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Goddamn Powell, Quit Covering For Bush. Just Admit That He Lied To Us

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bigtree Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-14-04 07:25 PM
Original message
Goddamn Powell, Quit Covering For Bush. Just Admit That He Lied To Us
Remember how Bush put you out on a limb?:


Transcripts of Powell's U.N. presentation
Wednesday, February 5, 2003

I cannot tell you everything that we know. But what I can share with you, when combined with what all of us have learned over the years, is deeply troubling.

What you will see is an accumulation of facts and disturbing patterns of behavior. The facts on Iraq's behavior demonstrate that Saddam Hussein and his regime have made no effort -- no effort -- to disarm as required by the international community.

Indeed, the facts and Iraq's behavior show that Saddam Hussein and his regime are concealing their efforts to produce more weapons of mass destruction.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.powell.transcript/index.html
---------------------------------------

Hiding prohibited equipment-

. . . they were trying to clean up the area to leave no evidence behind of the presence of weapons of mass destruction. And they can claim that nothing was there. And the inspectors can look all they want, and they will find nothing.

This effort to hide things from the inspectors is not one or two isolated events, quite the contrary. This is part and parcel of a policy of evasion and deception that goes back 12 years, a policy set at the highest levels of the Iraqi regime.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.powell.transcript.02/index.html
---------------------------------------------

Biological Weapons-

There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more. And he has the ability to dispense these lethal poisons and diseases in ways that can cause massive death and destruction. If biological weapons seem too terrible to contemplate, chemical weapons are equally chilling.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.powell.transcript.05/index.html
-----------------------------------------------

Chemical Weapons-

Saddam Hussein has chemical weapons. Saddam Hussein has used such weapons. And Saddam Hussein has no compunction about using them again, against his neighbors and against his own people.

And we have sources who tell us that he recently has authorized his field commanders to use them. He wouldn't be passing out the orders if he didn't have the weapons or the intent to use them.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.powell.transcript.06/index.html
---------------------------------------------------

Prohibited arms systems-

There is ample evidence that Iraq has dedicated much effort to developing and testing spray devices that could be adapted for UAVs. And of the little that Saddam Hussein told us about UAVs, he has not told the truth. One of these lies is graphically and indisputably demonstrated by intelligence we collected on June 27, last year.

According to Iraq's December 7 declaration, its UAVs have a range of only 80 kilometers. But we detected one of Iraq's newest UAVs in a test flight that went 500 kilometers nonstop on autopilot in the race track pattern depicted here.

Not only is this test well in excess of the 150 kilometers that the United Nations permits, the test was left out of Iraq's December 7th declaration. The UAV was flown around and around and around in a circle. And so, that its 80 kilometer limit really was 500 kilometers unrefueled and on autopilot, violative of all of its obligations under 1441.

The linkages over the past 10 years between Iraq's UAV program and biological and chemical warfare agents are of deep concern to us.

Iraq could use these small UAVs which have a wingspan of only a few meters to deliver biological agents to its neighbors or if transported, to other countries, including the United States.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.powell.transcript.08/index.html
--------------------------------------------

We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more.

Colin Powell
Remarks to U.N. Security Council, Feb. 5, 2003

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2003/17300.htm

____________________________________________

WASHINGTON (CNN)Monday, June 9, 2003 -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday it was "nonsense" to label U.S. intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as bogus.

"In the presentation I gave before the United Nations Security Council, I spent four whole days and nights at the CIA going over all the intelligence in order to make sure that what I presented was going to be solid, credible, representing the views of the United States of America, and I stand behind that presentation," he said. (More on Powell's February presentation)

Powell said there was "no doubt whatsoever" that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction prior to the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, though little evidence has turned up since then.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/06/08/sprj.irq.main/
__________________________________________________

Powell '01: WMDs Not 'Significant'
Sept. 26, 2003

War opponents and some Congressional Democrats have pointed to a statement Powell made on Feb. 24, 2001, while meeting at Cairo's Ittihadiya Palace with Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.

Asked about the sanctions placed on Iraq, which were then under review at the Security Council, Powell said the measures were working. In fact, he added, "(Saddam Hussein) has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors."

"I didn't change my assessment. What I said was, at that time, three weeks into the administration when I was trying to get sanctions retained, and we did succeed in getting sanctions retained, I made that observation," Powell said.

"You will note that I did not say (Saddam) didn't have weapons of mass destruction," Powell added. "He was a threat then."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/28/iraq/main575469.shtml
___________________________________________________

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2004 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell today defended his Feb. 5 assertions before the United Nations Security Council that Saddam Hussein's Iraq possessed and was hiding weapons of mass destruction in defiance of numerous council resolutions.

"The fact of the matter is Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction and programs of weapons of mass destruction, and used weapons of mass destruction against Iran and against their own people," America's senior diplomat told reporters at a press conference here.

Powell emphasized he was "confident of what I presented" before the United Nations last year regarding Iraq's WMDs. Information contained in his presentation, he pointed out, included data from the nation's intelligence community which has also been briefed before members of Congress.

http://www.dod.mil/news/Jan2004/n01082004_200401084.html
______________________________________________________

Powell says "open question" if WMDs remain in Iraq
Jan 27 '04

MOSCOW (AFP) — US Secretary of State Colin Powell reiterated that it was an "open question" as to whether stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were hidden in Iraq, at the end of a two-day visit here aimed at moving US-Russian relations beyond the dispute over the Iraq war.

http://article.wn.com/link/WNATA639E4F00DF25CFC1D758FCD074CE2D7?source=templategenerator&template=bahrainpost/headlines.txt
____________________________________________________

Sunday, January 25, 2004

US Secretary of State Colin Powell says it is an "open question" as to whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but insisted pre-war intelligence had been correct about Baghdad's intention to develop them.

