AFP: Colin Powell expresses opposition to Bush plan on military tribunals

[DeepModem Mom]

Powell expresses opposition to Bush plan on military tribunals
Sep 14



Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has voiced his strong opposition to a plan by his ex-boss US President George W. Bush to change the way "war on terror" suspects are interrogated and tried.

Powell sent a letter to Republican US Senator John McCain condemning the administration's plan to relax the standards for treatment of terror suspects, which would allow tougher questioning of detainees, while protecting US interrogators from being prosecuted for war crimes.

"I do not support such a step and believe it would be inconsistent with the McCain amendment on torture which I supported last year," Powell wrote, in a letter made public Thursday by McCain....

***

McCain, a maverick Republican senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war, has joined with other leading members of his party in bucking administration efforts to change rules governing detainee treatment, which are covered under Article Three of the Geneva Conventions.

Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his September 13 letter to McCain lent his voice to their cause.

"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine Common Article Three would add to those doubts," he wrote.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/09/14/060914153814.d9rfvjeg.html

[ShortnFiery]

1. Powell could have stopped the Invasion but sold-out his credibility!

Anything he has to say disgusts me. :(

[Dhalgren]

6. Powell could redeem himself, it isn't likely, but it is possible.

He could come out and tell everything. Go to any committee in the Senate who would hear him, go under oath, and answer every question put to him by the Democrats openly and honestly and in full. He isn't likely to do this, but if he did, it would go a long way toward his redemption. He could be, what you might call, a "born-again Human Being"...

[jazzjunkysue]

45. Guilt is the ultimate motivator: It either kills you or changes you.

He may not be able to remain quiet over something so important. He knows this is the GOP "Get Out Of Jail Free" card. They trashed him, and so his alligences are no longer valid.

He's gonna take them down. The american people trust him. They'll believe him.

[whistle]

2. Could Colin Powell be the insider whistle blower on the Bush/Cheney

...Cabal we are all hoping will come forward?

[redqueen]

4. Please God let it be so... n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

5. If so, then redemption. n/t

[focusfan]

53. i really hope so.maybe he can smear Bush/Cheney

it would be good if Powell could make all of this blow up in
Bush/Cheneys face.

[Supersedeas]

3. Nothing to see here--Corp Media silence is a patriotic duty say NeoCons

[flpoljunkie]

7. Andrea Koppel, CNN, just reported that an anonymous Senator blocked the

Armed Services Committee, led by Senator John Warner, R-VA from taking place today. Warner wanted to hammer out an alterative to Bush's bill.

[babylonsister]

8. Is Roberts on the Armed Services Committee? Going agooglin... nt

[babylonsister]

9. Committee members here. Lots of culprits for anonymous:

FULL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

REPUBLICANS

John Warner (Virginia)
Chairman

John McCain (Arizona)
James M. Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Pat Roberts (Kansas)
Jeff Sessions (Alabama)
Susan M. Collins (Maine)
John Ensign (Nevada)
James M. Talent (Missouri)
Saxby Chambliss (Georgia)
Lindsey O. Graham (South Carolina)
Elizabeth Dole (North Carolina)
John Cornyn (Texas)
John Thune (South Dakota)


DEMOCRATS

Carl Levin (Michigan)
Ranking Member

Edward M. Kennedy (Massachusetts)
Robert C. Byrd (West Virginia)
Joseph I. Lieberman (Connecticut)
Jack Reed (Rhode Island)
Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii)
Bill Nelson (Florida)
E. Benjamin Nelson (Nebraska)
Mark Dayton (Minnesota)
Evan Bayh (Indiana)
Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York)

[flpoljunkie]

11. Yes, but my guess would be his Texas partner-in-crime, John Cornyn.

There are a number of likely candidates here.

http://armed-services.senate.gov/members.htm

REPUBLICANS
John Warner (Virginia)
Chairman

John McCain (Arizona)
James M. Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Pat Roberts (Kansas)
Jeff Sessions (Alabama)
Susan M. Collins (Maine)
John Ensign (Nevada)
James M. Talent (Missouri)
Saxby Chambliss (Georgia)
Lindsey O. Graham (South Carolina)
Elizabeth Dole (North Carolina)
John Cornyn (Texas)
John Thune (South Dakota)

DEMOCRATS

Carl Levin (Michigan)
Ranking Member

Edward M. Kennedy (Massachusetts)
Robert C. Byrd (West Virginia)
Joseph I. Lieberman (Connecticut)
Jack Reed (Rhode Island)
Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii)
Bill Nelson (Florida)
E. Benjamin Nelson (Nebraska)
Mark Dayton (Minnesota)
Evan Bayh (Indiana)
Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York)

[flpoljunkie]

22. Now Koppel is reporting that the committee will be meeting within the hour

with not a word about her previous report that an anonymous Senator had tried to keep the meeting from being held. Very interesting. Did the aforementioned anonymous Senator back off?

