Colin Powell redefines "Prudent"

Powell Refutes Think-Tank Report on Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged Thursday that he had seen no "smoking gun, concrete evidence" of ties between Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaida terror network, but insisted that Iraq had had dangerous weapons and needed to be disarmed by force.

At a State Department news conference, Powell disagreed with a private think tank report that maintained Iraq had not been an imminent threat to the United States. And the secretary defended the case he had made last February before the United Nations for a U.S.-led war to force Saddam from power.

"My presentation ... made it clear that we had seen some links and connections to terrorist organizations over time," Powell said. "I have not seen smoking gun, concrete evidence about the connection, but I think the possibility of such connections did exist and it was prudent to consider them at the time that we did."

I don't think this is how Bush #41 used the term "prudent." We've invaded a country, overthrown it's government (nasty as it was), lost 500 troops (last I checked), had 9,000 seriously ill or injured, and spent over 150 billion dollars and counting. We did a little more than "consider" "the possibility of those connections." Colin, Colin, Colin...(That's my Peggy Noonan impression, except I substitute a Republican.) You once had such promise. You once had integrity, or at least we assumed you did. Don't be like Pete Rose. Come clean now! It just gets tougher as the lies and denials fester and the last remnants of your dignity slough off like dead skin.