Powell refuses to answer questions about torture-Iraq war link.
Powell refuses to answer questions about torture-Iraq war link.
Earlier this month, Colin Powell’s former chief of staff, Larry Wilkerson, revealed that the reason why detainee Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi was waterboarded was not to prevent another terrorist attack, but to unearth “a smoking gun linking Iraq and al-Qa’ida.” This false confession was later used by Powell in his infamous February 2003 U.N. speech making the case for the Iraq war. On Sunday, blogger Sam Husseini asked Powell about al-Libi. In a tense exchange, Powell refused to talk about the detainee, saying, “I don’t have any details on the al-Libi case:”
Q: Your chief of staff, Wilkerson, has written about this.
POWELL: So what? [inaudible]
Q: So you’d think you’d know about it.
POWELL: The information I presented to the UN was vetted by the CIA. Every word came from the CIA and they stood behind all that information. I don’t know that any of them believe that torture was involved. I don’t know that in fact. A lot of speculation, particularly by people who never attended any of these meetings, but I’m not aware of it.
Watch it:
A recent Senate Intelligence committee report concluded that al-Libi lied about the link “to avoid torture.” “They were killing me,” al-Libi told the FBI about his interrgators. “I had to tell them something.”
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This is my problem with Powell — he’s never entirely honest.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:19 pmPowell deserves to be investigated just like the rest of them. Anyone with knowledge of this program needs to be brought before a federal grand jury, put under oath, and asked what they knew and when they knew it.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:20 pmTrue or False: Is it true that a planned bombing of the Brooklyn Bridge was prevented due the the torture of a captured terrorist?
May 26th, 2009 at 12:21 pmBeethoven Rules;
true or false, torture is illegal without exception?
Robbing a bank may help me feed my family, doesn’t make it ok.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:24 pmal-Libi lied about the link “to avoid torture.” “They were killing me,” al-Libi told the FBI about his interrgators. “I had to tell them something.”
The highly unlikely ‘ticking timebomb’ is so easily accepted, don’t the torture proponents understand that this is much more likely? It just takes a little common sense, and
Oh, I think I see the problem.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:25 pmOS Says:
Anyone who knowingly violated the Constitution of the United States should be thrown under the bus, starting with the people in charge…..
May 26th, 2009 at 12:25 pmOS Says:
So, you progressives are throwing powell under the bus?
Nope- you conservatives got that covered… we’re trying to find out about what crazy ass illegal torture you guys got up to…
May 26th, 2009 at 12:28 pmPowell is in no way, nor ever has been, the poster boy for progressives. So your “under the bus” statement makes no sense. Personally, I would love to throw every member of the former Bush cabal “under a bus.”
May 26th, 2009 at 12:30 pmSorry Ominously Stupid, those tire tracks all over Powell clearly came from the hummer driven by Rush Limbaugh. Dick Cheney, naturally, was riding shotgun.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:31 pmI choose Wilkerson over Cheney, Limbaugh, and Powell.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:34 pmOS, its Limbaugh and Cheney that are throwing Powell under the proverbial bus, a GOP one.
Thanks for playing.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:34 pmOS is a binary thinker
he only sees the extreme of any issue
to him you are either homophobic or you are gay
to him you are either red or blue
to him you either hate this or hate that
binary thinking moron
May 26th, 2009 at 12:34 pmhe’s no better than bush or cheney as far as i’m concerned.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:36 pm“binary thinker” — I like that descriptor. Fits the modern republican party well. Lawrence Wilkerson, on the other hand, is possibly the most rational republican alive.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:37 pmright wingers are scared to death of nuance
john wayne never needed any nuance!
his homosexuality was in the closet where right wingers live
May 26th, 2009 at 12:38 pmSleeping is your most intelligent function, OS.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:38 pmPowell knew 5 yrs ago that he got hustled by Dickyboy, Bushytail and Tenant into the lies at the U.N. He quit because of his opposition to Bumsfield and the handling of this whole mess we call Iraq. Powell is willfully ignorant because he doesn’t want to be alligned with the creeps but history will be a harsh mistress for the deaths of 100’s of thousands of women, children and soldiers. Good luck with this history-dodge, Colin.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:38 pmThe only problem is, we will have to keep telling right wingers what ‘binary’ means. They are not very bright.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:39 pmI never said such a thing.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:40 pmOS–quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:40 pmObstinate & Spurious
May 26th, 2009 at 12:42 pmLimbaugh is ripping Powell right now: this is after a half hour rant against Sotomayor.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pmHe’s also busting on Tom Ridge.
Obfuscating Sycophant
May 26th, 2009 at 12:45 pmRantingTommy Says:
OS is a binary thinker
I respectfully disagree…
May 26th, 2009 at 12:46 pmFor OS to be a binary thinker, he would first have to be able to think. He has not shown that capacity yet.
