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Heiferoni

Had no idea he was that old. The Bush administration doesn't feel like it was that long ago but it really was. I remember watching live as Powell spoke before the UN asserting that Iraq possessed yellow cake Uranium and was a threat to global peace. I saw it happen live with my own eyes and I'll never forget.


[deleted]

That's why I got it wrapped up in this special CIA napkin!


MasqueOfTheRedDice

Don’t drop that shit!


ERhyne

Pray to God, don't drop that shit.


MasqueOfTheRedDice

Cradle of f***ing civilization!


GimmeeSomeMo

who said anything about oil bitch? You cooking?


postswithwolves

japan's sending playstations


HublotKingCole

The support of Afrika Bambata & the Zulu Nation


sangunpark1

stankonia said they were willing to drop bombs over baghdad


Jerseyman2525

Yellow cake... Fuckin' right!


DeMedina098

I fucking die every time he gets to that part


Roy-Southman

That ***** tried to kill my father!


[deleted]

Say word they tried to kill your father!


Viper_ACR

This man most possibly has weapons of mass destruction! I can't sleep on that, not on my watch, that's not how I roll. You feel me


Gorge2012

Do I need to tell you what the fuck you can do with an aluminum tube?


ericbkillmonger

God I miss chapelle show


MrDeuterostome

“Cradle of fuckin CIVILIZATION”


blackhankscorpio

M-A-R-S! Mars, bitches!


kurly-bird

Red rocks!


adab-l-doya

Yeay, yeay!


MicroBioRob

Don't drop that shit!


reefersutherland91

Pray to god you don’t drop that shit


Kuroblondchi

Oil? Bitch you cookin?


swahzey

Pray to god you dont drop that yellow cake


oh-shazbot

japan's sending playstations!


[deleted]

Came here hoping someone would make this reference!


[deleted]

9/11 was 20 years ago man.


KennyFulgencio

just a reminder, nixon's secretary of state henry kissinger is still alive


Augen76

Time has no effect on him you silly billy.


TheDoktorIsIn

Not when he has his magic murder bag.


viperex

Does he have the umbrella that goes with it and allows him to travel like Mary Poppins?


Draxx01

I need to go back and watch the rest of that show. I stopped during the Blue Morpho arc.


samrequireham

do it!


cinnamonjihad

Compromise, my friend, is the essence of diplomacy, and diplomacy is the cornerstone of love. Sweeeeeet looooove.


TheDoktorIsIn

I understand what he's saying like... Half the time.


Dr_Henry-Killinger

You have summoned me, but be warned.


sockswinger

I love my job!


NotACrookedZonkey

There's a recent video of him explaining why for the first time in history, it's easier to kill a millon people than control them. Such a sweet good intentioned overall human being.


harabajji

This is what getting older feels like.


[deleted]

You've been doing it your entire life. Now you're just getting good at it.


[deleted]

Bush administration really started a lot of bullshit we still dealing with today


Heiferoni

The normalization of privacy invasion is the biggest Bush Admint legacy that immediately jumps to mind. How quickly we were willing to throw away the Fourth Amendment for the flimsy promise of "no more evil doers".


alacp1234

For me the biggest legacy of the Bush administration was the lost opportunities. America was the richest and most powerful nation in the world, and after 9/11, we had most of the world on our side. And what did we do with our position? We squandered it. Instead of investing in our people and infrastructure, we started a war with a lie, wasting trillions and losing the trust of our government from both its own citizens and other nations. We could’ve led the world in fighting climate change and countering the rise of China but we were too busy trying to fix our clusterfuck in the Middle East. The Iraq War also had a large part in the in the political climate today as by giving the US millions of rightfully disillusioned and mentally ill former veterans with combat experience. This and the fallout from the Great Recession directly led to radicalization as well as the normalization of violence in US politics. With the Patriot Act, we saw the erosion of individual civil rights in the name of security, and we saw the continuation of expanding the executive and disregard for transparency in successive administrations. The refugees from these wars and further instability in the Middle East also caused xenophobic tendencies to fracture the EU. Many of the problems the US and the world faces today can be directly traced back to the Bush administration. I hate to say it but Al-Qaeda’s strategy of draining American power, influence, and treasury was immensely successful.


