include("../../art/protect.inc") ?>
|
by Norman Solomon |
|
There's
something pathetic -- and dangerous -- about the crush of liberal commentators now pinning their hopes on Colin Powell.
Yes, the secretary of state is a "moderate" -- compared to the likes of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. But that's not saying much. And history tells us, even if the press won't, that Powell does not have a record as a man of conscience. Media coverage is portraying Powell as a steady impediment to a huge assault on Iraq. But closer scrutiny would lead us to different conclusions. Instead of undermining prospects for a military conflagration, Powell's outsized prestige is a very useful asset for the war planners. The retired general "is seen by many of Washington's friends and allies abroad as essential to the credibility of Bush's foreign policy," the French news agency AFP noted as September began. Avid participation in deplorable actions has been integral to Powell's career. A few examples:
"Access to Qatar's al Udeid Air Base will be essential to an Iraq invasion," a Wall Street Journal story reported on Sept. 3. Big deals are being cut. "Qatari officials have told U.S. officials that they want a guarantee that the U.S. military presence in Qatar would be permanent. They also want the U.S. to assume a greater portion of the $400 million cost of upgrading al Udeid air base for the U.S. Air Force." As for reluctant members of the UN Security Council, some bloody quid pro quos are on the horizon. In the Journal's words, Moscow "is expected to seek an understanding with the U.S. that it will have a freer hand in putting down its rebellion in Chechnya and that it will get a portion of the postwar contracts for rebuilding Iraq." Powell's "moderate" approach is in sync with the outlook of Fareed Zakaria, former managing editor of the elite periodical Foreign Affairs, who shares Powell's interest in urging the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq -- a good PR step in the quest for a confrontation leading to war. "Even if the inspections do not produce the perfect crisis," Zakaria wrote in a Sept. 2 Newsweek column, "Washington will still be better off for having tried because it would be seen to have made every effort to avoid war." Along similar lines, CNN reports, Powell "is working to convince the president of the need to build a strong coalition, similar to the one that existed during the 1991 Gulf War, and win the support of the UN Security Council through a new resolution." Deadly hawks come in many styles. Some have polished talons.
Albion Monitor
September 6 2002 (http://albionmonitor.net) All Rights Reserved. Contact rights@monitor.net for permission to use in any format. |