Colin Powell

When I was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I would still have junior officers brief me. Usually these people knew…

— Colin Powell

Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with…

— Colin Powell

Strategy equals execution. All the great ideas and visions in the world are worthless if they can't be implemented rapidly and efficiently.…

— Colin Powell

Each of us must work to become a hardheaded realist, or else we risk wasting our time and energy on pursuing impossible…

— Colin Powell

Today I can declare my hope and declare it from the bottom of my heart that we will eventually see the time…

— Colin Powell

We need stable regimes in this part of the world [the Mideast] who will be partners and friends of ours, because the…

— Colin Powell

When you decide to get involved in a military operation in a place like Syria, you've got to be prepared, as we…

— Colin Powell

You can't just have slogans, you can't just have catchy phrases. You have to have an agenda. And I think what the…

— Colin Powell

In terms of the legal matter of creating a contract between two people that's called marriage, and allowing them to live together…

— 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

Saudi Arabia will have to decide its own path, and I don't know if it will decide a path like any other…

— Colin Powell

This is something else that is drilled into us in the military: Make sure you know who your replacement is, in case…

— Colin Powell

Our diplomacy and development budget is not just about reducing spending and finding efficiencies. We need a frank conversation about what we…

— Colin Powell

Finding the Russian scientists may be a problem being that Russia does not have a Social Security System, as here in America,…

— Colin Powell

Too often we act - ask our schools to be truant officers, our teachers to be truant officers, because we're giving them…

— Colin Powell

When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not. Disagreement,…

— 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

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

— 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

Don't just show kindness in passing or to be courteous. Show it in depth, show it with passion, and expect nothing in…

— 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

I regret that the presentation I made at the UN turned out to be wrong. It was wrong on the stockpiles of…

— Colin Powell

The United States has every intention of continuing to do the kind of reconnaissance and surveillance work we have done for decades,…

— Colin Powell

Change of regime with respect to Iraq had nothing to do with this; it had everything to do with the fact that…

— 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

Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce…

— Colin Powell

We are not dictating. We are not telling them [Saudi Arabia] how they should do it or who they should look like.…

— Colin Powell

We would like to see new leaders come forward who would be accountable and responsible, who would succeed in ending the terror…

— Colin Powell

I think the American people are sophisticated enough and wise enough to make judgments about the candidates and wade through the charges…

— Colin Powell

Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of…

— Colin Powell

We want to approach this in a multilateral way, talking with our friends, consulting with our security council colleagues in the United…

— Colin Powell

That's why the army sends all its future generals to what we call "charm school." As soon as you are a general,…

— Colin Powell

In the military, we are also taught to only use one third of the available decision-making time, so that our subordinates have…

— Colin Powell

When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not. Disagreement,…

— 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

You need to understand, if you take out a government, take out a regime, guess who becomes the government and regime and…

— Colin Powell

Organization doesn't really accomplish anything. Plans don't accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don't much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of…

— Colin Powell

President's personal staff has a unique role. They're his intimate personal advisers, and the tradition and the precedent has been, even when…

— Colin Powell

I think all of the attention of the world, to include the attention of the Arab world, should be on Saddam Hussein…

— Colin Powell

At the same time I think it is absolutely necessary that there be no confusion, no misunderstanding that if the Iraqis.. do…

— Colin Powell