The answer is in a Senate Armed Services Committee report into the incident. The report criticized Powell and his staff for bending to political pressure by making a decision against sending AC-130 gun ships to support the American Troops. An October 30, 1995 political poll revealed that Powell would vault ahead of Republican presidential front runner Senator Robert Dole should the retired general decide to run for President. Behind the scenes, former President George Bush is privately cheerleading for the man he appointed chairman of the JCS. Political power brokers and mentors of Powell, such as Frank Carlucci, Casper Weinberger and Richard Armitage, are also lending their influential support. Establishment media has effectively blown a blizzard of free publicity to "the insider's insider".

… As an Army officer, Powell's superiors considered him a consummate "team player". They could count on Powell to haul their water despite any contradictory feels he may have had. Powell's blind loyalty was demonstrated during a second tour in Vietnam (1968-69), where as deputy assistant chief of staff for operations G-3 at American Division HQ in Chu Lai, he was asked to handle a potentially embarrassing letter a young soldier had written to Gen. Creighton Abrams, commander of all U.S. forces in Vietnam. The soldier had written about rumors of a massacre that American Division soldiers had committed in the hamlet of My Lai 4 in South Vietnam. Although he did not mention My Lai in the letter, the soldier complained that American soldiers were indiscriminately killing Vietnamese civilians. Such acts, the young soldier warned "are carried on at entire unit levels and thereby acquire the aspect of sanctioned policy". Several days after he received a copy of the letter, Powell sent a memo to his superior, the adjutant general, making the outrageous claim that the young soldier had not given enough specifics upon which to base an inquiry. The purposely blind Powell said the soldier's charges were false except for "isolated instances". He wrote that "relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese are excellent". Powell's damage control efforts soon proved fruitless and the My Lai massacre burst onto the world stage like an atomic explosion, severely damaging the U.S. war effort in Vietnam. On the orders of Lt. William Calley, soldiers from the U.S. Army American Division had indeed indiscriminately gunned down an entire village of men, women and children. Although Powell's attempt to cover up the massacre was unsuccessful, he had at least proven his willingness to do what was necessary to please his bosses. For his two tours of duty in Vietnam, Powell, who was never exposed to serious combat, was awarded the Purple Heart for a minor foot wound he received after stepping on a "punji stick". He was later awarded a Bronze Star for heroism and the Soldiers Medal for pulling two men free from a NON-COMBAT RELATED helicopter crash. After returning from Vietnam, the ambitious young officer attended George Washington University, courtesy of the Army, and received an MBA degree. A year later, in 1972, Powell was one of 17 persons hand picked by Washington insiders from more than 1,500 military and civilian applicants for White House fellowships. He was assigned to work for Frank Carlucci, who was at that time deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Casper Weinberger, budget director. The two became Powell's champions in Washington's power circles. … President Nixon made a politically convenient decision to ignore high level intelligence which told of large numbers of American prisoners of war being held back as hostages by the communist Vietnamese and their Laotian puppets after the war ended. Nixon's decision to declare all "missing" Americans dead caused a controversy which has plagued Washington decision makers to this day. From his first days in Washington, Powell spent the majority of his military service working as an aide to his mentors. He rose rapidly through the military rank, carefully getting his "ticket punched" with the right assignments and making the right contacts. He became a thoroughbred Washington insider in a military uniform. In 1977, during the Carter administration, Powell, now on the fast track, was made full colonel and senior military aide to Def. Secretary Harold Brown's special asst, atty John Kester. Powell was transferred, in 1979, to the Dept of Energy, where he served as asst to the secretary. Later that year, he was transferred back to the Pentagon to serve as the senior military asst to the secretary of defense until 1981. Soon after, Powell's handlers moved him again, assigning him for another brief tour in a real military unit as the assistant division commander of the 4th Infantry Division. Early in the Reagan administration, Powell was recalled to the Pentagon as top military aide to his mentors, the new deputy defense secretary, Carlucci, and later to the secretary, Weinberger. Carlucci, Weinberger and Richard Armitage (then assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs), are said to have given Powell his advanced degree. … Armitage, who Powell now claims is his best friend, has been lined by various news reports to CIA sanctioned arms and drug trafficking during the mid-'70s while working for a U.S. government agency based in Bangkok, Thailand. … Syndicated columnist, Jack Anderson, reported in the March 13, 1986 issue of the Washington Post that the President's Commission on Organized Crime had questioned Armitage about his relationship with a Vietnamese refugee who was convicted in 1985 of running a major gambling operation in Arlington, VA. Armitage had written a letter on official Defense Department stationary urging the Arlington County Court to "show mercy" on the refugee whom he acknowledged was a friend. But, Powell's damage control activities have not been limited to Armitage. He played an active role in White House damage control following the tragic loss of hundreds of marines when the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut were blown up. (MARINE GUARDS HAD BEEN FORCED TO STAND GUARD DUTY WITH EMPTY RIFLES.) Powell also helped with damage control after the U.S. government's failed attempt to kill Libya's Moammar Khadafy, a bombing raid which instead killed one of the Libyan leader's children. In January, 1986, the political general again blindly obeyed his superiors and secretly transferred U.S. TOW missiles to Iran without the approval or knowledge of Congress. Fortunately for Powell, his powerful mentors successfully camouflaged and explained away his not so insignificant role in what later became known as the Iran-Contra affair. Powell had his "ticket punched" again in June 1986 when he was temporarily given a much coveted military assignment as the commanding general of the 75,000 member 5th Corps in Frankfort, West Germany. After only six months of service as a real commanding general, Powell's handlers recalled him to the White House when the Iran Contra affair exploded. Reagan administration damage control experts scurried to replace the disgraced Bud McFarlane giving the job to the trusted Carlucci. As he had done in the past, Carlucci summoned Powell to his side, naming him deputy national security advisor. During this assignment, the political general was involved in a secret telephone conversation with a senior aide to Vice President George Bush … . The call, concerning an effort Ross Perot was making to attain the release of live American prisoners of war believed to be held by the communists in Indochina, was documented … According to a declassified memorandum detailing the call, at 3:40 pm on March 21, 1987, Powell became engaged in the conversation during which the Bush aide asked Powell to check out certain details pertaining to the Perot effort. Powell said he would call back. The memorandum, which was written by the Bush aide, shows that Powell called back at 3:55 pm and reported that the Vietnamese communists had not been cooperating with the U.S. government on the POW/MIA issue for "the last few months". According to Powell, the Vietnamese apparently believed that there was "a 'bigger deal' coming soon who will be bearing gifts and so our people [the U.S. Government] have been stiffed." Undoubtedly, that statement refers to Perot and the positive reaction of the Vietnamese to his attempt to secure the release of live American prisoners of war. The memorandum continued to quote Powell saying, "We still believe it is not wise for Ross to go...after 14 years they [the Vietnamese] have denied live Americans...if they were to produce live people, can you imagine what will be asked for?" … Near the end of the memo, Powell is quoted as saying, "our policy interests are not served by Mr. Perot's interests at the moment." … Throughout his administration, Reagan had stated emphatically that the POW/MIA issue was the nation's "highest national priority." In late 1987, Colin Powell … was appointed the National Security Advisor to President Reagan and served in that prestigious post until 1989. Then, as had happened before, Powell was sent off for a four month tour in a military command. This time, for a brief period in 1989, he became Commander in Chief at Forces Command, Ft. McPherson, Ga. Shortly after Powell assumed that command, President Bush, over the objections of the military's top brass, reached well beyond their ranks and pulled his thoroughbred political general to the top, appointing Powell as the U.S. military's top officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "I believe the entire professional military establishment was disturbed by his appointment," said Admiral Eugene Carroll. "looking at General Powell's career record, it is clear that he was picked out early for a more important role in life than getting his boots dirty." … According to a September 18, 1995 U.S. News and World Report article: President Bush had been presented with a "dilemma" in 1992 - how to help keep Vietnam's communist leaders from losing face because of an unexpected and embarrassing appearance of detailed POW/MIA records and photos, whose very existence the communists had long denied. … Bush's answer - U.S. government officials would secretly create "a public relations script" for the communists. The action agent would be Colin Powell's Pentagon. U.S. News and World Report detailed the Bush administration's solution: "According to a secret Pentagon memo dated October 7, 1992, Hanoi was advised to 'begin with a public announcement by your government, noting that for the last several months, Vietnamese officials had embarked on country-wide unilateral efforts to recover archives, records, photographs and remains of unaccounted for Americans'." Gen. Colin Powell, the United States' highest ranking military officer, who described himself in 1993 during Memorial Day ceremonies as "the senior Vietnam veteran on active duty," helped create a lie that protected the communist Vietnamese from having to explain why they had blatantly lied about their knowledge of America's Vietnam veterans still missing in action. Less than two weeks after Bush and Powell created the lie, the Vietnamese communists parroted it back in a news release. Bush then quickly announced "a significant, real breakthrough" and bragged about Vietnam's "unprecedented cooperation." Powell's loyalty to his mentors and fellow insiders is now paying off. He talks daily about his upcoming presidential race with best friend Richard Armitage, a man many believe to be most responsible for the failed attempts to recover living American prisoners from Indochina. Powell says that he would trust Richard Armitage with the lives of his children. Other Americans did and they lost. Meanwhile, Powell's handlers appear to be ready to race their thoroughbred. Newsweek reports that George Bush "is privately talking up his old general," Casper Weinberger is "making behind-the-scenes calls" and Frank Carlucci is "rounding up" uncommitted Republicans.	Irish flip Bush team members lack foreign policy coordination 3.10.01   Warren P. Strobel Knight Ridder News Service ANALYSIS WASHINGTON   The U.S. will negotiate with N.Korea, says the secretary of state. No it won't, says the president. The White House & Pentagon want to overthrow Iraq's Saddam Hussein by backing Iraqi dissidents. State Department officials pour cold water on the idea. During the presidential campaign, GWBush's national security adviser suggested the candidate would begin withdrawing U.S. peacekeeping troops from the Balkans. Last month, Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Europeans that President Bush won't do that. Despite, or perhaps because of, a blue-chip roster of foreign and defense policy veterans, the Bush team is having trouble in its early weeks sending a coherent message about its policies. "They're communicating a number of precise messages. They just happen to conflict with each other," said Kenneth Lieberthal, Asia specialist on the National Security Council staff under President Clinton. The missteps suggest that Powell, VP Cheney, Def.Sec Rumsfeld & NatlSec.Adviser Condoleezza Rice are vying for Bush's ear on foreign policy, where the president has little experience. When S.Korean President Kim Dae-jung came to Washington this week, seeking Bush's backing in his quest for peace with reclusive N.Korea, he was greeted by a U.S. administration with a policy that appeared to veer from conciliatory to hard-line depending on who was explaining it. On the eve of Kim's visit, Powell said, "We do plan to pick up where President Clinton and his administration left off." But after a White House official contradicted him, Powell changed course the next morning, saying "there's no hurry" to engage N.Korea. Bush himself voiced skepticism about whether the communist state could be trusted. A senior administration official said Powell's mistake was leaving the impression that negotiations would resume right away. N.Korea Cancels Talks With S.Korea 3.12.01   CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA AP SEOUL   In a blow to reconciliation on their divided peninsula, N.Korea called off Cabinet-level talks with S.Korea just hours before they were to begin Tuesday. N.Korean chief delegate Jon Kum Jin did not give a reason for the cancellation of talks in Seoul, but S.Korean analysts speculated that the Pyongyang government was concerned by tougher talk from the new U.S. administration. … Powell jokes about verbal slips 3.14.01   CNN WASHINGTON SecState Colin Powell joked with reporters Wed. about a series of recent verbal slips he has made in public references to policy on China & the MidEast. The State Dept is playing down the comments by Powell, who officials say misspoke twice last week on key mainstays of U.S. international policy, one relating to Jerusalem, the other to Taiwan. The State Dept been quick to deny that the secretary's remarks indicate any change of policy and has attributed the slips to Powell's habits of speaking without extensive notes. … The controversial statements came during Powell's testimony about Pres. GWBush's intl affairs budget & U.S. policy hot spots last Thursday before