Powell going back to his Vietnam days.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:47 pm“Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.”
The trolls must be busy waiting on Limbaugh to tell them what to think
May 26th, 2009 at 12:47 pmSince when does anybody think progressives like Powell? He seemed like a decent enough fellow right up until he started pointing at a map on TV saying he “knew” where the WMD’s were, and that he’d seen the intelligence with his own eyes. Regardless of what else he does for the rest of his career, he’s never going to live that lie down.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:49 pmHuh? You mean the harebrained plot to dismantle the bridge using blowtorches? That idiotic plot?
May 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pmActually OS, Powell is refusing to throw Cheney under the bus… why? Who can say…
But Cheney seems intent on ending up under that bus and in jail sooner or later…
May 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pmGeneral Powell is a coward.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pmLimbaugh thrashing wildly..heh
May 26th, 2009 at 12:53 pmPowell knows he can put some distance between himself and Cheney/Rove/Gingrich, but their stink will taint him forever–and it NEVER goes away. He had his chance to “take the high road” but did not and we are all worse off for it.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:53 pm.
R E M E M B E R:
That was not a vile of Freedom Agenda Powell held up at the u.n.
.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:56 pmPowell’s always been a fella who’d lie like a rug on command.
He knows where the meat hangs, where the bread and buter are, and he’s ALWAYS gonna have acces to the good shit.
Expediency IS his sole ‘principle.”
I wish the Pukes would keep him. The Dims have a full quiver of equivocating, opportunistic liars…
May 26th, 2009 at 1:00 pmOS Says:
It was just a couple weeks ago you loons were taking his word as gospel….
May 26th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
No, we were agreeing with him on the state of the Republican party — that does not imply across the board agreement.
Only morons like you take anything as gospel.
May 26th, 2009 at 1:02 pmZooey Says:
This is my problem with Powell — he’s never entirely honest.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Edit: “He’s never been entirely honest.”
Fixtit…goes back to his days trying to figure out how to cover up/whitewash My Lai in ‘68 for the Brass…
May 26th, 2009 at 1:06 pmPowell’s words proved that he is still a Republican and will be for sometime.
May 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pmHis words sounds vague but made to deflect with an intent.
In 2003 while lobbying leaders to put together the Coalition of the Willing, President Bush spoke to France’s President Jacques Chirac. Bush wove a story about how the Biblical creatures Gog and Magog were at work in the Middle East and how they must be defeated.
http://www.alternet.org/politics/140221/bush%27s_shocking_biblical_prophecy_emerges%3A_god_wants_to_%22erase%22_mid-east_enemies_%22before_a_new_age_begins%22/
Was Powell buying into this?
May 26th, 2009 at 1:38 pmPOWELL: The information I presented to the UN was vetted by the CIA. Every word came from the CIA and they stood behind all that information.
1) Didn’t the CIA tell Bush/Cheney/Powell that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11?
2) And didn’t Bush/Cheney/Powell tell the CIA that they weren’t satisfied with that answer?
3) Didn’t Bush/Cheney/Powell tell the CIA to work on this again and to return only after they found a link between 9/11 and Iraq?
May 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pmPowell is just another lying war criminal, who just can’t quite face up and man up to his past crimes against humanity. After eight years of Bush crime family values: torture, treason and tyranny being imposed on the American people, cowardly Republicans are afraid to face the facts.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:23 pm——————————————————————————–
Oval12345678 aka James K. Sayre Says:
——————————————————————————–
Powell is just another lying war criminal, who just can’t quite face up and man up to his past crimes against humanity. After eight years of Bush crime family values: torture, treason and tyranny being imposed on the American people, cowardly Republicans are afraid to face the facts.
Ditto!
May 26th, 2009 at 2:30 pm“Refuses of answer” because he is complacent in their crimes.
It is all too obvious he lies as well as his compatriots in crime. Is there a justice system in America that can crack this case? Or are all able bodied inspectors tied up chasing a crime that was setup for them, a crime made for a Fox (viewer).
May 26th, 2009 at 2:38 pmThey can all blame the cia and take the gonzales, selective amnesia approach, but they can’t all save their own @$$es.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:41 pmBeethoven Rules Says:
True or False: Is it true that a planned bombing of the Brooklyn Bridge was prevented due the the torture of a captured terrorist?
False.
From GlobalSecurity.org
May 26th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
You’d think a General would have enough sense to ask about the reliability of the information he was using !
