Saturday - October 20, 2001
Colin Powell, the Squeamish Loser
Colin Powell has declared that after we defeat
the Taliban, that he wants them to be a part of a government we leave
behind.
This may
sound heretical to some but we need to get rid of that squeamish loser, Colin
Powell.
I admit, I've never liked Colin Powell. When I
was in the Marine Corps, he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was
nakedly ambitious, overtly political, and I never trusted him. He transformed
the military into a "purple suited" joint department that emphasized bureaucracy
over combat efficiency.
Then he became the
leading figure in the war in the Persian Gulf and is the man primarily
responsible for botching it up. Most people don't recall how he thought that a
large military action was a bad plan. He wanted to use economic sanctions
against Hussein. He kept doing his best to steal the glory from the on-scene
commander, General Norman Schwarzkopf, who did an amazing job of motivating,
leading, and controlling the military forces on scene. Never before has a desk
bound general like Colin Powell been given so much credit for a field army's
actions. Powell was so successful at stealing the glory that most people
consider him the man who defeated Saddam Hussein rather than the man who
prevented his defeat. If Powell had his way, we'd still be trying to talk
Hussein into leaving Kuwait. Powell didn't want to fight Hussein, and after he
was over-ruled and we fought the war, Powell is the man who saved Hussein from
destruction.
It's even appropriate to
say that by stopping Schwarzkopf in the middle of winning the war, that Powell
caused the rise of the Taliban and the escalation of anti-American terror. If we
had destroyed the Baath party and installed a democratic republic in Iraq, the
people of Iraq would be more prosperous, we'd have cheaper oil, and we'd have a
stronger influence over Iran and the other nutty nations in the region. We spent
a lot of money in that war and got nothing out of it except a more dangerous
world.
Powell is
the man who allowed Saddam Hussein to remain in power after we spent billions to
conquer him and now he wants to keep the Taliban in
power.
So now why I am bringing all
this up? I read today that Powell, now in the position of Secretary of State,
has announced that he thinks that the government we install in Afghanistan
should contain "moderate" elements of the
Taliban!!
The Taliban wants to kill
Americans for no other reason than that they hate us, and he is afraid to hurt
their feelings? Should we have allowed "moderate" Nazis to retain power in
Germany after WWII? The Taliban execute women for public sport and Powell thinks
they should be allowed a voice in the government we set up? We've got to remove
Powell from our government, he is not only embarrassing, he is dangerous. Colin
"Squeamish" Powell is not, never has been, and cannot become a leader. He is too
much of a wheeling and dealing politician and he is once again jeopardizing the
safety of our nation through his unwillingness or inability to set aside his
squeamishness at destroying and controlling an
enemy.
We need a man who is unafraid to
kill to be our Secretary of State. We need men of good character in our
government who can be trusted to install a government in Iraq and Afghanistan,
(and someday in Iran) that supports the same freedoms that we enjoy here.
Freedom is not a concept peculiar to our nation. All people deserve it, and if
we want peace, we must ensure that others are free to prosper. A prosperous
people is a peaceful people.
All
nations of the world should be free, and all people deserve freedom. We can't
make this happen for all nations, but once we go to the trouble and expense of
conquering a nation, we have a moral obligation to leave behind a government
that respects the people's freedom. We also have an obligation to ensure that we
leave behind a government that is friendly to
us.
Colin Powell's call to leave the
Taliban in power is not only childish, but it is dangerous. It is high time that
Americans wake up and put this petty politician in the job he is best suited
for: retirement.
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