Letter: Decisions of Colin Powell questioned

Tuesday, April 30, 2002 | 8:53 a.m.

In an April 19 column, "Powell in line of fire," Mike O'Callaghan expressed disdain for columnist George Will's suggestion that Colin Powell be removed from his position as Secretary of State. While I have no interest in the opinions of an inconsequential "talking head" like George Will, I would like to throw a little light on the Powell myth.

First, Powell did serve honorably in Vietnam -- something for which he and many other Americans deserve our respect. Nonetheless, the remainder of his career was spent almost exclusively as a Department of Defense bureaucrat and protege of Casper Weinberger -- a relationship which gave him an inside track on promotion.

What propelled him into public prominence was Operation Desert Storm. Subsequent to Iraq's invasion, Powell recommended writing Kuwait off. So stubbornly did he hold to that line, that Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney went around him to finally formulate the "left hook" strategy employed during the war.

Toward the end of the war, Powell recommended a premature cease fire, which allowed a powerful Iraqi Republican Guard tank column to escape. That tank column was subsequently used to crush the rebellious Shiites.

During our engagement in Somalia, Powell recommended the employment of Special Forces to go after warlord Farah Aidid, but denied their request for AC-130 assault aircraft support. The result was a tactical blunder, a media frenzy and the resignation of Secretary of Defense Les Aspin.

Is it any wonder why one of Powell's four-star colleagues referred to him as the "teflon man"?

KELLY KRIEG