- 21 Oct 2021 03:38
#15195162
Very interesting thread.
Colon Powell died. So immediately we have a discussion about:
1. Covid.
2. Donald Trump.
3. Donald Trump.
4. Goebels/total war.
5. Donald Trump
6. Thailand.
I was in the army when Powell was rising through the ranks but did not know him or work for him. I do meet several people who did work for him (or at least claimed to) and they were generally ambivalent about him. There is no doubt that he was a fairly intrepid soldier during the Vietnam war. Above average one could say. BUT:
There is a thing called the "Peter Principal". It goes something like this: "A person usually rises to their own level of incompetence". They simply get one too many promotions. A good colonel is not always a good general. God knows we have all see examples of this.
I fear this is what happened to Powell. So far we have avoided the elephant in the corner. Powell was black. And he was in the army at a time when the military was dying for black leader examples. Now I am only going to say this once, and I will not defend against those to stupid to understand what I am saying....I am not asserting that Powell achieved what he did solely because of affirmative action or similar sentiments. Just the opposite. I am saying that Powell could not escape being judged as the "black general....black Chief of Staff...Black Secretary of State."
IMO, as Secretary of State, Powell fell victim to his bringing the expectations of a general officer in charge of a staff, to the State Department where behavior was quite different. So did Powell lie? Obviously. But did he do it deliberately? Only possibly. Just watching his behavior as Secretary of State before 9/11 I think I saw someone who was just out of his element. He lacked the political savvy and diplomatic experience to function in the job as well as a more experienced diplomat might. So he got blindsided. And, like a good soldier, fell back on the only value he saw as universal.....loyalty to the system and particularly his boss. I think he sought Bush's favor far too much. This is understandable. It is, in my experience, highly unusual to find a senior officer who truly want to have his decisions questioned and certainly not made based on the opinions of his subordinates.
Then there was this. America desperately wanted him to succeed. He was calm and dignified in an administration that was, frankly, neither. I liked Bush and voted for him but he was the guy you want to have a beer with and not the guy you call upon to add gravitas to an event. Powell was the "classy" guy in the administration. We needed an affable though reserved uncle figure. We chose Powell to be that figure. We wanted him to be honest and I think he was. But he was, at best, careless with the Sec State job.
Then there is this. Everyone in government knew that the culprit was Saudi Arabia. Clearly we should have deposed the House of Saud if our goal was justice. But it was not. Saudi Arabia, for all the harm it has done the USA over the decades, is the devil you know.
The American people were crying out for blood and Saddam was a despot worthy of a Hollywood script. Nobody gave two shits about someplace called Iraq and the stories about rape parties hosted by Saddam's two sons were straight out of a B movie. So a half million Iraqis ate the big one because we were REALLY pissed. And Powell was dead in the middle of it. Could he, or should he, have stopped it? I doubt he could have. The US was going to pound someone into the dirt and all that was left was the choice of targets. Powell or no Powell, Iraq was toast.
So "the Good Back Man" was put up front. After all, to question him was first and foremost racist. (Particularly in those days.) Right? Powell gave Bush credibility and cover at a time when he desperately needed it and that was right in Powell's wheelhouse. Loyalty first. Everything else, after. Powell took one for the team.
I think he was a good man. He was an able soldier for sure. I am going to remember him as a good combat soldier and competent general. And because I subscribe to the Peter Principal, give him a pass on the rest.
Last edited by Drlee on 21 Oct 2021 03:49, edited 1 time in total.
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