Iraq and weapons of mass destruction Miller helped persuade the American public that Iraq had WMD: in September 2002 she wrote about an intercepted shipment of aluminum tubes which the NYT said were to be used to develop nuclear material. It is now generally understood that they were not intended (or well suited) for that purpose but rather for artillery rockets. The story was followed up with television appearances by Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice all pointing to the story as part of the basis for taking military action against Iraq. Miller's sources were introduced to her by Ahmed Chalabi, an Iraqi exile favorable
Colin Powell each January to recruit volunteer mentors for at-risk youth. Soon after Barack Obama's 2008 election, Powell began being mentioned as a possible cabinet member. He was not nominated. In September 2009, Powell advised President Obama against surging US forces in Afghanistan. The president announced the surge the following December. On March 14, 2014, Salesforce.com announced that Powell had joined its board of directors. A liberal Republican, Powell is well known for his willingness to support liberal or centrist causes. He is pro-choice regarding abortion, and in favor of "reasonable" gun control. He stated in his autobiography that he supports affirmative