Kerry Should Exploit The Powell Vs. Rumsfeld/Cheney Split

[DrFunkenstein]

In his book "Plan of Attack", about events within the administration before the invasion of Iraq, Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward quoted Powell as saying "Cheney has a fever. It is an absolute fever. It's almost as if nothing else exists."

Woodward said the administration had an invasion plan from the end of 2001, which Powell could do nothing about.

Powell, a retired general and former chairman of the chiefs of staff, went to the UN Security Council in February 2003 to put the US case for war and show what the United States considered proof of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. This loyalty has since become an embarrassment for Powell. No signs of weapons of mass destruction have been found.

But Iraq has not been a triumph for Rumsfeld or Cheney. The defence secretary is now struggling with widespread chaos in the country where about 1,030 US soldiers have now been killed since the March 20, 2003 invasion.

Cheney's vow that US soldiers would be greeted as "liberators" are now turned against him by opposition Democrats in the campaign for the November 2 presidential election.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1521&e=13&u=/afp/us_vote_foreign



If Kerry could establish Powell as the voice of reason which Bush ignored because of his love of "tough talk," and aligned himself with this cautious warrior, it would certainly put the Bush administration on the defensive. Even if Powell disagreed with Kerry about such a split, nobody would believe him.

Not only would Powell make a good (if unwilling) political surrogate, as opposed to Bush's surrogate of Rumsfeld, but Kerry could repeat over and over (and in short sound bites) that he shares a belief in the Powell Doctrine.

Namely:

1. Diplomacy should be exhausted before our soldiers are put in harms way.

2. Once force is determined, it is used overwhelmingly.

Kerry should repeat over and over that he believes in using "overwhelming force" during major military operations, not the speedy trickle favored by Rumsfeld (which failed to secure Baghdad, setting the tone for subsequent chaos).

This is Kerry's M.O. - deliberate, listen to all the options, then act decisively and forcefully. And, on top of that, such a campaign strategy would send the Bushies scrambling. I'm telling you that this is a fissure within the administration that begs to be exploited.



Remember the Sesame Street song? "One of these things is not the same..."

[EST]

1. It's a thought. He's already doing that with McCain.

Looks embarassingly sick, like banging your sister and bragging to your mother about it...

[Cocoa]

2. they jumped on that recent Powell interview

where Powell said there was no link between Saddam and al Qaeda.

Kerry and Edwards both jumped on that, demanding Bush to say, which adviser do you believe, Cheney or Powell?

Mostly ignored by the media, however...

[DrFunkenstein]

3. That's Why Repetition Is The Key - Media Groupthink Moves Slowly

Sooner or later, this will break. How awesome if it were during the debates!?!