European Tribune - Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech

Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech

by canberra boy
Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 01:44:20 AM EST

I had thought that Colin Powell was one of the more honest and reputable members of the Bush Cabinet until he gave the dreadful WMD presentation to the UN Security Council in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. You might recall the satellite photos of 'mobile weapons labs' etc etc. As I recall the presentation followed Tony Blair's release of the notorious 'sexed-up' intelligence dossier.

Now, Colin Powell has gone public with a 'Colin Powell regrets' interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday US time. He says he spent five days at the CIA headquarters ahead of the speech studying intelligence reports, many of which turned out to be false, and admits the speech is "a blot" on his record.

More below fold...

This report comes from Australia's ABC:

Former US secretary of state Colin Powell says his United Nations speech making the case for the US-led war on Iraq was "a blot" on his record.
Mr Powell has also said that he had "never seen evidence to suggest" a connection between the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States and the Saddam regime.
In the February 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council, Mr Powell forcefully made the case for war on the regime of Saddam Hussein, offering "proof" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
The presentation included satellite photos of trucks that Mr Powell identified as mobile bioweapons laboratories.
After the invasion, US weapons inspectors reported finding no Iraqi nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
In an interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday (US time), Mr Powell said "it's a blot" on his record.
"I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world, and (it) will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now," he said.
Mr Powell spent five days at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters ahead of the speech studying intelligence reports, many of which turned out to be false.
He said he felt "terrible" at being misinformed.
However, he did not blame CIA director George Tenet.
Mr Tenet "did not sit there for five days with me misleading me," he said.
"He believed what he was giving to me was accurate."
Some members of the US intelligence community "knew at that time that some of these sources were not good, and shouldn't be relied upon, and they didn't speak up," Mr Powell said.
"These are not senior people, but these are people who were aware that some of these resources should not be considered reliable," he said.
"I was enormously disappointed."

Just goes to show the truth usually outs... But does this restore his credibility?

[cross-posted at Booman Tribune]

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Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech | 22 comments (22 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech (none / 1)

US readers might wish to see what else Powell has to say in the interview. The rest of us can probably just shrug and say "I told you so".

by canberra boy (canberraboy1 at gmail dot com) on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 01:47:14 AM EST

Re: Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech (none / 0)

Well, at least someone there admits a mistake...although he's no longer in the government...

Half the population is under the age of 18. Tanzania's future is NOW...join the 50% campaign!

by whataboutbob on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 02:52:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech (4.00 / 2)

Thanks. NYT covers the story too. Now I want to hear Judy Miller regrets her baseball cap and her mobile weapons lab in her cell too.

How could anyone believe them? How could those in the press and the academia in America all fail to see the lie 11 million in the world were able to see?

I will become a patissier, God willing.

by tuasfait on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 03:08:01 AM EST

Re: Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech (none / 0)

Indeed. My blood is boiling every time one of these bots are in "no one thought..."/"how should we have known..." mode.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 12:09:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech (4.00 / 2)

What amazed me in the few days following that speech was the lack of criticism in the media.

Someone shows you a satellite picture of a truck and tells you there are chemical weapons stored in it.

Why on earth do you believe him?

The chief liar always was Cheney though. What is really good about him is that he says an absolute lie (eg., the presumed link between Saddam and al quaeda), and then 6 months later he denies he ever said it.

The other amazing think is why did Powell took the responsibility of delivering that speech while he probably had doubts about WMD. Why did he make such a favour to the fascists in Washington? He was the only respectable figure in that administration, this is so sad.

'La fin désastreuse a répondu aux moyens indignes' Germain Tillion

by Rom on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 05:50:10 AM EST

Sexed-up (none / 1)

As I recall the presentation followed Tony Blair's release of the notorious 'sexed-up' intelligence dossier.

Bliar had two sexed-up dossiers; the first in September 2002 with the '45-minutes' claim, which led to the death of Dr. Kelly and the Hutton whitewash investigation. The other was released prior to Powell's speech, and quickly exposed as not intel but the plagiarisation of a years old student's thesis - for this one, Bliar 'apologised', then made sure it's quickly forgotten by attacking the BBC over its reporting on the other dossier.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 06:30:34 AM EST

Powell is a liar with a history (4.00 / 3)

Don't let him get away with this. Iraqi WMD wasn't his first.

In fact, he kick-started his military career by suppressing the story of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam when it happened. (Sy Hersch digged it up years later.)

