Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was quoted in the Los Angeles Times (4/16) as saying “There is no war plan right now to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing “democratic values.” This from the “moderate” member of the administration’s hierarchy.
What Powell is telling the nations of the world is simply this: The United States does not “right now” intend to engage in any more preemptive attacks to change regimes not of our liking or to impose our system of government. The oxymoronic nature of “imposing democratic values” underlines this part of Powell’s statement sufficiently so as to make any additional critical comment redundant. But it is his “right now” comment that bears analysis.
Having once preemptively attacked a country as to which no credible evidence existed was a threat to the United States, Powell and, through him, President Bush, are saying in effect that we may do it again when we choose to do so although we have no plan to do it “right now.” Syria, Iran, North Korea, watch out, you may be next! Thus, we have arrogated to ourselves the role of unilaterally deciding which governments stand and which fall and the role of enforcing our decision. This is now our foreign policy.
Powell’s statement elevates chutzpah to the heady height of hubris.
Henry Pollard