Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   Patriot has died Date:   10/18/2021 1:54:25 PM

I'm mourning over the loss of Colin Powell, the man who should have been the first Black President.  If not for his wife's concerns for his safety, he probably would have run.  

Best I can say is that I once saw him in the hall in the Pentagon.  But the OJCS staff I worked with both respected and admired him.  And when he went to State, they loved him.  He had the ability to bring people together.  He provided leadership at State, which was sorely lacking.  He got crossways with Rumsfelt and Cheney, because they were in cahoots with the neo-cons, who thought by invading Iraq they would establish a democracy in Iraq and then have a gateway to Syria.  Powell knew it was foolish and fought against them - remember he famously told GWB that "you break it, you own it", but in the end, he saluted and made that famous speech at the UN, based on false intel.  Powell knew the intel was severely lacking and had been "manufactured" by the Doug Feith cell in the Pentagon to support the invasion of Iraq.  He knew that Saddam Huessin posed no threat.  Still, Rumsfelt and Cheney shut Powell out, and Bush was left with a legacy of stupidity.  

Powell loved this country and did everything he could to serve it.  And now he is gone.  He died from COVID, even though he was vaccinated, but he had an underlying health condition of Multiple Myeloma, which is a kind of blood cancer.  But too many people are focused on why he died to suit their purposes, when they should be focused on the Patriot he was.  Towards the end of his life, he said he didn't want to be associated with either political party - and would vote for the person. So he supported both Republicans and Democrats, but I think he felt after the GWB fiasco, there was no room for him any longer in the Republican party.