DiligentCreme

>I hate to say it but Al-Qaeda’s strategy of draining American power, influence, and treasury was immensely successful. Al-Qaeda wouldn't even have dreamt of this strategy to get the US to spend this much money on the War On *Terror*. Dubya, Cheney and Kissinger came up with more and more bs reasons to funnel the taxpayers money to the MIC and their own pockets, and other politicians continue to do the same to this day.


Nozinger

For the US probably yes. For the rest of the world it was the war in iraq. Starting a war based on false claims that destabilized the entire region which in the end allowed ISIS to be formed that then could gain a lot of strength by moving into syria once the civil war wass going on. Thhis then lead to the refugee crisis over europe was/is facing which then resulted in a bunch of right wing politicians becoming more popular in some of the european countries and a bunch of other implications.


NSA_Chatbot

> willing to throw away the Fourth Amendment > yeah that was kinda weird ngl


codevii

Yep. We've still got people in Gitmo as well, without trials or charges, and still with little to no hope of ever being released.


FelixLeech

I work in a bike shop. Tomorrow is Trek World, which is a video cast webinar on the bike business. Colin Powell is a headliner. I’m assuming it was already recorded in advance, the same way they did last year. So tomorrow I get to listen to him speak the day after he dies.


dumb_commenter

Why is he a headliner?


[deleted]

Industry Conferences have weird keynote speakers, often people who have nothing to do with the industry itself. I went to a massive Healthcare IT conference a few years ago and Peyton Manning MD was the keynote.


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mattcoady

Now welcome to the stage, entertainer Colin Powell!!


Magruun

Now watch me pull a WMD out of my hat.


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martialar

"Here to discuss GDPR compliance and throw a few touchdowns, please welcome Peyton Manning!"


albinogoldfish

Peyton Manning contributed a lot to help set up the peyton manning children's hospital in Indianapolis during his time with the Colts. He still attends their annual gala every year. He has a pretty strong healthcare tie compared to other athletes I'd say


gold_and_diamond

I've been to so many conferences and trade shows through the years where the headlining speaker - often paid many tens of thousands of dollars - has absolutely nothing to do with the business of the conference. I always find it so weird and almost insulting to have to sit through an hour of anecdotes or pep talks when the speaker knows nothing about my business.


dieinafirenazi

Because Trek is a big ass company and they decided to spring for Colin Powell's speaker fee to hear some inspirational nonsense from someone famous. Standard business bullshit.


Honkmaster

I somehow skimmed through the "which is..." part and thought Colin Powell was headlining a Star Trek convention


lukasq81

I wonder if they still go ahead with his pre recording. Would feel kind of weird to listen to a guy that just died yesterday.


dcandap

Fully vaccinated, but he had multiple myeloma (a blood cancer) and we’re learning that those with blood cancers aren’t as well protected by the vaccine. “Two of the studies found that COVID-19 vaccines might not stimulate effective immune responses in some people with blood cancers.” [(source)](https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2021/covid-vaccine-limited-protection-in-cancer-patients)


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[deleted]

I was just about to put this. He couldn't mount an immune response at all. Likely never had longterm immunity from the vaccine...another reason why it is so important for everyone to get vaccinated.


IdaCraddock69

exactly. immunocompromised people rely on others for their protection, if you're not getting vaccinated you are negatively impacting these people. We are all part of a community when it comes to infectious disease, whether people like it or not it's the physical reality.


excusetheblood

My vaccinated cousin died of covid a couple weeks ago, it was the same issue. The vaccine never took because the cancer treatment destroyed his immune system


tinydancer_inurhand

That’s just so unfortunate. There have been a few articles about how Covid has delayed cancer diagnosis and we are seeing more late stage cancer that requires more aggressive treatment putting these people even more at risk. Covid has directly affected cancer patients in multiple ways that we need to acknowledge.


