xc5Z-7Yn4lEjYNfpI

[Skittles]

1. his tragedy?

fuck him, I will sympathize with all his victims

[gopiscrap]

9. me too

[zipplewrath]

2. Profile in courage

Being a good soldier is about serving others. Powell never understood that at some point, leadership is about being true to the truth, regardless of the consequences. He was a good soldier too long, and never understood the burden of leadership.

[zentrum]

4. He knew.

Intel told them there was no yellow cake.

Remember Valeri Plame?

Powell killed millions with his cowardice.

[Skittles]

11. that's what struck me the most about that "test tube display"

I could tell he did not even believe what he was saying. Disgusting.

[NH Ethylene]

5. He could have stopped the momentum toward war.

Whether that would have prevented the war or not is anyone's guess.

I was bitterly disappointed with him at the time. I hold no longstanding grudge against him though. He was weak at a time when great strength was needed. And he was just one of the many 'players' who contributed to the forward march to war. This includes the majority who voted to allow the invasion. They are all equally culpable to each other.

I am not a vengeful person. We all make mistakes in our lives, some of them big ones. There is only one man I will never forgive foir this atrocity. He is the one who constructed the false WMD evidence and knew it was wrong to invade Iraq. He did it for power and money. He knew many people would die and he just didn't care. And of course, that is Darth Vader himself, Dick Cheney. Everyone else played a supporting role.

I am saving my wrath for HIS epitat.

[mia]

6. Well said.

Thank you.

[Skittles]

12. Cheney could not have done it alone

he need others to pimp for his lies - people like Powell

[NH Ethylene]

14. And all those in Congress who voted and the puppet Bush.

There is plenty of blame to go around. If you like simmering in rage each time one of them dies, then enjoy. I save my contempt for the truly evil among us.

[Skittles]

15. he pimped for the war (remember the vial?) with THESE warmongering pieces of shit

Colin went ABOVE AND BEYOND, pimping for a senseless war, like he had learned NOTHING from Vietnam

[Hav]

17. "Cheney could not have done it alone"

That is true but for some strange reason people are less charitable in their assessment of Powell's role and influence. Reading some posts here, one could almost believe that Powell could have single-handedly prevented the Iraq war. It's all on him.

He knowingly lied and lacked the courage to do what was right when he neither believed the fake intel nor in the need for military intervention. But I also think this focus on blaming Powell is minimizing the roles of the likes of Rumsfeld and Cheney

[Withywindle]

18. I'm not angry at him for failing to prevent the war

I'm angry at him for not even trying. At the very least, resigning to not attach his name to the shameful legacy, and having it stated on the record that he was opposed.

If he had done that, the conversation around his death here would be very different.

When Cheney dies, we're all going to metaphorically guzzle a keg of beer so our tanks are fully loaded for the grave-pissing party. I haven't seen anyone here saying Cheney wasn't the worst of the worst.

I think Powell could have chosen to be better, and he just didn't.

[malaise]

7. Good read

The truth - rec

[Solly Mack]

10. K&R

[niyad]

13. KNR

[Hekate]

16. Once again, Charles Pierce leaves me with much to think about

KnR