Colin Powell Still Wants Answers
In the months after 9/11, [[Colin Powell]] agonized over the growing push within the [[Bush]] administration to invade [[Iraq]], believing military action would be disastrous and warning that removing [[Saddam Hussein]] would leave the [[United States]] “owner” of a fractured country. The article traces Powell’s private efforts — dinners with [[George W. Bush]], long talks with [[Jack Straw]] at [[Ronald Lauder]]’s beach house, and tense exchanges with [[Condoleezza Rice]] — as he tried to marshal diplomatic and intelligence arguments against war. It follows his decision to present disputed intelligence to the [[United Nations]] [[Security Council]], his mistrust of figures like [[Dick Cheney]] and [[Donald Rumsfeld]], and the limits of persuasion inside a [[White House]] committed to regime change. [[Powell]]’s presentation became an inflection point, revealing tensions between diplomacy and intelligence and provoking debate about prewar assessments and responsibility.