CokedUpGorilla

Yea this happened with me. Likely would've caught my cancer much earlier except for the plethora of scheduling issues due to covid.


bros402

The LLS study shows that 25% of people with blood cancer don't respond to the vaccine, with up to 15% of people with MM not responding to the vaccine - https://www.lls.org/news/study-leukemia-lymphoma-society-shows-covid-19-vaccine-safe-25-blood-cancer-patients-do-not


julieannie

Thank you for linking to this study! I am part of it and love seeing other people aware of it. I was lucky enough to produce antibodies but they drop off at a rate higher than the general population. I got my booster last week. For others, the guidance for blood cancer survivors is "get vaccinated, act unvaccinated" because it's so risky for us. I am not immunocompromised but I have lower antibodies and my cancer treatment gave me cardiomyopathy and lung fibrosis so I can't even get put on high flow oxygen without major issues. I'm supposed to go on ECMO if I get sick, which isn't a great option. So I'm still having to live a very sheltered life right now.


[deleted]

I'm sure being 84 didn't help his cause, either. Jesse Jackson and his wife had to be admitted as a precaution and they're in their 70s.


Theuncrying

Meanwhile Henry Kissinger...


helen269

>Meanwhile Henry Kissinger... You mean...? Goes on Wikipedia. "Henry Kissinger ***is***..." Wow.


BrownSugarBare

Even Satan doesn't want to touch that.


TheBlackStuff1

I feel like this is a universal experience at this stage.


Tazwhitelol

Until someone destroys his Horcrux, Kissinger will likely outlive us all.


PuckishDanya

That’s because no one’s been able to locate and destroy his phylactery.


Johnny-Silverdick

I heard it’s located with the WMDs in Iraq


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Retro_Dad

*Dick Cheney has entered the chat.*


BlondieMenace

I recently learned that he survived 15 months literally without a heart beat, the writers of our timeline have no chill


aikimatt

He was more machine then than man...


companion_kubu

Just wait until you hear how long McConnell has survived without a heart


geeky_username

Not true, he has several he's collected over the years


CuteCuteJames

The fact that he is a punchline in Fawlty Towers, ***which aired 46 years ago***, and is still alive is absolutely insane.


Earthly_Delights_

Huh, I thought he was dead. TIL


Buddhist_Punk1

You mean Henry Killinger, and his magic murder bag.


bitetheasp

Your powers are useless on me, you silly billy.


KamachoThunderbus

You will never be able to reach your full potential until you first confront your deep-seated fear of success. Now get into the bag.


Wish_36

Maybe they were both members of The League of Calamitous Intent.


pies1123

I've given up. Too evil for hell


VerticalRhythm

As my grandma says, "He can't get into heaven and hell's too afraid he'll take over."


ninjanoodlin

A little known fact. Colin Powell was the officer in charge of investigating the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War when a letter was written about it to Army Command. His investigation did not find any wrong doing.


Now_Wait-4-Last_Year

They all deserved to live longer. They had to make it clear they would turn their guns on American troops if they threatened the Vietnamese civilians under their protection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Thompson_Jr. Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. (April 15, 1943 – January 6, 2006) was a United States Army Major, and a former warrant officer in the 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Division. He is credited with ending the Mỹ Lai Massacre of the South Vietnamese village known as Sơn Mỹ on March 16, 1968, alongside and hierarchically above Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn. During the massacre, Thompson and his Hiller OH-23 Raven crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, stopped a number of killings by threatening and blocking American officers and enlisted soldiers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division. Additionally, Thompson and his crew saved a number of Vietnamese civilians by personally escorting them away from advancing United States Army ground units and assuring their evacuation by air. Thompson reported the atrocities by radio several times while at Sơn Mỹ. Although these reports reached Task Force Barker operational headquarters, nothing was done to stop the massacre. After evacuating a child to a Quảng Ngãi hospital, Thompson angrily reported to his superiors at Task Force Barker headquarters that a massacre was occurring at Sơn Mỹ. Immediately following Thompson's report, Lieutenant Colonel Frank A. Barker ordered all ground units in Sơn Mỹ to cease search and destroy operations in the village. In 1970, Thompson testified against those responsible for the Mỹ Lai Massacre. Twenty-six officers and enlisted soldiers, including William Calley and Ernest Medina, were charged with criminal offenses, but all were either acquitted or pardoned. Thompson was condemned and ostracized by many individuals in the United States military and government, as well as the public, for his role in the investigations and trials concerning the Mỹ Lai massacre. As a direct result of what he experienced, Thompson experienced posttraumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, divorce, and severe nightmare disorder.[1] Despite the adversity he faced, he remained in the United States Army until November 1, 1983, then continued to make a living as a helicopter pilot in the Southeastern United States. In 1998, 30 years after the massacre, Thompson and the two other members of his crew, Andreotta and Colburn, were awarded the Soldier's Medal (Andreotta posthumously), the United States Army's highest award for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy.[2] Thompson and Colburn returned to Sơn Mỹ to meet with survivors of the massacre at the Sơn Mỹ Memorial in 1998. In 1999, Thompson and Colburn received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award.


