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Colin Powell dead at 84 from Covid-19 related complications

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  1. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:
    He did say no. But he was overruled.
    So, why didn't he just withdraw? His non appearance would have collapsed the WMD argument.

    Yes the war would still have gone ahead, but at least the lies and false justifications would have been exposed (which would have had a great impact on the UK's role in the war).

    I don't buy all this "I had to do it, and regretted it ever since". He got into bed with some of the most despicable politicians on the planet and no problem serving with them for four years. Never underestimate the depths to which a power-hungry ego will stoop.
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  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by FrancisX:
    So, why didn't he just withdraw? His non appearance would have collapsed the WMD argument.

    Yes the war would still have gone ahead, but at least the lies and false justifications would have been exposed (which would have had a great impact on the UK's role in the war).

    I don't buy all this "I had to do it, and regretted it ever since". He got into bed with some of the most despicable politicians on the planet and no problem serving with them for four years. Never underestimate the depths to which a power-hungry ego will stoop.
    Hate to say it, but you really are quite naive. You think Powell can just snap his fingers and Bush will change his mind? You are not military man. You have no idea what burden a sense of duty had on Powell.

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    And General Hague relied on Lanchester's Square law to throw overwhelming force at the enemy lines to such devastating effect.

    That's historical application of analyzing pre-modern warfare. You don't seem to know what Powell Doctrine really meant. It means clear military objectives, domestic support of your military campaign, advanced weaponary to defeat your enemy, etc.

  4. #24
    "Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media. Hope that happens to me someday," Trump said in a statement.


    https://thehill.com/homenews/news/57...fully-in-death

  5. #25

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    Gotta give that man credit for his eloquence..


  6. #26

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    Apart from his helping sell the second Iraq war, another blemish is Powell's whitewashing of the Mỹ Lai massacre. Powell was assigned to investigate a soldier's letter detailing the killing of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians (including children) in 1968 by US soldiers. Powell's report about the soldier's letter concluded " "in direct refutation of this portrayal, relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent". Powell never revisited the issue, and was continuously promoted.

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  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by SirNotAppearing:
    Apart from his helping sell the second Iraq war, another blemish is Powell's whitewashing of the Mỹ Lai massacre. Powell was assigned to investigate a soldier's letter detailing the killing of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians (including children) in 1968 by US soldiers. Powell's report about the soldier's letter concluded " "in direct refutation of this portrayal, relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent". Powell never revisited the issue, and was continuously promoted.
    Never knew that. OK my mind about him is changed.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    Never knew that. OK my mind about him is changed.
    "Powell has never been implicated in any of the wrongdoing involving My Lai. No evidence ties him to the attempted cover-up."


    from the below

    https://www.thenation.com/article/po...s-vietnam-fog/

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    "Powell has never been implicated in any of the wrongdoing involving My Lai. No evidence ties him to the attempted cover-up."


    from the below

    https://www.thenation.com/article/po...s-vietnam-fog/
    I don't think that is the real conclusion of the article. It is far from positive.
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  10. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    I don't think that is the real conclusion of the article. It is far from positive.
    Agree. It was quite damning of the overall culture of war but Powell did nothing that was not normalised or remotely close to a war crime and probably still much better than many countries at war. He did not and was not asked to investigate the Mỹ Lai massacre. He did not investigate with great gusto an earlier incident that may or may not have been wrong. I suspects 1000's of other such incidents were given cursory review at a time of war.