I have a very bad opinion of Colin Powell after his puppet role was revealed in the Iraq war, but I’ll get to that later. This quote from his interview in GQ is very relevant to the political debate about terrorism, especially today of all days.
Q: Isn’t the new global threat we face even more dangerous?
Powell: What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it’s terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?
I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there—ones that we can take advantage of? It should not be just about creating alliances to deal with a guy in a cave in Pakistan. It should be about how do we create institutions that keep the world moving down a path of wealth creation, of increasing respect for human rights, creating democratic institutions, and increasing the efficiency and power of market economies? This is perhaps the most effective way to go after terrorists.
Many people have turned into scared little bedwetters after the 9/11 attacks who threw their civil rights to the wind while supporting a pre-emptive doctrine which will lead us down the road to hell. I talk about the right wing blogosphere and their talk show buddies of course. Being a NYer, the attacks stunned me, but NY picked itself off the floor and went on with life. These people see jihadists in their rear view mirror every time they get on the highway…
One Trackback To “Colin Powell downplays the threat of terrorism“
We over reacted to 9-11. We hurt ourselves and we emboldened the terrorists in doing so.
Colin Powell is THE REASON we are in Iraq. Thanks.
too bad colin didnt talk like this 5 years ago
I totally agree with the the fact that a lot of Americans have turned into pussies over the terror threat. What happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?!? I long for the day when we have some politicians with a fuckin BACKBONE call out all of these bedwetters!
Somebody shut him up too, these clowns don’t deserve a microphone after their hideous deeds, they deserve something else!
FIRST FRIST!
Coming from a man who willingly, knowingly lied us into a catastrophic occupation, thus contributing to the deaths or displacement of millions of people, what he has to say is of no importance.
A pity that such a bright man is such a wimp under that exterior.
or not
:(
We shouldn’t have downplayed the threat of Colin Powell.
“These people see jihadists in their rear view mirror every time they get on the highway…”
But, if we don’t kill ‘em there they’ll follow us home and murder us and beat us and take our wives, burn our dogs and steal our trucks, convert us to Islam and, and, oh, make it go away, please!
Colin Powell is a “but for” tortfeasor. If he didn’t exist, yeah, maybe we wouldn’t be in Iraq, but the real powers that be would have found another stooge. Like, say, Patreaus?
The substance of what Colin Powell is saying is correct. It is the most eloquent way of saying the real way to fight terrorism I have heard yet.
Too little, too late, Powell.
Words like these would have been welcome in 2002, or even in 2004. Hell, even in 2006. Now, that they don’t matter, well, who cares?
The paranoia of some Americans amazes me. New Yorkers and DC’ers (except for the Very Serious) and San Franciscans and Angelenos, by and large, hate this fucking war, and hate this fucking president, and go about their lives and don’t worry about terrorism, yet they are the cities most likely to be hit in any future terrorist strike.
Yet the yokels out in the boondocks piss themselves in fear, vote for the Boy King and his stupid war, all out of fear of terrorism and terrorists who don’t even know that they exist and couldn’t find their town on a map if they tried.
RichStraightWhiteAmericanMale @ 2:
That’s simplistic crap. WE (all of us) are complicit in this war. Fear is the reason. Greed is the reason. Laziness. Powell was just a good soldier who realized too late that he let himself be used to spread the fear but we are all guilty of succumbing to it…no matter how we felt about it in the beginning.
“But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves.”
What a load of semantic, new age BS! Of course only we can change ourselves, but when it’s in response to the actions of others you can hardly claim that those actions had no impact. Osama & Co had an enormous effect on “the American way of life [and] our political system.” As I wrote in In Defense Of The Pre-9/11 Mindset:
We’ve changed a whole hell of a lot at the behest of the fear blasted at us by both al Qaeda and BushCo. It’s shameful and depressing and so is Colin Powell.
Hard to believe it - but I Colin Powell is actually right.
Terrorists can never, ever destroy our way of life. They can never, ever take away our freedoms. They just don’t have the ability to do so.
An “end to America” can only come from within. From politicians who love power, profits and war far more than your liberty.
We all see that happening already.
That’s my rant. Read on for more if you’d like:
“You Are Destroying America. Yes, You!”
http://www.populistamerica.com.....ca_yes_you
Colin Powell, it’s time to speak now or forever hold your peace.
You decried the way that “the sons of the powerful and well placed…managed to wangle slots into Reserve and Guard Units”[1] and then you went on to serve one of these sons as his Secretary of State.