HIRCommittee. Talking about arms sales to Taiwan, twice referred to Taiwan as the Republic of China. The US recognizes the "one-China" policy and has insisted it has only an unofficial, informal relationship with Taiwan. China has long considered Taiwan a renegade province that must be reunited. China & Taiwan have never held a summit, only talks between lower ranking officials. Beijing fears the comment indicated the U.S. recognized Taiwan as a political entity independent of China. Xinhua, China's official news agency, said the govt had "strong concern & dissatisfaction" about Powell's use of the term. According to State Dept Richard Boucher, the Chinese called the State Dept to raise questions about Powell's comments. … Another comment Wed. of last week, involved U.S. policy on Jerusalem, which both the Israelis and the Palestinians claim as their capital. The United States has long maintained that the fate of Jerusalem is a "final status" issue to be negotiated between the parties. Asked by Senate Foreign Relations Committee about Pres.GWBush's plans to move the U.S. embassy out of Tel Aviv, Powell said the president was committed to moving "the embassy to the capital of Israel, which is Jerusalem." Boucher called the comment an inadvertent mistake and said U.S. policy on Jerusalem remained unchanged. The mistake provoked strong reaction in the Arab world… Arab-American leaders met with Powell Tuesday and said he took personal responsibility for the comment, saying Powell called it a "mischaracterization" of policy. Boucher attributed the statements to Powell's extemporaneous speaking style. …Powell is known for appearing before Congress and the news media w/out piles of briefing notes. [ Powell goes noteless because he has been trained by the privileged who know they will never be held accountable due to their wealth or power. They know better than to jeopardize their privilege by even having facts & records for which they MIGHT be held accountable. Powell apes his masters. This is the noblesse oblige power technique of Ivy League & Eaton; confidence in acting as if you were above, hence beyond, the fray puts you beyond the fray. It's only counter is the guillotine or rabble's noose. ] more diplomacy
	Bush LatinAm advisers' IranContra roles Colin Powell, Sec.State Sec.Defense military asst (known as "filter"). Autobio: Pentagon's "point man" for U.S. Contra support. Key role funding Contras via illegal arms sales to Iran. John Maisto, Natl Security Council Adviser Inter-American affairs Nicaragua ambassador during U.S. backed guerrilla war against Sandinista govt. John Negroponte, U.S. UN ambassador Honduras ambassador 1981-85 Oversaw military buildup of country into anti-Sandinista contras' refuge Otto Juan Reich, Asst Sec.State W.Hem.Affairs First State Dept Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America & Caribbean dir. 1983-86. Engaged in "prohibited, covert propaganda activities" to promote Reagan policies toward Nicaragua. Maintained private network of individuals & organizations coordinated with & sometimes directed by Col.Oliver North as well as other NSC officials that raised & spent funds for influencing congressional votes & U.S. domestic news media. Right-wing Cuban American & former Venezuela ambassador. Dallas Morning News Bush depending heavily on Cuban-Americans for key foreign policy advice. § G.Webb 11.6.98 Or.Cty Wkly   One of most jarring examples of agency's studied indifference to contra drug dealing came during interview it conducted in 1987 with particularly unsavory CIA asset working with the contras in Costa Rica. Moises Dagoberto (Dago) Nunez, Bay of Pigs veteran, ran a shrimp fishery in Puntarenas, Costa Rica; CIA report laconically describes fishery as a "seafood company that was created as a cover for laundering drug money." DEA's office in Costa Rica getting reports "for 2 or 3 years" that Nunez's co. was shipping cocaine to U.S., but, because Nunez was one of the DEA's informants there, nothing done. Drug loads weren't shrimpy. Jan.1986, DEA Miami intercepted 400lbs pounds of coke in crate of yucca destined for Vidal's employer, Ocean Hunter. Despite its fragrant background, Nunez's co. was awarded a no-bid U.S. State Dept contract early 1987 to funnel "humanitarian aid" to the contras. Soon, LtCol Oliver North & NSC began laundering $100,000s through the shrimp co. bank accounts, just as Medellin Cartel had done. Aetna's Ex-CEO to Work With Kissinger, McLarty 3.14.01   Bus.News Hartford Courant … Richard L. Huber, ousted as Aetna's chief executive just over a year ago, is joining an investment group focused on Latin America and will serve in a firm headed by former Sec.State Kissenger. Huber named chief executive, managing dir. & principal in Norte-Sur Partners headed by former WhiteHouse Chief of Staff Thos.F.McLarty III with Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner [ NTFAA NAFTA expanison to entire W.Hemisphere] more culprits
	Soldier turned diplomat Powell returns to Vietnam 7.24.01   Reuters HANOI   Sec.State Powell returned to Vietnam on Tuesday for the first time since he concluded his second tour as a soldier fighting communist forces 3 decades ago. Although he told reporters last week there were "no ghosts" that needed exorcising, he said he expected a "flood of emotions" to hit him. On arrival, Powell shook hands with Vietnamese officials at Noi Bai airport and was handed a bouquet of flowers in welcome. Later, speaking at his hotel after a 40 minute drive from the airport, he told reporters: "I was very emotional flying in an airplane. I am very pleased to be back." Powell, the most senior U.S. official who fought in the war to visit Vietnam, was to attend a meeting of the regional ASEAN group, but will also meet U.S. officials trying to find remains of American war veterans still missing in action (MIA). More than 58,000 Americans were killed in the war and establishing the fate of those still missing has long been a top priority in U.S. relations with Vietnam, which began moving away from old-style socialist central planning in 1986. But the two countries are also focusing on a landmark bilateral trade deal which passed an important hurdle on July 17 when it won approval by a key Senate committee in Washington. "MIA will always be a top priority, whether it's number one or number two, it will always be at the top of the list somehow," Powell told reporters. "We have an obligation to the families, an obligation to those men to get the fullest possible accounting for what happened with them," he said. He said he was looking forward to meeting the new U.S. MIA team after seven Americans -- including the outgoing and the incoming commander -- and nine Vietnamese were killed in a helicopter crash in April while searching for remains. Powell will not visit My Lai, however, the scene of the worst massacre of the war. The soldier turned diplomat served with a division Vietnam says was responsible for the killings of more than 500 civilians, mostly women and children, at the village of My Lai in March 1968, although his tour did not start until after the massacre. Powell wrote in his autobiography that the did not learn about the massacre until the third quarter of 1969. In the book he describes My Lai as "an appalling example of much that had gone wrong in Vietnam" as the war dragged on and troops became "numb to what appeared to be endless and mindless slaughter." The Vietnamese foreign ministry has refrained from commenting on Powell's war record, saying he would be welcome like other foreign ministers. Asked on Tuesday whether Powell would be

