Quote

We all hoped in 2001 that we could put in place an Afghan government under President Karzai that would be able to control the country, make sure al-Qaeda didn't come back, and make sure the Taliban wasn't resurging. It didn't work out.

Colin Powell

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Colin Powell
Age: 87
Born: 1937
Born: April 5
Diplomat
Former United States Secretary Of State
Politician
Soldier
New York City
New York
Colin Luther Powell
Work
President
Make
Didn
Would
Place
Afghan
Government
Hoped
Back
Als
Able
Wasn
Come
Control
Country
Sure

More quotes by Colin Powell

Image
As I've thought about gay marriage, I don't see any reason not to say that [couples] should be able to get married.
Colin Powell
Image
It was President [Bill] Clinton and the United States congress in 1998 which said that the regime has to be changed because the regime would not give up its weapons of mass destruction. We came into office in 2001 and kept that policy because Saddam Hussein had not changed.
Colin Powell
Image
The United Nations will spearhead our efforts to manage the new conflicts (that afflict our world)... Yes the principles of the United Nations Charter are worth our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
Colin Powell
Image
No war on the face of the Earth is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic.
Colin Powell
Image
I have always gone through public life and saying that with respect to political candidates, I always measure each candidate against what I think the country needs at that time, and I will vote for the person I think who is most qualified to serve the nation at that time.
Colin Powell
Image
Wouldn't it be great if we could look forward to a whole world in which no child will be left behind?
Colin Powell
Image
I think we can make a contribution to their [Saudi Arabia] thinking as they decide how they should deal with the economic and social challenges that they are facing.
Colin Powell
Image
Politics is not bean bags. It's serious, tough stuff.
Colin Powell
Image
I don't think anyone would disagree with the conclusion that Saddam [Hussein] was a terrible dictator. He had gassed his own people and his neighbors. He had killed thousands of people, and he had started a couple of wars and destroyed his country.
Colin Powell
Image
I recommended to the president [George Bush] that our focus had to be on al-Qaida, the Taliban and Afghanistan. Those were the ones who attacked the United States of America on 9/11.
Colin Powell
Image
For all the hardship, I was still excited to be on the trail, testing my endurance, feeling especially alive as strength and fatigue flowed alternately through my limbs.
Colin Powell
Image
We are rather candid with them about the nature of their political processes and the state of development of their institutions, but they are looking to the West because they know that's where success lies.
Colin Powell
Image
Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
Colin Powell
Image
All values are important, everyone who has ever touched my life in some way was a mentor for good or bad. Life is a blend, and a person is a blend of all the influences that have touched their lives.
Colin Powell
Image
We would like to see new leaders come forward who would be accountable and responsible, who would succeed in ending the terror and the violence. And it is up to the Palestinian people to judge who those new leaders should be.
Colin Powell
Image
First you train the followers to accomplish the mission. Second, you resource them: Make sure that they have the tools to do the job. Third, you reward them: You give them medals or bonuses.
Colin Powell
Image
Actually, there is no more important task for a leader than to pick people. To make sure you have the very best people working for you.
Colin Powell
Image
Always do your best. Somebody is watching you.
Colin Powell
Image
I want to scare the hell out of the rest of the world.
Colin Powell
Image
Maybe we don't put our young people in situations often enough where they're allowed to fail. When you fail you gain experience, and with enough experience, you don't fail as often.
Colin Powell