BBC NEWS | The Reporters

Colin Powell drops a grenade

Gavin Hewitt
19 Oct 08, 11:56 PM GMT

Fayetteville, North Carolina: Colin Powell's intervention did not surprise me. I knew that he thought America was on the wrong track. Last summer I was speaking to one of his closest freinds. He phoned Colin Powell while I was with him and the former secretary of state was fixing his roof at the time.

The message of the friend - a man who had also been in government - was that America was alienating the world by showing a harsh face. He went on: America was at its strongest when it was at its most generous. The country, he said, had to live up to its ideals.

Colin Powell has now echoed that. Barack Obama would be a transformational president and his election would electrify the world, he said.

His endorsement may not influence many Republicans. He was often regarded as a "soft" member of the party. His words may, however, carry weight with swing voters and independents. In essence what he was saying was "You can trust Barack Obama as your commander-in-chief".

Listening to him as he left NBC I sensed a real distaste for the tone of the McCain campaign. He took on the talk radio circuit and the blogosphere directly. It troubled him that people were suggesting Barack Obama was a Muslim. He's not, he's a Christian, said the former secretary of state, but he also challenged the idea that it would be wrong if he were of another faith.

He also attacked what some Republicans have been asking "Who is a real American, who is not?". "We've got to stop this kind of nonsense," Colin Powell said.

Watching him today it was impossible not to wonder whether there was a slight element of "revenge" in his comments. He has never, as far as I know, laid the blame for the debacle at the United Nations when he held up a tube and said this was the evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons programme. It later was shown to be false.

When he left office he said he got on the Interstate heading south of Washington and never looked in his rear-view mirror. He seemed a rare man who could shed power and prominence easily. But, at the same time, he would have known that his long years of public service were stained by those moments at the United Nation. He would not have wanted to "get back" at John McCain personally but perhaps there was a lingering resentment with the Republicans.

Only Colin Powell knows that.

But this was a pitch today for a generational change, for a country that was more inclusive and more diverse.

I was in Fayetteville today in North Carolina where Barack Obama was speaking. As he spoke of some news "this morning" the crowd erupted. I even heard screams. For many in the audience this was a big moment. But the Obama team must also be aware of the huge expectations they are building up.

Comments

1. At 00:26am on 20 Oct 2008, clueduprock wrote:
Team Obama need to play it as cool as possible.

They will have known it was coming; they will be aware of the voices (incorrectly) accusing Powell of race-bias.

Just thank the experienced statesman quietly for his kind words, and let it do its work in the polls and the votes.

As for Powell's motives - I think his words are correct, and as a centrist Republican I don't doubt his appreciation of Obama's inclusive nature vs. the McCain team's backward negativity. But wouldn't you be furious, even after all this time, about the crooks and stooges who threw him under a bus over the Iraq war?

He also attacked what some Republicans have been asking "Who is a real American, who is not?". "We've got to stop this kind of nonsense," Colin Powell said.
100% true.

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2. At 00:42am on 20 Oct 2008, twokidsandadog wrote:
Powell completely took apart and blew away all aspects of how McCain has handled himself and his campaign over the past few months.

Meanwhile, McCain was busy defending his vicious robocalls. It all started with the directed chant of U-S-A at the Republican convention; then encouraged the "he's a Muslim" and "he's a terrorist" rumours; now he's being described as Anti-American. All endeavours imaginable to portray that a white man is American whereas a black man is not.

I don't want to live in a country where one party becomes ever more right-wing and racist. Because when you keep following that road you might just find another Holocaust.

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3. At 01:09am on 20 Oct 2008, AmericanSportFan wrote:
Bombshell does not even begin to describe the Powell Endorsement. It gives Obama crediblity on Foriegn Policy and counter acts many of the McCain Campaigns arguments about Obama's Foriegn Policy credentials. It also gives the Obama camp hope of taking Virginia, North Carolina and Florida; three states with large populations of Military Personel and Voters. General Powell is respected amongst military circles and this will give soldiers reason to pause and think.

I was talking to my father and suggested that maybe General Powell would come out of retirement and assume his position as Secretary of State. My father seemed to think that this was impossible since he felt that Powell was done with public service. I sincerely hope not, because I believe that Powell would be able to restore my countries soiled reputation around the world.

