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BLITZER’S BLOG: “No love lost” between Cheney and Powell
By CNN's Wolf Blitzer
(CNN) - In May 1990, CNN asked me to serve as its Pentagon correspondent. I was expecting a relatively slow news story since the Cold War was winding down. I thought I would spend most of my time covering base closings and new weapons systems. That was not to be because Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait that August.
It was during the six months of Operation Desert Shield and the six weeks of Operation Desert Storm that I really got to know then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell. They were the leaders of the U.S. military. They became the chief spokesmen for the war buildup and then for the war itself.
During those days, they seemed to be a highly efficient team. They closely coordinated their public and private strategies. In short, they worked well together serving President George H.W. Bush. We used to talk about a Cheney-Powell doctrine.
Flash forward to the years after 9/11 when they again were serving a different President Bush. Things clearly had changed. Cheney, of course, was vice president; Powell was secretary of state. I began to hear grumblings from their respective aides during those years that things were not necessarily all that smooth between them. “No love lost,” I remember one top adviser saying.
I was surprised given what I thought was a strong partnership that had been forged during the first Gulf War.
Now, with the publication of Cheney’s memoir, I can see that that “no love lost” comment was clearly an understatement. Cheney is blunt in blasting Powell.
And even though the book is not officially being released until tomorrow, Powell already has responded with a direct counterassault on his former boss.
All of which goes to show you that relationships here in Washington aren’t always what they seem to be.
I’ll be interviewing Cheney next Tuesday. You’ll see the interview in “The Situation Room.” As you can imagine, I have lots of questions.
RELATED STORY: Powell blasts Cheney's 'cheap shots'
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Post by: Filed under: Colin Powell • Dick Cheney • Wolf Blitzer |
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Well get used to it ! This is just "another version " of the Republican standard "shock and awe" orput another way the Incivility that plagues all politicians rhetoric.
One day we might hear Republicans say:-
1) Not to go to war at the drop of a hat .
2) Have an economic platform that does not start with Lower taxes or Less government.
3) Will stop having way up on policy objectives banning abortion, banning gay marriage.
4) That business big and small are the panacea if left completely unregulated... Enron, Lehman ARMS and subprime mortgages this list is huge.
5) Stop wearing the religious gowns when voting in congress or campaigning for the nation that asks for the separation of church and state.
Regards
Hodgson.
Wolf
If I remember right, Collin Powel was never the Secretary of Defense but rather Secretary of State. I must say that I am very disappointed considering the fact that you are suppose to be one of the best in the business.
Our apologies for this typo – it has been corrected.
They deserve each other, I use to respect Colin Powell, however he should have thrown Cheney under the bus when he resigned as sec. of state. He didn't he kept his mouth shut, he took one for his beloved republican party and failed his country. I'll bet if he had the chance again things would be different, such a shame it would have been good for the country to see that no one is above the law.
Colin Powell should have punched Cheney and that lying Rove in the face decades ago.
This man (Cheney) is the spawn of satan. Someone needs to check his scalp for the mark of the beast. I know there are three sixes somewhere on his person.
A lot of civilian fail to realize that being in the military, you ALWAYS have to bite your tongue, smile and say "Yes, Sir" even though your blood is boiling, your head is about to explode if you don't choke that person. Military has it's good and bad, but mostly bad, as it's the only thing I can really remember after 14 years in the service. Now I can speak my mind and be a man and have no one tell me what to do or frown upon me.
Mr chaney has the unmitgated gall to even show his face on tv and powell the whipping boy for the second bush administration. if they can bring sadam, gadaffi milosvic to the hauge chaney,bush 2 and powel show be there as well . The bald faced lied to the american people and on the 10th aniversary of 9/11 were stillpaying billions for a war that was perpertrated by a fraud at the hands of those 3 Its no surprise to me anyways I always felt powell should have had rummys job anyways but the repblicans didnt want to give the brother that much power, so who cares Chaney's 10 minutes have been up and the sooner he goes home the better. Because for all his bluster he still didnt catch Bin.
Gen. Colin Powell is way too intelligent and too classy of a man for the likes of Cheney.
Secretary Powell served as SECSTATE, never SECDEF.
Thanks, we've corrected this error.
there are still many of us who believe that Cheyney, who had not one,but 5 deferrments from action, will take secrets of 911 to his grave as we believe he is partly behind the war on terror, for lack of a better word, this coward never came clean and many are demanding he tell us what he knew, one day i hope the truth will be told,because 911 hasa way to many holes that poimt to inside job, and Cheyney is prime suspect number one.