You criticized the LBJ administrations prosecution of the Vietnam War with “Back home, the administration was trying to conduct the war with as little inconvenience to the country as possible…. Taxes to finance the war had not been raised. Better-off kids beat the draft with college deferments.”[2] And now you sit silently while the Bush administration does the same.
You said of the downing of the KAL 007 flight: “Don’t be stampeded by first reports, Don’t let your judgments run ahead of your facts. And, even with supposed facts in hand, question them if they do not add up. Something deeper and wiser than bits of data inform our instincts. I also learned that it is best to get the facts out as soon as possible, even when new facts contradict the old. Untidy truth is better than smooth lies….”[3] But you told the world that we knew of WMD’s in Iraq. Perhaps you were misinformed by the intelligence briefings but you also wrote: “The lesson about experts had been reaffirmed. Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their backyard. Just as important, never neglect details, even to the point of being a pest.”[4]
“If I never have to parachute again, that will be fine with me, yet there was never any doubt in my mind that I would do what had to be done.”[5] Well Mr. Powell, it’s time to do what has to be done. You have a chance to make a difference today, this week, “Stuff happens. And a leader’s just got to start all over again.”[6] So start over. If you have truth to speak, speak it now, before another day of Bush Administration’s deception so it can make a difference. You’ve had plenty to say, after the fact, about Vietnam and other world events, but saving the truth for My American Journey Part II isn’t good enough. You owe the soldiers, those you helped place in harms way, the untidy truth. Today.
——————————————————————————–
[1] Colin Powell, My American Journey, Ballantine Books, 1995, p 144
[2] Ibid, p 128
[3] Ibid, p 274
[4] Ibid, p 106
[5] Ibid, p 42
[6] Ibid, p 51
For me, Powell was the guy who whored his ass off for the Bushies. Recall that he did publicly ‘confirm’ that the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ could be readied for use ‘in 45 minutes’.
His tombstone should read, “This lying sack of shit, this traitor to his country, squandered everything he had going for him with his hand in feeding us a giant cake of falsehood iced with that infamous Big Lie about 45 minutes.
…and see liberals under their bed, ready to attack them as they go to sleep.
COLON Powell strikes again with criticism of his former buddies from a far-away corner of the ether, safe from any responsibility to actually do something about his complaints. At least this time he actually voiced these feelings for himself instead of hiding behind his buddy, Larry Wilkerson.
Tell me, COLON. Did you try doing anything about this when you were THE SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, COLON?
Ahh. Didn’t think so.
STFU and go away, you opportunistic, go-along-to-get-along, save-@ss, boot-licking piece of sh!t. Thank you.
steve @ 1:
No Steve, our reaction was to go to Afghanistan and take out the Taliban and terrorist training camps. We failed to get the ring leader Bin-Laden.
Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9-11 please don’t lump it in, that just legitimizes the repugnacan position. We went into Iraq because the monkey boy administration lied, yes lied, about the threat that Iraq posed.
Personally I put little value in what comes out of a Colin.
Like Pogo said: We have met the enemy and he is us.
dadanrachist: Very good point. The vast majority of the American population live in the larger cities and urban areas you mentioned, and they live life everyday like they did pre 9-11. I have family in NY and San Fran, and not once in the past 6 years have they ever said to me that they are afraid of being killed by terrorists. They just don’t think about it. On the other hand, you have a bunch of ignorant, slack jawed yokels in the ‘bible belt’, and the ‘heartland’ of America, the supposed tough, rugged individuals, the pick yourself up by the bootstraps crowd, cowering in fear, afraid of the terrorist boogeyman. Please. I for one have had enough of these people getting all the credit for representing ‘true America’. They aren’t true America. NY is, LA is, San Fran is, Cincy is… not bum fuck egypt.
ckerst @ 18:
At least we announced three months in advance that we were going into Afghanistan. It would be fair to go after Osama bIn Laden without Bush giving him a head start.
Thank goodness we didn’t go after the folks that financed 9/11 and provided most of the hijackers. Imagine the price of oil if we were bombing Saudi Arabia!
I’m getting tired of this meme of Powell as a courageous soldier whose only misstep was being used by Bush-n-Co. (“I have a very bad opinion of Colin Powell after his puppet role was revealed in the Iraq war…”)
The idea that he stands up for his boss like a good soldier is crap. People forget he resigned from the military as chairman of the Joint Chiefs because he didn’t agree with Clinton’s don’t-ask, don’t-tell policy. If he was such a good soldier why didn’t he stay and do his best to implement his boss’ orders?
