GENERAL POWELL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Ignore critics; take your time on Afghanistan

     *According to information received from Team Elevation, today, for the first time, Former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, went on the record to share the advice he gave President Obama regarding Afghanistan.

     He spoke exclusively with Roland Martin on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Powell's comments to "take your time" are in stark contrast to the reported suggestions that Cheney has given. 

According to Powell:

     This is a very difficult one for him. And it isn't just a one-time decision. This is the decision that will have consequences for the better part of his administration. So Mr. President, don't get pushed by the left to do nothing; don't get pushed by the right to do everything. You take your time and you figure it out. You're the commander-in-chief and this is what you were elected for.

Powell also said:

     If you decide to send more troops or that's what you feel it is necessary, make sure you have a good understanding of what those troops are going to be doing and some assurance that the additional troops will be successful. You can't guarantee success in a very complex theater like Afghanistan and increasingly with the Pakistan problem next door. But you have to have some sense of what these additional troops will be able to do.
 
And secondly, take your time.
 
     Third, you've got to ensure that you're putting this commitment on a solid base, and the base is a little soft right now. We've got a president in Afghanistan that had a rough election; a lot of corruption associated with the election; a lot of corruption in the government. Mr. Karzai has been told, and I know him very well, he's been told he's got to do something about this; he's got to do something about the drug problem, and he's got to start pulling the Afghan people together.
 
     The president has to measure that; what kind of base is he putting this new strategy on because it isn't just what we do; what do the Afghans do. And as I said a moment ago, it's made particularly difficult because of the unstable situation along the Pakistan border and in Pakistan.

     The audio portion of this interview can be heard here: http://odeo.com/episodes/25436429-Powell-to-President-Obama-on-Afghanistan-Take-your-time

Roland Martin is an award-winning journalist and host of the weekly public affairs program, "Washington Watch with Roland Martin" on TV ONE, airing Sundays at 11AM ET and 5PM ET. He is also a CNN contributor, appearing on a variety of shows, including Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull, The Situation Room, Anderson Cooper 360, Lou Dobbs Tonight, and many others. He joined the Tom Joyner Morning Show in October 2008 as senior analyst.

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source:
Team Elevation
Martine Charles - martine@teamelevation.com
Katrina Florence - katrina@teamelevation.com