FRANCE 24 English published this video item, entitled “Colin Powell: A ‘trailblazer’ and ‘a role model for all of us’ • FRANCE 24 English” – below is their description.
Colonel Wes Martin, former US Antiterrorism Officer, joins France 24 to reflect on the life and the legacy of Colin Powell. ‘He always maintained himself with a quiet dignity.’ The former colonel fondly remembers Powell as always being ‘ideal’ in everything he did, and says that his entire record reflected that.
As for the lead-up to the war in Iraq, Colonel Martin insists that Powell ‘was trapped in a bad situation on the briefing before the United Nations. He was given bad information by State Department, by Central Intelligence Agency and by Defense Investigative Agency.’ And although Powell ultimately did give the infamous UN speech that made the US case for war, Powell was reportedly incredulous when provided with the intelligence. ‘And at one point he even said, ‘I can’t use this,’ Colonel Martin remembers. ‘As former National Security Advisor, and as a warrior, and as a commander of troops he saw flaws.’ And so Powell pushed for diplomacy, the retired colonel asserts, yet he was ultimately pushed into war by the Bush administration’s neoconservatives.
‘We had no legal reason to go into Iraq,” acknowledges Colonel Martin. And even though ‘Saddam was not a good person … he did maintain a fine balance of power between Iraq and Iran.” Saddam Hussein’s presence guaranteed stability in the Middle East, the retired colonel explains. The Iraq ‘invasion ended up causing the breakdown of stability. Iran became the dominant force in Iraq, and now you see that reign of terror going all the way across Iraq’ and beyond, laments Colonel Martin. “Syria, Yemen, Lebanon. We totally destroyed that fine balance of power.’
When it comes to Colin Powell’s legacy as a “trailblazer” for the African-American community, Colonel Wes Martin remarked that Powell ‘was too busy doing his job with dignity to make a great deal about how he was shattering glass ceilings. He was going out there and doing what a fine warrior and a fine soldier does.’
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About This Source - FRANCE 24 English
The video item below is a piece of English language content from France 24. France 24 is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris.
France is a republic and the largest Western European nation. Through expansion and colonisation in the 17th and 18th centuries France became a great power and still retains territories around the world. It has a seat on the UN security council and is the world’s fourth most wealthy country with a high standard of living and strong cultural identity.
Iran, also called Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. Its central location in Eurasia and proximity to the Strait of Hormuz give it significant geostrategic importance. Tehran is the capital and largest city.
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. The Iranian Revolution established the current Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran’s political system combines elements of a presidential democracy and an Islamic theocracy. Iran is a founding member of the UN, ECO, OIC, and OPEC. It is a major regional and middle power and has large reserves of fossil fuels — including the world’s largest natural gas supply and the third largest proven oil reserves.
The country’s rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Historically a multi-ethnic country, Iran remains a pluralistic society comprising numerous ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, the largest being Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Mazandaranis and Lurs.
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Yazidis, Shabakis, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians, Sabians and Kawliya. Around 99% of the country’s 38 million citizens are Muslims, with small minorities of Christians, Yarsans, Yezidis and Mandeans also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish.
Iraq has a coastline measuring 58 km (36 miles) on the northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation.
Iraq is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 19 governorates, four of which make up the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Disputes over the sovereignty of Kurdistan Region continue.
Iraq is a founding member of the UN as well as of the Arab League, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement and the IMF.
Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a country in the Levant region of Western Asia, and the transcontinental region of the Middle East.
The official language, Arabic, is the most common language spoken by the citizens of Lebanon. Its capital is Beirut.
Lebanon was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and is a member of the Arab League (1945), the Non-Aligned Movement (1961), Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (1969), and the Organisation internationale de la francophonie (1973).
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security.
At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; with the addition of South Sudan in 2011, membership is now 193, representing almost all of the world’s sovereign states.
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is the second-largest Arab sovereign state in the peninsula, occupying 527,970 square kilometres. The coastline stretches for about 2,000 kilometres.