May 26th, 2009 at 3:03 pmI’d say unlikely. He would still be there with that blowtorch and what are the chances no one would notice. That is one of the stupidest plots I have ever heard of. I laughed out loud when I read about it.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:06 pmHad only Powell not been such a coward the war of US aggression on Iraq would never have been. I hold him responsible, as had he not lied to the UN about Iraqi WMD that did not exist, there would not have been the over one million dead innocent Iraqis or our own 4000 dead. He should stand trial along with the rest of the Bush/Cheney goons.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:18 pmWhy are all these semi-intelligent people surprised that the CIA lies? They are spies, they lie. It is their job. Unfortunately they lie to us and the world. They have been setting policy since 1952. That was not their job but no one has the courage to clean house. Fire everyone in the CIA, bring in a real intelligence department. Perhaps an IQ test for intelligence workers would be a good idea. CIA lied to Pelosi, Kerry, Powell, EVERYONE.
May 26th, 2009 at 5:21 pmPOWELL: The information I presented to the UN was vetted by the CIA.
I don’t know that any of them believe that torture was involved. I don’t know that in fact. A lot of speculation, particularly by people who never attended any of these meetings, but I’m not aware of it.
They certainly did! Powell shamefull speach in the UN about Saddam WMD and ‘mobile labs’ and other LIES had the War Criminal Tenent and The War Criminal Negroponte siting behind him. YouTube it!
Negroponte was the US’s embassador to Honduras. There, this animal helped the US finance and support the Paramilitary Terrorist milicias who Terrorised, murdered and Torture Nicaragua civilians. Negropont/US/War criminals destroyed Nicaragua’s Democratic elected government in the 80’s.
I don’t trust the War criminals Powell, Tenet and Negroponte!
May 26th, 2009 at 5:25 pm43
delafield Says:
POWELL: The information I presented to the UN was vetted by the CIA. Every word came from the CIA and they stood behind all that information.
1) Didn’t the CIA tell Bush/Cheney/Powell that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11?
2) And didn’t Bush/Cheney/Powell tell the CIA that they weren’t satisfied with that answer?
3) Didn’t Bush/Cheney/Powell tell the CIA to work on this again and to return only after they found a link between 9/11 and Iraq?
9/11 was an inside job!
May 26th, 2009 at 5:30 pmRantingTommy Says:
OS is a binary thinker
he only sees the extreme of any issue
to him you are either homophobic or you are gay
to him you are either red or blue
to him you either hate this or hate that
binary thinking moron
You either approve of gay marriage or you hate gays.
Binary thinking moron. ;)
May 26th, 2009 at 7:04 pmIt is true that the CIA did provide summary opinions that Iraq had WMD’s and that they had links to Al-Qaeda. However, the underlying “evidence” behind those opinions consisted of little more than rumors and lies retrieved from disreputable sources, and ignored more credible information to the contrary.
When Powell stood before Congress and presented their case, he intentionally made it appear as if he had personally seen and evaluated the evidence and not merely the summary opinion. When you stand in front of a map, point at specific fuzzy areas with a little stick and claim that chemical-weapon-manufacturing taco wagons are located here, here, and… here – then you’re doing more than repeating a cover-page summary. You’re intentionally creating theater to manipulate people into thinking that you’ve staked your own reputation on the reliability of all of the underlying information. That you’ve seen it with your own eyes and are describing it accurately. However, that must be a lie, since no such underlying evidence existed!
But that’s exactly why Powell was trotted out for that job – he was the only one with any reputation for honesty they had. And he blew all that capital in one fantastical push that got them the authority from Congress that they wanted (but just to “negotiate from a position of strength, trust us”).
You only get to blow that wad once. No matter what else he does, he doesn’t get his honor back.
.
EugeneDebs Says:
I’d say unlikely. He would still be there with that blowtorch and what are the chances no one would notice. That is one of the stupidest plots I have ever heard of. I laughed out loud when I read about it.
And yet as we’ve seen here, there are wingnuts running around believing to this day that torture saved the Brooklyn Bridge. Not the impossibility of physically dismantling one of the most massive structures in modern times in the middle of New York with no one noticing… no, torture saved the day yet again.
.
Yankeluh Says:
Why are all these semi-intelligent people surprised that the CIA lies? They are spies, they lie. It is their job. Unfortunately they lie to us and the world.
Yeah, well maybe they should remember who they work for, if they want to keep on working, capische?
May 26th, 2009 at 8:40 pm‘OS Says:
So, you progressives are throwing powell under the bus?’
Here we go; Powell threw HIMSELF under the bus by participating in this shit stained regime and their greedy little war. Aligning himself with this fetid cabal was the biggest political mistake he made, but sadly not the last. By allowing himself to become the spokesman for the Iraq war at his infamous UN appearance, Powell sealed his own fate, and HAD to know the risk he was taking by advocating the war on a pack of lies; he made his choice and the rest is history.
If you want to blame anyone for his demise, blame him.
‘Progressives’ had nothing to do with it.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:17 am