Dick Cheney/Colin Powell; no contest. Although I would vote for Colin Powell for president in a nano-second, he has had the intelligence & integrity NOT to run for president. Who would want that job, anyway. Look at the current team; two parties originally designed to compromise to BENEFIT the people they represent and it has deteriorated to a level of arrogrance & one-up-manship that is absurd & embarrassing to us & the rest of the world.
On my list of favorite people I would luv to meet, General Powell, & buy him a beer(or a cup of tea/iced tea party tea).
cheney is this generation's herbert hoover – the most corrupt hypocrit that litterally got away with robbing the american people and changing the way america is viewed on the planet
by far the worst criminal in american history – simply because bush was too dumb to understand what the hek was going on around him
It is time, one must put a blunt warning to Cheney for his attitude and arrogance. He may have served as VP of USA. It is only a glorified position with no duties. He should be tried at the HAGUE for war crimes, killing innocent Iraqis if not miilions, a large numbers if hundred of thousands, didmembering our own soldiers, costing the country trillions, making oodles of money thru Halliburton (eg. selling coke for $50 a can) in the name of war. He should treat others with civility, he may think Powell is a black, so he deserves a second rate citizen status. Cheney should know that his daughter is a lesbian. That way he gave birth to a out of norm human being in my view. This guy should be waterboarded..
Wolf, why are you giving airtime to this a-moral bully and for sure I will exercise my freedom to turn you off. Cheney has nothing to say to that is of interest to the American people. He's a liar who caused the death of countless American service men and women and ordinary innocent Iraqis. He is a blot on humanity. SHAME ON YOU.
D1CK CHENEY NEED A LESSON IN REALITY
LOSER
You should get them both on the same show. Cage match. 2 men enter. 1 man leaves.
Interview Cheney? Wolf, why waste your time? He dug a HUGE hole for the USA and it is going to take decades to undo the harm he has done. Yet, he smugly smiles and says "I'd do it all over again." I can't bring myself to watch the demagogue. Yes, he has blood on his hands.
The Bush Administration that Cheney was a big part of weakened America on many levels, it helped ruin our economy, began a massive slide in the American peoples lack of trust of its leadership, lined the pockets of many companies that profited from the war, was responsible for the deaths of thousands of American soliders and hundreds of thousands of the people of Iraq.
While Cheney himself dodged the draft with deferment after deferment and profited from his own ties to companies who received war contracts, and lets not forget enhanced interrogation the new code word for torture.
I am sure he is proud of the massive amount of blood on his hands, and it wont be long before he faces his own accounting for these actions, time and health problems will see to that................
Dick Cheney is perhaps the most evil man that has functioned in the US government in my lifetime. By comparison, Dick Nixon was a saint.
Cheney lost whatever credibility he had a long time ago. He has, I suspect, become delusional, believing that he has been blessed with infinite wisdom and infallibility but everyone else is stupid. He is almost as arrogant as his pal, Rumsfeld and, like Rumsfeld, he has come to believe far too much of his own self-promotional pronouncements. Of course both are still revered by some of our die-hard right wingnuts, but most of the country has figured out what a world-class loser Cheney has become.
Wait, coward Dick "I was too busy to serve" Cheney denigrating distinguished veteran Gen. Powell? Boy, that's rich...
Cheney is a crook from the Nixon era.... He should be in jail.....
I would like to hear cheney explain why the activitites of the "energy task force" he chaired as VP still have not been disclosed despite numerour FOIA requests. I would like to hear him explain the extent the energy companies had in directing national energy policy during the bush administration, and whether this influence were a factor in the decision to manufacture evidence justifying the war on Iraq. I couldn't care less about this reprehensible man's gossip. I want justice.
Of course Cheney's lying in his book. What else would you expect from a draft-dodging Republican??
It is my opinion that Bush was 100% wrong to continue reading the story book to the children on that terrible day. I am still bewildered as to how Bush could continue to read the story book to the class after the secret service whispered into his ear that planes just flew into the twin towers. I'm sure the kids would have understood the quick end to the story. A professional person would have quickly excused himself and said sorry kids but I must attend a presidental emergency. I like to compare this situation as to when I was a child and the day I found out that JFK was shot. I was 9 yr old and my 4th grade class was disrupted when the principal burst on the loud speaker and said "the president has been shot and everyone needs to go home". We were told right then and there that something terrible had happened to our president. The teacher didn't keep up with our lesson until it was done. We were dismissed on the spot and I had to go home. I did not suffer any trauma from getting that horrible news on the spot. I was glad that I was able to go home and wach Jack Ruby pull a gun on tv and shoot Lee Harvey Oswald. There is no excuses for Bush. You all can defend him till the cows come home but the facts are the facts. He ignored the horrible news because he knew the country was in good hands with Dick Cheny at the helm. Another example of Bush not being on the job that day when we needed him the most.