"What is the open question is how many stocks they had if any, and if they had any where did they go? And if they didn't have any, why wasn't that known beforehand?" Mr Powell told journalists travelling with him from Washington to the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

"We were not only saying we thought they had but we had questions that needed to be answered," he said.

"Was it 100 tons, 500 tons or zero tons? Was it so many litres of anthrax, 10 times that amount or nothing?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1031124.htm
____________________________________________

Powell doubts about case for war
Tuesday, 3 February, 2004

US Secretary of State Colin Powell told an interviewer he may not have pushed for an invasion of Iraq if he knew that it had no stockpile of banned weapons.

. . . he said the belief that Iraq had these weapons had made the case for war stronger and added that he did not know if he would have recommended an invasion if this belief had proved unfounded.

"It was the stockpile that presented the final little piece that made it more of a real and present danger and threat to the region and to the world," he said.

" absence of a stockpile changes the political calculus; it changes the answer you get."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3454783.stm
__________________________________________

Powell admits Iraq evidence mistake
Saturday, 3 April, 2004

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has admitted that evidence he submitted to the United Nations to justify war on Iraq may have been wrong.

On Friday he conceded that information "appears not to be... that solid".

Mr Powell said the US intelligence officers "indicated to me" that the information about the mobile labs was reliable, and "I made sure it was multi-sourced".

"Now, if the sources fell apart we need to find out how we've gotten ourselves in that position," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3596033.stm
__________________________________________________

Now Powell is backing off of his claims of Saddam's links to al-Qaeda:

Kerry Press Release: Mr. Cheney, Answer the Question!
September 13, 2004

MR. CHENEY, ANSWER THE QUESTION!

“Dick Cheney and George Bush have tried to mislead the American people about a direct link between Iraq and September 11th. They are playing the politics of fear to cover up their failed policies on the economy and Iraq. Yesterday, Secretary Powell said he sees no direct link between Saddam Hussein and what happened on September 11th. Dick Cheney needs to answer the question: Who’s telling the truth – you or Colin Powell?,” said Kerry campaign spokesman, Chad Clanton.

FACTS:

SECRETARY COLIN POWELL SEES NO DIRECT LINK BETWEEN IRAQ AND SEPTEMBER 11TH: Yesterday, Powell said he had “seen nothing hat makes a direct connection between Saddam Hussein and that awful regime and what happened on 9/11.” (Washington Post, 9/13/04)

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY SEES DIRECT LINK BETWEEN IRAQ AND SEPTEMBER 11TH. (Cheney) went on to explain reasons for the war in Iraq, including Saddam Hussein's defiance of United Nations resolutions. “The bottom line is we're there for the safety and security of the nation and our friends and allies around the world,” he said. “We didn't do anything to provoke the attack of 9/11. We were attacked by the terrorists and we responded forcefully and aggressively.” (AP, 9/10/04)

MORE CHENEY: “There's been enormous confusion over the Iraq and al-Qaeda connection, Gloria. First of all, on the question of--of whether or not there was any kind of a relationship, there was a relationship. It's been testified to. The evidence is overwhelming. It goes back to the early '90s. It involves whole series of contacts, high level contacts between Osama bin Laden and Iraqi intelligence officials. It involves senior officials, a brigadier general and the Iraqi intelligence service going to the Sudan before--before bin Laden ever went to Afghanistan to train them in bomb-making, helping teach them how to forge documents. Mr. Zarqawi, who is in Baghdad today, is an al-Qaeda associate who took refuge in Baghdad, found sanctuary and safe harbor there before we ever launched into Iraq. There's clearly been a relationship.” (CNBC “Capital Report,” 6/18/04)

-30-

www.johnkerry.com


More Powell backtracking in January:

Cheney v. Powell

The vice president and the secretary of State appear to have conflicting opinions of the Iraq-al Qaeda connection.
by Stephen F. Hayes
01/13/2004

"I HAVE NOT SEEN smoking-gun, concrete evidence about the connection. But I think the possibility of such connections did exist, and it was prudent to consider them at the time that we did."

That was Secretary of State Colin Powell last Thursday. It was a curious comment, given that the administration had made an Iraq-al Qaeda connection an important, if ancillary, part of its case for war in Iraq. In fact, Powell himself had laid out some of the "concrete evidence" of the Iraq-al Qaeda connection himself in a presentation at the United Nations Security Council on February 5, 2003.

One week after this presentation, on February 12, 2003, Powell testified before the House International Relations Committee. He was asked by Rep. Howard Berman of California why containment of Saddam was no longer a viable option. Powell explained that potential threat of terrorists with WMD was not acceptable in a "post-9/11 environment."

What's more, Powell declared, the links are not speculative. "This is not hypothetical. The ricin that is bouncing around Europe now originated in Iraq. Now, not part of Iraq directly under Saddam Hussein's control, but his intelligence people know all about it. There's cooperation taking place in the manner I described last week. And I have no reason to step back from anything I said last week--this nexus between weapons of mass destruction, states that are developing them, and cooperation with non-state actors such as Osama bin Laden or some other nut case who might come along in due course. It's a risk that we strongly believe, the president strongly believes, and I think most members of the international community strongly believe we should not take any longer."

Moments later, Rep. Donald Payne, a Democrat from New Jersey, challenged Powell on the link between Iraq and al Qaeda.>>>>.

More: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/597odrzf.asp


Quit covering for this counterfeit loser!
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texastoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-14-04 10:40 PM
Response to Original message
1. A few years ago, I had a begrudging respect for Powell
He now appears to have become a sycophantic lackey instead of standing up and having any integrity with regard to the war or its origins.
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bigtree Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-14-04 10:52 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. ditto
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