Colin Powell on the Iraq war
From http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1456650.htm comes this report of Powell's regret over his U.N. speech in favor of invading Iraq. I like a man who can express regret over a "blot on his record" instead of fixating on his "legacy" or blathering nonsense such as "mistakes were made." Click on the link above to read Powell's position on the war in Iraq now.
Former US secretary of state Colin Powell says his United Nations speech making the case for the US-led war on Iraq was "a blot" on his record.
Mr Powell has also said that he had "never seen evidence to suggest" a connection between the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States and the Saddam regime.
In the February 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council, Mr Powell forcefully made the case for war on the regime of Saddam Hussein, offering "proof" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The presentation included satellite photos of trucks that Mr Powell identified as mobile bioweapons laboratories.
After the invasion, US weapons inspectors reported finding no Iraqi nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
In an interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday (US time), Mr Powell said "it's a blot" on his record.
"I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and (it) will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now," he said.
Mr Powell spent five days at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters ahead of the speech studying intelligence reports, many of which turned out to be false.
He said he felt "terrible" at being misinformed.
However, he did not blame CIA director George Tenet.
Mr Tenet "did not sit there for five days with me misleading me," he said.
"He believed what he was giving to me was accurate."
Some members of the US intelligence community "knew at that time that some of these sources were not good, and shouldn't be relied upon, and they didn't speak up," Mr Powell said.
"These are not senior people, but these are people who were aware that some of these resources should not be considered reliable," he said.
"I was enormously disappointed."
Former US secretary of state Colin Powell says his United Nations speech making the case for the US-led war on Iraq was "a blot" on his record.
Mr Powell has also said that he had "never seen evidence to suggest" a connection between the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States and the Saddam regime.
In the February 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council, Mr Powell forcefully made the case for war on the regime of Saddam Hussein, offering "proof" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The presentation included satellite photos of trucks that Mr Powell identified as mobile bioweapons laboratories.
After the invasion, US weapons inspectors reported finding no Iraqi nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
In an interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday (US time), Mr Powell said "it's a blot" on his record.
"I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and (it) will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now," he said.
Mr Powell spent five days at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters ahead of the speech studying intelligence reports, many of which turned out to be false.
He said he felt "terrible" at being misinformed.
However, he did not blame CIA director George Tenet.
Mr Tenet "did not sit there for five days with me misleading me," he said.
"He believed what he was giving to me was accurate."
Some members of the US intelligence community "knew at that time that some of these sources were not good, and shouldn't be relied upon, and they didn't speak up," Mr Powell said.
"These are not senior people, but these are people who were aware that some of these resources should not be considered reliable," he said.
"I was enormously disappointed."
posted by English Professor | 8:49 AM
<< Home