Quote :

"What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?" Powell adds, in an interview with Walter Isaacson, that to improve its image in the world, the USA should focus on welcoming newcomers. He takes on the immigration debate that has become a hot-button issue in the presidential race: "America could not survive without immigration," he says. "Even the undocumented immigrants are contributing to our economy. That's the country my parents came to. That's the image we have to portray to the rest of the world: kind, generous, a nation of nations, touched by every nation, and we touch every nation in return. That's what people still want to believe about us. They still want to come here. We've lost a bit of the image, but we haven't lost the reality yet. And we can fix the image by reflecting a welcoming attitude -- and by not taking counsel of our fears and scaring ourselves to death that everybody coming in is going to blow up something. It ain't the case."

http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_5900

I haven't read the full interview yet (they just put it online a few minutes ago, I think), just some excerpts, but it seems like it'll be a really good read. I think it's really interesting what he says about immigration as well, and the connection it has with our perception in the world.

9/11/2007 10:29:05 AM

Colin Powell was the only thread connecting the administration to reality....I wish he'd run for prez.

9/11/2007 10:40:20 AM

I just finished reading the interview. I would HIGHLY recommend taking the ten-fifteen minutes it takes to read it. One of the most interesting reads from a political official I've read in a long time.

^ He says in the interview he wants no part in elected politics ever again

9/11/2007 10:43:32 AM

just finished it myself. he seems fairly levelheaded though he is pretty quick to say that he has no fault in the current iraq problem.

9/11/2007 11:00:27 AM

^from what I heard, he was against it, and didn't even fully support his own argument to the UN, but was loyal to his boss and party.

^^his wife said she'll divorce him if he runs for and wins the presidency, b/c he'll get assassinated.

9/11/2007 11:03:57 AM

This really struck a chord for me:

Quote :

"Q: So you think we are getting too hunkered down and scared? Powell: Yes! We are taking too much counsel of our fears. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a terrorist threat. There is a threat. And we should send in military forces when we have a target to deal with. We should also secure our airports, if that makes us safer. But let’s welcome every foreign student we can get our hands on. Let’s make sure that foreigners come to the Mayo Clinic here, and not the Mayo facility in Dubai or somewhere else. Let’s make sure people come to Disney World and not throw them up against the wall in Orlando simply because they have a Muslim name. Let’s also remember that this country was created by immigrants and thrives as a result of immigration, and we need a sound immigration policy. Let’s show the world a face of openness and what a democratic system can do. That’s why I want to see Guantánamo closed. It’s so harmful to what we stand for. We literally bang ourselves in the head by having that place. What are we doing this to ourselves for? Because we’re worried about the 380 guys there? Bring them here! Give them lawyers and habeas corpus. We can deal with them. We are paying a price when the rest of the world sees an America that seems to be afraid and is not the America they remember. You can drive up the road from here and come to a spot where there is a megachurch over here, a little Episcopal church over there, a Catholic church around the corner that’s almost cathedral-size, and between them is a huge Hindu temple. There are no police needed to guard any of this. There are not many places in the world where you would see that. Yes, there are a few dangerous nuts in Brooklyn and New Jersey who want to blow up Kennedy Airport and Fort Dix. These are dangerous criminals, and we must deal with them. But come on, this is not a threat to our survival! The only thing that can really destroy us is us. We shouldn’t do it to ourselves, and we shouldn’t use fear for political purposes—scaring people to death so they will vote for you, or scaring people to death so that we create a terror-industrial complex."

Amen

[Edited on September 11, 2007 at 11:22 PM. Reason : dtrh]

9/11/2007 11:21:02 PM

Interesting take on Barack Obama and future intentions about supporting and voting for potential presidential candidates:

Quote :

"Q: You’ve met with Barack Obama a couple of times and given him advice. Is it possible that you will support him? Powell: I will give advice to any of the principal candidates. I’ve met with others, including John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. Barack called me and came by, and we had a long talk. Right before he decided to run, we talked again about the presidency and the type of decisions and problems that come in the middle of the night. I think he’s a very impressive man, I think he’s very smart, and I think he’s going to be a formidable candidate."

Quote :

"Q: You did not say that you would be inclined to support the Republican candidate. That’s right. I did not. Because I’ve been voting now for almost fifty years, and I’ve always supported the person I thought was best. I’ve voted Democratic, I’ve voted Republican. I’m going to vote for the best person."

9/11/2007 11:40:14 PM

Quote :

"I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there—ones that we can take advantage of? It should not be just about creating alliances to deal with a guy in a cave in Pakistan. It should be about how do we create institutions that keep the world moving down a path of wealth creation, of increasing respect for human rights, creating democratic institutions, and increasing the efficiency and power of market economies? This is perhaps the most effective way to go after terrorists."

