Opinion: Colin Powell, the reluctant warrior
Powell had seen how badly wars can go wrong during his two tours of duty as an Army officer in Vietnam. He knew the face of combat, personally and viscerally, in a way that few national security officials of his generation did. He never wanted to spend lives cheaply on a gambler’s hope of success.His caution came to be known as the “Powell Doctrine.” A shorthand explanation was that America should fight only “short, winnable wars.
Powell initially was wary about risking the military’s newfound strength and stability by attacking Iraq in 1991. After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Powell supported President George H.W. Bush’s military buildup in the Persian Gulf, which eventually totaled hundreds of thousands of Powell was chairman of the joint chiefs when the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989. He relished America’s victory in the Cold War, but he didn’t assume that our power would go unchallenged forever. The best thing about possessing unrivaled military strength was that it lessened the need to use it.
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