The Myth of Colin Powell

The media has been engaged in a Collin Powell love-fest for reasons unknown to me. As many pundits drool over the possibility of either McCain or Obama picking Powell as their VP (no way in hell that Obama will pick him), pointing to his "leadership" skills and the "great job" he has done in public office, it is useful to look at the real legacy of this man.

Let's remember that it was Colin Powell who gave that awful presentation in front of the UN Security Council on Iraq's nuclear capabilities. He waved a little bottle of anthrax to scare the world into supporting Bush's imperialism. He insisted that if the US did not act then, the world would be much more dangerous because Saddam has nuclear capabilities (that same day Condi warned of a "mushroom cloud"). Now we know that same day Powell had disagreed with Rumsfeld and Cheney and pointed to the evidence, showing that the WMD case was not that straight-forward and it might have been overblown. His dissent was quieted down and he went on to make the case for war. Can someone please explain to me what is honorable about this man? This man took our nation to war, KNOWINGLY falsifying the intelligence. It was his opportunism mixed with political cowardice that cost thousands of Iraqi and American lives.

And let's also remember his infamous role in the "bulldozer assault" during the Persian Gulf War when the 1st Infantry division used bulldozers to bury Iraqi soldiers (who had surrendered) in fortifying the lines. This was a clear war crime.

So, if no one will hold him responsible for these crimes, can they please shut up about his "courage in serving our nation."