tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078662512777171745.post1128867274024942853..comments2008-03-24T14:27:58.821-04:00Scott Cavanaghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18274607025849615002noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078662512777171745.post-29080472697363868202008-03-24T14:27:00.000-04:002008-03-24T14:27:00.000-04:00Your logic is faulty, Spock. As a few earlier posts indicated, I'm not the biggest HRC fan around, but you're overlooking the fact that Colin Powell was actually <I>the Secretary of State</I> at the time. He had access to all the breaking information directly from the source, not the distilled intel that the administration passed on to Congress. Frankly, Powell had a choice to make, and he favored loyalty to Bush over his responsibility to make sure the information he presented to the U.N. was ironclad. Sure, Powell, you, and anyone else can blame George Tenet. Absolutely, he should be held accountable. And what was Tenet's punishment for his failures? Bush gave him a medal.<BR/><BR/>Hussein's bad judgment regarding U.S. intentions has actually been public knowledge for years. The recent news account about his interrogator simply gave us a personal touch to it. In any event, Hussein's delusions have no impact on the validity of the, yes, 935+ lies. (Perhaps you'd prefer the kinder, gentler "misspeak.") It's unfortunate that you don't seem to see much value in a collection of facts, since only by recognizing how we as a country got into this fiasco can we do as you suggest, i.e., avoid a repetition in the future. Also, "Monday Morning Quarterbacking" is a cute reference, but out of place here. It assumes that no criticisms were raised about the buildup to the war while the propaganda campaign was going on. If you accepted the Bush administration's word at the time, then that's <I>your</I> issue, not mine.<BR/><BR/>As for "name-callers," Frank, I can only presume you mean my reference to Ahmed Chalabi as a "greedy opportunist." You're right. That was wrong of me. <I>Donald Trump</I> is a greedy opportunist. Chalabi embellezed hundreds of millions of dollars, defrauded his own people, and helped funnel false information about Iraq's nonexistent mobile biological weapons factories -- information that Powell used in his U.N. presentation. Ahmed Chalabi is <I>far worse</I> than a greedy opportunist. So to Mr. Trump and greedy opportunists worldwide, I apologize for placing Chalabi in their august midst.Ken Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545923862917750773noreply@blogger.com