Powel : Neocons "F-word ing crazies"

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Registered: 07-20-2003
Powel : Neocons "F-word ing crazies"
1
Thu, 09-16-2004 - 7:27pm
Who amongst us who has studied the neocon manifesto has not uttered the same words?

http://www.newamericancentury.org

They are all that and a bag of chips.

Please note any expletives belong to the Secretary of State and not myself.

Rated PG-13

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Colin Powell in four-letter neo-con 'crazies' row

Martin Bright

Sunday September 12, 2004

The Observer

A furious row has broken out over claims in a new book by BBC broadcaster James Naughtie that US Secretary of State Colin Powell described neo-conservatives in the Bush administration as 'f****** crazies' during the build-up to war in Iraq.

Powell's extraordinary outburst is alleged to have taken place during a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The two became close friends during the intense negotiations in the summer of 2002 to build an international coalition for intervention via the United Nations. The 'crazies' are said to be Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.

Last week, the offices of Powell and Straw contacted Public Affairs, the US publishers of Naughtie's book, to say they would vigorously deny the claims if publication went ahead. But as no legal action was threatened, the US launch of the book, The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency, will proceed as planned this week.

Naughtie stands by his claims and is said to be privately delighted that Powell and Straw have reacted so violently to the suggestion that the former US general had fallen out with the 'neo-cons'.

Provocatively, the phrase 'f****** crazies' will be quoted on the jacket of the book, according to a source at the publisher. 'We were surprised to receive calls from the offices of Jack Straw and Colin Powell within 24 hours of each other,' the source said.

Naughtie claims that Powell and Straw spoke on an almost daily basis. Powell's concerns were said to have chimed with Straw's and those of Blair himself - that if America acted without UN sanction, allies would be lost.

Cheney and his allies were preparing for a spring war and did not wish to be deflected by the UN inspection process. Powell is thought to have been terrified that the strategy of the 'crazies' would alienate the Blair government, which believed it needed UN backing to win over Parliament and the British public.

John Kampfner, political editor of the New Statesman and author of Blair's Wars, said Naughtie's characterisation of the feverish political atmosphere of the summer of 2002 was entirely accurate. 'The British government saw Powell as the most significant voice of sanity in the US administration. At different times during this very difficult period, the Brits used Powell to get across their point of view to the White House. But, bizarrely, Powell sometimes also used Blair to pass messages to Bush.'

Kampfner's book, which covers the Blair government's military adventures in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, reported that in July 2002 Blair sent his foreign policy adviser David Manning on a secret mission to Washington to deliver a letter hinting that, without a second UN resolution, Britain would not be able to join a war in Iraq.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1302834,00.html

Edited 9/16/2004 7:39 pm ET ET by blueishxx


Edited 9/16/2004 7:49 pm ET ET by blueishxx

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Thu, 09-16-2004 - 9:34pm
Democrats should have a staff of people working on getting Powell to come over to their side 24/7. It's obvious he's at odds with almost everything about the Bush administration's foreign policy, democrats love him and trusted him (at least up until his UN speech), get him on our side! The only thing keeping him on the Bush side is the fact that they're in power, and Powell is all about getting stuff done.