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Powell Insists War in Iraq Was Justified

By D'Angelo Gore
Black College Wire

photo credit: Kimberly Whitfield Powell said Aug. 5 that the United States had not failed in waging war in Iraq.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell vigorously defended the U.S. invasion of Iraq, said Americans need to expand their knowledge of the world, and expressed a strong appreciation for the diversity in the news media during an address at the Unity 2004 convention.

With more than 2,500 pairs of ears listening, Powell said Aug. 5 that the United States had not failed in waging war in Iraq.

�We have gotten rid of a horrible dictator and a regime that suppressed its people,� Powell said.

One questioner asked if the United States, having initiated a war in Iraq, might undertake pre-emptive action against other countries.

Powell said no, that �I don't know of any other nation . . . that requires pre-emptive action of any kind.� When the questions turned to other regions of the world, Powell said the United States was actively involved in trying to halt the loss of life in an undeclared war in Sudan. Tens of thousands have died and as many as 1 million others have been displaced.

The secretary said the United States wasn't waiting for an official determination of genocide to send in aid and to work with the international community to determine whether peacekeepers should be used.

�We cannot walk away from this now. The urgency has to continue,� Powell said.

He spoke of the necessity for a free news media in a democracy, saying, �Whether it�s when you praise us or when you criticize us, you are doing good work. We wouldn�t have democracy if we didn�t have people like you doing your job.�

In keeping with Unity�s goal of diversity in newsrooms, Powell said that while the State Department workforce is becoming more diverse, he would like to see even more.

�I want my department to look like America,� he added to the sound of applause. Powell recalled his last appearance before such a group, at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in New York in 1989, two days after President George H.W. Bush named him the first African American to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The secretary was asked how his being black has affected his role. �President Bush knows who and what I am. The fact that I am black has nothing to do with it,� he said.

Jessica Hamilton, a University of Central Florida senior, said the session was informative and respected Powell's position that people of color should care more about world issues, the response he gave to a question about why people in cities should be concerned about foreign policy.

Hamilton also expressed a wish that Powell had addressed more issues concerning young people, such as job placement and education.

Powell was questioned by Suzanne Malveaux, CNN White House correspondent; Pulitzer Prize winner Angelo Henderson, assistant editor with Real Time, parent company of the Defender newspapers; Terry Neal, Washingtonpost.com chief political correspondent; and moderator Gwen Ifill, managing editor of public television's "Washington Week in Review" and senior correspondent for "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer."

D�Angelo Gore is a student at Norfolk State University.

Posted Aug. 7, 2004