Powell has been an opportunist with an eye towards his political future for a long time now. He wasn’t a good man who got screwed by the Bush team. He was trying to play the game and he lost because he was in over his head.
Powell isn’t a tool, he’s a failed player.
Powell should be playing golf in Florida with O.J.
Not too hard too see why Christopher Hitchens called Poweel “the most overrated man in politics”: He occationally speaks the truth.
Powell was NEVER a hero. He helped cover up the My Lai massacre.
And for all these assholes trying to redeem themselves now STFU and disappear.
Here’s one more piece of damage that Bush has wrought on our nation: his myopic PNAC-driven agenda and callous misuse of Powell’s authority, combined to destroy any future good that this otherwise good and wise American could have done for our country.
ckerst @ 18:
I see and how is that war going?
Colin Powell’s acknowledgement that successful foreign relations policy lies in peaceful, mutually beneficial tactics is a philosophical about-face when compared to his statements and actions as SoS in the run up to the war. A phiolsophical 180 does not excuse those those statements and/or actions, but instead, paints them, and Powell himself, as intelllectually dishonest.
Did Powell just recently discover the potential of fair diplomatic relations? Has he been reading? Where was this freekin’ genius when we needed him?
The man has neither guts nor honor.
Ooh, I’m shaking in my booties!
If Colin Powell cares about “respect for human rights,” then why didn’t he campaign for John Kerry to defeat Bush in 2004?
Mitt Romney wants to double Gitmo. If he’s the GOP nominee, will Powell campaign for the Democrat? I doubt it.
collin powel came to my city , made money sucking the dicks of these repigs that infest this town and left waveing a fist full of cash, wheres your god? he should have stopped this fucking traitors rotton heart before he spoke at the un, he deserves what tom dooley got!
Jeez, some of you are as bad as any wingnut regarding unfounded beliefs you spout like its rock solid truth.
Read “State of Denial” or “Fiasco” and you’ll find out how Powell was tricked into the UN speech, how much he TRIED to do as Sec. State and was shot down my Rummy and Cheney.
Seriously, Powell went to the CIA right before the UN report and asked them point blank “Is this Intel correct? Is it credible?” Tennet’s CIA said yes. What was Powell supposed to do? Go to Iraq and get Intel himself? NO! Our entire government relies on the CIA. Their failure to say “we dont care what you want Mr. President, this is the Intel we’ve got” put us in this war. It fooled Powell, It fooled the Congress and Senate. Basically it fooled the entire Country.
JW @ 33:
bullshitttttttttttttttttt
Colin Powell might have been a man with credibility and honor once, but not anymore. And, like the good mindless soldier that he is, he still won’t directly speak out against the Chimp.
Too little, much too late Colin.
Go back into hiding (and counting your blood money).
Holy Cr*p Robin, Now you grow a set of balls?
His curriculum vitae notwithstanding, the core of Colin Powell’s message represents what would have been the best option for the US’s response to the post-9-11 world. Currently, in the «post-catastrophic application of an already odious Bush doctrine» world, it is not only still the best option we have, but a national and I dare say, civilisational duty as far as liberal democracy is concerned.
tyree @ 34:
Really? How so? You followed Powell around? You know for a fact he DID NOT go to the CIA and ask those questions? You know for a FACT that he wasnt leary of making those claims to the world without proof? Proof he did believe we had becuase the CIA intentionally misinformed him?
Again, you’re as bad as any wingnut, just on the opposite side.
Not that it would help the cause, but it sounds like the opportunity Powell speaks of, is DENISS KUCINICH!
Yea, Powell, redeem thyself and endorse the candidate who will build alliances to hunt down a a man in a cave!
Even if he got tricked in 2002-03, it would have been nice to see him emerge with such sane, rational criticisms of Bush when they might have made a fucking difference.
Now, if he goes after Giuliani and tells America why Rudy’s policies would be as bad as if not worse than GWB’s, then and maybe only then, will I cut him slack.
JW @ 33:
JW @ 33:
I guess Powell is easy to fool.
The media bought the war, but I know I didn’t, and neither did quite a number of people I know. But the media so loudly campaigned for the war, that our voices couldn’t be heard.
JW @ 39:
really you know for a fact he did any of that shit you said he did , all you know is what he or they want you to know , the world is made up of fools!