seen to be carrying any historical baggage due to his past a soldier, Vietnam's Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien told a news conference: "In the past years, the two countries have normalized relations and we have moved forwards. We are looking forward to welcome Mr. Colin Powell to Hanoi." The importance to Hanoi of ties with Washington will be underlined by the fact Powell is due to meet in Vietnam not only with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Dy Nien, but also with Prime Minister Pham Van Khai and Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh.

links per Robt. Parry 1   2   3   4   5 Fidel Castro Praises Colin Powell 5.12.01   AP KUALA LUMPUR   Cuban leader Fidel Castro, on a state visit to Malaysia Saturday, praised U.S. Sec.State Powell for "daring'' to say something nice about Cuba. "I do not think that he is a warmonger,'' Castro said. "He is the only one who has dared say that Cuba has done something good.'' … Powell last month told U.S. lawmakers Castro has "done good things for his people'', the first time in 4 decades even faint praise was accorded the Cuban leader by a senior U.S. official. But Powell was quick to add that Castro remains "trapped in a time warp,'' the Bush administration will continue to shun Castro politically and diplomatically. Castro said Powell "has to take the same line as the govt.'' Castro's comment followed days of harsh criticism of the United States during visits to Algeria, Iran and Malaysia, 3 nations sympathetic to his communist revolution. On Friday, he told a group of Malaysian businessmen and academics that globalization was a threat to nations' sovereignty and praised Malaysia's "spirit of rebellion.'' [ Then let Malay timber corps strip mine Cuba like they do the rest of Latin America & Cambodia ] Mahathir, like Castro, is an outspoken critic of Washington and what he calls an unfair international financial system. He's given the Cuban leader an extraordinarily warm welcome, with the two countries signing an accord Friday to bolster cooperation in trade, science and technology. "We are the rebels of the West,'' Castro said. "And Malaysia is the rebel of the East.'' …

