Why does Alcoholics Anonymous claim that I am "powerless" over alcohol?

I wonder if the people in AA believe that alcohol addiction is a permanent addiction that never completely goes away...that would go a long way toward explaining why they would say a person is "powerless" to control their addictive behavior. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to tell someone that they're powerless to control any type of behavior because (a) it's really not true -- you can change anything about your behavior if you want to badly enough and are willing to do whatever it takes to do it, even if it's painful or inconvenient, and (b) it gives drug and alcohol addicts a built-in excuse that turns many of them into wimpy victims. Sorry, that's a crock -- being a drug addict or an alcoholic or overweight doesn't mean you're a bad person, but it DOES mean that you have learned some harmful behaviors that have to be un-learned if you want to change.