That effort led to a war of choice with Iraq - one that resulted in catastrophic losses for the region and the United States-led coalition, and that destabilized the entire Middle East. But the secretary’s gravitas was a significant part of the two-year-long effort by the Bush administration to get Americans on the war wagon. Bush would have ordered the war even without the United Nations presentation, or if Secretary Powell had failed miserably in giving it. I knew that was why he was chosen to make the presentation in the first place: his standing with the American people was more solid than that of any other member of the Bush administration. But polls later that day and week demonstrated he did convince many Americans. At the moment, I thought all our work was for naught - and despite his efforts we did not gain substantial international buy-in. Powell’s presentation on that cold day, I considered what we had done. And unless we act, we are confronting an even more frightening future.”įollowing Mr. As his chief of staff, I helped Secretary Powell paint a clear picture that war was the only choice, that when “we confront a regime that harbors ambitions for regional domination, hides weapons of mass destruction and provides haven and active support for terrorists, we are not confronting the past, we are confronting the present. Fifteen years ago this week, Colin Powell, then the secretary of state, spoke at the United Nations to sell pre-emptive war with Iraq.
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