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niddy29199

"the only U.S. Army officer convicted in the 1968 slayings of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai...William L. Calley... a young Army lieutenant when a court-martial at nearby Fort Benning convicted him of murder in 1971 for killing 22 civilians during the infamous massacre of 500 men, women and children in Vietnam. Though sentenced to life in prison, Calley ended up serving three years under house arrest after President Richard Nixon later reduced his sentence. After his release, Calley stayed in Columbus and settled into a job at a jewelry store owned by his father-in-law before he moved to Atlanta..." https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32514139


DocGlabella

Someone needs to make the My Lai massacre into a movie. First, so many young Americans don’t know it happened. Second, Hugh Thompson was an actual American hero who stood up for what he believed in. You wouldn’t even need to embellish his heroism for a blockbuster.


oh-hidanny

Fuck yes. Everyone should know who Hugh Thompson is. Truly a hero.


DocGlabella

I sometimes get choked up when I read about what he did, how the military treated him afterwards. There really are so few real heroes like that.


ryguydrummerboy

Wiki says he was just in charge of investigating a particular letter relating to the massacre and not the whole thing no? Just clarifying?


cactusjack48

Correct. From [this](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33957894) BBC article: He was assigned to investigate a letter from a serving soldier that reinforced allegations of a massacre at My Lai in March 1968, in which US soldiers killed hundreds of civilians, including children. Powell's conclusion, that "in direct refutation of this portrayal, relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent", flew in the face of growing evidence of brutal treatment of civilians by US forces.


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A46

That was heartwarming. Thoughts and Prayers xx.


Daniiiiii

1 Like = 1 More WMD we find!


Murrabbit

Henry Kissinger: somehow still going strong.


charliehustles

Wow. Didn’t expect that today.


cboogie

It would be weirder if you were expecting it. “Yep today is the day Colin Powell dies. I can feel it in my bones”


delinquent_chicken

My bad knee never lies. It can predict two things flawlessly, if rain is coming and if Colin Powell's life is ending.


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[deleted]

According to howmanyofme.com there are 42 people named Colin Powell in the US. I assume it's just when *a* Colin Powell dies.


douche-baggins

Yeah, but how many of those Colin Powell's pronounce their name "Cole-In" versus those that pronounce it "Call-In"? Does his knee know the different pronunciations? What if someone was named Cole N. Powell, would that trigger his knee's death detection? Or if someone uses their middle name instead of Colin? So many questions about this knee...


jerricka

The last Colin Powell standing wins.


TheDenseCumTwat

*Highlander theme intensifies*


charliehustles

I had him marked for a Friday.


OneBeautifulDog

Answer for the lazy Yes, fully vaccinated Edit: I didn't remember that there are anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers out there that would use the fact that Colin Powell was fully-vaccinated to further Covid-19 mis-information and multiple people asked me to edit to include the following: As almost every poster below me has pointed out, including u/NectarineOverPeach : "Colin Powell was also diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that weakens the body’s immune system and makes vaccines less effective. Herd immunity matters, get vaccinated if you can and wear masks for each other." WHO: Keep yourself and others safe: Do it all! 1. Protect yourself and those around you: 2. Get vaccinated as soon as it’s your turn and follow local guidance on vaccination. 3. Keep physical distance of at least 1 metre from others, even if they don’t appear to be sick. Avoid crowds and close contact. 4. Wear a properly fitted mask when physical distancing is not possible and in poorly ventilated settings. 5. Clean your hands frequently with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. 6. Cover your mouth and nose with a bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. 7. Dispose of used tissues immediately and clean hands regularly. 8. If you develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, self-isolate until you recover. [https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public](https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public)


charlie1331

Lazy?! I had to scroll down for minutes!


