Colin Powell: Phoney Dove?
After reading Ramsey Clark's "The Fire This Time" about the many war crimes committed during the Gulf War, and seeing the video "The Panama Deception" (both highly recommended), I think Powell is every bit as hawkish as anyone else in the administration. His comment when asked about Iraqi casualty numbers after the Gulf War is revealing: "It's really not a number I'm terribly interested in." Tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of people killed on his orders, and he's not interested. The fact that he speaks intelligently and calmly with apparent reason is an excellent cover for his true Rumsfeld-like nature, and I think his race probably adds to the illusion. If you are willing to believe at least a little conspiracy theory (I certainly am!), his whole dovelike image may have been part of the plan all along. "Bush may not know much about foreign policy, but with Powell at State things won't go too far wrong," seduced many, including me, at least partially (not enough to vote for the twit, mind you). Powell was trotted out as future Secretary of State before the election controversy was "resolved," in a blatant and fairly successful ploy to gain public support for calling off recounts. In the buildup to war with Iraq, Powell may have just been playing good cop to W, Rummy and Cheney's bad cops with the UN stuff: get people to trust him so when he really starts to lie (the last few weeks) a lot of people still believe him.

Daily Kos has an excellent article about Powell and the newest supposed Osama tape. Be sure to read the comments--apparently many people feel the same way about Powell playing the good cop while being just as brutal as any of the Bushies.