In 2003, George W. Bush found an excuse to avenge death threats against his father and an opportunity to aid his 2004 reelection campaign. He, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld created a story sure to enrage the most adamant hawks on the right side of the aisle. But they needed a stooge loyal to America and trusted by both Congress and the United Nations.
Colin Powell was a four-star general who had been a national security adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. He was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and in 2001 accepted an appointment as George W. Bush’s Secretary of State. He was the perfect man to deliver the Bush Administration lies.
General Powell believed the fallacious intelligence reports and told Congress that the leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, was hiding “weapons of mass destruction” to be used in the future by Al Qaeda.
The truth was eventually confirmed that Hussein never had connections to Al Qaeda. However, Congress voted in favor of the invasion of Iraq, and on March 20, 2003, “Operation Iraqi Freedom” was launched. Bush declared victory on May 1, although the invasion lasted until 2011, when most of the military returned home. Smaller numbers of U.S. military remained until 2017.
General Powell was distraught when he learned the truth. In 2016, he announced that he would vote against Donald Trump and encouraged other Republicans to do the same. He died this morning at the age of 84.
General Powell had been fighting cancer, and when he was infected with COVID-19, he lost that battle.
There was a time when many Americans believed that General Powell would be our nation’s first Black president. However, after discussions with his wife, who had fears for his safety, he rejected the idea.
From the jungles of Vietnam to the inner circle of the White House, General Powell was respected by his peers, his friends, and even his enemies, which were reported as a small number of politicos.
I admired him not only for his accomplishments but for his intelligence, his honesty, for being direct and never avoiding a question, and his devotion and service to his country.
There have been few men and women in Washington who received my admiration, respect, and gratitude for their honest love of my country. My obsession as a political junkie began in 1956 as I watched President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s second convention and bid for reelection. I was in my junior year of high school when President John F. Kennedy was murdered.
In 1964, I enlisted in the United States Air Force, and it was less than a year later when the war in South Vietnam escalated. I was discharged in March of 1965 for medical reasons and became an opponent of what I referred to as “the war for no reason.” My interest in politics grew, and today I am free to offer my opinions, based on facts, in writing for Chicago Leader and Guardian Liberty Voice.
General Powell was one of the few who gave me hope for the future of our nation. Unfortunately, there are far too many who would destroy the United States, from Donald Trump to members of Congress, including Moscow Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and far too many others who were elected by uninformed voters.
If you do not care, and you do not know, do not vote. If you vote for someone who will harm you and your family’s future, you will do more harm than good. An informed electorate is the greatest danger to a corrupt government.
Op-ed by James Turnage
Sources:
CNBC: Colin Powell, trailblazing soldier and statesman who made case for Iraq invasion, dies of Covid at 84; by Amanda Macias
CNN: Colin Powell, first Black US secretary of state, dies of Covid-19 complications amid cancer battle; by Devan Cole
Featured and Top Image by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann Courtesy of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Ken Lund’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