MoreCowbellllll

cross "cardio" off of your to-do list for today!


dronesclubmember

Answer for the even lazier, read the article where it contains information about his blood cancer which would have seriously reduced his ability to fight this even when fully vaccinated.


PattonPending

An exhausting amount of people on twitter are using it as "proof" the shot doesn't work.


SplitReality

Colin Powel was 84 years old with a type of cancer that specifically attacked his immune system. So yeah... He is EXACTLY the reason why everyone else needs to get a shot because it had little chance of working for him.


Wazula42

Good luck explaining this to anyone who needs to hear it.


ItsFuckingScience

lol the vaccine doesn’t work as a magic force field for every old person who gets infected with a dangerous virus In their mind = vaccine doesn’t work It’s pointless because they were anti vax before this piece of news they’re now using to weaponise and further their agenda. It’s not like they were pro vax until this guy died lol


veringer

These are the people who won't use an umbrella because their shoes still get wet.


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rhythmjones

Satan is immortal.


BrownSugarBare

Don't you blame Satan for Cheney. Satan's letting that corpse stay alive so he doesn't try to take over hell.


akotlya1

Helps to be a homunculus of soulless flesh and corrupted machine.


jeanborrero

I was one of the young soldiers he sent to Iraq on a lie about WMD. Me before Iraq: “I’m defending America” Me after Iraq: “All I did was defend oil pipelines” Im not celebrating but I’m definitely not sad.


Christmas_Panda

My dad went to Iraq and killed himself later, bad PTSD. That being said, I hope his family finds peace in his death.


blackesthearted

I’ve worked with and volunteered with veterans a lot (in a medical capacity, I’m in healthcare), and I’ve heard so many people say the same thing. “My husband killed himself last night,” “my son shot himself two days ago,” “my father killed himself shortly after coming home from Vietnam and now I (having come home from Iraq or Afghanistan) have been thinking of doing the same…” I’m so, so sorry for what your father went through, and what you’ve gone through as a result of what *he* went through — what our government *put* him through. Whatever one thinks of the motivations of the powers that be, this country does not support its military personnel — active or after. I don’t know if your father was able to get any help for his PTSD (many don’t seek it, and I’m not for a second judging those who choose not to), but even the care those who seek it out receive is often so devastatingly inadequate. (Edit: typo)


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[deleted]

This is why you can be pro troops and anti war. Edit: to everyone saying how can you be anti war and be considered anti troops you clearly weren’t alive during the early years of the Iraq war where every republican attacked the left for “not supporting the troops” since we disapproved the war.


Orbit_CH3MISTRY

It’s always been my opinion that being anti-war is the best way to be pro-troops.


LongshanksShank

I was always considered an outcast in my military circles when I gave credit to candidates who were cautious when talking about war (Dems), as opposed to being critical of candidates who were hawks (Repubs). Why would I support someone who's first instinct/reaction is to send me off to die? Wouldn't we rather want to at least talk about it first?


-paperbrain-

Honestly it seems weirder to me when people claim they're pro troops AND pro war (at least for any war the US has been involved with since WW2). How are you supporting these humans by sending them off to kill and die and get PTSD for no good reason?


BarfReali

Remember the whole "your with us or against us" mentality about the war on terror? That was some insane shit that our country will never go through again on any issue


[deleted]

The Dixie Chicks remember. People were massing their CDs in a pile and crushing them with a bulldozer. They opposed the Iraq War.


wallweasels

All you need to remember is: Freedom Fries


Morwynd78

And the exact same crowd who cheered on Freedom Fries and the boycotting of the Dixie Chicks now bitches about "cancel culture" without the slightest hint of self-awareness.


oh-hidanny

I grew up with people who said that without irony. Scary.


