Reply #16: The key here is "Who's the Boss?"

[JHB]

Powell has proven time and again that he won't buck his chain of command: he might advise against a policy, but once the orders come down from on high he carries them out, with no fussy little quibbles like "resigning in protest".

The thing is, he doesn't work for Bush anymore. If you think there's an angle, take a look at his chain of command these days. If it's the group that invited him to speak, that's a shot across Cheney's bow.