War Quotes by Colin Powell

No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.

— Colin Powell

No war on the face of the Earth is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic.

— Colin Powell

It's really not a number I'm terribly interested in.

— Colin Powell

That's not really a number I'm terribly interested in.

— Colin Powell

It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.

— Colin Powell

There's not going to be a World War III, because there is no one to have World War III with.

— Colin Powell

I want to scare the hell out of the rest of the world.

— Colin Powell

The United States is not looking for a way to launch war.

— Colin Powell

The long bitter years of the Cold War are over. America and her allies have won; totally, decisively, and overwhelmingly…So thank you…

— Colin Powell

There are lots of countries that are having these kinds of internal civil wars in other parts of the world and nobody…

— Colin Powell

Our strategy in going after this army is very simple. First we are going to cut it off, and then we are…

— Colin Powell

You have to make sure you know why you are going to war and then use decisive force to end it as…

— Colin Powell

Policies that emanate from ivory towers often have an adverse impact on the people out in the field who are fighting the…

— Colin Powell

War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people…

— Colin Powell

President Kennedy didn't negotiate out of the Cuban missile crisis simply because he and Khrushchev got along well. Khrushchev didn't have the…

— Colin Powell

I have always held the view that decisive force should be used in addressing a military conflict. The reason is simple: Why…

— Colin Powell

In the army, all combat officers are taught the "Estimate of the Situation": When you are faced with a problem - take…

— Colin Powell

In the military we also learn principles of war which also work in a corporate setting: How do you concentrate as much…

— Colin Powell

There is a war on terror that must be fought. Nobody's immune... And so rather than finding fault with what Spain has…

— Colin Powell

President Reagan fueled the spirit of America. His smile, his optimism, his total belief in the ultimate triumph of democracy and freedom,…

— Colin Powell

I don't think anyone would disagree with the conclusion that Saddam [Hussein] was a terrible dictator. He had gassed his own people…

— Colin Powell

It was not the United States who invaded Kuwait; it was Iraq. It was not the United States that went to war…

— Colin Powell

I can think of nothing that Saddam Hussein can do diplomatically (to avoid war). I think that time is now over. He's…

— Colin Powell

War is never a happy solution, but it may be the only solution. We must exhaustively explore other possible solutions before we…

— Colin Powell

Our senior officers knew the war was going badly. Yet they bowed to groupthink pressure and kept up pretenses. ...Many of my…

— Colin Powell

Terrorism threat is serious, and not just to American interests. The assaults in Russia against two airliners, bringing them out of the…

— Colin Powell

There is no question about the fact that we had very serious disagreements with my German, French, and Russian colleagues over the…

— Colin Powell

Russia isn't going to start a war. They can't afford it. I think Mr. Putin can be dealt with if we stop…

— Colin Powell

Throughout my career, I learned plenty about war on the battlefield, but I learned even more about the importance of finding peace.…

— Colin Powell

The person who will decide whether or not there will be war or peace is Saddam Hussein, and all he has to…

— Colin Powell

I made the case to Gen. Franks and Secretary Rumsfeld before the president that I was not sure we had enough troops.…

— Colin Powell

We have practiced diplomacy since the very beginning of the nation. Sometimes it has not worked, and we've had to go to…

— Colin Powell

You have to comply, you have to obey - or you'd better resign and leave. But that is also the mark of…

— Colin Powell

“Officers have been trying for hundreds of years to outsmart soldiers and have still not learned that it cannot be done. We…

— Colin Powell

No one has done more to prevent conflict - no one has made a greater sacrifice for the cause for Peace -…

— Colin Powell

We now believe it is appropriate for Saddam Hussein to be forced to change, either by the threat of war, and therefore…

— Colin Powell

With respect to where we are now, we have a voluntary army. And if we ever go back to conscription I hope…

— Colin Powell

Nobody has ever said in the United States government that we are going to war next month. No decision has been made…

— Colin Powell