Colin Powell tells Barbara Walters

Colin Powell tells Barbara Walters what kind of tree he'd like to be

By artappraiser

From: Foreign Affairs Table
New York Times, September 9, Steven R. Weisman:

The former secretary of state, Colin L. Powell, says in a television interview to be broadcast Friday that his 2003 speech to the United Nations, in which he gave a detailed description of Iraqi weapons programs that turned out not to exist, was "painful" for him personally and would be a permanent "blot" on his record.

"I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world," Mr. Powell told Barbara Walters of ABC News, adding that the presentation "will always be a part of my record." Asked by Ms. Walters how painful this was for him, Mr. Powell replied: "It was painful. It's painful now."

Timing is curious. Not?

Sep 09, 2005 -- 09:07:16 AM EST
Colin Powell tells Barbara Walters what kind of tree he'd like to be | 3 comments (3 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Colin Powell tells Barbara Walters what kind o (4.00 / 1) (#2)
by cscs on Sep 09, 2005 -- 10:15:24 AM EST
I just went to the New School to see Air America's "Morning Sedition," and Bob Kerry (New School Pres, Senator, 9/11 Commissioner and a stand-up guy) was asked about this.

He felt empathy for Powell, and said this must be really hard for him.

I have mixed feelings. I understand that loyalty is important to Powell, and I'm sure told himself that this is what the President wants.

But I cannot excuse him. At the least, once he knew for sure that the intel was fixed, he should have spoken up, and resigned, for the good of the country.

When did he know? Did he know all along? I have no idea.

To your point about the timing, I agree. I think the tide has truly turned against Iraq.

Over at MyDD, there's a post with new poll numbers. An almost majority of Republicans think it's time to get out of Iraq.

Bowers also makes a great point for Dems: they cannot make the mistake of taking the lead on this issue.

Dissent Protects Democracy
Re: Colin Powell tells Barbara Walters what kind o (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by artappraiser on Sep 09, 2005 -- 10:34:53 AM EST
Personally, I don't fault him as much for this as I do fault him for not resigning when he knew the aftermath was so poorly planned. To back up Shinseki and the like.

Why do I feel that way? Well, he supported the concept behind the invasion; he even still says here that he is glad Saddam is gone. He was worried about Saddam and felt the job needed to be finished.

BUT as far as the planning, he's the author of 'THE POWELL DOCTRINE," for crying out loud.

I look at the message here, now as some kind of wierd military absolutist moral standards, i.e., Boy Scouts never lie cheat or steal, and secondarily they are loyal and true.

I am a proud relativist. To me, if I was him, if I believed that the invasion was the right thing to do, then it's less a sin to lie about reason than to make sure you did it right when you frigging wrote the textbook on how to do it wrong and they weren't reading it!

And that's coming from someone who was against the war from day one. But we do expect leaders to use their best judgment as professionals. What I am talking about is really the old Nazi theme--do you follow orders or do you do what you think is right. He still says he thinks it right that we got rid of Saddam. So the main problem is in how it was done, not the lies he told at U.N.

I do see that what's probably bothering him is how it ruined the U.S. credibility on intelligence issues. But sheesh, he didn't frigging do that alone with his comments at the U.N., there's plenty of other evidence. What he is an expert at is quagmires! And I am sure he knew one was coming, and he didn't speak. That's where the shame should be in my humble opinion. It's awful late to speak up now. The least he could have done was to say something upon resigning.

[ Parent ]
Re: Colin Powell tells Barbara Walters (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by artappraiser on Sep 09, 2005 -- 08:41:10 AM EST
Also note he makes a point to exonerate George Tenet, and blames instead the mysterious "some people in the intelligence community":

Mr. Powell said he did not blame George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence, for the failures and did not believe that Mr. Tenet tried to mislead him.

"No, George Tenet did not sit there for five days with me, misleading me," he said, referring to the week he spent at the Central Intelligence Agency reviewing the evidence on Iraq before making his presentation to the United Nations. "There were some people in the intelligence community who knew at that time that some of these sources were not good, and shouldn't be relied upon, and they didn't speak up. That devastated me."