Arab Ministers Condemn Israel 7.18.01   AP CAIRO   Arab foreign ministers condemned Israel's actions against the Palestinians Wednesday but failed to reach a consensus on reviving a boycott of Israeli products. A resolution issued by the 10 Arab foreign ministers described Israel as "a rogue & outlaw state'' and denounced "the Israeli practices of assassination, kidnapping and houses demolition.'' It called on the U.S. to exert pressure on the Israeli govt "to halt its practices which threaten the chances for peace.'' Separately, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was quoted as saying that the Mideast crisis cannot be solved with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in power, because "he is a man who only knows killing, beating and war.'' "It seems that there will be no solution with Sharon, whose principle is using force and whose nature does not accept peace. To be more frank, I don't see any hope with Sharon and his group of extremists,'' Mubarak told China's Xinhua News Agency. The ministers did not adopt a hard-line proposal to hold a meeting to discuss reviving the boycott of Israeli goods & Western companies doing business with Israel. No such meetings have been held since 1993, the year of the first Israeli-Palestinian interim peace accord, when some Arab states relaxed or lifted the boycott. The final statement issued by the ministers also dropped a reference to suspending political contacts with Israel until it withdraws from occupied Arab territories, instead renewing a commitment to peace with Israel. Jordan's Foreign Minister Abdul-Illah Khatib, chairman of the meeting, said the resolutions send a positive message to the international community about the Arabs' desire for peace. The ministers did endorse more financial support for Yasser

