According to a new interview with
Stern magazine, as reported
here, former Secy. of State Colin "Intestinal Fortitude" Powell focuses the blame for the myriad missteps of the Iraq invasion on everyone but himself. The intelligence community, President Bush, and Secy of Defense Rumsfeld bear the brunt of his accusations.
Former US secretary of state Colin Powell claims he is "furious and angry" about being misinformed over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and has criticised George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld for their clumsy rhetoric in the lead-up to the war. In a candid magazine interview, Mr Powell hinted that his infamous testimony to the UN Security Council in February 2003, when he built the case for the coalition invasion of Iraq, left him a political lame duck.
"Hundreds of millions followed it on television," Mr Powell said of his testimony. "I will always be the one who presented it. I have to live with that."
Mr Powell told Germany's Stern magazine that before appearing at the UN he had spent four days with the Central Intelligence Agency inspecting every photograph and word. "The CIA believed there were weapons of mass destruction," Mr Powell said. "The President believed it. I believed it. Still, it was wrong. I did not know this at the time."
In his February 5, 2003, testimony to the UN, Mr Powell used the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" 18 times and concluded: "Leaving Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post-September 11 world." Mr Powell, who announced his resignation in November after Mr Bush won a second term as President, has said previously that his testimony was "not solid".
But the Stern interview is his most candid yet, also extending his criticism to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who angered Europeans when he used the phrase "old Europe" as trans-Atlantic tensions rose over Iraq. "We were sometimes too loud, too direct, perhaps we made too much noise," Mr Powell said. "That certainly shocked the Europeans sometimes -- words like 'Old Europe'."
He said that the rhetoric of Mr Rumsfeld "contributed to pitting European public opinion against us". And Mr Bush came in for criticism too, with Mr Powell saying he "presented some positions in a perhaps overstated way, but that's how changes begin, just look at the Middle East," referring to what appears to be some democratic momentum in the region.
But Mr Powell stressed that, despite mild criticism, he had left the White House on good terms with the President and spoke of a warm relationship with him. "We are friends," he said.
Despite the fallout from the WMD farce, Mr Powell, 68, claimed he never considered resigning. He stressed that he had no presidential ambitions and appeared determined to present his legacy as the voice of moderation in the Bush White House. He added that despite the problems facing US troops in Iraq now, it was better that Saddam Hussein was no longer in power. "Yes, the insurgency is much bigger than we anticipated. But I'm glad that Saddam is in jail," he said.
Mr Powell stepped down as secretary of state in January, replaced by Condoleezza Rice.
What a mealy-mouthed piece of shit this "statesman" is! Does it not occur to him that he might share some responsibility in the whole Iraq mishegoss? It was respected "centrists" like Powell and Tony Blair whose shilling for Bush convinced many to support this disastrous invasion, now two years old and counting.
By the way, this interview was released on Wednesday. Is it all over the airwaves yet?