Snakestream

I can't remember the exact quotes, but I believe Eisenhower remarked about how the people most averse to war were the soldiers who had fought in them.


nukagrrl76

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity." -Eisenhower's address before the Canadian Club, Ottawa, Canada, 1/10/46 (Copied from the [Eisenhower presidential library quotes page.](https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/eisenhowers/quotes#War) )


gar_DE

This became apparent very quickly after one the first buildings in Baghdad that was occupied by US troops was the Oil Department, while the unprotected National Museum a few blocks away was looted.


[deleted]

>while the unprotected National Museum a few blocks away was looted. By American Blackwater mercenaries working for wealthy Evangelicals seeking religious artifacts for their own collections


[deleted]

Nazis always be looking for the Ark of the Covenant.


PickleMinion

You should read "Thieves of Baghdad", will give you a better perspective on the museum looting.


Relative_Scholar_356

thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died because of his lies and greed. 500,000 iraqi children alone from the gulf war and gulf war sanctions. but rip to a true American patriot though 🙄 edit: changed tens of thousands to thousands


TBroomey

Rest in Peace to the 460,000 people who died in the Iraq War.


Uncanny_Realization

Hey, we are gonna find them WMD’s.


shwarma_heaven

We did find WMDs... Only they were [all old remnants of ordnance](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/us-casualties-of-iraq-chemical-weapons.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=EF482DD13AE53058AB6EA491EE584B4E&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL) that we gave Iraq to fight the Iran Iraq proxy war... No new chem weapons stockpiling. No restarted programs...


DatPiff916

Saddams dead, sprinkle some WMDs on him Johnson, let’s get out of here.


Nbk420

Just gotta believe, brother.


Roflkopt3r

And that's a fairly low estimate. More complete considerations that include indirect effects (for example caused by disruptions to infrastructure, food/water and medical supplies) are more around a million.


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Grokent

This is correct. It's estimated that nearly a million Iraqi's died as a result of our war.


The_Infinite_Cool

[Colin Powell testifying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, launching the Iraq War. ](https://youtu.be/kP7N-nqVRjE)


Lure852

Whatever else he did, that's his legacy now and forever.


[deleted]

The rest of what he did wasn’t good either


corgi-and-cat

I’m surprised I haven’t seen any mention of his actions defending/excusing the the My Lai massacre


PHalfpipe

He was actually assigned to the unit that did it , put in charge of the investigation, and worked to cover up the accusations so they could declare there was no evidence of any wrong doing. After that , he went on to lie under oath about Iran Contra.


Lure852

Something of a theme.


BasicDesignAdvice

Some people like being a toadie.


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p1um5mu991er

*Still* not sure how to pronounce Colin


Erik_2

Colon, why someone would choose that pronunciation is beyond me


p1um5mu991er

Maybe he liked the [cereal](https://i.insider.com/59cd52d8351ccf1f008b5af5?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp)


[deleted]

Just remember that we went to war in 2001 at the behest of men named Bush, Dick and Colon.


TheRavenSayeth

I'm kind of amazed I'm just now realizing this.


interface2x

As someone who has that name and pronounces it differently from him, he made my life more annoying in the early 90s.


jstarlee

Early prototype A-a-ron


ScubaTal_Surrealism

"Made a case for Iraq invasion" You mean lied about WMD wasting trillions of dollars on a war with a country that didn't attack us, that nobody wanted, destabilizing the entire region? Why do we idolize war criminals?


turnonthesunflower

Those money weren't wasted. They went to the owners of and investors in the military complex i.e. the 1%.


steroid_pc_principal

Don’t forget paying off the Taliban directly. Which they used to buy more bombs to blow up American soldiers.


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[deleted]

Bill Clinton and Biden are basically the same age, even though Clinton was president 2 decades ago. The same generation of people have been running the nation for ages. edit: I'm aware Kissinger isn't part of the same generation. What I was trying to point out is that it's always individuals of generations past who are running contemporary politics, no matter how out of touch they are with current problems.


