Powell's Chief of Staff: Iraq Intel Was 'Outright Lies', But Powell Didn't 'Knowingly Lie' at U.N.

[BradBlog]

Source: BRAD BLOG



Powell's Chief of Staff: Iraq Intel Was 'Outright Lies', But Powell Didn't 'Knowingly Lie' at U.N.
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson is 'increasingly convinced' of blatant fabrications by George W. Bush's team and the CIA, but says that a specific critique of his former boss cited by The BRAD BLOG 'desecrates a fair condemnation of what is already bad enough'...

In a response to a charge cited by The BRAD BLOG on Tuesday that then Sec. of State Colin Powell "knowingly lied" during his infamous February 5, 2003 presentation of false intelligence to the U.N. Security Council about the need to attack Iraq, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Powell's Chief of Staff at the time, characterizes the allegations as unfair.

In his response, he says the points made in support of that claim as "misleading and even spurious" and "not supported in the surrounding narrative."

"I have admitted what a hoax we perpetrated," says Wilkerson in his reply today, sent in response to our request for comment. "But it actually spoils or desecrates a fair condemnation of what is already a bad enough set of misstatements, very poor intelligence analysis, and --- I am increasingly convinced, outright lies --- to take the matter to absurdity with one man, in this case Powell."

David Swanson, who authored the charges in question, as cited earlier this week by The BRAD BLOG, disputes Wilkerson's response. The full remarks by both men are posted in full at the end of this article…

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9881

Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9881

[OKNancy]

1. I always figured Powell was "Susan Rice'd"

He was told what to say

[elleng]

2. EXACTLY.

He tried hard to learn the truth AND include the truth in his statement, but 'they' kept reinserting it. The guy was definitely 'Susan Rice'd,' or more appropriately, Susan Rice was 'Powell'd.'

[GeorgeGist]

6. Powell is a traitor. He belongs in prison. Period.

[still_one]

11. Not even close.

[Zoeisright]

18. You're right. It's not "close".

It's dead fucking on. I'm fucking sick of apologists making excuses for all the war criminals in Bush's cabinet. Including Powell, Kindasleezy Rice, Dumsfeld, Darth Cheney, and all the rest of those assholes.

[just1voice]

38. Yes, Powell is a traitor, he conspired to commit war

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_on_the_Record_Report

This report contains 237 claims for specific misleading statements made by:

* Colin Powell
* Donald Rumsfeld
* Condoleezza Rice
* George W. Bush
* Dick Cheney

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. Absolutely.

[NeoConsSuck]

23. +1000

Ask the million or so familes of Iraq who lost family members in the war to liberate the oil fields if we should give Powell a break.

The man is a scumbag war criminal.

[RiverNoord]

30. I'm afraid I agree.

Powell was the one of the very few individuals who could have either acted:

1) honorably in opposition to those whom he knew were preparing a war based on complete bullshit,

2) dishonorably in concert with those very same people, adopting the bullshit as his own lies,

AND, had he opposed the bullshit, might have prevented the war.


He made his choice, and knowingly lied to the entire world in support of the pursuit of the war. Quite literally. He deserves nothing but scorn for his part in the conspiracy.

[graham4anything]

3. I believe Wilerson. Powell was McNamara'd.

[triplepoint]

4. Bullshit! powell lied, MANY people died!

Last edited Wed Feb 20, 2013, 10:04 PM - Edit history (5)

Pass a fucking polygraph monsieur powell and then I might begin to believe you. In for a penny (My Lai), in for a pound, eh general? You're a fucking war criminal many times over, and history won't be revised to suit you either!
.
.
In for a penny..

My Lai Massacre, Vietnam "War"
.
.
.
In for a pound..

Haditha Massacre, Iraq "War"
.

LIAR! LIAR! Your Career's in the Fire!
.
.
.

[DeSwiss]

47. +1000

[blkmusclmachine]

5. So, the feds lied, and their media empire went along with all of the propoganda

?

[Archae]

7. Powell went along because he was rewarded, just like My Lai.

He helped whitewash the My Lai massacre.

