Colin Powell

The death of Colin Powell through Covid, but compounded by increasing dementia, reminded us of what a fine example he was to the world. He never let his early life living in Philadelphian slums as the son of Jamaican migrant parents hold him back from spectacular achievement.

I admired him enormously for his mea culpa on the Iraqi invasion, based as it was on blatant lies.

I can overlook Bush because he’s a half-wit, but never Tony Blair who’s not. To this day it’s a huge mystery why Blair bought into this “weapons of mass destruction” obvious nonsense in justification. Under enormous pressure Blair promised to reveal the “evidence” on a Sunday night. I well remember this as I was salmon fishing in a Scottish fishing lodge and couldn’t wait to read Monday’s newspapers. What Blair produced was so screamingly obvious bullshit, it will be recalled it led to massive protest marches over the following weeks. He will forever be a pariah and by any definition is the worst war crimes offender alive, with the blood of nearly a million people on his hands.

Blair may be bright but he’s also utterly immoral. Not so Colin Powell, who was a man of intellect, integrity, and great judgement. He rightly condemned the disgraceful Guantanamo Bay. He’d have made a great President but when it was floated, said he lacked the hunger for the job: That cannot be said about Obama who certainly had the hunger (like all successful politicians), but in the event, delivered nothing radical during his innocuous two terms.

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