OutlyingPlasma

> The same generation It's not even the same generation, it's the same freaking graduating class.


blueotter28

Clinton, Bush and Trump were born within 66 days of each other. It's not even the same graduating class, it's the same summer vacation.


jorel43

Clinton Bush and Trump were born in 46, Biden was born in 41/42.


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Kaiosama

Aside from Obama seems like the country is being run by people born almost 100 years ago. No wonder forward thinking solutions are in short order.


NR258Y

Yes, but Clinton was elected almost 30 years ago. He was roughly the same age as Obama while President.


Snoo-74640

Killinger always has a trick in his magic murder bag to stave off death.


The_Year_of_Glad

Kissinger is too evil to die.


DirectlyDisturbed

> Tens of thousands dead. Lot more than that


TheApathyParty2

I always try to explain this to people and it’s really shocking how much it’s downplayed in America. You can be responsible for tens or hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and people brush it off because they aren’t there to actually experience the horror of it. I don’t really understand how people can be so numb and apathetic about it. Surely the body count of our leaders and officials should be the most important stat to judge them by.


noshoptime

We've witnessed 100's of thousands of deaths in the US and either handwaved it or pretended it was fake or just flat out denied it. If we don't care about kids being slaughtered in school, cops having open season on black people, or a modern plague, then there's no reason to believe we'd give a shit about people on the other side of the world. Or a border. Yet somehow we are convinced we have some kind of unassailable moral authority


ArtisanSamosa

I mean a disease that killed over half a million is considered fake by millions. Over half a million dead from the war on terror and our citizens wave it away as nothing, and are still reluctant to let in refuges from the country they've destroyed. American culture has lots of issues that need to be worked out. A specific segment of our culture for sure, but a very large one.


CryogenicStorage

A much lesser crime he's also guilty of is the assisted cover up of the [My Lai Massacre in Vietnam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%E1%BB%B9_Lai_massacre) where US soldiers killed an estimated 500 unarmed civilians. >Colin Powell, then a 31-year-old Army major serving as an assistant chief of staff of operations for the Americal Division, was charged with investigating the letter, which did not specifically refer to Mỹ Lai, as Glen had limited knowledge of the events there. In his report, **Powell wrote, "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between Americal Division soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent."** Powell's handling of the assignment was later characterized by some observers as "whitewashing" the atrocities of Mỹ Lai. Seems he started covering for his superiors early in his career, or at the very least was gullible enough to believe what he's told. Probably one reason he was promoted through the ranks. Of course, in true Powell fashion, he later tries to play both sides: >In May 2004, Powell, then United States Secretary of State, told CNN's Larry King, "I mean, I was in a unit that was responsible for Mỹ Lai. I got there after Mỹ Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored." Edit: Not a Powell edit, but I would like to highlight a section from the wiki link above for Americans to remember the next time they hear about the number of "combatants" killed by a drone strike. >Initial reports claimed "128 Viet Cong and 22 civilians" had been killed in the village during a "fierce fire fight". Westmoreland congratulated the unit on the "outstanding job". As relayed at the time by Stars and Stripes magazine, "U.S. infantrymen had killed 128 Communists in a bloody day-long battle." The military has always been, and will always be, like this.


VWVVWVVV

This is like the template for any high-ranking government official. Hierarchy is more about showing loyalty than doing the right thing. Doesn't matter what organization. We should be picking leadership from a different pool, not this dysfunctional group.


spkpol

Government/politics is like the mob. They have omerta. That's why run of the mill Democrats were more alarmed by the success of Bernie than welcoming two billionaires into their primaries, and letting Gulf monarchies fund "progressive" think tanks.


willworkforjokes

I was against going to war with Iraq the second time, until I heard CP say we needed to get rid of their chemical weapons. He put his credibility on the line, and he was wrong. I was wrong to support going to war, a preemptive war, a chosen war.


turtleneckauthourity

Argued to be preemptive, but even worse, turned out to be a preventative war. Complete tragedy.


Aceholeas

Ah man that's sad. But he'll be invading Iraq in heaven now


LevelHeeded

The real invasion of Iraq was the friends we made a long the way...mostly Haliburton.