[IWantAChange]

10. don't forget Powell

was a soldier first, with a strong sense of loyalty - but loyalty has given way to decency and reason as Powell observes how Bush now wants to lower even further our 'moral basis' in HIS war on terrorism.

[civildisoBDence]

12. Powell was used by the Bush misadministration

He's said that his infamous performance before the UN was the low point of his public life.

It may be significant that he's chosen to speak up this close to the '06 elections...

Newsprism

[focusfan]

54. maybe Powell is finally sprouting testicles

instead of being a yes sir no sir guy

[wryter2000]

24. Welcome to DU

:hi:

I honestly feel sorry for him, but nothing is going to clear him in my mind as long as he continues to let them tell their lies. If he were speaking out like his COS, Larry Wilkerson, I'd welcome him back from the dark side.

[w4rma]

13. Good. (nt)

[lpbk2713]

14. Powell left the BushCo regime because he had too much personal integrity.

He obviously knew he just didn't fit in. His background as an officer and a gentleman would not let him pull off the sleazy stunts Rove & Co expected of him.

[babylonsister]

16. Personal integrity? He lost that a long time ago. When he found

out he was fed lies prior to going in front of the UN Security Council, he should have resigned loudly. He didn't, he just kept playing ball with the criminals. In my eyes that makes him one.

[Amonester]

20. Exactly. By selling his soul (now "new-found" it seems), he's made

himself an accomplice of the war crimes.

Too late now: the guilt is his to "deal" with...
History will not be kind about his lies (for what?).

[serryjw]

48. Link please

to "Missing.America we used to know"

[goclark]

21. The only way I would forgive him

is a full spilling of the beans that will take them to the Hague.

That is not happening.

[Demit]

17. Too bad he acquiesced to one very big sleazy stunt before his personal

integrity kicked in. He knew what he was doing with making that presentation of bogus info at the UN, and he did it anyway. Bushco used him as a prop exactly because of his reputation of integrity. He let them use him, and that is his fatal flaw.

[acmavm]

19. What in the hell are you talking about? Powell tried to help

cover up the My Lai massacre. He lied to the public. That was 30 plus years ago.

He's always been a deceptive lying bastard.

[coalition_unwilling]

37. Thank you for that historical note. I see Powell as analagous

to Adolf Eichmann -- the loyal "company man" who's just doing his job, no matter the consequences. Typical bureaucrat

[daleo]

32. Now that it is clear that Iraq, etc. are a total disaster

Especially for the military, he may be rediscovering his integrity. It is kind of late, though.

[savemefromdumbya]

15. One thing you could say about Powell he was a real soldier

unlike some.....

[ryanus]

18. I have a lot of respect for Colin Powell

But I think he didn't understand how Washington really works. And I think he got deceived and screwed over with the the Iraq WMD intelligence. They used him and played him like a fiddle. He caught on, but it was too late and he was stuck. But at least he got out.

[Virginia Dare]

23. Powell doesn't do or say anything publicly without Poppy's...

stamp of approval on it.

Then yesterday I read that James Baker has now been "brought" in as an advisor on Iraq policy.

Does anybody out there not think that he was sent in by Poppy, and that Jr. is not real happy about it?

I think Poppy is desperately trying to keep Jr. from getting impeached and or charged with war crimes.

There is a real struggle going on here behind the scenes. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

[closeupready]

25. Interesting thoughts.

I think you may be absolutely correct.

[DirtyJersey]

29. Jr. versus his father

Guys like George H.W. Bush and Colin Powell were actually in the military and are quite knowledgable on foreign policy. Perhaps that is why the first Gulf War went so much smoother - it was part of an international effort and we had a CIC who knew what he was doing. When Dubya was first elected, some were worried he'd be like his father, but he's actually nothing like him - and that's a bad thing.

[Virginia Dare]

30. So, in your opinion...

is he working with him or against him? Is it just a matter of saving him from himself, or helping him over the cliff?

And welcome to DU!

[SoCalDem]

26. Too little too late, Colin

Finding a bit of courage BEFORE the fact would have been great..but hopping on the bandwagon as it races past is not an act of bravery.

[LiberalFighter]

27. Why the need to redefine Common Article Three when...

it has been in effect how long?

Did past need "clarification"?

Didn't they know what the ground rules were in the past?

The Geneva Convention since 1947!!! "Has stood on its own" as one reporter stated during the briefing.

[BuyingThyme]

28. It's still Powell versus Cheney and the neo-cons...

or, has he calls them, the fucking crazies.

[Marie26]

31. Where's Condi in that alliance? nt

[BuyingThyme]

33. I always just assumed she was a Bush/Powell, but I hear

she's working for the Aipac neo-cons, so it's hard to put a finger on it.

[Marie26]

35. It really is

I thought of her as a Powell/Baker/Bush Sr. ally too, but she seems to have mostly gone along w/the neocon's plans, so it's a little hard to tell.