Colin Powell is right. Win the extremists over with Cold Play CD's and the latest diet craze. That'll show 'em whose boss.

9/12/2007 12:45:11 AM

Dear Colin Powell



Joe

9/12/2007 1:34:29 AM

^ whoopdie fucking do.




It's all too little, too late for me to feel the same.

9/12/2007 1:52:36 AM

Quote :

"Colin Powell was the only thread connecting the administration to reality....I wish he'd run for prez."

He's too level-headed for the hard-core meat-eaters on the right and the hard-core vegans on the left who run the primaries.

Quote :

"from what I heard, he was against it, and didn't even fully support his own argument to the UN, but was loyal to his boss and party."

I got that impression too. I think he opposed the whole deal, but when he was told that we were going into Iraq no matter what, the Soldier in him kicked in and he did what he felt was best, and that was attempting to get the UN on board. Unfortunately he both failed to stop the war and to get UN backing, but I think that he truly did the right thing given the circumstances.

9/13/2007 4:40:55 PM

Sad to know that the last REAL American is no longer in this administration.

9/13/2007 4:50:31 PM

I like how a style.com interview has this much effect on peoples' opinions

9/13/2007 4:52:00 PM

looks to me like it's just reaffirming already held opinions.

9/13/2007 4:57:06 PM

^fag d

9/13/2007 5:03:01 PM

i wish that negro would run

9/14/2007 1:38:55 AM

It's pretty tragic how the Bush Administration purged itself of all rational thought.

Quote :

"I like how a style.com interview has this much effect on peoples' opinions"

If you had read the article you'd realize it's a GQ article, and the interviewer is a former managing editor of TIME.

9/14/2007 7:48:02 AM

Quote :

"I like how a style.com interview has this much effect on peoples' opinions"

Okay, so it's pretty obvious you didn't even bother to click the link, or if you did that you have zero reading comprehension ability. Ignoring that, however, do you have any particular disagreements with the interview ASIDE from the name of the web site the online edition is served on?

9/14/2007 2:41:01 PM

i think its funny that a couple years ago all of yall were like HE'S JUST A PUPPET FOR BUSH, BLAH BLAH BLAH and now you're like OMG I LOVE COLIN POWELL

9/14/2007 3:31:15 PM

No one ever said that in this section.

9/14/2007 3:50:21 PM

you have only been registered on TWW for less than 90 days so how would you know?

9/14/2007 3:56:52 PM

^^^ Short response: That's a poor attempt at a cheap shot. By poor, I mean wrong.

Long response:

Quote :

"i think its funny that a couple years ago all of yall were like HE'S JUST A PUPPET FOR BUSH, BLAH BLAH BLAH and now you're like OMG I LOVE COLIN POWELL"

True, liberals really are being hyprocrites. It has nothing to do with the fact that

1) Powell privately questioned the intelligence behind the Iraq intel

2) He contacted his fellow cabinet members directly b/c he felt it was wrong.

3) He fell in line with his superiors' decisions despite his own reservations fopr the sake of unity and loyalty to his commander-in-chief, which included "reading from the teleprompter" when addressing the UN.


This article reveals that Powell was convinced/coerced into supporting the war after rightfully questioning intelligence that later turned out to be false. History has proven Powell right, and yes, that's afforded him the high regard with which liberals currently regard him.

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 3:57 PM. Reason : ^^]

9/14/2007 3:57:36 PM

Collin Powell lied to the UN.

9/14/2007 3:58:11 PM

so why did so many liberals hate him when he was still secretary of state?

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 3:59 PM. Reason : ^^]

9/14/2007 3:58:54 PM

Because we didn't know that he was simply towing the line, and fighting against said line behind the scenes.

Why do you ask questions with such obvious answers?

9/14/2007 5:19:43 PM

so you're admitting you jumped to false conclusions without knowing what was actually going on...which would be ok...except you were so livid and hateful about him...but you'll just continue to jump to livid and hateful conlusions because thats what you do

9/14/2007 5:21:37 PM

The problem with your retarded logic is OMG I LOVE POWELL isn't a flip flop from any position about HE IS A PUPPET FOR THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION

You dumb moron.

Liberals and true conservatives alike like him now, and they liked him 2 years ago. Get your fucking argument straight before attempting to make it.

9/14/2007 5:27:28 PM

that alias is getting old...make a new one

oh no you paid for premium...i'll bet your stingy ass wants to "get your parents moneys worth" out of it

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 5:30 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 5:29:45 PM

Make a post with some facts to support your position and I'll consider it.

Seeing as how I like being able to post under my name, I'm not too worried about having to switch to a new one so soon.