The fact that Cheney is still alive makes me wonder if there really is a God!
Well, I don't watch Wolf very much, but I might try to catch this. I hope he will let Cheney adequately respond to questions. I noticed that journalists don't ask straightforward questions anymore; instead, they set up elaborate situational questions that leave the subject bound to answer in a damaging way. The questioning is contrived to elicit a damning response. Wolf should have free reign on questions and all is fair; however, I just hope Cheney is allowed to speak.
VP Cheney~If he gets all 'smarty pants', rip him a new one! 😉
Just an editorial comment; in the 4th paragraph you state, Things clearly had changed. Cheney, of course, was vice president; Powell now had Cheney’s former post as defense secretary. " Slight correction here; Powell was Secretary of State, not Secretary of Defense. Donald Rumsfeld had that position.
Thanks for pointing this out. This was a typo we had noticed right away but unfortunately the correction didn't update the first time. It has since been fixed. Thanks!
If Colin Powell was indeed a man of integrity he would have resigned instead of going before the UN and defending the Bush Admin invasion of Iraq. He knew there were no WMDs in Iraq, the American led UN inspectors told us so. It was always clear Cheney was a war monger with only personal profit for a motive. Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rice, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz are all criminals who escaped justice.
Back when on a rotation for "OEEOB" (or OEOB for short) duty when in EOD we were called to sweep MR. Powell's ceremonial office there. We always dreaded it because we weren't allowed to "touch" anything which kind of made the purpose and point of the 'sweep' meaningless unless you found an obviously out of place item with the word "bomb" scrawled upon it.
The aide/staff person who oversaw these sweeps was always overbearing, rude, insulting and condescending. In short he was a class-A Jerk. On top of that he always expected the sweeps to be done in under 10-minutes. The office was HUGE and multitudes of figurines,knickknacks, furniture, decorations and books so a thorough "sweep" would have taken easily 30-45 minutes with a two-person team.
One day, MR. Powell (who was never there on previous occasions) walked in during an episode of the usual tirade we endured during our sweeps from this person and after listening a minute made himself known and gave the aide a real "Military-Style" (Complete with cigar) butt-chewing right there in front of us. He made the person apologize INDIVIDUALLY to each of us on the spot and then told him that he'd appreciate it if he "-would stop breathing my air and get the F-- out of my office."
THEN...MR Powell turned to us and apologized to us HIMSELF and promised that nothing like that would ever happen again. He told us both if anything like that EVER happened again to please call him and wrote a number down on a card and gave it to us. He told us how much he appreciated people in uniform and what they did and how proud he was of us all. He winked and said: "-And nobody...NOBODY treats MY PEOPLE like that..."
He asked us about ourselves, our jobs/units, our deployments, our families. He told us a few stories, some jokes, and made us laugh. He never made us feel like we were taking up his time. In fact the only reason we had to cut the chance meeting short was we got a call on the radio to sweep a suspicious package elsewhere.
I was disappointed when he didn't become a Vice-President and was gravely disappointed when he left politics.
He has my respect.
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
Cheney's not a good person. Never was. I have no curiosity to read the ramblinjgs of a dirtbag and a weasel. He helped preside for eight years over possibly the most lethal, toxic, and dishonest administration in U.S. history. He can take those weapons of mass destruction to the grave, along with his perennial SEG.
Cheney is a 21 century Nazi. This man is greedy, heartless, and a mass murderer. Plain and simple.
Cheney – His legacy as a war profiteer, war criminal and torturer will be what he is remembered for.
Powell may not be the "bad guy" here, but he should have known better.
IMHO, Gen Powell and the American sons and daughters who serve this Nation have been misused and abused. Messrs Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz were spoiling for a war against Iraq for years and finally caused it with the useless cost of US lives and treasure. Were it not for them, our economy would not be in such difficulty. I blame each one of them for the havoc that has ensued. I did my duty in Vietnam under equally misguided leaders and another cowardly Congress. Just my thoughts.
Knowing what you know now would you still go to war in Iraq? Mr. Cheney's answer will be as we all know, 'removing a brutal dictator like Saddam, yes'. But we all know it wasn't about a brutal dictator then, it was about WMD. But what does Mr. Cheney says now that Middle East dictators are falling by month? By their own people, without any American life loss, and without hundreds and thousands of innocent people death like Iraqis. Does he have any answer now?