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Powell: Government `failures` on Katrina
Monsters and Critics.com, UK - Sep 8, 2005
... DC, United States (UPI) -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says government ... In an interview with ABC`s Barbara Walters, Powell also said his presentation ...
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ENRON-BUSH-HARVARD-WTC-OIL-CONNECTION - John Roberts....
The Harvard-Bush Connection http://www.apfn.org/enron/harvard2.htm ...
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/bush-cheney.htm Enron sends California garbage ...
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/enron_bush.htm

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HOW TO CREATE A PHONY POWER CRISIS: THE BUSH-ENRON CONNECTION
One of Bush's largest campaign contributors is Enron Corporation, ... Enron's Ken
Lay and the Bush Boys. Enron Founder and Chairman Kenneth Lay also worked ...
http://www.apfn.org/enron/phoney.htm

DEEP REASONS AND OTHER REASONS FOR BUSH'S WAR ON IRAQ
BUSH'S ENRONGATE http://www.apfn.org/enron/enrongate.htm Enron Fallout
http://www.dyncorp-sucks.com/enron.htm Enron (NYSE:ENE) Sued In Class Action Suit ...
http://www.apfn.net/messageboard/06-22-05/discussion.cgi.58.

Subj: Smoking Gun in Enrongate - Let the impeachment begin? Date ...
From: APFN@apfn.org (American Patriot Friends Network) Reply-to: apfn@apfn. ...
In a nutshell: Enron gave Bush $millions to sponsor his rise from a losing ...
http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/impechnow.htm

ROBERTS: His wife is big in Iraq satellite systems; Magie Burns http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=87609;search_term=magie+burns ...
http://www.apfn.net/messageboard/08-03-05/discussion.cgi.13.html

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Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and activism

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2608

ACTION ALERT:
Misjudging Roberts
Newsweek dismisses accurate information on judge's record

August 2, 2005

Like much of the mainstream media coverage, Newsweek magazine's August 1 cover story on Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts was overwhelmingly positive. But Newsweek went even further than most, dismissing as inaccurate stories that depicted Roberts as a conservative partisan--even though it was Newsweek, in fact, that was getting the stories wrong.

Newsweek led off its report by saying that "true believers on the left and the right, hoping to rouse their armies for a showdown over John Roberts, immediately trumpeted two 'facts'.... Both intriguing items about Roberts, widely reported in the mainstream media, served as fodder for the talkshow blab wars. Problem is, they aren't true."

The first supposed falsehood: "Liberal bloggers floated conspiracy theories about the behind-the-scenes role he played on Bush's legal team in the epic court fight after the 2000 election, a contribution that supposedly earned the president's undying gratitude." The reality, according to Newsweek: "Roberts's role in the case of Bush v. Gore was minimal, according to colleagues who worked with him. Roberts did briefly go to Florida to be on hand as a legal consultant, but he was preoccupied with working on the adoption of a baby son."

As it turns out, the liberal bloggers' "conspiracy theories" were closer to the mark, as more careful reporting revealed that Roberts was an important part of the Bush legal team. According to a report in the Miami Herald (7/27/05), Roberts worked "as legal consultant, lawsuit editor and prep coach for arguments before the nation's highest court, according to the man who drafted him for the job." The Herald noted that Roberts was considered one of the top names for the effort, which he worked on for "a week to 10 days"; as Bush adviser Ted Cruz told the paper, "There was no one better for the job."

Newsweek's other gotcha: "Right-wingers smugly assumed Roberts's membership in the Federalist Society, an organization that has taken on an almost cultish mystique as both incubator and old boys' network for conservative jurists and lawyers in Washington." Here Newsweek was following the line of the White House, which went so far as to demand corrections from media outlets that had reported Roberts was a Federalist Society member. But as the Washington Post revealed (7/25/05), Roberts was not only listed in the group's 1997-98 leadership directory--he's named as a member of the Washington chapter's steering committee.

Dismissing these accurate stories served to bolster Newsweek's claim that Roberts was "conservative, but apolitical," and that his confirmation was a sure thing. As the magazine put it, "Roberts's marginal involvement as a political activist is revealing. It suggests that Roberts is not the hard-line ideologue that true believers on both sides had hoped for.... Barring unforeseen and unlikely bombshells, Roberts seems destined to be confirmed without the kind of stormy melodrama that boosts cable-TV ratings and fills the coffers of activist groups in Washington."

Indeed, Newsweek could hardly contain its enthusiasm about a nominee who "sees the law as a set of time-tested rules that allow people to work out their differences and to trust each other--a body of principles and precedents that bring order and predictability to civic life, which have the effect not of dividing, but of harmonizing and unifying society." The magazine concluded that "from all that can be gleaned about Roberts, he will decide each case, one at a time, with great intellectual rigor and honesty."

