why the admiration for colin powell?

[historian]

He was touted as being such a moral upstanding invidividual with iron clad integrity yet he tossed all that away for who knows what reason.
If he had the slightest integrity he would have resigned at the beginning with a press conference explaining why

[LittleApple81]

1. I don't think you'll find too many Colin admirers around here.

He has destroyed any good opinion people could have of him from the moment he signed up to go along with the war.

[MarianJack]

3. Not Only That...

...but knowinglylying about it at the UN.

Also, Ron Kovik, who I consider to be one of the most gallant of men, has said some things about powell during Vietnam that are disturbing at best.

[samsingh]

2. i have no admiration left for powell.

i am disgusted by him

[allemand]

4. one possible reason for not resigning

is given in the recent article "Casualty of War" by Wil S. Hylton:

http://us.gq.com/plus/content/?040429plco_01

"But if Powell's capitulation seemed complete that day, if his U.N. speech had the aura of pure surrender, then like so many things in the Bush administration, it was only an illusion. Because since then, without much fanfare or publicity, Powell has scratched and clawed his way back to a position of some significance in the White House. He has pulled the reins on Taiwan, quelling its tensions with China, has used that leverage to gain China's assistance on the escalating North Korean crisis, has opened the first real line of diplomacy with Libya in more than thirty years (and, in the process, has begun a real disarmament there, as opposed to the artificial disarming of Iraq), has helped persuade Russia to engage the Iranian nuclear crisis, and has kept American troops out of Syria and Iran, all against the fervent objections of his adversaries in the Pentagon.

"The focus on Iraq gave Powell some flexibility that he might not have had," says Ullman. "There was a lot of reluctance to do a lot of things that he wanted to do. Some in the administration wanted a much tougher position vis-à-vis North Korea and Iran. And he prevailed. Some wanted a tougher position vis-à-vis China. He prevailed. The fact of the matter is that Powell has been able to prevail over foreign policy in much of the world, and Iraq has been kind of an odd man out."

To put it in more simple terms: they would probably have bombed North Korea, attacked Syria and Iran, etc. Never "misunderestimate" the neocons !

[Straight Shooter]

5. Still waiting for Powell to come clean

Not holding my breath.