[BuyingThyme]

38. She's the Juliet of Big Oil.

[SquireJons]

50. She is just window dressing

She has no real authority within this administration. The NSA was run out of cheney's office while she was the National Security Adviser and the state department is run out of the pentegon now. They have given her one bogus title after another without giving her any power... like when she was put in charge of the 'rebuilding of Iraq.' Great job condi. But it's not really her fault, since she has no say in anything. I think she does have shrubs ear, but so what? He's no more in charge than condi is. Cheney and Rumsfeld just do what ever the hell they want and don't listen to anybody.

As for who she sides with, probably neither. She's a cold warrior and still thinks of Russia as our main adversary. So, what ever influence she does have is mainly on this one topic that she knows anything about. She's clueless and totally ineffective with the Middle East.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

51. Window dressing?

Those must be some ugly ass windows. :rofl:

[newscott]

34. Mr. Too Little Too Late Speaks Up. What's he running for?

[liberalpragmatist]

36. Not too little too late

I'm just as disappointed as most of you with Colin Powell's role in getting us into Iraq. I will not forget that.

But I will not let someone's past mistakes make me dismiss them when they do the right thing. This is getting coverage and rightly so. We need all the allies we can get to stop this torture madness. And just maybe Powell will provide the cover for enough spineless Democrats to oppose torture all the way.

[coalition_unwilling]

39. The problem with your position, which I understand and

respect, is that Powell so compromised himself before the Iraq War that "do the right thing" means little now. When one puts one's neck on the line when one has everything to lose, a la Daniel Ellsberg, that is indeed praise-worthy. When one's moral credibility has been decimated, as has Powell's, I'm not sure it deserves as much praise and\or respect.

[liberalpragmatist]

55. Well, maybe not praise then

My point is simply that we should support him in THESE comments, which doesn't have to include forgiveness for his trumpeting of BushCo's lies during the march to war.

[indepat]

40. The world began doubting the moral basis of RW PNAC initiatives long ago

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

41. You can't buy your soul back once it's been sold to the devil.

You have no credibility left, Mr. Mi Lai. Go away.

[BigDDem]

42. Hey Colin...

have you found those mobile labs yet?

[Captain Hilts]

43. Too little, too late. He should have resigned over this. nt

[EST]

44. One must also not neglect Powell's self-serving performance

(he was bucking for another star and a larger role in the raygun rode show) in the Iran-Contra scandal, allowing Iran to purchase spare parts and equipment.

This secret sale through Israel helped Iran to secure its own hold on the power pole in the middle east.

Powell was at the very center of the deception and facilitation of procuring and shipping of those weapons and fighter aircraft parts, a reliable tool and further evidence of his selective integrity.

The single clear detail that we can glean from what appears, on the surface, to be a to be a resurgence of conscience is actually a measurement of of the *co's own integrity--If they are so dirty, cruel and worthless that even Powell blanches and drops his eyes, they must really, really bad.

We knew this already, of course, but the truth needs to be gotten out to the worshipers and true believers.

[goforit]

46. My oh My where haveyou been?

[Jack Rabbit]

47. Of all the people I think should face war crimes charges in The Hague

Colin Powell is the one to whom I'll give the best chance of walking out free.

It seems quite possible that he was used by the neocons and that they were as intent on fooling Powell with doctored intelligence as they were with the public and Congress. We know Powell saw through some of it. He should have taken that as a signal of what was going on. Instead of marching to the UN to tell what amounted to a pack of lies, he should have marched to the Oval Office and slammed his resignation in the commandeer-in-theif's face.

Anyway, this is a serious fight for human rights and I welcome -- at least on this issue -- General Powell to our side of the barricadesm as well as Senators McCain, Warner and Graham.

[SquireJons]

49. I think he's waiting for Democrats to control Congress

Then he'll spill the beans. He's seen what has happened to others who tried to alert the media and public, they got crucified. So he, and others will wait until they can be protected by congress before they'll testify against bush, cheney, rummy, et al.

[Wilms]

52. K&R n/t

[dave420]

56. Even if he DID strike out at the Bush admin.

He already lied to the entire world, so who the hell would believe him then?

He had a chance to do the right thing. He repeatedly refused to do so. That makes him a complete and utter twat. Because of his lying to the world, tens of thousands of Iraqis are dead, two European capitals have been attacked, and thousands of coalition troops have been killed.

The man is a prick. He had his chance, he blew it - he put personal gain above the safety of countless millions. He can not recover. He can never have a Skywalker-to-Vader "I knew there was good in you" moment - there is no coming back from the depths he sank himself to.

[Disturbed]

57. Most of us on DU are aware of Colon Powell's

kiss ass to the RW and MIC past and his lying at the UN. The majority of Americans do not. They still have respect for him. That he is speaking out about this issue is a positive.