I mean really. Can this guy be serious? Going off on the one person in this administration that receives anything near respect worldwide? Blaming Powell for 'diplomatic failure' and giving the neo-cons who manage to piss off friends and foes alike a free pass? LMFAO!
The title *should* be: Gingrich blasts Powell for failing to perform the impossible task of rehabilitating America's image after Bush, Rumsfeld and Co. got through with it.
Gingrich blasts 'diplomatic failure' at State Department
White House defends Powell
By Sean Loughlin
CNN Washington Bureau
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 Posted: 1:09 PM EDT (1709 GMT)
The White House defended Secretary of State Colin Powell and the State Department.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich blasted the State Department Tuesday for a series of what he described as diplomatic failures leading up to the war with Iraq and said that pattern was poised to repeat itself.
In a speech delivered at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, Gingrich contrasted the experience of the State Department with the Defense Department. He said the State Department had failed in its efforts to apply diplomatic pressure to convince Iraq to disarm and comply with U.N. resolutions, and that it was time for "bold, dramatic change" at the department.
"The last seven months have involved six months of diplomatic failure and one month of military success," said Gingrich, who sits on a Pentagon advisory committee. "The first days after military victory indicate the pattern of diplomatic failure is beginning once again and threatens to undo the effects of military victory."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Powell "an extraordinary figure" but said the institution was "broken."
Gingrich, a favorite of many conservatives, faulted Secretary of State Colin Powell for saying he would visit Syria, which the Bush administration has accused of aiding members of the fallen regime of Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Over the weekend, that criticism eased and President Bush said Syria has shown signs of cooperation.
"The concept of the American secretary of state going to Damascus to meet with a terrorist-supporting, secret-police-wielding dictator is ludicrous," said Gingrich, who resigned the speakership under fire in 1999. He had represented Georgia as a Republican congressman. "The United States military has created an opportunity to apply genuine economic, diplomatic and political pressure on Syria."
The White House, however, expressed its confidence in Powell.
"The actions of Secretary Powell and the Department of State are the president's actions," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Tuesday. "They carry out the president's directions and they do so very ably and professionally. The nation and the president are fortunate to have a secretary of state as ... strong as Secretary Powell."
Gingrich's comments were first reported in The Washington Post, which featured a front-page story Tuesday examining what it described as rivalries and tensions between the State and Defense departments.
In his speech, Gingrich said he was not criticizing personalities, but "effectiveness." And he had some praise for Powell.
"I think Secretary Powell is an extraordinary figure and I think he's a very effective advocate, but I think he is currently presiding over an institution that's broken," Gingrich said.
The title *should* be: Gingrich blasts Powell for failing to perform the impossible task of rehabilitating America's image after Bush, Rumsfeld and Co. got through with it.
Gingrich blasts 'diplomatic failure' at State Department
White House defends Powell
By Sean Loughlin
CNN Washington Bureau
Tuesday, April 22, 2003 Posted: 1:09 PM EDT (1709 GMT)
The White House defended Secretary of State Colin Powell and the State Department.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich blasted the State Department Tuesday for a series of what he described as diplomatic failures leading up to the war with Iraq and said that pattern was poised to repeat itself.
In a speech delivered at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, Gingrich contrasted the experience of the State Department with the Defense Department. He said the State Department had failed in its efforts to apply diplomatic pressure to convince Iraq to disarm and comply with U.N. resolutions, and that it was time for "bold, dramatic change" at the department.
"The last seven months have involved six months of diplomatic failure and one month of military success," said Gingrich, who sits on a Pentagon advisory committee. "The first days after military victory indicate the pattern of diplomatic failure is beginning once again and threatens to undo the effects of military victory."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Powell "an extraordinary figure" but said the institution was "broken."
Gingrich, a favorite of many conservatives, faulted Secretary of State Colin Powell for saying he would visit Syria, which the Bush administration has accused of aiding members of the fallen regime of Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Over the weekend, that criticism eased and President Bush said Syria has shown signs of cooperation.
"The concept of the American secretary of state going to Damascus to meet with a terrorist-supporting, secret-police-wielding dictator is ludicrous," said Gingrich, who resigned the speakership under fire in 1999. He had represented Georgia as a Republican congressman. "The United States military has created an opportunity to apply genuine economic, diplomatic and political pressure on Syria."
The White House, however, expressed its confidence in Powell.
"The actions of Secretary Powell and the Department of State are the president's actions," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Tuesday. "They carry out the president's directions and they do so very ably and professionally. The nation and the president are fortunate to have a secretary of state as ... strong as Secretary Powell."
Gingrich's comments were first reported in The Washington Post, which featured a front-page story Tuesday examining what it described as rivalries and tensions between the State and Defense departments.
In his speech, Gingrich said he was not criticizing personalities, but "effectiveness." And he had some praise for Powell.
"I think Secretary Powell is an extraordinary figure and I think he's a very effective advocate, but I think he is currently presiding over an institution that's broken," Gingrich said.
