Did any of the Belafonte critics here ever consider that his strategically chosen "words" , knowing what effect they would have on a fellow black public figure , was not meant as a personal attack so much as a goad to *do the right thing*
because everyone is watching him.

BTW: With all due respect for Colin Powell ( and I do as I have several of his speeches and symposium appearances given before joining the Dubya House thanks again to C-span )
truth be told he was every bit a part of the decision-making when Papa Bush turned tail short of finishing Saddam's regime , when it would have been extremely *prudent*, and now we're here *11 years later* with a more practiced Saddam .

Makes one wonder out loud if Saddam is such a threat now *all of a sudden* why he wasn't part of Bush's campaign speeches
or why there was no drumbeat even before 9/11.

Bottomline: The Dubya White House gang didn't even have Saddam on its radar considering how off-guard they were when 9/11 did happen. If they were *on top of it* they could've produced proof of Saddam's threat fully a year ago when the world *was*
freshly outraged.

Where does Colin Powell fit in all of this?
He is a famously *moderate* Republican and it's that reason that there have been all these reports of *differences of opinion*in Dubya's *brain trust* within.

Belafonte knows this atleast as well as I do and was sending Powell a message he knew Powell would *get*.
How Powell goes about doing the right thing remains to be seen. If he sees things going horribly wrong just for the ideological play he can always resign.

It always amuses me how so-called *conservatives* never recognize ,let alone own up , to the fact that there are subject to as much a *Conservative Elite & Intelligensia" as they love use as a labeling tactic against their ideological opponents.
Tell me that patron saint William F. Buckley jr. is a meat n' potatoes conservative that the Republicans love to pretend they represent. Rush Limbuagh-fodder is charitablymore accurate.

Being a die hard independent I watch *both* ideologies at arm's length and watch 'em like a hawk.
Being patriotic I respect what G.Washington warned about the dabgers of "factions" in his farewell speech before Congress which is read out loud before Congress every year and C-Span *always* broadcasts.

Too bad Congress doesn't do the same with Eisenhower's
"military industril complex" warning speech.

Carry on.