# Colin Powell has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2021, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685 "2021-10-18T12:26:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/21 "2021-10-18T18:26:57Z")
Sad to hear. Whatever mistakes he may have made in life, he was an honorable man who did what he thought was right for his country. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/22 "2021-10-18T18:45:46Z")
Not everyone thinks highly of Gen. Powell: > **['He lied': Iraqis still blame Powell for role in Iraq war](https://apnews.com/article/colin-powell-dead-iraq-1591ede85c650bb0aa8a4f667343b648)** > > BAGHDAD (AP) — For many Iraqis, the name Colin Powell conjures up one image: the man who as U.S. secretary of state went before the U.N. Security Council in 2003 to make the case for war against their country. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/23 "2021-10-18T18:49:23Z")
Aw, man! Sad. He seemed to be a fairly decent fellow. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/24 "2021-10-18T18:53:14Z")
Someone needs to tell them that 90% effective means 10% ineffective. I get not understanding how vaccines work, but that’s not understanding how _math_ works. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/25 "2021-10-18T19:05:59Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I get not understanding how vaccines work, but that’s not understanding how _math_ works. Innumeracy is a huge problem, despite all that math education in elementary and middle school. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/26 "2021-10-19T14:46:57Z")
I haven’t seen it mentioned since his death that, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff early in the Clinton Administration, he led U.S. military opposition to allowing LGBT people to serve, finally leading to the deeply flawed “Don’t ask, don’t tell” compromise. A good and decent man, all in all, but not perfect, as none of us are perfect. I remember a _Time_ magazine profile a few years ago which revealed that a big reason he didn’t run for President (and he might have made a good one) was that his wife was convinced he would be assassinated if he did. Here’s CNN on his 2003 UN Security Council appearance in the runup to the invasion of Iraq: > **[The event Colin Powell long regretted | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/opinions/the-event-colin-powell-long-regretted-bergen/index.html)** > > As a hero of the first Gulf War, Colin Powell was widely viewed as a trusted figure when the Bush administration sought to make the case for war against Iraq, writes Peter Bergen. So President George W. Bush turned to Powell to present the anti-iraq... May he rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/27 "2021-10-19T17:01:12Z")
Trump’s statement on Colin Powell: > “Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media,” Trump said in a statement released Tuesday morning. “Hope that happens to me someday. He was a classic RINO, if even that, always being the first to attack other Republicans. He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!” [Donald Trump (yet again) proves there’s no bottom - CNNPolitics](https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/politics/donald-trump-colin-powell-death/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/28 "2021-10-19T17:18:12Z")
Wondering if he will Lie in State at the Capitol so that all of the former POTUS’s can pay their respect and homage to him, except for one. I’d like to see it just so the media can say that Trump himself is too scared to go into the Capitol. Or maybe make fun of him for not wanting to return to the scene of the crime. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/29 "2021-10-19T19:24:56Z")
In the deathless words of David Lloyd George: _“When the circumcised him, they threw away the wrong bit._ ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/30 "2021-10-19T19:34:54Z")
Compare and contrast Trump’s statement with Obama’s. Eloquent words, compassionately spoken versus childish, petty badly written gibberish. It continues to baffle me how anyone can think of one of these people with anything but contempt. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/31 "2021-10-19T19:45:02Z")
I can only hope his _Hope that happens to me someday_ gets tested real soon. It won’t be as satisfying as seeing him sitting in a prison cell but I’ll take what I can get. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/32 "2021-10-19T19:48:59Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > Donald Trump (yet again) proves there’s no bottom - CNNPolitics Just a reminder that 74 million Americans thought this man fit to be our President. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/33 "2021-10-19T19:54:06Z")
Trump’s statement about Colin Powell is about on the level of what I would expect from a beer soaked drunkard lying in a puddle of his own urine in a back alley. And at least the drunkard has the excuse of alcoholism. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/34 "2021-10-19T20:06:07Z")
And not having held the highest office in the land. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/35 "2021-10-19T20:13:27Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Just a reminder that 74 million Americans thought this man fit to be our President. Most of whom still do. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/36 "2021-10-19T20:18:41Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Just a reminder that 74 million Americans thought this man fit to be our President. > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Most of whom still do.- In fact, they think he still **is**. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/37 "2021-10-20T00:16:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I respected him and wished that he’d run for President. He was misinformed and manipulated after 9/11. Powell knew (and told Bush) that an invasion and occupation of Iraq would have dire consequences, and he knew what he was telling the UN was a false narrative about Saddam’s nuclear program. I don’t know what I would do in Powell’s shoes, but I hope I would resign if I was asked to be part of the disinformation and mass murder campaign that was the Iraq War. The obligation to oppose the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of people is more important than the obligation to serve his country. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/38 "2021-10-20T01:35:48Z")
Powell was misinformed and manipulated, but at some level he let himself be. He was no political neophyte. He had been Reagan’s National Security Adviser, and you don’t get to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs without knowing how the Washington game is played. His tragic flaw in Iraq was that he always saw himself as a problem-solver. When asked to give the UN speech, he tore up the draft that was initially prepared for him (by Scooter Libby no less), recognizing that it was full of questionable assertions based on no evidence. He dove into the intelligence on Iraq to find the best evidence he could – which was still pretty dubious. He didn’t press more deeply on obvious questions and concerns. And his reputation and passionate justification for war won over many who would have balked at the same arguments from Cheney or Rumsfeld. He “solved the problem” in that he put together probably the best case possible for the invasion. But couldn’t or wouldn’t take that one step back to ask whether that was a problem that he _should_ be solving. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/39 "2021-10-20T02:04:32Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > And his reputation and passionate justification for war won over many who would have balked at the same arguments from Cheney or Rumsfeld. This is the most important aspect of his Iraq legacy, and I agree that this in particular was an element he underestimated. As far as I see it, his continued image as a noble figure is basically evidence of how well his role worked. I also personally really don’t think there was that much of a facade around what was happening behind the scenes. The leadup to Iraq was the flipside of “if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” There were so many lies leading up to Iraq that the people telling them needed to coordinate and keep the story straight. I don’t know his exact motive but IMO he’s one of a long line of people who thought they could be a moderating influence over a murderous government but wound up doing nothing but giving legitimacy to them. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685/40 "2021-10-20T15:57:51Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > Trump’s statement on Colin Powell: > > > “Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media,” Trump said in a statement released Tuesday morning. “Hope that happens to me someday. He was a classic RINO, if even that, always being the first to attack other Republicans. He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!” > > [Donald Trump (yet again) proves there’s no bottom - CNNPolitics](https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/politics/donald-trump-colin-powell-death/index.html) Stay classy, Donald. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colin-powell-has-died/952685.md?page=3)