Powell on Iraq: Every course has an end

In an impressive lecture at the University of Minnesota, former Secretary of State Colin Powell touched on our current foreign policy debacle.  Speaking at the Northrop Auditorium, Powell accepted the Distinguished Carlson Lecture Series plaque after confronting the Administration on detainee treatment and the current quagmire in Iraq.  No recording devices were allowed in the auditorium.

First, starting with prisoner abuse, Powell was critical of the detainee bill that passed Congress:

Asked about the bill during a speech at the University of Minnesota,Powell said he's confident it will ensure the humane treatment ofdetainees. "We can do all the interrogating we want inside the GenevaConventions," he said.

Powell said he knew his reservations -- revealed in a letter to McCain -- would be controversial, "but I believe it strongly."

..."You don't change your ethics for short-term gain," she said.

And on Iraq, he delivered his best line.  Powell said that staying the course is not an option:

"Only the Iraqi people can resolve this," Powell said.

U.S. troops have to stay in Iraq for "some time," he said. "But there is a limit to the patience of the American people."

Powell was the featured speaker at this year's distinguished Carlson Lecture at the University of Minnesota.

In Iraq, "staying the course isn't good enough because a course has to have an end," Powell said.

According to the Minnesota Daily, the speech was all around pretty positive:

"You'll know you're a good leader when people will follow you out of curiosity," he said.

Powell said the nation is facing challenging times but he "hopes the American people speak clearly to their political leaders."

"We live in challenging times now, but young people live in a time of great opportunity," he said.

Back to the detainee issue.  Maybe someone ought to ask Colin Powell why he was being a loyal soldier when violations of the Geneva Conventions were happening right in front of him?  He should have said something if he feels as strongly about it as he says he does.

Even though he disappointed me a lot by not being as vocal has he could have in the run up to the Iraq war, I will always respect his doctrine on war strategy.  It is a strategy that Clinton should have enacted in Somalia, and one Bush should have enacted in Afghanistan.  The strategy calls for a clearly defined exit strategy beforehand, overwhelming military force and a timely ending.  Again, I wish Powell would have found a way be more vocal.  Like him or hate him though, when you study the Reagan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr administrations, he was a great counterweight to chicken hawks like Rumsfeld and Cheney.