Powell Made A Last-Ditch Effort

Ninth of 25 excerpts from The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer:

On January 18 [2002], Rumsfeld sent an order to the Joint Chiefs of Staff declaring that the military no longer needed to follow [the] Geneva [Convention's] rules in their handling of Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. For a half a century, soldiers had been trained in the rules. Now they would be left to their own devices.

. . . Powell made a last-ditch effort, calling Rice on January 25, 2002, and insisting that they couldn't do this, that he had to see the President in person about it. His office was already inundated with cables from allied countries in shock that America would ignore its treaty obligations. Many warned that this would inhibit their ability to fully cooperate with the United States in the war on terror. But unknown to Powell, the same day that he demanded to see the President, the Vice President's office ginned up a remarkable preemptive memo anticipating and rebutting all of the arguments Powell was sure to make. . . . the following day, Washington's conservative newspaper, the Washington Times, a favorite outlet for the White House, ran a curious front-page story lampooning Powell's position as pro-terrorist -- "bowing to pressure from the Left." It seemed to most astute readers a leak from the Addington camp.

Copyright 2008 by Jane Mayer. All Rights Reserved