I'm still hoping for a tall – all book from Powell. But being a good soldier, he probably won't do it. Please, please tell!
PS: Don't let em beat around the bush on questions.
Wolf, your audience begs for tough questions from you. No sugar coating.
Good luck lofting those softballs to Cheney next week, Wolf. Be gentle. Don't want to upset any Republicans.
Wolf, you are partially responsible for the Iraq War. You failed the American people. I hope you know that.
Mr Blitzer,
I am sorry to hear that you will have to spend time looking at the ugly face of Dick Cheney and breathe air in the same room with him. Nothing that guy can say has any merit. He lied, he lies and he will lie as long as he lives. He is evil just like Komeni was evil. Make sure, he doesn't have a hunting gun with him.
As far as Mr Powell goes, we should never forgive him for the UN speech where he presented the big lies about the WMDs owned by Sadam. These two guys and Rumsfeld have railroaded this nation into a bad war; many died, more have been disfigured. I really wonder if G W knew what he was doing at the time or Alzheimer's got to him already.
Why would anyone be naive or stupid enough to believe anything from cheney. He is a coward and draft evader. Powell on the other hand is a combat veteran and a leader. It's disgusting to even allow cheney to mention Powell's name.
Wolf,
Looking forward to your interview with Mr. Cheney next Tuesday. I'd love to see you hold him to answering a very simple question: "Why, when the outcome of the Iraqi invasion was never in doubt, were we so unprepared to aggressively manage a post-war reconstruction? We were slow, unresponsive and, apparently, oblivious to the fact that our international position on issues that matter most to Arabs in that part of the world would make it seem that US troops would be seen as occupiers rather than liberators."
I don't believe the invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Sadam Hussein was the wrong thing to do – but our approach was all wrong and that "mis-read" of the situation had to come from the Administration.
Wolf, don't waste your time with Cheney... unless of course you are willing to use water-boarding ... then may be he might speak up. No need to interview Powell, he already said all there is to say.
Wolf, don't waste your time with Dick ... unless of course you are willing to use water-boarding ... then may be he might speak up. No need to interview Powell, he already said all there is to say.
Even hell won't take Cheney
I can honestly ssay I dont give a craap about what Dick Cheney has to say.
I don't get why anyone is expecting Cheney to suddenly develop honesty, dignity or class now when he has so actively eschewed all three for decades.
I wish both of these awful people would go away for good.
Cheney cause he's evil,Powell cause he's a liar(or very dumb.
Personally, if I had to choose between the two, Powell is a slam dunk over Cheney, the arrogant Haliburton lackey that never served but was all too eager to put our troops in harms way in order to get his friends in the oil business what they thought at the time was easy access to Iraq's oil wealth. How's that working for us as a nation now, Cheney? Oh, I forgot you could give a damn about what is in the best interests of our country at large. Powell at least knew that war was not an easy game to play and a true patriot for opposing this megalomanic's middle east adventures.
Haliburton WON
Cheney, really doesn't impress me at all.
FIrst, Colin Powell went before Congress with the information he was given to make a case for the invasion. He had no clue that the facts were questionable. I think his honesty was used against him in order to get support for the war. I think MR. Cheney is a liar as I do Donald Rumsfeld. I used to like Rumsfeld for his blunt talk with the press. Now I don't know. If Powell ran for President, I'd vote for him because he's not a politician and I believe his integrity to be above reproach.
A true soldier of honor should not be in a position of defending himself from the likes of that snake-like coward Cheney. I am always dumbfounded how the "patriotic" rightwing in this country defends a draft dodging, foul mouthed, war proofiteering liar like Cheney instead of a 4-star general. Someone please explain!
A true soldier of honor should not be in a position of defending himself from the likes of that snake-like coward Cheney. I am always dumbfounded how the "patriotic" rightwing on this country defends a draft dodging, foul mouthed, war proofiteering liar like Cheney instead of a 4-star general. Someone please explain!
Powell has honor. Cheney is a draft dodger with two DUI's who shoots his friends in the face.
I would take Powell's word over Cheney's any day.
It doesn't surprise me that Powell and Cheney did not get along. Powell is a team player and a decent human being. Cheney is cantankerous, self righteous, and about the most openly unpleasant guy I ever saw in elective office.
perhaos you can ask the former vice president, if he were still in the fray, knowing bin laden is dead, and the #2 man is dead...would he agree that the patriot act is now mute..