Arafat's Palestinian Authority and backed the Palestinian leader's demand for the deployment of international observers in his areas. Arab diplomats said the ministers also discussed proposals from the Gulf states for a campaign to garner support from major world powers.The campaign includes urging the top industrialized nations, which meet in Italy this weekend at the G-8 Summit, to take a tougher position on Israel. The nations are U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy Japan and Russia.
10 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence have left hundreds dead. A cease-fire, brokered by the U.S. and declared June 13, has been repeatedly broken.

Hot Heir
editorial   TRB FROM WASHINGTON
2/5/01   Andrew Sullivan New Republic

[ This critical review is no more than a placation to those with only marginal political awareness who believe self interest and laissez faire are the core principles of democracy. A reminder to genuine students of history and political science that what is actually described here and reinforced by all manner of Bush administration happenstance is consolidation of oligarchy. - ed.]

Michael Powell's nomination sailed through the Clinton White House at a time when the Clintonites were equally careful not to provoke a Powell candidacy for president. Powell senior threw a congratulatory party for his son, inviting the other FCC commissioners. And the schmoozing crossed party boundaries. Vice President Al Gore went so far as to personally swear Michael Powell into office, an odd decision by a Democratic vice president for a minor Republican appointee. But Gore, remember, also had an interest in making sure Powell senior didn't run for president in 2000. Perhaps if Michael Powell had gone out of his way to avoid any hint of impropriety, this could be overlooked. But, in his capacity as a member of the FCC board, Powell took a strong stand on the AOL-Time Warner merger. He was in the minority in wanting to waive all objections to the deal and was instrumental in shepherding it through. This despite the fact that his father became a director of the company the year after Michael became an FCC board member (resigning only two weeks ago) and owns some 240,000 stock options, acquired during the same period. Since Powell junior signed off on the merger, Powell senior's stock options in the company have increased in value by close to $4 million. If the stock price goes beyond $65 per share, Powell has the option to purchase 80,000 more. Still, Powell junior refused to recuse himself from the decision, and the ruling was upheld by the usual ethics watchdogs. Legally, it was Michael Powell's decision to make. Ethically, it stinks.
I am not saying Michael Powell is unqualified for his job. By all accounts he is qualified enough: intelligent, hard-working, a good schmoozer, and so on. I even like his free-market bent regarding regulation. And no one should be punished for being a relative of a Washington macher. But today's neo-nepotism is subtler than a simple hereditary claim to high office. The question to be asked is not "Is this man qualified?" The question is "Did this man get a job over other equally or more qualified candidates because of his lineage?" I think in Michael Powell's case, especially given the attention his career has received from the likes of McCain, Gore, and Bush, the answer has to be yes. For that reason alone, his appointment is easily Bush's most suspect yet. Michael Powell is not alone, of course. This week saw Senator Strom Thurmond nominate his own 28-year-old son to be the top federal prosecutor in South Carolina. Here are some other examples:

Hillary Clinton, who would never have become a senator if she hadn't been married to a president
  [ false; she got her husband where he is - ed. ];

George W. Bush, an able man [ extremely false - ed. ] who would have had about as much chance of becoming president as Pee-wee Herman if he had a different last name;

Senator Jean Carnahan, whose only qualification for office is her dead husband; any Kennedy in public life, bar Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; Elaine Chao, labor secretary-designate and wife of Mitch McConnell; Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario and married to a Kennedy; Evan Bayh; Jesse Jackson Jr.; Steve Forbes; Al Gore, whose first congressional seat was his father's. I could go on.
The irony is that the public, far from being outraged by this insider trading, actually embraces it.

