A Matter of Character: on War & Peace

Colin Powell: Arafat must end terrorism to get to two-state solution

“I had warned Arafat twice that it was about to come to an end, that I could no longer deal with him if he didn’t do something about terrorism,” Powell said. “And he didn’t, so we then came up with this twenty-fourth June speech that said we can’t work with this guy; the Palestinian Authority has to reform itself, and that has to be done quickly; and we’ll wait for a new Palestinian Authority leadership to emerge, and we are looking for a Palestinian state, a two-state solution.”

Colin Powell: Bush & whole Cabinet agreed on multilateral approach on Iraq

Dick Cheney: US beat communism because of leadership & military force

Cheney described Churchill as the first author to have had a profound impact on him. Churchill’s six-volume history of World War II impressed upon Cheney the point that leadership in world affairs is about recognizing dangers and confronting them rather than wishing them away. “The reason that the twentieth century ended with the forces of communism and fascism defeated and with capitalism and democracy increasing as the political and economic models people aspire to,” Cheney would say, “is due in no small part to US leadership backed by military force.

George W. Bush: During Vietnam, did not protest, & counseled supporting war

As president, Bush would look back at Vietnam as an example of how not wage war. If a war was worth fighting, it had to be to win, Bush would say. He called Vietnam a “politicians’ war,” one where the politicians made military decisions.

But at Yale, he was acutely aware that anything he did or said could harm his father’s political career. “George didn’t have that luxury [of engaging in protest],” Laura Bush would later say. “He really didn’t. He was absolutely devoted to his father.”

George W. Bush: Bush Doctrine: harboring terrorists treated as terrorism

By using the broader term “harbor,” Bush had not only expanded the definition of the enemy, he shifted the burden of proof of the United States would use in going after those who support terrorism. Instead of having to show that another country was aware of and permitted terrorists to operate within its borders, the US would now use military force or apply diplomatic pressure on countries simply because terrorists lived there. The declaration became known as the Bush Doctrine. It was a sea change in foreign policy, one that would make all the difference in the war on terror.

George W. Bush: First president to use the term “Palestine”

“Presidents used to mumble when it got to a question of a Palestinian state,” Rice told me in her office one Saturday morning. “They couldn’t bring themselves to say ‘Palestinian State.’ In preparing a speech to the UN, he said, ‘There’s going to be a Palestinian state, so let’s say that. What will it be called? It will be called Palestine. If that’s the case, let’s call it Palestine.’“

On November 10, 2001, Bush told the UN, ”We are working toward a day when two states, Israel and Palestine, live peacefully together within secure and recognized borders as called for by the Security Council resolutions.“

George W. Bush: CIA argued against “16 words” but took responsibility

In fact, M16, the British intelligence service, still believed that its intelligence about Niger was correct. Contrary to the news reports, its information did not rely on bogus documents. Nor did Powell mention Niger eight days after the State of the Union in his formal presentation to the United Nations. Few news stories mentioned these points.

Tenet stepped up to the plate and said he took overall responsibility for the fact that, when reviewing drafts of the president’s speech, his agency did not object more vigorously to citing the Niger report. [Tenet resigned in July 2004]

George W. Bush: Majority misunderstood that Bush connected Saddam with 9/11

The “impressions” were, in fact, mis-impressions. To be sure, a majority of Americans thought that Bush had said Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11 attacks. But they confused Bush’s simple point that, after 9/11, America must never again be in the position of passively waiting for an attack by a country like Iraq.

“After September 11, the doctrine of containment just doesn’t hold any water, as far as I’m concerned,” Bush said with typical bluntness. “We must deal with threats before they hurt the American people again.”

In his interim report, David Kay, the leader of the US hunt for Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, concluded that his team “discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities. concealed from the UN.”

Paul O`Neill: Contrary to O’Neill’s claim, planning for Iraq began in 2002

The claim that Bush came into office with his mind made up on Iraq and planning war was absurd on its face: Planning for the war required the participation not only of the NSC but the Defense Department and CIA, each of which is subject to leaks. Regime change in Iraq had been US policy since the Clinton administration, but it was not until after 9/11 that Bush began seriously to consider the need to deal with Saddam Hussein.

Contrary to O’Neill’s claim, planning for the war began slightly less than a year before the invasion. Even as the invasion approached, Bush gave Saddam a chance to avoid war by disclosing Iraq’s weapons programs or by leaving the country.