or Powell's or me• • •
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May 25, 2009
Colin Powell Still World's Biggest Asshole
As someone who has picked meticulously through Colin Powell's lies during his UN address, and is also familiar with the grim history of his climb to power, I didn't think Powell had any tricks left in his Giant Bag of Sleaze that would surprise me.
Oh, how wrong I was!
Check out this amazing exchange yesterday between Sam Husseini and Powell. As you'll see, Powell denies knowing anything whatsoever about the torture of Ibn al-Libi, which elicited one of Powell's claims in his UN address about connections between Iraq and al-Qaeda, and thus has generated screaming international headlines for several years:
Sam Husseini: General, can you talk about the al-Libi case and the link between torture and the production of tortured evidence for war?Colin Powell: I don’t have any details on the al-Libi case.
SH: Can you tell us when you learned that some of the evidence that you used in front of the UN was based on torture? When did you learn that?
CP: I don’t know that. I don’t know what information you’re referring to. So I can’t answer.
SH: Your chief of staff, Wilkerson, has written about this.
CP: So what? [inaudible]
SH: So you’d think you’d know about it.
CP: The information I presented to the UN was vetted by the CIA. Every word came from the CIA and they stood behind all that information. I don’t know that any of them believe that torture was involved. I don’t know that in fact. A lot of speculation, particularly by people who never attended any of these meetings, but I’m not aware of it.
It's a veritable 9th Symphony of Lies. Colin Powell, I will never underestimate you and your scumminess again.
ALSO: Powell has used the "you have to understand, I'm an incredibly incurious moron" defense before, although not with such panache.
AND: Here's what Powell said referencing al-Libi in his UN presentation:
I can trace the story of a senior terrorist operative telling how Iraq provided training in these weapons to al Qaeda.Fortunately, this operative is now detained, and he has told his story. I will relate it to you now as he, himself, described it.
This senior al Qaeda terrorist was responsible for one of al Qaeda's training camps in Afghanistan.
His information comes firsthand from his personal involvement at senior levels of al Qaeda. He says bin Laden and his top deputy in Afghanistan, deceased al Qaeda leader Mohammed Atef, did not believe that al Qaeda labs in Afghanistan were capable enough to manufacture these chemical or biological agents. They needed to go somewhere else. They had to look outside of Afghanistan for help. Where did they go? Where did they look? They went to Iraq.
The support that (inaudible) describes included Iraq offering chemical or biological weapons training for two al Qaeda associates beginning in December 2000. He says that a militant known as Abu Abdula Al-Iraqi (ph) had been sent to Iraq several times between 1997 and 2000 for help in acquiring poisons and gases. Abdula Al-Iraqi (ph) characterized the relationship he forged with Iraqi officials as successful.
—Jonathan Schwarz
Posted at May 25, 2009 04:02 PMBefore reading this I would have answered Dick Cheney, but i'm now convinced that he's more of an infected boil, or maybe a malignant tumor. Brilliant! Ten out of ten!
Posted by: Not Exactly at May 25, 2009 04:51 PMColin Powell is a pathological liar. I never did believe a word he ever said and stopped listening to what he had to say, long time ago.
Posted by: Rupa Shah at May 25, 2009 06:48 PMColin Powell Still World's Biggest Asshole
Far be it from me to argue with that, but what about goatse?
The system is structured in such a way that Colin Powell can't tell the truth. He wants to, but to his infinite chagrin he does not find that in his power. Can't you accept that and cry for his pain too?
Posted by: Save the Oocytes at May 25, 2009 09:59 PMStO:
When Colin Powell was a public servant, if he was a man of integrity ( and not so ambitious ), he could have easily resigned instead of telling lies. And now that he is a private citizen, he does not have to say ANYTHING. But, if he insists on giving interviews, he is expected to tell the truth. If he does not, he is a liar. I am sorry but I CAN NOT feel his pain.
StO was being sarcastic, I'm pretty sure.
but yea Colin Powell, despicable war criminal and congenital liar. belongs in jail for the remainder of his pathetic existence.
that Obomba sought his endorsement should have been a one of many tipoffs that Mr. Change was a fraud and that his "opposition" to the Iraq clusterfuck was posturing only.
Posted by: ran at May 26, 2009 12:02 AMthat Obomba sought his endorsement should have been a one of many tipoffs
It not only should have been, it was.
I must say, though, that in the contention for title of World's Biggest Asshole, the list of nominees seems to me to be very long, indeed, and I can't quite be certain that Mr Powell is at the top.
But, hey, I'm happy to give JS the benefit of the doubt and assume he's vetted everyone else.
Posted by: NomadUK at May 26, 2009 07:33 AMEveryone bows before the Israel Lobby and feigns ignorance of what's going on and for what reasons. I'd just assume anyone who could get in any position of power in US government has long ago sold their soul to the highest bidder.
See Colin Powell threaten Syria at an AIPAC event in the BBC documentary, "The War Party" (part 1 of 5)
youtube.com/watch?v=8vWZTTrceV8
Watch Powell's chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson discuss the Neocon/AIPAC agenda:
youtube.com/watch?v=N294FMDok98
youtube.com/watch?v=IHtgYCS12ZE
Philip Weiss on the Neoconservative agenda:
"In terms of their politics, they were almost all Democrats and then as soon as the Democratic party suggested that it wasn't going to have a strong military, Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol, the grandfathers of this movement, they went Republican. Why? Because they said, back in the 70's, a strong American military is needed to protect Israel."
Download an mp3 of Phil saying the above here (9:45 minutes in)
antiwar.com/radio/2008/07/12/philip-weiss/
Colin Powell Still World's Biggest Asshole
And given the competition, that's saying somethin', eh?
Need an award for such a feat.
I remember way back when Powell was being considered for (was it VP) and I said to a friend of mine, a long-time African American civil rights activist, that she must be proud to see a black person in such a position. I thought she'd have a stroke. She quickly filled me in on his behavior in Viet Nam following the My Lai massacre, and other actions, and I was suitably chastened. Also ashamed that I had assumed that any black person "honored" by the U.S. would also be well thought of by all other black Americans.
Posted by: catherine at May 26, 2009 11:37 AMPowell has to have signed off on al-Libi's rendition to Egypt, that is, he has to have certified that the U.S. asked for and got assurances from Egypt that al-Libi would not be tortured.
But Powell knew full well what he was doing, and what would happen to al-Libi. These fake assurances were licenses for outsourced torture.
Some time after al-Libi was sent to Egypt (early 2002), when the renditions to torture were being ramped up, the OLC produced a memo "legalizing" dispensing with the Secretary of State certification. But I don't think that al-Libi's was the only such cert he signed.
Posted by: Nell at May 26, 2009 07:53 PMMaybe not. The OLC memo is 3 March 2002, and the al-Libi rendition was most likely in Feb 2002.
There's also a possibility that they cut Powell out of the loop altogether, and the OLC memo is yet another effort to retroactively legalize illegal activity already underway.
But Powell knew that the torture was going on; he or his deputy Armitage have to have attended Principals meetings at which they torture techniques were discussed, so his protestations of ignorance now are worthless.
Posted by: Nell at May 26, 2009 08:12 PMWhat a collection of nitwits...yes Colin Powell is a very large asshole, and like you fvckwads, a very liberal asshole.
Now, childred, you better hide, because we are coming after you next.
Posted by: Hoot Gibson at May 29, 2009 07:18 AMwhen the renditions to torture were being ramped up, the OLC produced a memo "legalizing" dispensing with the Secretary of State certification. But I don't think that al-Libi's was the only such cert he signed.