Given that Newsweek led its story with mischaracterizations about Roberts' record, "intellectual rigor and honesty" would compel the magazine to set the record straight for its readers. But this week's issue of the magazine (8/8/05) did not correct the article's inaccurate assertions.

ACTION:
Ask Newsweek to correct the inaccurate claims in its August 1 story about John G. Roberts' role in the Florida recount and his connections to the Federalist Society.

CONTACT:
Newsweek
letters@newsweek.com

To read the Newsweek article, go to:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8683401/site/newsweek/

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ROBERTS: His wife is big in Iraq satellite systems; Magie Burns
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=87609;search_term=magie+burns;show_parent=1

# WINOKUR AND DYNCORP, HARVARD, ROBERTS CONNECTIONS.... Magie Burns
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495;article=87842;search_term=magie+burns;show_parent=1

Our new Supreme Ct Nominee: His wife is big in satellite systems; her company is targeting Iraq
by margieburns at 11:08AM (CDT) on July 20, 2005
http://www.margieburns.com/blog/_archives/2005/7/20/1054893.html

Yet another first for our boundary-breaching White House: for the first time in American history, we're going to have a justice on the high court whose spouse facilitates financing and putting together global satellite systems.

Also, the company in which she is a partner, Shaw Pittman, emphasizes among other things its expertise in facilitating business in Iraq:

We offer one-stop service to clients pursuing projects in Iraq, from solicitation and RFP counseling to working with key government and multilateral agencies, and from initially penetrating the Iraqi marketplace to final project implementation. Our attorneys are recognized as leaders in their fields, and at the cutting-edge in a variety of disciplines relevant to Iraq reconstruction. A number have served in senior government positions in key agencies including the Departments of Transportation, Navy, Justice and Commerce, as well as the Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank.
http://www.pillsburylaw.com/go/areamaster.nsf/practices-all/International:%20Iraq%20Reconstruction

Iraq has not yet been able to achieve an integrated communications service (many Iraqis don't even have their electricity back, yet.) By numerous accounts, satellite communications/networks loom as a large unfilled need in Iraq. Jane Sullivan Roberts credentials are solid, and business-wise, her walk in life is largely helping clients put together and get financing for satellite systems, according to her company bio:

Ms. Roberts practices with the firm's communications and global sourcing groups, concentrating in representing clients in sophisticated transactions involving technology. She has extensive experience in representing clients in the buying and selling of space-related goods and services, including companies involved in the development of multi-billion dollar global and regional satellite systems. Ms. Roberts' experience also includes representing clients in information technology outsourcing transactions; software licensing, development, and maintenance contracts; and professional services arrangements. Prior to 1992, Ms. Roberts practiced litigation in a wide variety of matters before various courts and decision-making bodies, including large international commercial arbitrations involving nuclear power plants before the International Chamber of Commerce. http://www.pillsburylaw.com/Go/bios.nsf/professionals/Jane%20Sullivan%20Roberts

(I like that afterthought re nuclear power plants. Shades of Homer Simpson.)

The following statements by and about Ms. Roberts come from an article titled High flyers, high margins, high society and space VC, in the publication Space Business International (4th quarter 2000):

Shaw Pittman is a composite organization, in which teams of associates, corporate finance partners, technology procurement and transfer partners, intellectual property strategists, corporate deal-makers work together with the clear aim of dominating Washington's high-tech legal world. They've made a good start - hands on involvement already in 25 percent of all metropolitan VC closures in Q1-2000.

Despite the March 2000 downturn in US stock markets, there is still lots of VC money available, says Roberts. But the way the money is channelled has changed - it's harder to fund business-to-business dot.coms, especially where you have to build a brand; and likewise for business-to-consumer deals. But there is still plenty of money left to fund wireless technologies, Internet infrastructure, next generation networking devices and b2b software plays.

�And Washington DC is cementing its position as an international hub of the commercial space and satellite industry. In terms of corporate headquarters, we have many major players, including Loral Cyberstar, Astrolink, Skybridge, Hughes Spaceway, Final Analysis, Ellipso, INTELSAT, COMSAT, WorldSpace, and XM Satellite Radio. Not to mention the major aerospace players

Ms Roberts specific targets are the procurement of satellite systems and related services and technologies such as launch services, launch insurance, terrestrial networks, terminals, call centers and billing systems. As a technology transaction lawyer, my role is to use contractual techniques to minimize my client's completion risk, that is the risk the satellite system will not be completed - designed, built and deployed within established performance, cost and schedule objectives. For a company seeking venture capital, it is critica