"It's a far cry from the campaign rhetoric of a year ago when Bush, the candidate, lambasted the Clinton administration for letting OPEC oil barons run amok."
posted on March 20, 2001 06:08:52 PM new
this is no surprise. what i am afraid of is his overreaction to a delicate foreign military crisis. BTW- how hawkish is Powell?
posted on March 20, 2001 06:25:30 PM new
Colin Powell is not hawkish at all -- if by hawkish you mean trigger happy. He even has a doctrine named after him -- "the Powell Doctrine", which essentially calls for using troops only when a clear national interest is at stake, overwhelming U.S. force to assure success at minimum risk to American soldiers and an immediate exit strategy.
Basically, don't engage the U.S. military in most cases. But when you do, win and win fast.
He developed this doctrine out of the Vietnam war which he felt didn't meet this criteria. He also opposed the Gulf War in the months preceeding it, as he didn't believe Saddam was a clear to U.S. national security and for that reason, he had the war ended without Saddam's head ending up on a tray. Of course, Saddam is possibly an even bigger threat to the Middle East today than he was 10 years ago. We'll see how it all plays out.
“My constant, unwelcome message at all the meetings on Bosnia was simply that we should not commit military forces until we had a clear political objective,” Powell wrote in his 1995 autobiography, “My American Journey.”
But Madeleine Albright, then the ambassador to the United Nations, turned to Powell and asked, “What’s the point of having this superb military that you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?”
Powell reports, “I thought I would have an aneurysm.”
He said he explained to Albright that political goals had to be set at the outset by the nation’s civilian leadership. Only then could U.S. soldiers carry out the mission.
“There are times when American lives must be risked and lost,” he wrote. “Foreign policy cannot be paralyzed by the prospect of casualties. But lives must not be risked until we can face a parent or a spouse or a child with a clear answer to the question of why a member of that family had to die.”
ubb...
[ edited by jamesoblivion on Mar 20, 2001 06:26 PM ]
posted on March 20, 2001 06:40:31 PM new
so, in essence, Bush's campaign rhetoric would once again prove to be just that as Powell's cooler head will prevent any unprovoked showdown. i feel somewhat reassured, but i believe that Bush will prove to be an ineffective leader who will be saved by his cabinet from becoming a total joke.
posted on March 20, 2001 06:44:16 PM new
I've been doing some reflection these past few weeks, about Dubya, and although my opinion of him hasn't changed I've come to the conclusion that low expectations are his best friend.
posted on March 20, 2001 07:36:46 PM new
Stand by for Powell's resignation or removal. He's a good man but he's increasingly in the way if Dumbya is deliberately leading the country into a showdown.
The sect of defense is a much more dangerous force than Powell is, and I've been watching this as a possible progression to war.
Remember that in Republican tradition war is good for the economy and Bush is running out of hopeful solutions to that problem. Today has been an in your face economic confrontation to bush and his policies, and I think he's setting the stage to put us into foreign situations so as to divert attention from domestic woes and possibly avoid a political disaster. Voters don't care about the finger pointing to the past rhetoric during economic bad times; they only see the bad times and who's in charge when they come.
posted on March 20, 2001 09:41:03 PM new
I have met Dubya on a few occassions during various social events in Houston in the past and have spent enough time in conversation with him to say this about his leading the country, "BE AFRAID... BE VERY AFRAID!!!"
I know jokes are made about his seeming lack of intelligence, but it really is true. When you talk to him you always walk away wondering if he is really that dull-witted or if it is just an act. SCARY!
posted on March 21, 2001 02:01:28 PM newJamesOblivion:" . . . although my opinion of him hasn't changed I've come to the conclusion that low expectations are his best friend."
At least you are willing to look over the facts. So many conservatives will simply be sticking their fingers in their ears, chanting, "Blah-Blah-Blah -- I-Am-Not-listening-To-You -- Blah-Blah-Blah -- re-elect Dubya in 2004!"
GirlStuff: I am happy to hear that my powers of observation are correct: Dubya is about Forrest Gump level: which is the level of President Republican Politicians like to have around, as they prefer to dictate national policy to us rather than allow any chance that the American people might become involved and stop them.
And so, if Dubya has a college degree from Havard, then one can only assume he wasn't the one taking the tests; of Daddy's Bucks bought him the degree.
