WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell, on Capitol Hill, defended the decision to invade Iraq and challenged criticism of President Bush's National Guard service.
Powell testified on the department's budget Wednesday before the House International Relations Committee. Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., and ranking Democrat Tom Lantos of California said the war has brought many benefits, but Powell faced tough questioning from other Democrats about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as a rationale for the war. "We presented what we believed the truth to be at the time," Powell said.
Powell rebuked Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who said the president "may have been AWOL" during the Vietnam War.
Powell said, "I won't dignify your comments about the president, because you don't know what you're talking about."
"I say he may have been AWOL," Brown repeated.
"Mr. Brown, let's not go there," Powell said. "You know, let's just not go there."
