Another Appointment for Colin Powell

General Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama should not be surprising. After all, as George W. Bush's first Secretary of State Powell was a reluctant participant in the push for the War in Iraq, a vocal critic of former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld's strategies, and treated poorly by an Administration that is notorious for turning against dissenters.

At an Aspen Institute event several years ago (following his departure from the Bush Administration), Powell shared his mental struggle with his role in helping to facilitate an unjustified war in Iraq. It was clear to attendees that Powell maintained a sense of guilt that he clearly needed to purge to feel at peace with himself.

For this reason (and the fact that he is knowledgeable about U.S. military affairs), a potential Obama administration should seriously consider letting Powell redeem himself by guiding U.S. troops safely out of Iraq and contributing to a policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan that makes sense. While Powell does not have to have a formal cabinet role, an Obama administration should consider it. For who else would perform the intricate task of safely extracting our troops but someone who has so much at stake in a successful pullout?

What Powell lost in his go-along-get-along role as the U.N. salesman for the Iraq War was his reputation, honor, and vaunted place in the history books. For Powell, a career military man with a code of honor emblazoned into his DNA, the ultimate penance for his sin would be to fix what was broken in the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Giving him a chance to redeem himself may not only be good for Powell, it may be the best thing for an Obama Administration, our troops and the nation.