Calls on the left to prosecute various members of the Bush administration for war crimes are pretty common. So common, in fact, that Barack Obama has repeated his pattern of placating radical elements of his party by insinuating that a now almost inevitable Obama Justice Department would be instructed to look into such crimes.
All of which makes the reaction to Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama over the weekend pretty interesting.
The way folks have been talking, the endorsement was tantamount to Elvis sending a telegram to the Ed Sullivan Show praising the Beatles. Or John the Baptist passing the conch to J.C.
But wait just a sec here. Isn't this the same Colin Powell who was G.W.B's Secretary of State in the lead-up to the Iraq war, who was the point man for the administration at the U.N. Security council meeting where the case was made for the war? Who was instantly ridiculed for giving a presentation I remember one blogger describing as "something out of Waiting for Godot?"
Look, I don't begrudge Powell's right to endorse whoever he wants to endorse; he has to do what he thinks is right, and his rationale, while not quite as stunning and impactful as some might have you believe, was at least decently reasoned.
But how can Obama supporters -- who were initially energized by Obama's anti-war stance, and pointed to his early opposition to the war as a sign of his judgement on foreign policy -- crow about the endorsement of a guy, who at the very least, helped pave the way for the war?
Does Powell get a "get out of war crimes free" card for the endorsement?
3 comments:
I think it's 3 things
1) He's genuinely excited about the idea of a black President, policy differences aside. Figures the kid can't do THAT much damage in four years.
2) Yeah, he just took himself off the list of people that will be investigated for war crimes.
and
3) He may have just landed himself a job in Obama's cabinet.
As folks smarter than I have pointed out, this would have looked more courageous if he'd done it when the election seemed more in doubt.
Yeah, I mean, it doesn't really surprise me, and I think Limbaugh et al. are ridiculous to insinuate that it is some kind of traitorous move. I hate that kind of thinking.
I just find it amusing that suddenly the nod from Colin Powell is considered the nail in the coffin.
Yeah I'll add that I always liked Colin Powell as a politician but have not been a fan of his military mind. He's from that old-fashioned "overwhelming force" mentality that sends a sledgehammer to do a job a scapel would be more apporpriate for. Thrilled that a more nimble approach to engagements has been adopted by Petraeus etal... I only hope the return of Powell will not mean a return to the WW2 massive beachhead engagements style of warfighting... but I suspect that it will.
Post a Comment