Colin Powell in Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush

On Health Care: Recommended $200M for UN Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS

I met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a soft-spoken diplomat from Ghana. Kofi & I didn't agree on every issue, but we found common ground in our determination to deal with the AIDS pandemic. He suggested creating a new Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS Tuberculosis, and Malaria that would marshal resources from around the world.

I listened but made no commitment. I considered the UN to be cumbersome, bureaucratic, and inefficient. I was concerned that a fund composed of contributions from different countries with different interests would not spend taxpayer money in a focused or effective way.

Nevertheless, Colin Powell and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson recommended that I support the Global Fund with an initial pledge of $200 million. They felt it would send a signal for America to be the first contributor. Their persistence overcame my skepticism. I announced our commitment in May 2001."This morning, we have made a good beginning," I said in my speech. I didn't add that I had plans to do more.

Source: Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush, p.336 Nov 9, 2010

On Principles & Values: 2000: Selected for State because admired at home & abroad

The first selection for the Cabinet was easy. Colin Powell would be secretary of state. I had first met Colin at Camp David in 1989, when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He and Dick Cheney had come to brief Dad on the surrender of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Colin was wearing his army uniform. In contrast to the formality of his dress, he was good-natured and friendly. He spoke to everyone in the room, even bystanders like the president's children.

Colin was widely admired at home and had a huge presence around the world. He would credibly defend American interests and values, from a stronger NATO to freer trade. I believed Colin could be the second coming of George Marshall, a soldier turned statesman.

Source: Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush, p. 83 Nov 9, 2010

On War & Peace: 2001: Counseled against Iraq at same time as Afghanistan

Saddam's brutal dictatorship was widely considered the most dangerous country in the world."Dealing with Iraq would show a major commitment to antiterrorism," Don Rumsfeld said.

Colin cautioned against it. "Going after Iraq now would be viewed as a bai and switch," he said. "We would lose the UN, the Islamic countries, and NATO. If we want to do Iraq, we should do it at a time of our choosing. But we should not do it now, because we don't have linkage to this event."

Dick Cheney understood the threat of Saddam Hussein and believed we had to address it. "But now is not a good time to do it," he said. "We would lose our momentum. Right now people have to choose between the US and the bad guys."

Unless I received definitive evidence tying Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 plot, I would work to resolve the Iraq problem diplomatically. I hoped unified pressure by the world might compel Saddam to meet his international obligations. The best way to show him we were serious was to succeed in Afghanistan.

Source: Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush, p.189-191 Nov 9, 2010

On War & Peace: Pre-9-11 goal: Keep Saddam in his box

By early 2001, Saddam Hussein was waging a low-grade war against the US. In 1999 and 2000, his forces had fired 700 times at our pilots patrolling the no-fly zones. For my first eight months in office, my policy focused on tightening the sanctions--or, a Colin Powell put it, keeping Saddam Hussein in his box. Then 9/11 hit, and we had to take a fresh look at every threat in the world.

Saddam didn't just sympathize with terrorists. He had paid the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
Saddam wasn't just a sworn enemy of America. He had fired at our aircraft, issues a statement praising 9/11, and made an assassination attempt on a former president, my father.
Saddam didn't just threaten his neighbors. He had invaded two of them, Iran in the 1980s and Kuwait in the 1990s.

Before 9/11, Saddam was a problem America might have been able to manage. Through the lens of the post 9/11 world, my view changed. Source: Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush, p.228-229 Nov 9, 2010

The above quotations are from Decision Points, by George W. Bush . Click here for other excerpts from Decision Points, by George W. Bush . Click here for other excerpts by Colin Powell. Click here for a profile of Colin Powell.
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