Thread by @MurdochCadell

The story of Colin Powell is unfortunately one of tragedy and failure, not struggle and success.

It’s true he was a senior officer at time when there few black senior officers.

It’s true he become a civilian leader at time there were no black civilian leaders in the US.

But.

When called upon to actually ‘lead’ Powell failed.

More correctly, he showed his true character.

By going to the UN and knowingly making a false case for war, and then afterwards shrugging it off by the simple ‘I follow orders. It’s what I do’ he revealed his true nature, and the reason for his success.

People almost invariably don’t change once they get ‘to the top’. Someone who thinks it’s an excuse to do something they know to lack honour, simply because they are told to by a superior, is somehow who already thinks that way. He wasn’t a bullied ‘Corporal’. He had a choice.

We can safely assume that Powell’s was not only a ‘yes man’ in his ultimate failure, but a ‘yes man’ throughout his career. He did what he was told. And then some. He succeeded by obeying, and never questioning.

As such, his story is not inspirational, rather it is tragic. A man that sold his soul for acceptance. He is not the only one, of course, but a hero? No. A hero says no when he is asked to give up his honour.

If you think Powell is a ‘black icon’ consider what would his answer would have been if he had been asked to lie about black violence to ensure a military crackdown by the President?
If you are adamant he wouldn’t have lied then, why do you assume that Iraq lives are worth less?

Great positions of state carry responsibilities, particularly so, as a former military officer. You lie, and a million people around the world make an assumption about your country, and your former army.

There are two ways of looking at Powell’s lie: it revealed the truth simply about him, or the truth about the ethics of the institution that produced him.

Neither is good.

The fact that President Biden thinks he is an American hero, tells the world about Biden’s real values.

I don’t mourn Colin Powell. But I would a leader that told the truth, whatever his Commander in Chief asked him to.

That’s the only American General who deserves respect.

True leaders stand tall and don’t buckle when asked to dishonour their legacy for personal gain.

General David Hurley is Australia’s answer to Colin Powell.

He too lied.

Because he was asked to.

Honour. Courage. Integrity. But above all ‘Teamwork’.

#ColinPowell
#auspol
#iraqwarlies
#abughraib
#officialsecrets