Volume II. No. 42
 04-21-04
 The Wrong Man For The Job
 { Colin Powell In The Bush White House }
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2004
 

 Well, now. It's all very clear. What with Bob Woodward's new book
 topping the best-seller lists. Colin Powell is clearly the odd man out
 in Bush's White House. In the Woodward expose Colin Powell is 
 characterized as being so far out of the loop, the only wonder is how 
 he has managed to survive as long as he has, as Secretary of State, 
 when his boss - the President of The United States - obviously holds 
 his political acumen in such low regard.

 Collin Powell has apparently been reduced to serving as a sounding 
 board for the opposing viewpoint. This retired four star general is a
 dove languishing amongst rabid, warmongering blowhards such as 
 Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Not to mention the President, 
 himself. In recent days, Powell has appeared before the cameras, in 
 effect, defending his honor, and his political relevance.

 In Woodward's "Plan Of Attact" Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar 
 bin Sultan, is described as having been briefed of Bush's apparent 
 decision to go to war against Iraq long before the sitting Secretary 
 of State. Powell of course denies the suggestion that he was arm's 
 length to Bush's inner circle of the afore mentioned Cheney, the 
 director of the CIA George Tenet, Condeleeza Rice, and Donald 
 Rumsfeld. Even if Woodward's allegation is somehow in error or a 
 crafty misstating of the facts, the mere suggestion of Colin Powell's 
 irrelevance is devastating in his capacity as Secretary of State.

 Was it so long ago that Papa Bush's army had Saddam Hussein's 
 well-regarded forces running away from the desert battlefields of 
 Iraq and surrendering en masse? The military defeat of Iraq was so 
 complete and overwhelming back in 91, that a march onward to 
 downtown Baghdad would have been viewed worldwide as reckless 
 overkill.

 Obviously the decision not to continue to the capital of Iraq was
 shortsighted. But despite that fateful miscalculation Colin Powell 
 emerged from the Gulf War as a national hero. And a potential future
 Presidential candidate. -- In fact Powell's decision not to test the
 political waters at that time, may emerge as the more critical mistake.
 { supposing that he actually has thought privately about running 
 for the White House, despite his protestations to the contrary }

 George W. Bush is not the wily politician his father was. There
 isn't an ounce of diplomacy within him. This Bush is far more
 sanctimonious and self-righteous by nature. This Bush believes
 that fate has chosen him to stand against the forces of evil around
 the world. -- That he is in fact a pivotal figure in the battle against
 the global anarchy that fundamentalist Islam would spawn.

 Colin Powell is far too considerate and reasoned a man to serve 
 enthusiastically for such a one-dimensional President. Powell's 
 worldview does not appear to be as insular and limited, as that 
 of such individuals as Rice, Rumsfeld, and Cheney.

 The "Three Stooges" maybe?

 History may ultimately regard Colin Powell as a man who missed 
 his single opportunity at greatness. For even as a failed Presidential 
 candidate, Powell's moment in the sun would have been revelatory
 for thousands of racial minorities in this country who view the 
 Republican party with the utmost of contempt. In fact, under such 
 circumstance Colin Powell might have then possessed the political 
 wherewithal to send the party of Abraham Lincoln down a far 
 different - and more inclusive - path than the exclusionary one the 
 current President has so relentlessly embarked upon.

 The Bush White House is a caball of narrow-minded, mean-spirited, 
 isolationists. The loss of civil liberties due to The Patriot Act, 
 open-ended detentions at Guantanamo Bay, racial profiling of men 
 and women of Middle Eastern heritage, an out of control Israel, are 
 of no consequence in the battle against global terrorism. These 
 "occupiers" of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue see the world as one of 
 stark contrasts, without any dividing lines of color. For them, all reality 
 exists either under a mantle of darkness {evil} or of light. {good} 

 Colin Powell appears so much more sensible a man, than that.
 

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