Being 23, I came into political awareness during a time when the Bush-Cheney white house wasn't such a fan favorite, particularly for my generation. That being said, I respected Mr. Powell then, and still do to this day. From what I've heard of the comments, Cheney's book stopped to personal attacks on the former Secretary of State, perhaps to boost notoriety or sales, but they seem to fall short of the truth, and at the least are misguided. It's unreasonable to assume that Mr. Powell was so responsible while Mr. Cheney is absolved of wrongdoing, and for him to suggest otherwise is distasteful, to say the least.
As I've read in other viewer comments, "I'll trust the General's side of the story over Cheney's any day"
When i see cheney on the news i see pure evil. He shouldnt be allowed to be around little kids. When cheney shot that man in the face while hunting the owner of the ranch blamed the accident on the guys face.
Powell is a true soldier and leader. Cheney is a tool.
Great informative article. Worth reading. Hurry post more.....................
Theres a reason his name is DICK. Notice how when he talks just one side of his face moves? Cheney was the worst Vice President we have ever had. That smug look on his face... Now you sit down and shut up CHENEY....
Gen Powell was naive to think he could tame the likes of VP Cheney. Everyone knows who really pulled the strings throughout that administration.
I love Powell. Cheney should be fed to the dogs. Can't rewrite history on this guy. The whole world was watching.
I can't believe how biased your show is Mr. Blitzer! You have the gall to put politics into the story about the hurricane disaster, and then you allow the idiot you had on your show regarding Powell and Cheney, to call the Vice Preisent an something "midget"! When Don Imus got fired for what he said in jest, it is appauling that you would let your guest call the Vice President a ____ midget! How disrespectful!
Wolf,
You've got to drill down w/ Cheney on all the dead iraqi's. 200,000+ dead and counting following the U.S. optional (as gates called it)
Invasion. Does he feel responsible for all the dead people? Who should? Would he support the war knowing what he knows now. In other words would he invade again? And recondem hundreds of thousands of innocent people? for WMD that did not exhist. Ask him what if the killing never stops? It's vulgar how CNN and cable ingores all the death and dying that clearly the US brought on an innocent people. How immoral are we? We don't even aknowlege...
I don't want to get into a general argument with Jim about the war in Iraq, but where did the figure 200,000 come from? Does that in include those killed by Al Qaeda and Iraqis killing each other?
If you had a real issue, you could have supported that with the absolute truth, couldn't you?
I’m with you, Jim. But I’ll guarantee that Cheney (the serial draft dodger) will never reflect on lives lost or innocents who were tortured. Did he ever NOT recommend bombing and invasion for any crisis? The man has a twisted soul.
Good point, Jim....Sometimes you wonder – what was really worse for the Iraqis or the Afghans or the Libyans now – their terrible dictators or their current hopeless situation...I tend to think it is the latter. These 200,000+ unfortunate souls had a different type of freedom (freedom from living) and the rest are living in worse times. CNN loves to glorify wars, natural calamities, misfortunes, etc and they dramatize this big time – unfortunately, they only see it as a story that can attract eyeballs.....Amen
True and some are estimating the latest Iraq war took a total of 1/10th the total WWII Holocaust. As an American I want the world to know, we the American people were hookwinked by Republicans and Fox News's propaganda machine. I dearly wish War Crimes trials would be initiated against Cheney, Bush and even Powell. Powell didn't have to tell the UN lies either. And what they caused is evil on a Biblical scale.
True and some are estimating the latest Iraq war took a total of 1/10th the total WWII Holocaust. I dearly wish War Crimes trials would be initiated against Cheney, Bush, Powell, and the Religious leaders who drafted the Land Letter, in which they told the President that preemptive Evil will prevent evil. Powell told the UN lies and later admitted that. And what they caused is evil on a Biblical scale.
Jim, your thoughts are good, but there were never any WMD's and the Bush administration forged by Cheney perpetrated that lie to invade Iraq and get a secure source of oil for the US. It was fascism at its finest. They wanted that oil pure and simple. The hundred of thousands of dead are on Dick Cheney and GW Bush. But what good....neither have a conscience or morality.
I'd like to hear these questions asked as well. I felt like Colin Powell was a man of integrity even if I wasn't aligned with his party. We need more people like him in Washington, and less people like Dick Cheney.
Hey Jimbo, you ok? You sound a littel dizzy, like leaning too far left in life brother.. take a breath and relax. Wow.
My hope is that Mr. Begala will now finally change his hoerendous characterization of former President George W. Bush at that School in Sarasota, Florida September 11, 2011. Last night Mr. Bush finally put forth what every other reasonable adult in the United States and parent would have wanted from the President – not to dash from the room as John McClain in Die Hard – yippie – ki yeah and off to AF-1. Instead he used a thoughtful process so that those children do not today have the sight of Secret Service agents brandishing submachine guns, pealing out suburban's, Cadillac's going at light speed.. Paul – grow up and face the facts. Mr. Bush did right. Stop the crapola!
