Washing his 1967 GTO and a more contemporary Yukon, corporate pilot Francis Camilletti describes himself as a rare Bush administration supporter in the heart of Los Angeles.
He sees Secretary of State Colin Powell as an exceptional leader.
As for the allegations that Powell lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Camilletti guffaws.
Why would he lie? Eventually someone was going to conduct a thorough search, Camilletti says.
“Everybody is going to give the administration a hard time, saying they lied on the weapons of mass destruction. That’s ridiculous.
Why would you do that, when they know the truth would come out?” said Camilletti, 39.
“I think he’s a class act. He’s a sharp and intelligent guy. I think we’re in a situation where we need a wartime consigliere, like in `The Godfather.’ I know you remember Sept. 11, but don’t forget Sept. 12 and how you felt. People were dazed and angry and wanted something done.”
Camilletti values Powell’s security awareness and wishes the second-guessing would stop. The man and the moment have met, he said. “I’m telling you, you know what it’s going to take to get everyone on the same page? It’s going to take another Sept. 11. I hate to say it,” Camilletti said.
Powell’s military background is now serving the country well.
“He’s got wartime experience, and we need that,” Camilletti said.
“We’re the only country where the spoils don’t go to the victor any more. After WWII, we rebuilt everything.”
–Michael Martinez
Imperialistic
Between layups on the basketball court in West Hollywood on a sunny afternoon, Paul McKoy says he’s ready to slam-dunk U.S. foreign policy and its champion in chief, Secretary of State Colin Powell.
A native of Jamaica who became a U.S. citizen years ago, McKoy, 35, feels Powell lied to him when he went before the United Nations and asserted the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq more than a year ago.
“They’re all messed up, and they found nothing,” McKoy said.
“This country has always been like that–lying and giving people the wrong information and misleading you.
“When I look at Colin Powell, he’s a military man, and he’s always following orders. . . . I just saw `The Passion of the Christ’ and the Roman soldier didn’t want to do [the scourging], but his supervisor told him to do it and he had to do it. So it’s kind of like that with Colin Powell.”
Powell hasn’t done much to improve the poor condition of U.S. foreign relations, which tends toward a form of imperialism.
“It’s always been like that. He’s doing what they did before,” McKoy said. “It’s deplorable, horrible.”
“I went back to Jamaica three years ago, and it’s 10 times worse than when I was a kid,” McKoy said. “Colin Powell, I don’t know how much say he has, but I’m holding him responsible for all these atrocities in developing countries like my country.”
–Michael Martinez
