Colin Powell calls some in Bush admin 'fucking crazies'

[SuckOnThis]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,38...110878,00.html

Martin Bright
Sunday September 12, 2004

The Observer
A furious row has broken out over claims in a new book by BBC broadcaster James Naughtie that US Secretary of State Colin Powell described neo-conservatives in the Bush administration as 'fucking crazies' during the build-up to war in Iraq.

Powell's extraordinary outburst is alleged to have taken place during a telephone conversation with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. The two became close friends during the intense negotiations in the summer of 2002 to build an international coalition for intervention via the United Nations. The 'crazies' are said to be Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.

Last week, the offices of Powell and Straw contacted Public Affairs, the US publishers of Naughtie's book, to say they would vigorously deny the claims if publication went ahead. But as no legal action was threatened, the US launch of the book, The Accidental American: Tony Blair and the Presidency, will proceed as planned this week.

Naughtie stands by his claims and is said to be privately delighted that Powell and Straw have reacted so violently to the suggestion that the former US general had fallen out with the 'neo-cons'.

Provocatively, the phrase 'fucking crazies' will be quoted on the jacket of the book, according to a source at the publisher. 'We were surprised to receive calls from the offices of Jack Straw and Colin Powell within 24 hours of each other,' the source said.

Naughtie claims that Powell and Straw spoke on an almost daily basis. Powell's concerns were said to have chimed with Straw's and those of Blair himself - that if America acted without UN sanction, allies would be lost.

Cheney and his allies were preparing for a spring war and did not wish to be deflected by the UN inspection process. Powell is thought to have been terrified that the strategy of the 'crazies' would alienate the Blair government, which believed it needed UN backing to win over Parliament and the British public.

John Kampfner, political editor of the New Statesman and author of Blair's Wars, said Naughtie's characterisation of the feverish political atmosphere of the summer of 2002 was entirely accurate. 'The British government saw Powell as the most significant voice of sanity in the US administration. At different times during this very difficult period, the Brits used Powell to get across their point of view to the White House. But, bizarrely, Powell sometimes also used Blair to pass messages to Bush.'

Kampfner's book, which covers the Blair government's military adventures in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, reported that in July 2002 Blair sent his foreign policy adviser David Manning on a secret mission to Washington to deliver a letter hinting that, without a second UN resolution, Britain would not be able to join a war in Iraq.

[raymor]

Though I don't know about that particular claim,
many of the claims in that book have already been
totally and completely proven to be absolute rubbish.
These claims aren't just suspicious - this author failed
to do even basic homework regarding background info
for his lies. He has people meeting in buildings that hadn't
been built yet at the time of the supposed meeting
and all kinds of things like that.
Kind of like that "recently discovered" document supposedly from
from Bush's national guard records in 1973 which turns
out to have been printed on an inkjet printer.

[sacX]

Originally posted by raymor
Though I don't know about that particular claim,
many of the claims in that book have already been
totally and completely proven to be absolute rubbish.
These claims aren't just suspicious - this author failed
to do even basic homework regarding background info
for his lies. He has people meeting in buildings that hadn't
been built yet at the time of the supposed meeting
and all kinds of things like that.
Kind of like that "recently discovered" document supposedly from
from Bush's national guard records in 1973 which turns
out to have been printed on an inkjet printer.

It's common knowledge the State Department and Department of Defence don't see eye to eye.

[Rich]

Originally posted by raymor
Though I don't know about that particular claim,
many of the claims in that book have already been
totally and completely proven to be absolute rubbish.
These claims aren't just suspicious - this author failed
to do even basic homework regarding background info
for his lies. He has people meeting in buildings that hadn't
been built yet at the time of the supposed meeting
and all kinds of things like that.
Kind of like that "recently discovered" document supposedly from
from Bush's national guard records in 1973 which turns
out to have been printed on an inkjet printer.

Actually that's the Karl Rove spin sheep like you have chosen to believe, in fact it was proven the paper could very well be real.

You have to love people who read the Fox news ticker and think they're up to date.

[theking]

Originally posted by Rich
Actually that's the Karl Rove spin sheep like you have chosen to believe, in fact it was proven the paper could very well be real.

You have to love people who read the Fox news ticker and think they're up to date.

You have to love people like you...Richy boy...who think they know what they are talking about.

[genomega]

Originally posted by Rich
Actually that's the Karl Rove spin sheep like you have chosen to believe, in fact it was proven the paper could very well be real.

You have to love people who read the Fox news ticker and think they're up to date.

You're correct you have to listen to dan rather to get the real facts.





Boycott CBS

[Babaganoosh]

Why anyone reads Guardian and thinks it's anything more than based on fact is beyond me. I do think some in the Bush admin are fucking crazies, but I also think most of the writers on Guardian are just as loopy.

[AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE]

I read it on the internet it must be true!

[69pornlinks]

once again ya'll homos cease to amaze me, so since it's not on cnn then it's not true...fucking lames

[Rich]

Originally posted by genomega
You're correct you have to listen to dan rather to get the real facts.





Boycott CBS

What does a 30 year old interview with Castro have to do with anything?

God some people are stupid.

[Rich]

The fact that some republicans can't understand that CBS is majority biased towards the GOP blows my mind. They're trying to boycott one of their own propaganda machines because it takes one step out of bounds.