Last of the Cold Warriors Take Each Other On –Diktats and All

In a strange way, Powell and Cheney come from the same place; as two important members of the first Bush administration, both made their mark as part of the team that declared victory in the Cold War. As more prominent players in Bush II, the clashed at that Cold War persists to this moment. Powell says he will not be drummed out of the party by the likes of Cheney

From the New York Times: "The remarks by Mr. Powell, a former secretary of state, amounted to a public rebuttal of Mr. Cheney, the former vice president, and Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio commentator, who have questioned Mr. Powell’s Republican credentials and suggested that he should leave the party.

“Rush will not get his wish,” Mr. Powell said Sunday on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “And Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican.”

Mr. Powell’s appearance underlined an extraordinary public struggle among Republicans over the future of the party and the legacy of the Bush administration, particularly on national security. Mr. Powell broke with Mr. Cheney on the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, saying that he agreed with President Obama that it should be closed and that Mr. Cheney disagreed as much with his former boss as with Mr. Obama.