From Wikipedia:

He was charged with investigating a detailed letter by Tom Glen (a soldier from the 11th Light Infantry Brigade), which backed up rumored allegations of the My Lai Massacre. Powell wrote: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Later, Powell's assessment would be described as whitewashing the news of the massacre, and questions would continue to remain undisclosed to the public. In May 2004 Powell said to television and radio host Larry King, "I mean, I was in a unit that was responsible for My Lai. I got there after My Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored."[17]

[Sekhmets Daughter]

16. My brother

My brother did 2 tours in Vietnam. He was home for R & R between tours and he had several stories of Vietnamese villagers helping soldiers find their way when they became lost in the jungle, which I guess was pretty common (getting lost). He re-upped after one such incident ultimately cost those villagers their lives. He died in Binh Long Province in June of 1969. I hate war, I hate the MIC and I hate all of the lying bullshit re: Iraq. But I can't say with certainty I think Powell is dirty....

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. So if all of this was fabricated - why aren't they all in jail?

Bush gave medals to these people. Bush failed with 9/11 too.

[pangaia]

9. I just do not believe Powell didn't know the truth.

I mean.. I KNEW THE TRUTH. And I'm just a drummer with too many advanced degrees.

.

[John2]

17. I don't see how anybody

outside of the Intelligence community can say they knew the truth even though they had doubts? I do not go that far even though I had doubts.

I'm still looking at General Powell's overall career and his actions after knowing the truth. He has totally rejected the neocons and left the Bush Administration after that first Term.

Objectively, Swanson makes his claims by the support of one intelligence agency out of sixteen. His claim is that this one intelligence agency resided in the U.S. State Department but the head of both the CIA and that particular agency was George Tenet. Apparently they changed the command structure right after Tenet resigned. Colonel Wilkerson's claim is they put the information back in after Tenet advocated it. Tenet reportedly was the cabinet officer that had the most direct influence with Vice President Cheney and President Bush for building the evidence to take this country to War against Iraq. It was Tenet that was in charge of all the Intelligence agencies. If there was any fabrications, it seems to me it would be the guy using his influence as head of the CIA to misinform people.

[pangaia]

24. Hi John,

I can not argue with you at all.
And maybe I just think I am clairvoyant. But, way before March 2003-way, way before.. I can remember it suddenly hitting me that--holy crap- these guys are actually going to invade Iraq, come hell or high water.They're really going to do this... and nobody knows but me. And my feeling then was that it would change everything and would bring down the US in some way.

I believe there are different ways to know things. This was... instinct.

[RiverNoord]

31. Actually, I KNEW, simply by observation of people telling lies badly...

that all the WMD claims were bullshit. I didn't need clairvoyance to know, really know, a barrage of bullshit when I saw it. Doesn't anyone recall the fact that U.N. weapons observers got pretty damn good access to just about everywhere under Iraqi government control well before the war, and found absolutely nothing? Seriously, 'mobile WMD laboratories?' What an incredible load of crap.

I had my 'oh hell' moment when Powell delivered his garbage presentation to the U.N. - at that point I knew it was not 'brinksmanship' designed to pressure the Iraqi government - it was war and nothing was going to stop it.

I recall seeing Donald Rumsfeld on a talk show early in the war saying something like: "We know where the WMD's are. They're around Baghdad and Tikrit to the north, south, east and west." He literally referred to all four directions describing the 'location' of the 'WMD's.' Any relatively competent used-car salesman can see the bullshit being thrown around by that SOB....

[pangaia]

34. Right, exactly..

I heard all of that also and heard the same truths and lies you did.
But it was way before that that I had my 'epiphany' .
Then all that you mention happened as proof.
terrible terrible stuff...

[DeSwiss]

48. Powell's lies began in Vietnam with My Lai.

That's where he seems to have first sold himself down-river. As for his latest atrocities against humanity, well, the TRUTH about ''yellow cake'' being a bullshit CIA story (does the names Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame ring any bells?), and it was also in all the newspapers of the time as I recall.

- And considering the origin of these goddamned lies was George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, only an imbecile wouldn't have questioned it's authenticity.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger_uranium_forgeries

[SkyDaddy7]

25. To be fair...

You did not know the truth, you & many of us were very skeptical but NONE of us knew the truth for sure...Powell on the other hand is getting all the intel briefings & opinions from folks he trusted...Powell was USED for his respectability & Powell will forever pay that price. I know of other none related matters where Powell was opposed to what the Cheney/Bush administration were doing...Especially how the Cheney/Bush admin were with Iran! But that is a completely different subject.

