Colin Powell

“War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.”

— Colin Powell

“In other words, don't expect to always be great. Disappointments, failures and setbacks are a normal part of the lifecycle of a unit or a company and what the leader has to do is constantly be up and say 'we have a problem, let's go and get it'.”

— Colin Powell

“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

“90 percent of my time is spent on 10 percent of the world.”

— Colin Powell

“It isn't enough just to scream at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. We need our political system to start reflect this anger back into, 'How do we fix it? How do we get the economy going again?'”

— Colin Powell

“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.”

— Colin Powell

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.”

— Colin Powell

“I don't know that there is much the United States can do except work with the international community.”

— Colin Powell

“Fit no stereotypes. Don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission.”

— Colin Powell

“Today I can declare my hope and declare it from the bottom of my heart that we will eventually see the time when that number of nuclear weapons is down to zero and the world is a much better place.”

— Colin Powell

“My own experience is use the tools that are out there. Use the digital world. But never lose sight of the need to reach out and talk to other people who don't share your view. Listen to them and see if you can find a way to compromise.”

— Colin Powell

“In terms of the legal matter of creating a contract between two people that's called marriage, and allowing them to live together with the protection of law, it seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country.”

— Colin Powell

“Just hit my 75th birthday, I'm feeling great!”

— Colin Powell

“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.”

— Colin Powell

“We got rid of a terrible dictator. We gave the Iraqi people an opportunity for a new life under a representative form of government.”

— Colin Powell

“We need to understand that we as citizens and as a government in any community throughout this country have no more important obligation than to educate those who are going to replace us.”

— Colin Powell

“Get mad, then get over it.”

— Colin Powell

“When you decide to get involved in a military operation in a place like Syria, you've got to be prepared, as we learned from Iraq and Afghanistan, to become the government, and I'm not sure any country, either the United States or I don't hear of anyone else, who's willing to take on that responsibility.”

— Colin Powell

“Politics is not bean bags. It's serious, tough stuff.”

— Colin Powell

“Wouldn't it be great if we could look forward to a whole world in which no child will be left behind?”

— Colin Powell