I didn't pay for premium.

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 5:35 PM. Reason : x]

9/14/2007 5:30:52 PM

still trying to hide the fact that you bought premium? its ok...make a status name...ghost edit a post...nobody gives a shit except you

9/14/2007 5:37:26 PM

You wanna get back on topic or fuck up yet another thread?

9/14/2007 5:40:26 PM

why do you keep lying to imply you didnt buy a premium subscription?

9/14/2007 5:41:41 PM

I didn't imply anything. I stated as a mother fucking fact that I didn't buy one.

Take this shit to chit chat you fuck head and make a thread there where you can buy down at my altar.

9/14/2007 5:44:07 PM

who bought it then?

9/14/2007 5:44:32 PM

Quote :

"so you're admitting you jumped to false conclusions without knowing what was actually going on...which would be ok...except you were so livid and hateful about him...but you'll just continue to jump to livid and hateful conlusions because thats what you do"

Now twista, there you go blaming people who don't deserve it. You know perfectly well that our collective hate for Colin Powell was based on the best intelligence available. We had evidence that his testimony to the UN consisted of exaggerations and lies. We knew we worked for an administration that was pushing a neo-con agenda. We also knew that people like Dick Cheney, who commended Bush Sr.'s decision not to invade Baghdad in 1991, had crossed over and now supported toppling Saddam's regime. We can't hold liberals accountable for acting on the intelligence available at the time...

You know, like how you defend Bush for doing the exact same fucking thing


[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 5:55 PM. Reason : quote]

9/14/2007 5:54:12 PM

no you dont get it...people like boone do nothing but foam at the mouth when john q. republican does anything potentially bad...thats his MO...thats the type of threads people like joe_schmoe and boone make...TSB is strictly for people to be like "OMG I FUCKING HATE ____ _____, R-__" OR "LOOK WHAT _____ _ _____, D-__ DID"...all i do is come in and touch on a few topics

9/14/2007 6:00:12 PM

well twista just shat all over this thread.

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:01 PM. Reason : shitshat material]

9/14/2007 6:00:51 PM

yalls problem is you think TSB is actually something legit and serious...when in reality its just politics...which are a complete joke in the first place

blame TreeTwista!

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:03 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 6:02:40 PM

backpedalbackpedalbackpedal

9/14/2007 6:03:11 PM

unspecificfaggotunspecificfaggotunspecificfaggot

tell me how i backpedaled

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:04 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 6:03:33 PM

well let's see, people were talking about the actual content of the article until you came in and made a comment about the website name. hmmmm. lots of content there. then when that failed you went into a partisan attack. typical.

THEN you just harped on that for a while and when that got old you did the typical "tww isn't serious" defense. i actually expect a little better from you. that is a weak hooksaw move

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:05 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 6:04:23 PM

who gives a flying fuck?

also you're wrong...my knock of the source is irrelevant...my main knock was about people hating on powell for years and years and years and then they read an article and they're like NOW I LOVE HIM...its pathetic and it shows how naive you all are

man yall care way too fucking much about politics

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:06 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 6:04:53 PM

^case in point

9/14/2007 6:05:39 PM

unspecificfaggotunspecificfaggotunspecificfaggot

9/14/2007 6:06:16 PM

unspecific?

for someone who doesn't care about politics, you really do like to talk about it.

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:07 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 6:06:42 PM

are you going for the record of shortest posts? is that the best way to get your point across?

people hated powell for years...now they're just like WHOOPS

and down the road they'll say whoops on other things because the soap box is a partisan circle jerk and i'm not partisan

maybe down the road science will say "well humans arent actually causing global warming" and the gw proponents will be like WHOOPS and forget how wrong they were for so many years...exact same thing with powell...WHOOPS i guess i was wrong every time i opened my mouth on the subject over the last 6 years...i shouldnt be held accountable though

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:09 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 6:07:46 PM

What point were you attempting to make again? Just so everyone is clear.

9/14/2007 6:10:49 PM

see where you started shitting on the thread is when you started criticizing the people in the thread for no reason. a good thread is one in which the views themselves are argued, not one in which people are criticizing each other for their views (which is what you consistently do).

9/14/2007 6:11:10 PM

^^that you paid for premium and you're denying it because you want people to think you dont care about tww...why do you deny buying a premium subscription?

^the good reason was that they were just talking out of their asses for years and now theyre like "oh my bad" and dont want to eat crow

[Edited on September 14, 2007 at 6:12 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2007 6:11:31 PM

Quote :

"that you paid for premium and you're denying it because you want people to think you dont care about tww...why do you deny buying a premium subscription?"

(this is a shit post)

9/14/2007 6:11:55 PM