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4. At 01:30am on 20 Oct 2008, jangeljp wrote:
McCain's people will of course paint this endorsement of Obama in racial tones, but I think Powell is respected enough across the political spectrum for this to be a serious blow to McCain's dwindling hopes. Increasingly he and his cohorts (Palin, Michele Bachmann etc.) are showing their true colors, and an increasing number of Americans are finally beginning to feel uneasy about the Republican ticket. I'm sure I'm one of many outsiders who has problems stomaching the emphasis in American politics on issues that are just not issues to most of the world, and the general immaturity of the electorate. It's gratifying indeed to see the American populace about to elect a very bright, compassionate, and level-headed young man to the world's most powerful position. My congratulations and thanks in advance - but don't forget -as Obama said, never underestimate the ability of the Democrats to seize defeat from the jaws of victory. Keep up the pressure!

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5. At 02:27am on 20 Oct 2008, frayedcat wrote:
Right on CP !

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6. At 02:33am on 20 Oct 2008, Grrrlie wrote:
The robo-calls are rabidly racist and xenophobic; they are McCain's last-ditch strategy. And McCain's pals have the gall to call General Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama as being solely racially motivated! Ever-increasingly over time John McCain has turned into his very own "Portrait of Dorian Gray" Having sold his soul to the far-right demons in his own party, in hopes of worldwide personal power and glory - instead now McCain is a mass of reactive facial tics, bizarre In all a very ugly picture - certainly one most Americans would not wish to have hanging on their walls at home!!

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7. At 02:55am on 20 Oct 2008, AmericanSportFan wrote:
I agree the "robbo calls" are racist. No less that SUe Collins (Republican of Maine) has called for this to stop. She is right this needs to stop. It is my hope that after the Election she sees the light and switches to the Democratic Party. That would make up for the loss of Joe Lieberman

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8. At 03:03am on 20 Oct 2008, SydneySD-6 wrote:
I liked the fact CP pointed out to McCain and his supporters that we have patriotic individuals of Muslim faith serving and dying for our country.

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9. At 03:10am on 20 Oct 2008, norcalmiller wrote:
Game Over for McCain/Palin.

Colin Powell effectively eviscerated his own Party, their VP choice and their tactics in trying to smear, push-poll and Robo-Call their way into the Whitehouse.

Deep down, McCain is smart enough to understand that the truth is the ultimate in patriotism, which should always trump party affiliation.

The last two weeks of McCain's campaign will be more about his legacy, than his viability in this contest.

He will distance himself from the attack ads and probably also Palin, whom he should have replaced after the Couric debacle.

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10. At 08:50am on 20 Oct 2008, Shrimati wrote:
I have always admired Colin Powell and was saddened when he left the political arena as I was hoping he would one day become President. His comments are very relevant and put the McCain camp to shame - their desperation and lack of judgement was laughable. Do they think all Americans are small minded??

Looking forward to seeing what Obama can do.

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11. At 10:01am on 20 Oct 2008, Triumph69 wrote:
errr, hang on a second? This is a man who stood in front of the world and stated uncategorically that Saddam Hussein had WMD's. A man who convinced many undecideds that war was justified and who surely must take some blame for the hundreds of thousands of innocent deaths over the last 5 years, so why all of a sudden are people giving his words any creedance, if he can be so wrong on one thing why not on this as well?

If he had apologised for his errors then maybe one could trust him again.

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12. At 10:05am on 20 Oct 2008, kennyslim28 wrote:
At 00:42am on 20 Oct 2008, twokidsandadog wrote:

"Powell completely took apart and blew away all aspects of how McCain has handled himself and his campaign over the past few months." Just quoting twokidsandadog on this topic "Colin Powell drops a Grenade."

What else do they expect from Americans and the world when a former secretary of state on the flagship of the Republican Party decides to take his own party apart in truth and honesty?

Of course, the people are not blind... We already saw that even before Powell's blast. Anyway, this makes the truth all more revealing. Ride on Obama. But the Team Obama must tread with caution as, no doubt, there are lots of bananna peels on the way.

Watch and pray President Obama in the waiting. We will do our beat of the praying too.

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13. At 11:43am on 20 Oct 2008, Parrisia wrote:
Powell endorsing Obama is less significant in terms of damage done compared to Liberman becoming a Republican. Powell's credibility has been shattered. This is not just one of the Iraq War architects but the very man who actually tried to "sell" the need to go to war to the rest of world. Remember the ridiculous presentation at the UN?

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14. At 11:55am on 20 Oct 2008, blogbag wrote:
More biased BBC reporting. The pro Obama bias is totally blatant by these individuals with no attempt at neutrality.

Heard Simon Schama on Radio 4 as well, again blatant and look at the air time he gets. Also Panaroma programme called ' Obama and the Pitbull'. There is no concept of balanced reporting here.

