Colin Powell - Still a state department weenie at heart

Colin Powell was always a bit squishy when it came to making firm judgments on major issues, which is probably why he fit in so well at the State Department.

Today he continues that pattern by arguing that the perfect is the enemy of the good, declaring that building walls along the border with Mexico "is not the answer."

"The Berlin Wall did not work perfectly and the wall that the Israelis are putting up is not going to work perfectly," Powell said. "So, a wall alone is not the answer."

Such specious logic! (And people used to consider him a presidential contender?)

First, the Berlin Wall was constructed by East Germany (Soviet Union) to keep people INSIDE, unable to leave upon pain of death. No one is advocating we shoot people who breach the wall.

Second, the Israeli wall is already doing what it was designed to do to a remarkable degree, which is to cut down substantially on suicide bombings and such. How well it will function when completed is unknown, and it won't be perfect, but does that mean that it is not worth doing? Nobody said the fence has to be perfect. Any barrier would be a far sight better than nothing if you care about border security.

Of course Powell - talking to a bunch of folks in Mexico - is trying to look mexi-sympathetic and defend the failed "road map to peace" process in the Mideast, all at the same time.

Powell, speaking at a business conference in Mexico City, said any new barriers should include gates and other entrances to provide easy- access between both countries.

He said U.S. authorities should let many of the estimated 12 million undocumented migrants already in America earn some form of legal status through expanded temporary-worker programs.

"We have to find a way for them to live in dignity and not in fear," he said.

The simplest way to not live in fear and have some dignity is to apply for entry into the USA by legal channels. (Had Powell said as much we would hail his common sense genius.)

As to the notion that the new barriers should include gates and "easy-access" entrances, what part of the phrase "border security" does Powell not understand.

Most of it, apparently. Extra gates - or holes - in the border fence would defeat the very purpose of its existence. Just the kind of State Department weenie thinking we've come to expect from Mr. Powell.