1115.org

Yesterday Colin Powell weighed in against the White House version of the detainee treatment bill:

“The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism,” Powell, a retired general who is also a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in his letter.

Powell said Bush’s bill, by redefining the kind of treatment the Geneva Conventions allow, “would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk.”

At his press briefing yesterday, Tony Snow had retaliated by saying that Powell was “confused’” about the White House plan.

What’s interesting is, in a way we agree with the two gentlemen (Powell and General Jack Vessey, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). They don’t understand what we’re trying to do here.
[…]
Q So do you think that Colin Powell, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is just confused about what you’re trying to do?

MR. SNOW: Yes.

He had to issue a retraction later:

Later, Snow said he probably shouldn’t have used that word.

“I know that Colin Powell wants to beat the terrorists, too,” he said.

I’m damned if I’m going to agree with that statement.

The problem, of course, is that word “too”. Tony Snow is trying to imply that the Bush administration wants to beat the terrorists. I don’t think we have seen any evidence of that in the last five years. Indisputably, they want to talk about beating the terrorists. But when it comes to actually doing something about it, they’re too busy ousting Saddam, or bringing democracy to Iraq, or sharpening their knives for Iran. Osama ends up on the back burner, or worse.

And let’s face it, this administration absolutely needs those videotapes and audiotapes from al-Qaeda. If al-Qaeda did not obligingly keep handing them over to al Jazeera at regular intervals, our government would probably have to fake up a tape or two.

(Maybe it’s not such a good idea for us to be relying on the government to authenticate these tapes.)