Talking about Iraq
Welcome to the mind of Colin Powell, as represented by U.S. Department of State deputy spokesman Philip Reeker. The spokesman, in Reno for a town hall meeting at UNR, visited the RN&R’s International Headquarters last week. He deftly answered questions about everything from the effectiveness of antiwar protesting, to the consequences for countries like France that dare to disagree with the United States, to civilian fatalities as a result of the war in Iraq.
“It’s something I haven’t seen any figures on,” Reeker replied to the last question.
So is the world safer?
"Probably the ultimate answer is yes, in the sense that if you ask an Iraqi, his or her world is certainly safer. … They’re not going to have to worry about torture and disappearing or being tossed into a mass grave. And the region, I think, is safer because the threat that Saddam Hussein presented to the region by invading Iran years ago and Kuwait, threatening his neighbors fairly regularly and developing insidious weapons [is gone]."