Kurt Eilers,
No matter how you try to spin it, the leader of the most powerful military in history, while his nation was being attacked and 300 million people wanted to hear from our leader, decided to spend his time reading "The Pet Goat". Certainly this rates right up with the story of Nero fiddling.
The "Pet Goat" response was of a similar mentality when he partied with John McCain while Katrina approached New Orleans and Bush later ignored dying Americans pleading for help for four days.
It's all part of Bush's legacy of incompetence.
Bush, thoughtful? Nice spin. In any event, Cheney is a war criminal and should be in jail. Rotting. For the rest of his miserable life.
Dream on...
Bush like everyone else was caught off-guard by the audacity of the attack, even though his desk had received an "Urgent: Imminent Al-Qaeda planned attack on US soil!" only the day before. Apparently, tax cuts were more important than national security.
We all watched those terrible moments, and then hours, unfold. We all know what happened.
What is different is our response. Some like to cling to jingoism and nationalism, while others realize that you will never "drain the swamp" until you can get an idea its size.
The Arab Spring is the best hope we have of draining that swamp, and 200,000 dead Iraqi's, and 10,000 dead Americans and Allies have paved that way.
Let us all hope we do not squander what so many others have sacrificed.
Kurt, the President should have left immediately and there is a way to do that. You don't have to "dash" as you stated. And I seriously doubt that a quicker exit would have resulted in SS agents brandishing submachine guns in front of the children. I do think, once in the vehicles, they would have made a hasty getaway, however. Like his admission that he did not act quick enough during Katrina, he took too long here as well and gave too many people more ammunition to blast him.
No, Bush did wrong. Very wrong. He and his administration ignored entirely the threat of al Qaedda throughout the first nine months of his presidency until the 9/11 attacks. They had ample warnings, too, as has been well documented. Richard Clark has come out and said that when he broached the subject of al Qaedda to National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice shortly before the attacks she looked at him with an expression that seemed to indicate that she had no idea what he was talking about, and she quickly changed the subject. That would be appropriate for an administration that was far more "Die Hard" John McClain than you're willing to admit. Just because Bush didn't immediately get up and race out of the room like an idiot doesn't mean he responded well to the attacks. You need to look at that seven-minute video of him sitting there with a vacant look on his face right after receiving the news of the second tower being hit. The emptiness on his face was matched by the emptiness of his mind. Almost immediately he, Cheney and the rest of the Gang That Couldn't Think Straight wanted to punish Iraq for an attack it had nothing to do with. And look where we are now, all these long, wasted years later: much poorer, far more divided, listless, seemingly without direction as a nation. Of course, by your remarks regarding Bush I suspect that you'd like to pin it all on Obama. Sorry. That dog won't hunt. Bush and Cheney so screwed up our country in their 8 years of misrule that it doesn't matter who was elected in 2008, Obama or McCain. Nobody could quickly fix the destruction those two clowns wrought. It'll take years for us to get back to where we once proudly stood - if we ever do.
You need to put ideology aside and face the facts. Giving Bush and Cheney the ultimate power was one of the dumbest things we as a nation have ever done. Or do you think it would be just wonderful if they somehow were able to get two more terms? And their election helped drive the Republican party further to the right, which has opened the door for all kinds of fools - Bachmann, Palin, Perry, etc. - to sound off with all kins of unbelievable nonsense, while believing that they are somehow entitled to the reins of power. God helps us all if any of them gets to set up shop in the Oval Office.
Mr Bush did right ???? Where have you been.All those dead civilians and servicemen.And for what ?? To end up handing over Iraq to Iran.
Thats not to mention, the mess he left us with our economy. Wake up for Gods sake and stop being a neocon and be an AMERICAN first.
Do you really believe that? Have you seen the video of him just sitting there? Dashing out wasn't the only option. He could have calmly excused himself and walked out early.
Is there a way to make sense out of this? On my calendar, September 11, 2011, hasn't happened yet and much of the rest of it doesn't reflect on anything I recognize.
What does that have to do with Cheney and Powell? Are you lost?
He could have simply stood up, told the class that he had some important business to tend to and that he appreciated spending some time with them. No need to make a big production out of it.
I think most reasonable people, upon seeing his reaction to the news that the US was under attack, had a sinking feeling in their gut that they choose the wrong guy less than a year earlier.
