Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Attack Iraq? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Victor Lazlo who wrote (2995)	11/17/2002 1:17:37 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 8683

Colin Powell's head is on line over Iraq Fri Nov 15, 7:36 AM ET Add Op/Ed - USA TODAY to My Yahoo! Al Neuharth URL:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=679&e=2&cid=679&u=/usatoday/20021115/cm_usatoday/4626493 Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) won a landslide election in the United Nations (news - web sites). President Bush (news - web sites) won a squeaker in the United States. They did it in entirely different ways. Bush fired up voters with tough pep talks. That regained a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate and retained it in the House. Powell cooled off Bush and his hot rhetoric over Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). That won a 15-0 vote in the U.N. Security Council. The president flip-flopped from John Wayne's hip-shooting approach to Teddy Roosevelt's tough but thoughtful policy of ''speak softly and carry a big stick.'' Bush's own words: * April 4: ''I made up my mind that Saddam needs to go.'' * July 8: ''We will use all tools at our disposal'' to change Iraq's regime. * Sept. 7: ''My administration still supports regime change. There's all kinds of ways to change regimes.'' * Oct. 21: ''If he (Saddam) were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations . . . that in itself would signal the regime has changed.'' Powell brought about that presidential transformation because he was convinced we would have only one ally -- Great Britain -- if we moved on Iraq without the U.N. Not only did Powell have to cool Bush, he also had to persuade Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that their go-it-alone approach was wrong. As a result of sticking out his neck, Powell's head is on the line. Saddam's acceptance of the U.N. resolution on Wednesday was a positive, but if he puts roadblocks in the way of inspection teams, hard-liners in the Bush administration and far-right supporters will clamor for Powell's ouster. In short, the secretary of State has taken a gigantic gamble. If he loses, he likely will end up unemployed. If he wins, he might be the next vice president, despite Bush's statement that he'd choose Cheney again.