Cheney/Rumsfeld/Bush were routing info past Powell when he was SoS...They did not like him strictly because he was a voice of reason.

I don't hold Powell guilty of anything other trusting people he should have been able to trust but was not the case.

[Blue4Texas]

28. Powell was used by Bush and Company

Because Powell had a reputation of being trustworthy

[Skittles]

10. BULL FUCKING SHIT

Colon Powell PIMPED for the bush administration - HE KNEW IT WAS ALL LIES - he is DISGUSTING

[MotherPetrie]

12. MSE

[still_one]

13. If you are part of an administration, that is your job. He was fed lies. The problem was the media

Thanks to deregulation were the main vehicle that spread the lie to the public.

It was disgusting, but did he know the truth? Did the Democrats in congress who voted for this lie know the truth

Valerie Plane was outed by the media, including the ny times who were as complicit as hell in the whole sorry affair

A few new outlets did report the truth, knight rider for one, but they were pushed to the back, again because of the deregulation that destroyed independent journalism in this country

[stillcool]

27. my favorite 'reporter'

Is Judith Miller. She epitomizes 'journalism' for me. Then, now, and always.

[still_one]

29. She is a perfect symbol for the msm

[Skittles]

35. again, BULL FUCKING SHIT

ANY THINKING PERSON KNEW IT WAS ALL CRAP - look it him during his silly vial display - it is quite obvious he is not comfortable while pimping the lies - fuck everyone who went along with that garbage, including Hillary - there is NO EXCUSE for going along with that charade - NONE - they all have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM

[DCBob]

14. nobody knows for sure..

but given powells comments and attitude concerning iraq i give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Mnemosyne]

19. Bullshite. nt

[Solly Mack]

20. Fart noises.

[Jack Sprat]

21. WE KNOW!

But still we blame him and all our Democratic congress that voted for war for believing the lies. And in Powell's case, he was dubious towards all the intelligence being used to make the case for the LIE.

You have to keep in mind that America hadn't had a crook and crooks of this magnitude in the White House for a very long time. Not even Nixon, for all his guilt and lying during Watergate, created a fabricated lie that sent our soldiers to die on the other side of the world. These particular crooks (Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz) had no qualms about using the US Armed Forces to invade and occupy an oilrich mideast nation on their own fabricated intelligence.

So, in summation, there haven't been crooks of this magnitude in any White House in American history. Maybe that made the betrayed believed the betrayers.

[Lasher]

22. Poor Colin, he was just an innocent bystander.

How was he to know? What a shame, how this noble man was victimized.

[Skittles]

36. can you BELIEVE these people, Lasher

F***!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lasher]

41. There has always been a contingent of Powell apologists.

I gave up trying to understand why such people persist in their delusion.

[Skittles]

42. I have a theory

they think he represents black folk? He does not - he represents republican whores

[Lasher]

45. I don't know, Skittles.

If that's true then what about Condi? Maybe she doesn't get a pass because her complicity is more blatant? Like I said, i don't understand the mindset. But I do know this: Whenever Powell is taken to task here, it's a pretty good bet that apologists will be on hand to serve up their pretzels for any who will share them.

[Skittles]

46. well, it could just be the usual Groupie suspects

they live in fucking bubble where certain folk can DO NO WRONG

[dflprincess]

50. Count me in with you and Skittles

Powell knew damn well what he was doing.

[Festivito]

26. ..as though we blame lies instead of liars.

.. in this Wilkerson say we blames lies:

I have admitted what a hoax we perpetrated. But it actually spoils or desecrates a fair condemnation of what is already a bad enough set of misstatements, very poor intelligence analysis, and --- I am increasingly convinced, outright lies --- to take the matter to absurdity with one man, in this case Powell.

.. and blaming Powell hurts our blaming of ... lies.

Nice piece of sentence making, but it's gobbledygook.

[Kelvin Mace]

32. Any person who "believed" the intel

was either a complete moron or a co-conspirator.

Pick a role.

A blind man could see the truth with a cane.