Why would the president of the United States sit in a classroom while the country is under attack? Was he not endangering the children in the classroom and in the rest of that school building?
Yeah, right. And the moon is made of green cheese.
10 years later and partisans are still trying to pretend that Bush did the right thing by acting like a deer in the headlights on 9/11. The children would hardly have been harmed if he had said "Sorry, but I must run, I have some important work to do". How hard would that be? Funny how you 'worry' about the response of a few children, and not the concerns of an entire nation. Think through your comment: if it were president Gore stuck in his chair, paralyzed by inaction, what would you have said?
You are an astute political analyst but a lousy weatherman. The manner in which you continued non-stop coverage after the hurricane was downgraded to Category I and the Weather Channel vectors clearly showed it would likely miss the DC metro area is a case of the reporting becoming the news. Field reporters standing in a few feet of water off Chesapeake Beach, Maryland ( there was zero surge-I keep my boat in Rose Haven) was just shoddy reporting and created hysteria. CNN crossed the line of balanced reporting in this instance.
Powell was SecState not SecDef
Thanks - we fixed this error.
Not yet...
That's not just a simple typo. "Powell now had Cheney’s former post as defense secretary"? It's funny. This entire article is from the premise of Mr. Blitzer's unique knowledge having "really gotten to know them," and yet it seems like Mr. Blitzer has no idea what he's talking about. Perhaps it would be most graceful just to remove this blog post altogether. Credibility is shot.
This has not been fixed.
Unfortunately, the correction didn't update the first time. It has since been fixed. Thanks!
Hmm, the defense secretary correction hasn't shown up yet. Just refreshed, and it still say this:
"Powell now had Cheney’s former post as defense secretary."
This has been corrected now. Thanks for the comments!
And people get their news from CNN??? I just come here to see what the latest spin on the truth is...
And you've got to wonder how differently it might all have been if "General" Powell had really been Sec'y of Defense instead of State.
Well at least someone knows recent history and is paying attention to details ! Kudos Montana Ric ! Wolf – you were actually there in the halls of the Pentagon (as was I later on) – you should have known better !
You should also mention that Powell was the only non-idiot in that administration.
How can Jim Acosta claim that the Tea Party is winning the political debate after Irene??? What "debate" is he referring to? He failed to notice the irony in HIS OWN footage of the statements provided by GOP candidates, and he even gave Bachmann a pass on her mockery of the recent natural disasters! What's wrong with that guy? Who is he listening to?? Wolf Blitzer even had to correct his "conclusion" that the "American Public" is against FEMA and the Federal Government... That reporter is either not very smart, or simply auditioning for a job with Fox News!
Wolf ,
Ask Cheney if he and Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi have any new projects in the works ?
Also ask Dick if he plans to go Dove hunting with Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz this season !
Colin Powell seems like a smart, reasonable person. Heck, if he were to run, I might even vote for him to be President.
Cheney is a crackpot.
The United States suffered many very dark years under the Bush – Cheney Administration. Talk about a presidency that should have been impeached; that administration definitely fit the bill and more. Everyone knows that Dick Cheney is the one who ran the administration and with his arrogance and self-piety he did tremendous damage to this country. He greatly hurt our image abroad. He is the perfect definition of evil.
This man is determined to rewrite history. He just can't face the fact that people see him for what he really is, a money hungry, power-tripping, don't give a darn for this country blowhole. I hope the bookstore who sales this piece of rubbish files it under its rightful category, "tabloid quality fiction".
Dick Cheney, no class! He's a money whore and nothing else. He will be one of those who actually will rot in hell!
Wolf – please, don't waste your time "interviewing" Cheney about his "book". He's only doing interviews to drum up sales for it. And, from what you say in your posting and a recent interview on another network – he doesn't seem to be adding anything worthwhile to the conversation. He really does appear to have little class.
Put your valuable time into more meaningful interviews / stories please.
This is an easy comparison. General Powell is a true American patriot and Cheney is a corporate criminal who should be convicted of corruption. General Powell shot weapons as a Soldier defending his country and Cheney was a draft dodger who shot a lawyer – but never apologized for doing so. General Powell warned the President to avoid going into Iraq without an exit strategy. Cheney fabricated lies to push America toward this endless debacle.
Isn't this the Washington story all over again. Intelligence and integrity forced to resign while the idiots are left behind to kowtow to their Corporate masters.
