Commentary: For Colin Powell's Post-Secretary Days, Getting Even's Better than Getting Mad Date: Sunday, April 24, 2005 By: Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com Before George W. Bush's arrogant ideas about how to deal with countries he doesn't like solidified into an actual doctrine of pre-emption - or, actually, preclusion -- the prevailing policy for dealing with hostile nations was the Powell Doctrine. Colin Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when his doctrine took shape. It maintained that the U.S. should exhaust all diplomatic means to settle differences with other nations and that, when that failed to the point of hostilities, America should confront her enemies with overwhelming force. It was that policy that ruled the Persian Gulf conflict in 1991 -- half a million U.S. and allied troops arrayed against the skittish and malnourished Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein's outwitted Republican Guard. But the winning doctrine got rolled in 2003 when, as secretary of state, Powell could not get his new boss to commit to anything more than a feeble and gratuitous attempt to persuade the United Nations that Saddam needed his you-know-what blistered and now. Ever the good soldier, Powell made the case to the global assembly despite, as we now know, having serious reservations about his own arguments. Quite possibly, he not only suspected but knew at the time that there was no hard evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But he went along to get along. There is every reason to suspect that Powell's decision to resign at the end of the first Bush term was not strictly voluntary. He had been kept out of the loop, out of the room and out of the inner circle. His advice had been routinely ignored, even scoffed at by the White House war hounds like Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. Most insiders believe that Powell's resignation was just a face-saving courtesy. If he hadn't offered it, Bush would have demanded it. Besides, he had his kind of people waiting in the wings; Condoleezza Rice would never be disagreeable. What an ending for a man who was, once upon a time, the king of the popularity poll. Who can forget how close he came to running for president in 1996, riding the tall waves of public approval with both the Republicans and Democrats fighting over him and a book that seemed to have half the country waiting in line at his book signings. He wouldn't have been the first black American to seek the White House -- there was Shirley Chisholm and Jesse Jackson before him -- but he would have been the first with promise of making more than an honorable showing. For a bestseller of that caliber to end up in the discount bin was an astonishing final chapter. But, it wasn't the end after all. Turns out, there is an epilogue. It might be titled "Powell's Revenge." In his last days at State, Powell acknowledgement that the WMD premise was overstated. Then, one month into the second Bush administration, the former Mr. Secretary told the London Daily Telegraph that he was "very sore" that the White House had snookered him and used him to make false arguments before the U.N. "I will forever be known as the one who made the case," he told the newspaper. Powell is not the snarling, bitter type, but you could just imagine the words had a sour tone. There was, he added, "too much resting on assumptions and worst-case scenarios" inside the Bush clubhouse. Last month, Powell told a German magazine that the Bushies "were sometimes too loud, too direct, perhaps we made too much noise" about Iraq. And he repeated his disgust with having been misled over WMD, this time describing himself as "furious and angry." Now, to the further consternation of his former colleagues, Powell has been poor-mouthing Bush's nominee for U.N. ambassador, John R. Bolton, the foreign policy operative with a reputation for bullying subordinates and whose attraction to the U.N. is similar to a tornado's attraction to trailer parks -- it wants to destroy them. Reportedly, Powell has let several senators know that Bolton is, indeed, a problem child who does not deserve the honor of membership in the world's most prominent and powerful peace-keeping body. Unfortunately for the White House, they can no longer control Powell with threats of excommunication or disrespect. He's a free agent now, with a mission of his own. Just as papa's got a brand new bag, Powell apparently has a brand new policy: Don't get mad, get even. Do you think Colin Powell's resignation was voluntary? No 59 % Yes 28 % Don't care 11 % Presented by: Greek Paraphenalia Product Sons Of Thunder - Omega Psi Phi by WAK Price $14.95 View all 108 items on eBay Greek Paraphenalia Product Nupe - Kappa Alpha Psi by WAK Price $14.95 View all 81 items on eBay Greek Paraphenalia Product Culture - Phi Beta Sigma by WAK Price $14.95 View all 50 items on eBay Greek Paraphenalia Product In The Beginning - Alpha Phi Alpha by WAK Price $20.50 View all 67 items on eBay auntglo says: AMEN trina64, your comment is the most sensible 1 I have read. datdreadguhl says: Powell did not end up in the discount bin...he is/was a good soldier who always made his case. read more realitychk says: No child is that out of control at school, not unless she is out of control at home. Personally, I read more lashondia says: I think it was Aretha that said she had to have it! :-) I agree with you, My mom made read more JM1GuitarDrums says: When we were kids, we knew better than to put our hands of grown folks or even to talk to read more More messages More Headlines Commentary: Whites Who Are Willing to Learn About Us - From Us - Deserve Credit Okay, indulge me please, those of you who read last week's column. I've got one more observation about this city, something that ought to be modeled across the rest of North America. Commentary: For Colin Powell's Post-Secretary Days, Getting Even's Better than Getting Mad For a bestseller of Powell's caliber to end up in the discount bin was astonishing. But, it wasn't the end after all. And the epilogue might be titled "Powell's Revenge." Commentary: After 35 Years of Earth Day Celebrations, Green Power Should be Black Too April 22 is today, a full month into spring, and trees everywhere in the Western Hemisphere are green. This is the time of year when I ponder why black power must be green too. Commentary: What Exactly is a "Baby Mama?" It Depends on How You Define Yourself When I wrote the my column on Fantasia's "Baby Mama" monstrosity two weeks ago, I expected to hear from her fans. I expected to hear from folks who disagreed. Boy, did I ever. Commentary: We Were Silent on the Genocide in Rwanda, but it's Not Too Late to Speak Out on Sudan When I was a senior in high school in 1977, the miniseries "Roots," made its debut. For eight nights, a record number of viewers tuned in to watch the slavery saga of Kunta Kinte. Copyright © 2001-2003 BlackAmericaWeb.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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