Posted on 09/01/2002 5:55:31 AM PDT by Brian Mosely
Saturday, Aug. 31, 2002 Secretary of State Colin Powell has been a good soldier in public, even as he has had to fight for every small victory against Administration hawks like Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But he has privately grown more frustrated, and now, sources close to Powell tell Time, he has a firm plan for his exit: he will step down at the end of President Bushs current term. He will have done a yeomans job of contributing over the four years, says a close aide. But thats enough. The aide says Powells view of the matter is, I did what my heart told me to do. I got (Bush) here and set him up. I did the best I could do. If Bush wins a second term, only the imminence of a major diplomatic victoryin the Middle East, for examplecould induce him to stay a short while longer. By the same token, the aide stresses that Powell is determined to serve out the entire termeven if the U.S. launches an invasion of Iraq, which Powell has fought to delay or derail.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher repeated Powells public assertion that he has no intention of leaving. He serves at the pleasure of the President, Boucher said. A Powell exit could cause political problems for the Republicans. The loss of his moderating voice would embolden the hard-liners and hurt the partys efforts to broaden its base. And those who dream of a Powell presidential candidacy in 2008 have little cause for hope. Powell, the aide says, will never run for President.
Who wrote this stuff?
Years ago, his son (a lieutenant? in the Army) was injured in a humvee accident in Germany and was medically discharged or retired. Later he graduated from Georgetown Law School.
Agree with your analysis. Just let me add: and the State Department is the nest of the same viper-commies you're talking about, so Powell has also to perform a difficult and thankless role of a snake-charmer.
Let's see:
MILITARY AWARDS
General Powell is the recipient of numerous U.S. military awards and decorations including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and the Purple Heart.
Now, the one medal that stands out to me is the Soldier's Medal which is probably one of the least conferred medals for heroism awarded. Also comparing Powell to Grant is kind of silly as Grant never had to deal with things like, um, a Soviet Union that had massive numbers of troops in Europe and intercontinental nuclear capability.
Regards.
If it wasn't for all the A grades Powell received in ROTC at City College, he would have flunked out of college.
Collin graduated at the BOTTOM of his City College class with a 2.0 average.
This MUST be the absolute truth! /sarcasm
Time has less reliability than the "The Star" or "The Globe."
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