Feith: Powell Should Have Told Bush How Stupid I Am

[marmar]

from ThinkProgress:



Feith: Powell Should Have Told Bush How Stupid I Am»

In his new book “War and Decision,” former Pentagon official and Iraq war architect Douglas Feith blames many of his former Bush administration colleagues for the war’s failures. He chastizes former Secretary of State Colin Powell for “never express opposition to the invasion,” arguing that the war could have been avoided entirely if Powell had “persuaded the president” against overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

On Fox News this weekend, Feith again went after Powell, but this time, his criticism came with a slight twist. In the span of less than one minute, Feith attacked Powell for not strongly opposing the war — as he does in his book — but he then immediately criticized him for not “wholeheartedly support(ing) it” agreeing with host Paul Gigot that Powell’s “lack of support undermined” the war effort.

FEITH: Secretary Powell, I think, would have done the country a much greater service if he — since he didn’t quite agree with the president’s policy, as he’s made clear — if he had actually debated it and put forward an alternative strategy. But he didn’t do that, nor after the president made his decision, did he wholeheartedly support it. (…)

GIGOT: Is that what you’re saying? And that lack of support undermined the effort?

FEITH: I think that’s true.

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/14/feith-powell-blame/


So according to Feith — once called “the stupidest f****** guy on the planet” — the war could have been avoided if only Powell had done more to stop it. But at the same time, “victory” was at hand if only Powell had been “wholeheartedly” supporting it. Perhaps scapegoating can get confusing at times when you’re consistently blaming others for your failures.

Today, Spencer Ackerman has been taking a closer look at Feith’s book, and asks, “Can Doug Feith please stop playing himself?”

Transcript:

GIGOT: One of the fascinating things about your book is the degree to which it disagrees with so much of the conventional wisdom we’ve read about decision making in the Bush administration. For example, it’s often said that the president discouraged different points of view leading up to the war. But your book says, quote, “He encouraged an excessive tolerance sometimes of indiscipline, even of disloyalty, from his own officials,” unquote. Can you give me an example where that was the case?

FEITH: Well, what I’m talking about in there is that one of the principal problems I think this administration had was divided government. When I reviewed the debates in my book that occurred about Iraq policy, what struck me was how the president did not have the wholehearted support of the State Department and the CIA. And the point that I make is that Secretary Powell I think would have done the country a much greater service if he–since he didn’t quite agree with the president’s policy, as he’s made clear–if he had actually debated it and put forward an alternative strategy.

But he didn’t do that, nor after the president made his decision, did he wholeheartedly support it. And I think that the country would have been better off if he had either thrown in completely behind the policy or stepped aside in favor of somebody who would have.

GIGOT: So in a sense, the entire administration was not entirely behind it as we got into the occupation period and the attempt after Saddam Hussein was deposed in trying to develop a government there. Is that what you’re saying? And that lack of support undermined the effort.

FEITH: I think that’s true. It’s true, after Saddam was overthrown that there was actually a reversal of the policy that the president had adopted to put Iraqis in charge of their own government early on, and we wound up having a 14-month occupation where we ran the country, and I think that was a costly error.

And then also before the war, we actually lost ground diplomatically in the six months or so before the war, even though we took Secretary Powell’s suggestion to go to the U.N. as the main vehicle for out diplomacy.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/14/feith-powell-blame/

[Richardo]

1. That's one of the best headlines ever

Thanks! :rofl:

[Breeze54]

2. rotflmao!

:rofl: :P

:kick: & Recommended # 2 or 3 ? :P

[Johonny]

3. You get the feeling this book

is headed for top 10 in book stores, yet never purchased or read by anyone status.

we actually lost ground diplomatically in the six months or so before the war, even though we took Secretary Powell’s suggestion to go to the U.N. as the main vehicle for out diplomacy.

Suddenly I gain more respect for Powell who it sounds like wanted to look foolish in front of the UN in hopes someone would call the White house on their lies. The dumber these people sounded the less support they got, sounds like Powell knew what he was doing.

[spanone]

4. it will be fun to watch them covering their asses as it all becomes obvious..

[libodem]

5. Could there be more clowns in one place

than in this ridiculous administration. I hope they are all tried in a world court at the, Hague. That, stinkin' Richard Perle, with dark smudges under his eyes, is another piece of work. Man. Chertoff, looks like Skelator and Cheney like Darth Vader. Bushitler and his cast of demons. I thought a lot of Colin Powell at one time. I think he was used. I'll bet he wishes now he would have seen it coming.

[eShirl]

6. kicking to help get that title to the Greatest page

[Richardo]

7. Hey, I'm proud to be rec #5

:D

[niyad]

8. I despise powell, but he isn't responsible for feith's stupidity, only his own cupidity