jAZ
07-08-2007, 06:59 PM
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Powell_I_tried_to_avoid_this_0708.html
Powell: 'I tried to avoid this war'
RAW STORY
Published: Sunday July 8, 2007
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It was revealed today that prior to the Iraq war, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell spent two and a half hours trying in vain to convince President George W. Bush not to invade.
"I tried to avoid this war," Powell told the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, reports Sarah Baxter in the Sunday Times. Powell said he walked Bush through the risks of becoming an occupying force in an Arab country.
The sectarian violence in Iraq has escalated to the point of civil war, said Powell, and one that US forces cannot resolve.
Baxter points to plans being drawn up by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to begin a slow troop reduction to pre-"surge" levels as signs that "the views of Powell and other critics of the war are finally being heard in the Pentagon, if not yet in the White House."
Powell also asserts that any reduction in US troops must be accompanied by diplomatic measures with Syria and Iran, writes Baxter.
However, Powell may have a hard time convincing the anti-war public of his message.
"It's really too late for Mr. Powell to redeem his reputation now," comments Kevin Robbins of New York, on the Sunday Times web site. "He could have resigned and gone public at the time rather than signing on to the whole fiasco."
While "Fernandez" from San Francisco sarcastically jibes, "A whopping 2.5 hours. Wow."
Powell: 'I tried to avoid this war'
RAW STORY
Published: Sunday July 8, 2007
Print This Email This
It was revealed today that prior to the Iraq war, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell spent two and a half hours trying in vain to convince President George W. Bush not to invade.
"I tried to avoid this war," Powell told the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, reports Sarah Baxter in the Sunday Times. Powell said he walked Bush through the risks of becoming an occupying force in an Arab country.
The sectarian violence in Iraq has escalated to the point of civil war, said Powell, and one that US forces cannot resolve.
Baxter points to plans being drawn up by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to begin a slow troop reduction to pre-"surge" levels as signs that "the views of Powell and other critics of the war are finally being heard in the Pentagon, if not yet in the White House."
Powell also asserts that any reduction in US troops must be accompanied by diplomatic measures with Syria and Iran, writes Baxter.
However, Powell may have a hard time convincing the anti-war public of his message.
"It's really too late for Mr. Powell to redeem his reputation now," comments Kevin Robbins of New York, on the Sunday Times web site. "He could have resigned and gone public at the time rather than signing on to the whole fiasco."
While "Fernandez" from San Francisco sarcastically jibes, "A whopping 2.5 hours. Wow."