Abdication of Duty

At one time it seemed Colin Powell could do no wrong, he was a golden boy – beloved by the nation and the Presidency was his for the asking. People just loved the man - his firmness, dedication, sense of honor and duty to the nation just oozed out of his pores. He was recognized as a true American success story and inspired others to strive towards their own goals.

Having vowed to myself to never vote Republican again after the disgusting and dishonorable travesty they forced upon the nation during the Clinton presidency, I would have had a hard time not voting for Powell – no matter who the Dem's put up against him. He had IT.

From an article by Robert Scheer at Truthdig.com

On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told me that he and his department's top experts never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat, but that the president followed the misleading advice of Vice President Dick Cheney and the CIA in making the claim. Now he tells us......

I queried Powell at a reception following a talk he gave in Los Angeles on Monday. Pointing out that the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate showed that his State Department had gotten it right on the nonexistent Iraq nuclear threat, I asked why did the president ignore that wisdom in his stated case for the invasion?

"The CIA was pushing the aluminum tube argument heavily and Cheney went with that instead of what our guys wrote," Powell said. And the Niger reference in Bush's State of the Union speech? "That was a big mistake," he said. "It should never have been in the speech. I didn't need Wilson to tell me that there wasn't a Niger connection. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I never believed it."

How times have changed, life is strange. Images fade, blur and are sometimes revealed to be false in form. Powell's actions during his service as Secretary of State revealed an empty vessel, devoid of substance and conviction. His tenure will be recorded by history as one that failed to responsibly represent the nation thru a difficult time and one that helped cause needless loss of life in Iraq. He knew it was wrong, never believed it, but went along silently anyways. Thousands are dead. How does he sleep?

His failure to stand on principle and to uphold his duty to the country will be a sad chapter in American history and effectively closes the door on any future for him in the public sphere.
Posted on The Human Stain