[Skittles]

37. THANK YOU

they KNEW IT WAS LIES but went along with it because they were thinking of their careers - SHAME ON ALL OF THEM

[magellan]

39. Exactly

How many times was it said here while the Bush cabal reigned? Incompetent or complicit. Those are the only choices.

[Fedaykin]

33. More to the story...

To say that Powell wasn't in the loop is frankly ludicrous!

Colin Powell's Disgraceful Lies

By David Swanson
February 18, 2011

"...As for Colin Powell, he remains such a respected national figure that he gets to preside over the patriotic fanfare that precedes the Super Bowl. But David Swanson -- in this guest essay -- explains how Powell profoundly betrayed the nation's honor:

In the wake of WMD-liar Curveball's videotaped confession, Colin Powell is demanding to know why nobody warned him about Curveball's unreliability. The trouble is, they did..."
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2011/021811a.html

[Cal33]

40. I believe Powell could easily have beaten Clinton had he chosen to run in 1992. He was just

that popular after the Gulf War. But, he'd have had to run against Bush, Sr. to whom
he felt a depth of gratitude. Bush, Sr., among other things, had used his influence in
helping Powell become a general. Also, from what I've read, Mrs. Powell was terrified
at the idea of Powell's being assassinated, had he won the presidency. She was dead
set against his running for that position.

I wouldn't be surprised that he accepted the position of Sec'y of State when asked by
Bush, Jr., partially because of his gratitude to Bush, Sr. Also, he had stated in his
autobiography that he would try his best to respond positively to the request of any
president of the United States, if and when asked to do so.

If you've read his autobiography, he'd said that he didn't know what he should study
when he started college. He wasn't interested in any particular field. Then he joined
the ROTC while there, and realized that this was where he felt he belonged. His
description of his experiences in the ROTC showed that very likely he had the authoritarian
type of personality. Taking, following and passing on orders was what made him comfortable.

It was too bad that he had come in contact with Bush, Jr. That was his luck. If Bush, Jr.
hadn't happened in his life, Powell would have had the reputation of being one of the most
popular and all-time great American generals.

Powell's personality type was well-suited to that of a military man. He needed to have some
authority figure above him. He should not have tried his hand at a non-military position.
And secondly, gratitude -- especially of the second-hand variety -- to a man like Bush, Jr.
could and did prove fatal to the success that was already his.

[Sunlei]

44. If McCain ran with Powell, they could have won.

I bet they asked Powell and he said no. I bet they asked again before they had to use Romney. With palin that was such a nail in their coffin and Obama so good it wasn't even close who was better for America. Same with loser Romney, he really sucked naturally.

Powell is a friend of our president and someone Obama said he speaks with frequently. I think Republicans are desperate to take the bush taint and get it off of Jeb Bush. There will be hundreds of media attacks against Powell and the Bush wars. It won't work to clear the Bush stains.

[Sunlei]

43. Bush and Cheney lied, that's for damn sure..how many were privy to the big lie? not many.

I don't think General Powell was privy at all with Cheneys plans to build a war profiteer empire from our Federal funds. I think Powell along with a ton of Americans were all duped by the information they were provided at the time.

Bush and Cheney are IMMUNE from prosecution, burns me up they got away with their harm to America. I hate it that Cheney is even allowed to visit America from his Dubai homeland. Closed door meetings with current congress? why is that allowed?

These days Republicans hate Cheney and I think they are afraid he may work again in washingtondc again someday. In my book, General Powell is a great American and America could use him in politics today.

[daleo]

49. If Powell didn't know the truth

What does that say about the government?

It says that an ex-general Secretary of State can be kept from the truth about the most important matter facing any government, the decision to wage war. So, who makes these decisions then?

[Hippo_Tron]

51. Powell knew in his gut that there was a good chance the evidence bullshit

Wilkerson is right in the sense that Bush and Cheney didn't come to Powell and tell him, "We know for a fact that Saddam Hussein has no Weapons of Mass Destruction whatsoever and so we need you to go to the UN and lie about it."

But he knew that the evidence was sketchy and some of it was even obtained by torture. He still went to the UN and made the case for a war that was against his better judgment. No it's not an outright lie, but it's just as bad.