Someting needs to be done about this blatant organisation and its overt support for Obama - there is never any challenge about the background of Obama and what he really stands for or Biden for that matter. Its just slate McCain and Palin non stop and hope the smears will stick.

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15. At 3:17pm on 20 Oct 2008, LuftHamza wrote:
I do remember the ridiculous presentation at the UN. I also remember who was behind it:

Bush
Rumsfeld
Cheney
Perle
Blair

Powell's job on that day was one of messenger boy. I couldn't help feeling that at times he looked uncomfortable. Back then I apportioned blame to the seats at the UN, but now you can see that he was sent to the UN simply to present a pack of lies. Good on yer Col for speaking out, albeit late.

As for credibility, I think it's quite credible that having been on a team that's been proven spectacularly wrong, you can now show a different opinion. There's a very apt German phrase "Der denkende Mensch ändert seine Meinung" which translates as "a thinking person will change their opinions". Particularyl fitting here.

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16. At 4:35pm on 20 Oct 2008, Serpillo wrote:
Dear Friends,

Wasn’t Colin Powell member of the Bush administration that Obama so much criticises for the US last eight year policies? Wasn’t Colin Powell responsible for the foreign policies that so much isolated the US and ruined relationships with the rest of the world, which Obama so much criticize? Wasn’t Colin Powell responsible for the dodgy documents regarding weapons of mass destruction that he presented to the United Nations in the attempt to get rubber stamp to the military intervention in Iraq, including the document regarding the attempt of acquisition of nuclear technology, which took the United Nations experts very little time to expose as fake?

Considering the above experience of Colin Powell judgement on such important matters such as going to war, how can the US voters rely on his judgment now?

It is sad to realize that nothing has changed in politics and how politicians of all colours are still manipulating information and are still exploiting people feelings for political gain, using prefabricated images of a person who, if we consider the substance, had great responsibility for the disastrous Bush policies.

Unfortunately, in this image related, celebrities like shallow society, superficiality seems still to be the most important point, to the detriment of substance, and in this the media has great responsibility.

I still remember the past US elections, when there was a systematic attack on Al Gore image, systematically depicted as the “Wooden Man”, and the support for Bush (depicted as the nice man with whom you could spend a pleasant evening at the pub), instead of underlining Gore intelligence and competence against Bush ignorance: as a result, we had eight years of disastrous policies that affected the whole planet: I am convinced that, if Al Gore had been president of the US, we would not have had the invasion of Iraq, for instance.

The same now happen with Gordon Brown in Britain, used as people were to the media focusing on the eternal campaigners Tony Blair, who spent so much time on TV, in a celebrity like manner. Again, superficiality privileged to the detriment of substance.

PS
In politics, when you are the member of a team, you have to support the policies even if you may sometimes disagree. But this cannot happen on fundamental matters: in these important cases, you have to be honest and resign, or take full responsibility for the outcome. Colin Powell did not resign, (as honourably did Robin Cook from the British government), and so he must take full responsibility.

Kind regards

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17. At 5:14pm on 20 Oct 2008, GiffordB wrote:
I am very upset about this. I for one am an american who was against the war in Iraq, as I thought Senator Obama was. I sat for hours watching General Powell knowing misled and down right lie to the american people along with all the nations represented by the U.N. (including the UK) about the threat Iraq posed to America based on Intellegence that he and his advisors manufactured and skewed. And now Obama wants him as a top advisor? There is absolutely no reasoning behind this ignorant move and now it lends more credence to all other claims of suspect associations from his past. I fear there is nothing more dangerous than a man who will stop at nothing to become president and my nation is in for a terrible future.

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18. At 5:19pm on 20 Oct 2008, yewmoon wrote:
I believed Colin Powell when he went before the UN to present the case for WMDs in Iraq. I think he did too. Like many others he was hoodwinked into believing this lie and made to be its public face precisely because he was so respected.

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19. At 7:42pm on 20 Oct 2008, BritPatJax wrote:
Gavin, have you heard Limbaugh on talk radio? Fox news right wing host? He stated this morning when talking of Joe the Plumber that Obama probably did not know how to un block a toilet to which his side kick 'Snerdly' stated and Limbaugh repeated it, "if he even uses one'. How disgusting can right wing radio get?