Wolf, what a great intro to some quality journalism. No, wait, Powell was Secretary of State, not Defense? Are you now too high in the CNN hierarchy to have someone check the quality of your work? Or is no one that really keeps up with the facts available?
cheney is the ultimate evil doer
Just what is Powell gaining from shooting off about Cheney? Is he looking for a bigger selling book or a cabinet spot with his brother Obama? In all my years of living, which is far more than the commentators at CNN or Fox, ABC, NBC or CBS, the exposes after leaving office have never been so voluminous as they are these days. Be quiet, Mr. Powell, and enjoy your book income and your retirement!!!!
Why do we have to constantly have to be subject to Cheney? Because he is selling a book? Didn't he make enough money off the blood of our young men and women to last him a lifetime. He's a war criminal, who constantly rubs it in our faces that he's getting away with it. I find this attention the media is giving him to be an outrage against what sensibilities we have left. He should be in prison, not having people slobber all over him for attention.
Colin Powell gave that speech to the UN defending the build-up to the invasion of Iraq. He seemed on board with everything. He does not seem to be a man who would just go along if he had any serious issues with what was going on in that administration. If he did he would have resigned. I always respected Powell and still do except that while endorsing Obama for president in 2008 he criticized McCain in ways I felt weren't neccesary. I will be very interested when it comes tim efor him to back a candidate in the 2012 elections, and why. If he backs Obama again, I will really lose faith that he is trully independant as he says. There is no denying the country is worse off since Obama became president.
Search for the "bikini chart," and get back to me on that whole country being worse off thing. We were bleeding jobs in the hundreds of thousands a month the last few months of Bush, sometimes 700,000 or more. That's not the case anymore, no matter how you try to portray it.
Cheney is a narcisist who will never admit he made a mistake. Powell is a level headed man that warned Bush about invading iraq. Cheney was a big deciding factor in the false WMD and 9/11 claims about Iraq being behind it. Just an example of what continues in their party today...adherence to completely false or exaggerated claims just to assure that the Democrats fail, not that the country succeeds.
I take Powell's side who I can believe. Already they are pointing out contradictions in what bushwhacke's and prick cheney's books say about the same incident. Of course, I don't believe anything the bush says wither. WMD! Bah humbug!
Darth Cheney is at it again. He should be in prison writing books what a joke. He's probably upset that people like Colin Powell and not him. Spiteful, meanspirited, dunce. Isn't it time for this clown to shoot someone in the face?
Why anyone in the right mind would believe anything that comes out of Cheney's mouth or by Cheney's hand is beyond me. The man has shown reliably and repeatedly that he can lie with the best of them to get what he wants. I hope the publisher loses its shirt on this one.
This is how Republican administrations are run. Incompetently... So let's elect another Republican President!!!
Did he mentioned on his book about all the billions him and mr bush stole from this country. As the vicepresident he managed to grant multibillionaire contracts to his private company. I know mr bush poketed some of that money too.
It irks me that a man who got five differements form Vietnam and never wore a uniform could criticize a man who selflessly served his country as a military officer. I'm also tired of the 'tough guy' image Cheney tries to portray. He is a coward and a traitior who needs no more stage time. Shame on him.
Dick Cheney continues to ensure his unenviable place in American history, along with Bush, Rumsfeld, RIce, Wolfowitz...I wonder if American Crossroads has talked about paying Cheney to shut up. Reviving these old memories only serves to make Obama look less bad.
I am an independent voter who easily would have voted for Colin Powell had he run for President. Under no circumstances would I ever vote for Cheney for anything, unless it was to vote him off the island without a boat. I believe Powell's version of the story.
I don't see the hype, this story is barely worth commenting on... FIRST!!! 😉
Colin Powell has got a good excuse to endorse the Messiah for 2012 election. Now he will say, "Dick Cheney has taken the party to far right." Couple of years ago he was blaming Palin saying she has taken the party to far to the right. Will someone please tell General Powell that he is the one who has gone to the left and his favorite Manchild President is by far the most Liberal President in U.S. history. Please Mr. Powell get a job at MSNBC so you can trash Republicans 24/7. I urge to the Republican party to ignore Powell from now on. There is absolutely no need to have people like Powell in the party. He agrees with everything that Obama has done so far to this country. I am just waiting for him to start blaming Bush (just like his Boy does) for everything.
Dick Cheney is a festering boil on the butt of humanity, and just like i danced a jig when Osama BIn Laden was no more so shall I dance when Dick is no more.
Cheney's a blowhard, and part of the reason some people call the U.S. hypocritical . . .
No love is lost between Cheney and the American people, in fact Cheney is the axis of evil.
They are both losers.We should have finished Iraq the first time as we had them by the balls.We wouldn't be in the mess we are today if we had don it right the first time.Jim Thomas Phx.Az.