Embrace the Colin Powell endorsement. Look at the full truth.

Essene

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Fri Oct-17-08 10:18 AM
Original message

Embrace the Colin Powell endorsement. Look at the full truth.

Edited on Fri Oct-17-08 10:47 AM by Essene

Powell is expected to endorse Obama this sunday on Meet the Press.

http://political-zazen.blogspot.com

Read that before replying, please...

Also see this related video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdTwSqoBGuU
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We now remember him for that shameful UN presentation given in 2003 which effectively put his face on the marketing of the Iraq invasion. We must not forget that day, but we also need to respect the full truth.

1. Powell tried to avoid the invasion of Iraq. He was Secretary of State and yet nearly powerless in the Bush admin by all accounts. Nonetheless, Powell was the one who demanded that Bush to go to the UN and to work on the terms of UN Resolutions. He had Bush's personal assurance that we'd work with Saddam to establish a diplomatic solution, even if that didn't mean regime change. This means that Powell supported the THREAT of violence regarding compliance with UN Resolutions, but not the invasion itself. His Feb 2003 presentation must be understood in that light.

2. Powell fought hard to remove all unsubstantiated claims being pushed by the White House. It apparently got really nasty the night before the UN presentation, with Powell utterly disgusted and refusing to add the nuclear claims. What finally went into the presentation was stuff that George Tenet (head of CIA appointed by Clinton) told Powell was 100% backed by the evidence and from the NIE. Even then, Powell expressed reservations and Tenet basically said something like "I'll be right there behind you."

3. Powell was himself buried and shunned by the Bush administration after that day. Could he have resigned and made a stink about it all? Sure. We were at war and he apparently decided to stay quiet for the time being. He remained mostly silent and invisible until he quietly left the administration... without stirring things up. However, he did fight against the Neocons behind the scenes.

4. Powell publicly spoke out about how there were "burn notices" on many if not all of the claims in the NIE which went into the UN presentation. He is talking about official CIA analysis that trashed the claims, providing counter-evidence or simply questioning the validity. These "burn notices" were buried by people in the CIA and the White House. They never got to Powell or even Tenet's desks. It appears that some very evil people were effectively manipulating Powell and Tenet to sign off on what had been documented as bogus assertions. Rice, Feith and Cheney have a lot of questions to answer.

5. Powell went public about this years ago on MTP, saying he was infuriated and wanted to see a serious Congressional investigation into this. What has Congress done? NOTHING. Show me where Pelosi has started this much needed investigation. Tenet, Powell, Rice, Feith, Cheney... all need to be dragged before Congress under oath for the beginning of a real investigation into this non-sense. Not superficial stuff that's been done, but a serious call for a special investigator with top security clearance or whatever is needed.

6. Powell also said the Iraqi invasion was wrong and would have been impossible if the truth about the intel came out. He clearly indicates that CONGRESS was also lied to, which he knows has federal crime implications. What Congress was told in Fall of 2002 in secret meetings about the iraqi intel was full of discredited information. This is why Congressmen and folks like Powell were all on the record saying absurdly untrue stuff. They mistakenly trusted the people giving them the intel.

7. Powell said Obama's approach was right on diplomacy, in talking to "the enemy." He pointed out how he himself talked with Syria... and how we've actually had Iranian diplomacy going on all along. If you really are interested in the Iranian diplomacy, read this article which documents how the Bush admin turned its back on Iran when they offered to support our war on terrorism, to stop the nuclear program, to recognize Israel and to cut all ties with hezbollah.

8. Powell also basically said Obama's lack of executive experience wasn't a big deal, given Obama's judgment, his ability to bring in smart people and his capacity to tackle problems. That's a fairly amazing statement from somebody with Powell's background in considering whether Obama is Commander-in-Chief material.

9. Colin Powell remains one of the most respected military men and also one of the most beloved African-Americans in the nation.

He undermines Neocons behind the scenes, even calling them "f***ing crazies."
He criticized the response to Katrina.
He criticized Torture.
He called for Gitmo to be closed.
He supports Affirmative Action
He is Pro-Choice.
This is a guy who has helped to support really great philanthropy and service programs.
He'd be President himself if he had ever sought political power.

10. We must not forget what he did in 2003, but we also must listen to him tell the full truth and listen to his demand for more truth. I see nothing but integrity when I objectively look at his life. I don't care if he was a character witness for that slime-ball Stevens. Friends and family do the same every day in criminal court proceedings. That's meaningless. I care about the more basic fact that he remains one of the most respected Americans both nationally and internationally, and that folks should embrace his integrity.

Respect him.

If he endorses Obama, respect the endorsement...