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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

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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
Government
Hoped
Back
Als
Able
Wasn
Come
Control
Country
Sure
Work
President
Make
Didn
Would
Place
Afghan

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There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
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Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.
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I think leadership is both a trained thing and a natural gift.
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I don't know who all of his advisers are, but I've seen some of the names and some of them are quite far to the right. And sometimes they might be in a position to make judgments or recommendations to the candidate that should get a second thought.
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I don't know that there is much the United States can do except work with the international community.
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We knew that al-Qaida was a threat to our country. We knew that the Clinton administration understood this and was working against al-Qaida We did not ignore al-Qaida. We spent a lot of our time thinking about terrorism, what should we do about it.
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Good and solid analysis and a formal way of looking at a problem [are the core ingredients of good decisions].
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But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you've got to compromise. You've got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.
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Don't let your ego get too close to your position, so that if your position gets shot down, your ego doesn't go with it.
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I'll tell you what they're all going to face, whichever one of them becomes president on January 21st of 2009. They will face a military force - a United States military force that cannot sustain - continually sustain 140,000 people deployed in Iraq and the 20-odd or 25,000 people we have deployed in Afghanistan and our other deployments.
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Don't just show kindness in passing or to be courteous. Show it in depth, show it with passion, and expect nothing in return. Kindness is not just about being nice it's about recognizing another human being who deserves care and respect.
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Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.
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How often have we seen politicians take a principle position only to give it up three days later? That is what makes democracy so fascinating.
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Let it [racism] be a problem to someone else... Let it drag them down. Don't use it as an excuse for your own shortcomings.
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There is no such thing as an unimportant person in an organization.
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Politics is not bean bags. It's serious, tough stuff.
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Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.
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You have to create circumstances where your first-tier leader knows what you are trying to accomplish, because he is the one who's going to get it done.
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As I've thought about gay marriage, I don't see any reason not to say that [couples] should be able to get married.
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