Colin Powell: American Hero

General Colin Powell became a household name and an American hero during Operation Desert Storm. Following his retirement from the U.S. Army, he was courted by the media and political interests to run for President of the United States, but gracefully declined. I was disappointed when he chose against running for President, but understood his reluctance to join the political arena. He had more than fulfilled his obligation as an American to serve his country. When he was invited to be Secretary of State, I temporarily believed George W. Bush must have had some degree of common sense or vision. I felt Powell's presence in the Bush White House gave the Administration credibility.He exhibited many of the characteristics that I would associate with a great leader. Wisdom, honesty, compassion, morality, intelligence and strength are some of those characteristics. In my eyes, he was a man of heroic stature and a role model for people throughout the world to emulate.

My lofty opinion of Colin Powell came crashing down around me following his 2003 appearance before the United Nations, where he presented details describing Iraq's weapons program. Adding to the insecurity and fear inflicted on the American people by the events of 9/11, he articulately presented to the U.N. and the world, information supporting the need to declare war on Sadaam Hussein and rid the middle east of weapons of mass destruction. Reluctantly, I began to accept that the object of my respect and admiration was in fact, just another puppet whose strings were being pulled by a corrupt administration intent on escalating its own agenda. How could I have been so wrong?

Subsequently, wide spread media reports of friction between the Secretary of State and the President suggested that Powell was possibly not just a yes man intimidated by the temper tantrums and threats of political ruin associated with defying Bush. I wanted to believe my instincts but was still reeling from the heartbreak I experienced each time it was reported that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The blade of dishonesty cuts deep and the wounds inflicted on me by that blade are very slow to heal.

When Powell stepped down as Secretary of State in January, 2004, I had to ask myself if it was possible that he decided he didn't have the stomach needed to participate in the Bush-whacking of America. He did serve his country honorably for many years and standing up in front of the world and distributing false information based on faulty intelligence seemed uncharacteristic of a decorated war hero. Was it possible that he was as honorable as I had originally believed?

In the first interview Powell gave since resigning, he told Barbara Walters of ABC News that the speech before the U.N. is a permanent blot on his record and is still painful. He also said that he was devastated that some people in the intelligence community knew the information that he based his speech on shouldn't be relied on but didn't speak up.

Did I read that right? Has someone associated with this series of unfortunate events actually acknowledged the liability that their role caused... and expressed remorse? Yes! And he said it on TV, so it must be true! "I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world," he admitted to Walters. He also admits he felt "terrible" upon learning that he was misled with regard to the accuracy of the information he relayed to the world and also expressed regret regarding the insufficient number of troops committed to the war in Iraq.

While I still don't think the war in Iraq can be justified by the rhetorical "War on Terror" line of excuses offered by the Bush administration, I have begun to develop a restored sense of respect for Mr. Powell. It's too bad that his sense of loyalty was allowed to interfere with his leadership abilities and instincts. I predict that despite his moment of shame, he will be regarded in the pages of history as not only an American hero, but also a man of integrity.