Posted on 11/20/2004 4:59:03 PM PST by blam
Powell 'pushed out' by Bush for seeking to rein in Israel
By Charles Laurence in New York and Philip Sherwell
(Filed: 21/11/2004)
Colin Powell, the outgoing US secretary of state, was given his marching orders after telling President George W Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process.
Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.
Colin Powell: the president's 'good cop'
According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr Powell was not asked to stay on and gave no hints that he would do so. Briefing reporters later, he referred to "fulsome discussions" - diplomatic code for disagreements.
"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently-retired state department official.
"Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."
Bob Woodward, the veteran Washington reporter who was granted unprecedented access to the first Bush administration for his books Bush At War and Plan Of Attack, said last week that Mr Powell had been "dreaming" if he thought that he could stay on.
Vice-president Dick Cheney and his fellow hardliner, John Bolton, an under-secretary of state to Mr Powell, are both understood to have lobbied Mr Bush to replace him.
They wanted to make Iran's alleged nuclear bomb aspirations and support for Islamic terror groups the foreign policy priority for the new administration and believed that Mr Powell would back away from a confrontational approach.
The two are frustrated that Britain, France and Germany are still seeking a diplomatic deal with Teheran rather than backing an immediate UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran and threatening sanctions.
Mr Powell's final pitch to remain in office for at least another year was made during Tony Blair's visit to Washington nine days ago, The Telegraph has learned. Earlier indications had been that he intended to step down after enduring four years of clashes with the office of Mr Cheney and the Pentagon under Donald Rumsfeld.
Friends of Mr Powell later briefed journalists that he had changed his mind because he saw the chance of progress on the peace process and wanted to see through the Iraqi elections.
Mr Powell is to be replaced by Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser and close confidante of Mr Bush.
Mr Bolton's predicted promotion as her deputy is a further signal that the president wants to conduct foreign policy without the "moderating" influence and popular public face of Mr Powell.
Prominent neo-conservatives in Washington make no secret of their desire for regime change in Teheran, although few believe that a full-scale military operation is a viable strategy.
Instead, the emphasis is on establishing economic sanctions as a means to squeeze the ruling mullahs. There is also the option that the US may tacitly back Israeli air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The overhaul of the CIA under its new director, Porter Goss, a recent Bush appointee, is also intended to remove critics of America's foreign policy.
Thank G-d for VP Dick Cheney, among many others. Someone has to stand up to the threat of a nuclear holocaust emanating from Iran.
This line of moral equivalence is maddening. You DO NOT negotiate with terrorists, especially since negotiation has produced no fruits historically. They want Jews dead and that is all they want. They understand one thing and one thing only...Death!...Give them what they want and they will shut the allah up.
SCREEEEEECH!!!!
Someone will have to take Powell's place in that respect, since Bush's policies haven't changed and Sharon may occasionally need to be reminded that he needs to stand up to his own ultra-nationalists from time to time. It may even be Wolfowitz, who's on record as being against the so-called "settlements".
-Eric
Tony Snow said as much on his radio show yesterday.
Powell's problem is that he thinks Ariel is the one who needs "reigning in," and not Palestinian terrorist groups and their backers.
...and who also has the stones to put her foot up someome's a$$ if she needs to.
Iran's not a threat to the US.
Note to self...Do not hire Powell to handle negotiations between myself and the local criminals.
Bingo!
You're dreaming. Any nation run by Islamist nutballs with nuclear weapons is a threat to the U.S.
You are forgetting US bases in Europe will be in range of Iranian weapons.
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC; September 27, 2001
...
QUESTION: To what extent does this campaign -- as you constantly review your Middle East policy, what -- how much influence does this campaign against terrorism have in that? What's the input? How does it weigh in here? See what I mean?
MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.
QUESTION: It's obviously a factor --
MR. BOUCHER: We have talked about this on and off over the last few days. We recognize that there is an influence. Some have said it affects the atmosphere, the Palestinian/Israeli issues affect the atmosphere of cooperation. But, essentially, there are, on some planes, two different things. One is that there are violent people trying to destroy societies, ours, many others in the world. The world recognizes that and we are going to stop those people.
On the other hand, there are issues and violence and political issues that need to be resolved in the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians. But we all recognize that the path to solve those is through negotiation and that we have devoted enormous efforts to getting back to that path of negotiation.
And we have called on the parties to do everything they can, particularly in the present circumstance, to make that possible. I guess that's about as close as I can come to the kind of sophisticated analysis I'm sure you will want to do on your own. But they are clearly issues that are different, not only in geography but also, to some extent, in their nature
Come again?
Then kill them all and quit wasting our time and money.
We don't need the 'Global Test' mentality in our state department.
I'm really concerned about Democracy in the middle east, the treatment of women in Afghanistan, and how many Kurds died back in the 1980's. It keeps me up at night. / sarcasm>
TELEGRAPH FICTION BUMP....NEXT TO THIS JEW-HATING RAG THE ENQUIRER IS THE WASHINGTON POST.
They only wanted to play with our embassy staff. They were never hostages. It was a game of Blind Man's Bluff.
I said Iran's not a threat to the US. They are of course a threat to US citizens in Iran but frankly I never plan on going there. I worry about China and Russia a lot more than Iran.
Disinformation. Another piece.
Maybe it comes from Powell, the Israel angle will sell his certain to be coming book.
FYI...The Washington Post is run by Jews (i.e. the Graham Family).
I can't think of a better reason for it.
So is the NY Times.
FYI
ARidgerunner: you beat me to it. I was about to ping you.
Our ?
I assumed you were one person with one user ID.
Yes, "Our". There are many others in this country that believe that American foreign policy should be dictated by AMERICAN interests.
When the cat was growing up "process" was something that Negroes, as Americans-Africans were identified then, and Colon Bowell is old enough to remember, did to their hair. Other than that, the addiction to "peace process' is another Foggy Bottom disease.
American foreign policy is suitably determined by President George W. Bush with the able assistance of Vice President Dick Cheney, soon to be SoS Condileeza Rice, SoD Donald Rumsfeld, Congress, and countless other loyal and capable staff.
Fortunately, you are not among them.
Bush shows some guts by getting rid of this guy who's opposed all his foreign policy objectives in State.
Colon Powell's departure is long overdue.
Fortunately, you are not among them.
Do what you want - just give me money money back.
Well you could list your PayPal ID.
I'm sure someone will send you money ...
So, we replace the former general with some chick from Stanford? Madeline Albright all over again.
The media made Powell a hero after Gulf War I. However, Powell had been against everything that was successful in Gulf War I.
Any Muslim Theocracy is a threat to the US..
I think you're looking for DemocratUnderground.commies. Not FreeRepublic.
Just looking for old-fashioned conservatives not neo-cons.
Why don't you just drop the "neo-cons" euphamism and come and say what you want to say.
Even less so, after skimming parts of "The Commanders".
You get the prize for the stupiest post of the week.
You are truly deranged.
I think he already did. See #24: "FYI...The Washington Post is run by Jews (i.e. the Graham Family)."
Isn't interesting how these nuts who throw around the "neo-con" label always know who the JEWS are? There are sites on the web where the nuts gather and review lists to make sure they know who IS and who ISN'T a JEW.
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