thinkprogress.org — This morning on NBC?s Meet the Press, Gen. Colin Powell strongly condemned the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, calling it ?a major problem for America?s perception? and charging, ?if it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo ? not tomorrow, this afternoon.?
Jun 10, 2007 View in Crawl 4
Closed AccountJun 10, 2007
He's not talking about closing it because it's a rotten facility, he's talking about closing it and moving all the prisoners elsewhere to some other equally abhorrant holding place that doesn't get the publicity that Gitmo does. He would close it purely as a PR move. It's like, "okay guys they're onto us now, we have to move it somewhere secret". Take it away and the Democrats have less ammunition to use against the Republicans.
zwarren69Jun 10, 2007
Thank god someone finally said it!
obliviousfoolJun 11, 2007
Eh. Part of me thinks Powell was used like a wet rag to help make the case for war in Iraq. Before he dealt with the Bush administration maybe he had no idea how evil people could be. The last few years have wisened all of us. I doubt he'll ever let himself get taken in by the neo-cons again.
happyscrappyJun 11, 2007
For those who didn't watch the whole interview, near the end, Russert asks Powell if he would be endorsing any political candidates. Powell said it is too soon to say that. He pushes him to ask if he would endorse candidates from other parties (than his own Republican party), and he refuses to say.Additionally, Russert asks if Powell is interested in a political future and Powell says he isn't "interested in any elected office". Powell volunteered the "elected" line himself.If you ask me (and you didn't), it sounds like Powell is likely to endorse Barack Obama if he is the Democratic candidate and he he leaving the door open to be appointed to a position in Obama's administration if he wins.Could be a big coup.
batwangJun 11, 2007
Abandon our base in Saudi? But how would we protect the good people there (read: financial interests) without a military presence? It is so obvious the citizens want us there! Well, the citizens that have strong and long established business ties with some very nice Texans in the oil industry want us there. Wait a minute.../sarcasm
bigturnsJun 11, 2007
@Jasonquinn, "Instead he acted like a lackey and gave that humiliating speech to the UN even when you could clearly see he didn't believe it himself."True - However, I believe Powell, somewhat complacent of the machine as it pushed towards an inevitable war, took the appropriate steps to clear his name by leaving W's administration at the end of W's first term. If you remember the events, Powell's departure was seen as a serious blow to W's credibility.<a class="user" href="http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=249049">http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=249049</a>I believe the only man who truly understood, at the point in time when Powell gave his famous speech to the UN, what intel was good and what intel was false was the man who has, to date, made the most of the war in Iraq (Dick 'Vader' Cheney).Such a statement doesn't clear Powell's name. It does, however, attempt to paint Powell into a circle separate from those who have sullied our name.
angrygalactusJun 12, 2007
Judge Andrew Napolitano (he supports Ron Paul) has been saying these things.<a class="user" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8QwTKKSvR8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8QwTKKSvR8</a> part 1 of Andrew's speech<a class="user" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXzUL9KkgvA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXzUL9KkgvA</a> part 2<a class="user" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35yhSifZ5jI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35yhSifZ5jI</a> part 3<a class="user" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRukPp9Tq5k">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRukPp9Tq5k</a> part 4