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20. At 8:58pm on 20 Oct 2008, sbnative wrote:
This is not a question concerning ONLY race or religion--though the left would like to divert us from other issues (like Socialism.) If Powell's remarks worked for both right/left then Romney wouldn't have been eliminated because he was a Mormon! WAKE UP CALL: Very few have said Obama IS a Muslim. But he DID support Raila Odinga in Kenya -- who DID sign an agreement with radical Muslims to enact SHARIA LAW. We the People HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW our ‘future’ President ALIGNED himself with Odinga -- a brutal thug who ‘won’ a government post by instigating riots—aka ethnic cleansing—at the hands of fellow tribe members (with the help of radical Muslims.) NOT what I want in a president. But where is our 'free' press? Sucking up to the money machine (Obama's camp—and where is all that money coming from?) Google it. Odinga Obama. Watch the YouTube videos shot in Kenya. Check overseas news sources about Odinga/Kenya. Find out for yourself. I don't understand Powell "overlooking" this, except he wants a job in the new bought-and-voted-frauded-in administration. TGod willing, Obama is the martyr who stands up to radical Muslims and doesn't sign agreements with THEM in the United States of America. This is a Judeo-Christian country and we aren't looking for that kind of "change."

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21. At 10:32pm on 20 Oct 2008, Sankari wrote:
Post #20; sbnative wrote: "WAKE UP CALL: Very few have said Obama IS a Muslim. But he DID support Raila Odinga in Kenya -- who DID sign an agreement with radical Muslims to enact SHARIA LAW. We the People HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW our ?future? President ALIGNED himself with Odinga -- a brutal thug who ?won? a government post by instigating riots?aka ethnic cleansing?at the hands of fellow tribe members (with the help of radical Muslims.) NOT what I want in a president".

This is a pack of lies. The truth is here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/kenya.asp

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22. At 07:17am on 21 Oct 2008, SydneySD-6 wrote:
#17

"I fear there is nothing more dangerous than a man who will stop at nothing to become president and my nation is in for a terrible future."

This statement seem to fit McCain perfectly and I believe it is one of many reasons why McCain lost so many supporters. And we now have a Congress women who is supporting the McCain/Palin ticket hinting we need to find out who in congress is pro-America and who is anti-America. Very dangerous indeed!!!! I would think with a Congress women like this and a McCain presidency, I would think our country would face a terrible future.

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23. At 5:06pm on 25 Oct 2008, kateoneal wrote:
Colin Powell is a maverick...

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24. At 12:17pm on 31 Oct 2008, glueonhair wrote:
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
25. At 1:27pm on 31 Oct 2008, Peter_Sym wrote:
In response to some points here: Saddam DID have chemical & biological weapons. They were used against both the Kurds and Iranians. The UN destroyed 30,000 tons after the first gulf war and certain Dutch and German businessmen served long jail sentences for helping the program.

In addition Saddam DID attempt to develop nuclear weapons. The French started building him a nuclear reactor at Osirak (which the Israelis flattened) and he had over 1000 tons of Uranium ore in his possesion. The supergun was a nuclear delivery vehicle (it would have fired 1 or 2 shells a day so would have had no conventional use)

Its also worth pointing out that several Iraqi nerve gas shells have been modified by the insuregents and used against the US in Iraq... no-one has died but a few US soldiers have been injured.

Colin Powell did not lie to anyone. Like me he believed Saddam was totally untrustworthy and had NOT destroyed his stockpiles. Based on the ten years of mucking UN weapons inspectors about this was a quite reasonable assumption. He was a damn good general and a man I have a lot of respect for.

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26. At 2:45pm on 03 Nov 2008, robloop wrote:
Gavin
I've both heard and read Colin Powell's Meet the Press interview, and regard Powell's own mind the most "soft" contributing factor to his supporting Obama.
When we should have expected some depth in thinking and evidence of perception, instead we got more of the shallowness that characterizes so much of what goes with Obama's support. Is Powell really not concerned about Obama's background, associations and what this tells about his instincts and experience?
After that interview little wonder I was never particularly impressed by Powell. Now even less - which adds up to precious little.

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27. At 4:20pm on 03 Nov 2008, robloop wrote:
Even if never much impressed by Colin Powell, though never questioning his decency and gentlemanliness, it is only fair to point out that EVERY intelligence agency in the West, not just the CIA, believed and reported that Saddam Hussein still had weapons of mass destruction. A few years ago in a BBC t.v. debate, the former Spanish Foreign Minister, exasperated by statements about American-fabricated
'intelligence' regarding Iraq's WMD, emphatically informed the gathering of this reality and silenced further hostile debate.
Regarding this issue, Democrats in the U.S. have shown themselves contemptible liars and deceivers who suffer from convenient amnesia. Anything to whip George Bush whom they hate, but yet another symptom of the intolerance and hatred that now grips Washington and America generally if one side disagrees with the other. The seeds of destruction have been sown over many years and Abraham Lincoln's warning that if the U.S. is to be defeated it would have to come from within now stands as a great possibility.

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