[ This is stupidity & apathy, not irony. - ed. ]

[ Preferably followed by another democratic revolution. Every 250 years at a minimum. - ed. ]

Michael Powell Chosen By Bush to Head FCC
01.23.01   Peter S. Goodman   Christopher Stern Wash.Post pE1

[ Safe for who? It is foregone that approval is unquestioned when no confirmation is required. -ed. ]

Now Michael Powell is following his father in a different fashion: Together, the two men are the first father-son executive appointees to serve in the same administration since 1959, when President Eisenhower named George Lodge assistant secretary of labor, joining his father, Henry Cabot Lodge, then ambassador to the United Nations. Though the FCC chairmanship is not a cabinet position, Powell is nonetheless stepping into one of the key positions in the new administration. Once a backwater agency that served as a sort of air-traffic controller for radio and television signals, the modern-day FCC holds sway over much of the so-called New Economy amid a general slowdown. "Michael Powell might be the single most important person in the Bush government for the purpose of building a healthy information sector," said Reed Hundt, himself a former FCC chairman. "He's got a really tough job. He is totally responsible for the performance of the information economy, and it's going down, not up. He's got to turn it around right now."
Bell telephone companies are hopeful that a Powell-led FCC will make it easier for them to enter long-distance-telephone and Internet-traffic markets. Major television broadcasters expect Powell will take steps to relax or even eliminate the cap on the number of stations broadcasters may own. "The oppressor here is regulation," Powell said during a recent speech before a conservative think tank, the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a talk that sounded much like a mission statement for his chairmanship. "We must foster competitive markets, unencumbered by intrusions and distortions from inapt regulations." Powell has been critical of Kennard's use of the agency's authority to review mergers as a way to extract concessions from merging companies in the name of reaping consumer benefits. In the FCC's recently concluded review of America Online Inc.'s purchase of cable and media giant Time Warner, he was one of two commissioners to argue against imposing any conditions on the deal, a position rejected by the Democratic majority.

Powell's role in that particular merger review raised some eyebrows. He voted for the deal even though his father sat on AOL's board at the time and owned stock options worth more than $7 million, according to disclosure statements. Though agency rules did not bar Powell from voting, some consumer advocates labeled his actions a conflict. During Powell's tenure on the FCC, the agency has increasingly found itself tugged by interest groups into a broadening debate over regulations governing the Internet. Powell's consistent counsel has been to stay clear. He contends that so many new and disruptive technologies have emerged in the last few years that no company is immune to competition. Consumers and businesses alike are best served when the regulators stay out of the way and allow the markets to distinguish winners and losers. "Our bureaucratic process is too slow to respond to the challenges of Internet time," he said during the Progress & Freedom Foundation speech. "One way to do so is to clear away the regulatory underbrush to bring greater certainty and regulatory simplicity to the market."
Michael Powell is well-liked and respected to a degree not often found in Washington, drawing praise from both sides of the partisan aisle. He sometimes sounds like his father in his choice of rhetoric. Both share an inclination to cast policy choices as moral decisions, indulging the language of patriotism and duty that speaks of their shared military roots. But those who know him say Powell is not one to ride his lineage. Jon Leibowitz, a former chief counsel to the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, recalls regular phone calls with Powell, then chief of staff at the antitrust division under Joel I. Klein. "I had almost no idea who he was," said Leibowitz, now head of congressional affairs at the Motion Picture Association of America. "I just knew he was this bright, talented, organized guy. Then I read in the trade press that he was Colin Powell's son and he was nominated to be on the FCC." Even those who have clashed with Powell on policy grounds still back his credentials. Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, a public interest law firm, has criticized Powell's unwillingness to challenge media consolidation. But he does not criticize Powell's grasp of the issues. "He is thoroughly qualified by virtue of his competence for the job," he said.

return to home page   §   email
 
site search courtesy of FreeFind