Of the spin and lies preceding Gulf War I, it is well known that the Kuwaiti ambassador's daughter posed as a nurse who witnessed Iraqi soldiers throwing out babies from incubators. However, another significant lie was delivered by Powell: the USA claimed to foreign governments including Saudi Arabia that they have spy satellite photographs of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi soldiers marching up at the Kuwaiti-Saudi border, i.e. another invasion is imminent. This persuased the Saudis to allow the then Coalition military on its land. However, a journalist at the St. Petersburg Times (the Floridian, not Russian!) had the idea to check this claim by ordering a photo of the area from a Russian high-res photography satellite available for private customers - and there was nothing there. (IIRC the lie was then even admitted in some form, yet the story of Saddam just short of attacking the Saudis resurfaces ever since.)

Powell defends a carefully built reputation that is undeserved.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 06:37:59 AM EST

Re: Powell is a liar with a history (none / 1)

Powell defends a carefully built reputation that is undeserved.

Hammer hits nail on head, DoDo!

A sellout and a fraud from way back.

Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.

by d52boy on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 09:29:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Given all that... (4.00 / 2)

... Powell still has the scruples to come out forthright and say that his 2003 turning-point speech was practically a mistake and he comes close to admit he feels guilt.

And that, compared to the rest of the W Bush I team, makes him stand out the more. Whatever else he has done during his career, having the guts to take responsibility for a misguided action earns him respect, to me. Try the scenario of what Colin Powell just did on the current US administration. Good luck.

Yes, My Lai, yes, Gulf War I. I'm sure there's plenty of dirty ground still to cover.

I rather give credit when it is due. Here he did the right thing and I praise him for it. In fact, I would argue that it would help everyone in a constantly polarizing world to give praise instead of saying, "Yes, but..." and continue hammering someone for its other mistakes.

by Nomad on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 01:07:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Powell does not deserve any amount (4.00 / 3)

of respect for this.

More than a year after the US declared there was no WMD, Powell appeared on Tim Russert's Meet The Press in October of 2004, and he repeated his lies, and even some of the most galling comments that he made a year earlier.

So, what has changed since October of 2004?

by Upstate NY on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 10:42:47 AM EST

As susepcted, Powell took a few more (none / 1)

opportunities to lie last night on the 20/20 interview. He blamed the WMD fiasco on lower rung CIA analysts who "didn't speak up" even though they knew the data was fudged.

Colin Powell is a liar.

by Upstate NY on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 09:54:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I didn't see it... (none / 0)

... but it can't be denied that the silence of CIA agents was rather counter productive in the process of determining the intel. As I see it, it was a contributing factor.

Sure enough, the Pentagon put pressure on the CIA to find the evidence they wanted to have (not the information they really had), which led to a skewed information assessment. The main responsibility for that still lies with the Pentagon, as they would set the working conditions that made it nearly impossible for whistleblowers to speak up without risking their asses.

That's called bad policy, and it wasn't on Powell's turf. In fact, I would say it's indicative he's pointing a finger at Rumsfeld. But to know for sure, I'd rather see the interview...

by Nomad on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 10:16:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I didn't see it... (none / 1)

... but it can't be denied that the silence of CIA agents was rather counter productive in the process of determining the intel.

Do you refer to Powell's self-absolving claim of silence from lower-ranking CIA officials, or do you rely on another source for their silence?

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 12:07:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Astute (none / 0)

Point well taken. This is from my recollection, as how I've remembered the story. It's been a while, but I thought that particular information came from the 9/11 Commission Report. Various scenarios of cowed CIA officials have found editorials in newspapers, too. That doesn't make it true, perhaps, but I based it on that.

Three truths: your truth, my truth and the truth.

Even so, whether officials kept quiet, or alternatively, they did speak up but were simply by-passed or ignored (e.g. Joseph Wilson), both results from bad policy, put mildly. That's the main drive of my point: the responsibility for such policy lies at the feet of Rumsfeld. Correct me when I'm wrong, but I thought Powell as Secretary of State had very little to no involvement with the CIA. Cards on the table: I suspect he has been at least partly duped by Rumsfeld & co.

by Nomad on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 03:35:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Astute (none / 1)

The point is, we well know now that CIA people like Clarke (the heads of WMD and counter-terrrorism research) were absolutely of one mind regarding the BS WMD claims, and they had made their research explicit to the White House. It's very well-known that the White House kicked it back.

Colin Powell lied again last night. He very well knows that it was the White House who kicked back the proper research, not CIA underlings.

Furthermore, Powell not only made a case for WMD, but at the UN he cited a document written by a grad student from Monterey that was a complete pile of horseshit. This was a masters thesis published in a journal run by the NeoCons. The US Sec of State got up in front of the UN and cited a 24 year old dreaming of WMDs who had never been to Iraq.

