Lawrence Wilkerson

Lawrence Wilkerson served as chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. Since leaving the department in 2005, Wilkerson has expressed criticism of George W. Bush and his foreign policy on several occasions. Wilkerson has been most critical, however, of Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.PBS: Interview with Lawrence Wilkerson

In May 2009, Wilkerson told CNN that the primary objective of an abusive prisoner interrogation program authorized by George W. Bush in 2002 was to find a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda. Wilkerson claims that some such information was given, then later retracted, by prisoners subjected to waterboarding.CNN: Powell aide says torture helped build Iraq war case (May 15, 2009)

In an interview with Vanity Fair Magazine for its February 2009 issue, Wilkerson called Bush a "Sarah Palin-like president" and said Bush lacked knowledge of foreign affairs.Vanity Fair: An Oral History of the Bush White House: Politics & Power (February 2009)