Powell: No debate before Iraq War

In the aftermath of the administration of George W. Bush, it is inevitable that the truth would keep leaching to the surface. The latest contribution apparently comes in a new book by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, “It Worked For Me: In Life and Leadership,” to be released later this month. In the book Powell reportedly states that no considered debate ever occurred in the Bush White House about whether going to war with Iraq was a good idea.

Huffington Post's Dan Froomkin reviews the book today, and connects some of the dots from that period in history.

And two paragraphs that sum up the awful cost of that abuse of power and military miscalculation have to leave one wondering whether we'd be trying to figure our way out of such a persistent economic recession if more sophisticated and prudent minds had prevailed in 2002-03.

The war, which President Barack Obama officially brought to an end Dec. 31, cost the U.S. government around $3 trilllion, left 4,487 U.S. servicemembers dead and killed more than 100,000 Iraqis. The Pentagon counts 32,226 U.S. servicemembers wounded, but the toll, including cumulative psychological and physiological damage, may be as high as half a million.

In Powell’s explanation of how he came to provide the misleading and inaccurate account of Iraq’s WMD capability at the UN, the former secretary of state points an incriminating finger at Vice President Dick Cheney’s office -- confirming previous reports such as the one by Karen DeYoung, in her Powell biography.