The press repeatedly stated that Powell had refused to use the Niger document in his presentation to the U.N. because of what Condoleeza Rice described as long-standing concerns about its credibility. However, Powell made no attempt to minimize the nuclear capability alluded to by George Bush in his ominous warning about the uranium purchase in Niger. In fact, in his UN speech Colin Powell used the word “nuclear’ TWENTY TWO times!
Among the chilling statements made by Powell at the UN were the following:
We have no indication that Saddam Hussein has ever abandoned his nuclear weapons program.
We have more than a decade of proof that he remains determined to acquire nuclear weapons.
Saddam Hussein already possesses two out of the three key components needed to build a nuclear bomb.
Since 1998, his efforts to reconstitute his nuclear program have been focused on acquiring the third and last component, sufficient fissile material to produce a nuclear explosion.
Saddam Hussein is determined to get his hands on a nuclear bomb.
Next, came grave warnings about high specification aluminum tubes that would be used in centrifuges for enriching uranium. The nexus was clear, and the nation shuddered.
The obvious conclusion was that Powell had too much integrity to present information to the UN that he knew to be bogus. After all, while the President might have been ‘misled’ by intelligence sources, the rest of the damning evidence against Saddam Hussein was totally credible, because Colin Powell is an honorable man. But, that’s not exactly what happened. Not by a long shot. Perhaps his "resume" might lend a clue or two.
By The Associated Press, March 13, 2002
COLIN POWELL. In 1968, as a staff army major in Vietnam, Colin Powell played a direct role in suppressing the inquiry into the My Lai massacre, and into related atrocities against civilians. As a White House fellow during the Watergate years he earned a reputation -- but only for keeping his mouth shut.
As a military assistant to Caspar Weinberger during the Reagan administration, he helped to deceive Congress about the trading in heavy weapons with Iran, about the exchange of those weapons for hostages, and about the diversion of the illicit proceeds to finance another illicit operation in Nicaragua.
In Panama, in 1989, he helped shape an operation that totally disregarded international law and took many civilian lives.
During the Gulf War, he strongly opposed any military help for the Kurdish and Shia rebellions against Saddam Hussein.
In the Bosnian conflict, he publicly opposed any intervention against Slobodan Milosevic and his forcible creation of a "Greater Serbia."
As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton, he repeatedly intervened to influence political decisions, not only about the Balkans but about the right of homosexuals to serve in the military.
