"The behavior of Powell and Weinberger in the following days also suggested that they knew an arms-for-hostage swap was under way.

"According to Weinberger’s diary, he and Powell eagerly awaited a release of an American hostage in Lebanon, the payoff for the clandestine weapons shipment to Iran.

"If there had been an air attack on U.S. forces in Europe during the drawdown, the HAWK missile defense batteries might not have had the necessary spare parts to counter an enemy attack.

"As implemented by Powell, the Iran initiative had taken priority over both legal safeguards and the safety of U.S. soldiers around the world."

Then, as Secretary of State under Dubya, Colin Powell deliberately lied to the American people, the UN, and the world about Iraq's nuclear weapons program, to justify the illegal invasion of Iraq which has cost hundreds of thousands of American military and Iraqis' lives.

As Jonathan Stein reported at Mother Jones: "As much criticism as Powell has received for this—he calls it "painful" and something that will 'always be a part of my record'—it hasn't been close to what's justified. Powell was far more than just horribly mistaken: the evidence is conclusive that he fabricated evidence and ignored repeated warnings that what he was saying was false."

Now, in an interview with Rachel Maddow, Powell claims he doesn't know whether torture 'would be considered criminal.'   This, of course, comes from the quintessential model of knows how to cover his ass through the years and then, as member of the Bush high level torture team.

From Think Progress: "Last night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow interviewed former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Unlike many journalists, Maddow asked him about — and pressed him repeatedly on — his role in approving torture against detainees. Specifically, she asked him about reports that he was among nine White House “principals” who approved torturetechniques so specifically that “interrogation sessions were almost choreographed.”

"Powell refused to acknowledge his role in these meetings, and claimed ignorance about long-released legal memos that specifically authorized torture. Choosing his words carefully, he would say only that, “at least from the State Department standpoint,” it was important to stand by the Geneva Conventions. Powell also questioned whether tactics like sleep deprivation, stress positions, or waterboarding were “criminal” — despite specific U.S. statutes and international law forbidding torture:

MADDOW: If there was a meeting though at which senior officials were saying, were discussing and giving the approval for sleep deprivation, stress positions, waterboarding. Were those officials committing crimes when they were giving their authorization?

POWELL: You’re asking me a legal question. I mean, I don’t know that any of these items would be considered criminal. And I will wait for whatever investigations that the government or the Congress intends to pursue with this.