Not only is Powell a liar, but he was incompetent.

by Upstate NY on Sun Sep 11th, 2005 at 12:48:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Astute (none / 0)

It's not all Rumsfeld's and Cheney's and the OSP's fault. Powell and State was at war with Rumsfeld, but Tenet played his own role of messing up evidence. However, Powell claims he went to CIA and went through the evidence point-by-point, throwing out the bullshit - but what 'remained' was bullshit too. Moreover, the naysayers weren't just in the CIA, but in the DIA and among his own state department analysts too.

The most bizarre thing about Powell's characterisation of what he did at the CIA before presenting the evidence to the UN is that no one asked him why he didn't do that a year earlier: after all, he was Secretary of State, making policy (beating the drums of war internationally) based on the same intel!

This was a political decision, not stupidity or being duped or incompetence. He too was looking for evidence to fit the policy (but evidence sounding convincing enough for the international community), not the truth.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sun Sep 11th, 2005 at 06:51:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Mmm... (none / 0)

Clearly, you're far better informed about this than I am. It's both insightful and worrying to read about all the powerplay that went ahead of the Iraq Invasion. Thanks for that...

The most bizarre thing about Powell's characterisation of what he did at the CIA before presenting the evidence to the UN is that no one asked him why he didn't do that a year earlier: after all, he was Secretary of State, making policy (beating the drums of war internationally) based on the same intel!

I'm not that surprised at that. If Powell wanted information from the CIA, he had people to get that for him. (Whether they did correctly is another question.) But for a big, deciding speech at the UN, you don't want to rely on underlings and the big boss comes over himself. Makes perfect sense to me. He would have been ridiculed even more if he hadn´t come then.

I won´t pass judgement on the man just yet, though. If the UN speech was purely political and he knew the information was flawed, it damages his integrity. If it was because not all the intel reached him correctly, it undermines his competence. It will always reflect bad on him.

Coming to think of that, no wonder he finds it a blot on his reputation...

by Nomad on Sun Sep 11th, 2005 at 09:29:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Mmm... (none / 0)

But for a big, deciding speech at the UN, you don't want to rely on underlings and the big boss comes over himself.

It wasn't his first big, deciding speech at the UN. There was a certain Resolution 1441.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sun Sep 11th, 2005 at 02:08:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

A blot? (4.00 / 3)

Like a bit of spilled ink? More like the blood of thousands of people, more than a blot in my estimation.

Some members of the US intelligence community "knew at that time that some of these sources were not good, and shouldn't be relied upon, and they didn't speak up," Mr Powell said.

There's the lie. People did speak up but the intel was being fixed through Cheney's office. Perhaps they didn't speak up because they wanted to keep their jobs, albeit in a highly compromised environment.

He should still hang with the rest of them.

by US Blues on Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 12:07:03 PM EST

Re: A blot? (none / 0)

Amen. I don't blame him for being kept out of the loop. He was Sec. of State. But in the aftermath, he's still protecting the liars. And that makes him a liar. Still.

by Upstate NY on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 09:55:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech (none / 1)

Unmitigated horseshit. I like how not only does call this a blot on his record(forget the thousands of 'blots' dying)but he absolves Tenet and as usual tries to blame people lower down on the totem pole. There were lots of people speaking up, they were just ignored or demoted.

As I mentioned on Bootrib if someone like myself could read all kinds of news articles by serious reporters/investigative journalists(for at least a year) that so much of what bushco was trying to peddle was unsubstantiated if not downright lies then I'd say that Powell was willfully ignorant no matter what he's trying to say now.

And if he was truly serious about this mea culpa he'd now be out there leading anti-war demonstrations, peace marches and speaking out in lectures all over the country..until he does I don't buy to much of his worrying about the 'blot' on his record.

I'm trying to remember if he presented actual real satellite photo's of bioweapons trucks..suppose he did but what I do remember is he put up drawings of trucks that he said were mobile labs..drawings for god's sake.

I also remember being absolutely disgusted by his so called ironclad proof and presentation and the resulting news coverage by news media here practically having orgasms of how masterful he was and no one could doubt the case for war..yeah excuse me but lots of people did. Any little shred of respect I had for him was killed off completely that day.

"People never do evil so throughly and happily as when they do it from moral conviction."-Blaise Pascal

by chocolate ink on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 09:42:00 PM EST

Re: Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech (none / 0)

I'm trying to remember if he presented actual real satellite photo's of bioweapons trucks..

No, he hadn't, all he had were those shiny graphics, but you may confuse it with another thing: when he showed before/after photos of alleged chemical weapons sites visited by UN inspectors, with trucks circling the site on the "before" photos, which he claimed were decontamination trucks covering up evidence. These were B&W photos, and a UN inspector shortly after exposed just how wrong the claim was: these were ordinary firefighter trucks...

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sun Sep 11th, 2005 at 06:55:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Colin Powell regrets UN WMD speech | 22 comments (22 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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