University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: October 27, 2005

By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Contributor

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaking at UB on Oct. 19, said the U.S. could have done more after initial combat operations ended in Iraq to prevent the uprising now plaguing the country.

"I'm not sure we did it right in the immediate aftermath of the war," the four-star general admitted to a sell-out crowd of 6,400 in Alumni Arena.

Formal Secretary of State Colin Powell (center) poses during a photo op for members of the media with Provost Satish K. Tripathi (left) and Dela Yador, president of the Student Association.
PHOTO: KEVIN FRYLING

Powell came to UB as the second speaker in the 2005-06 Distinguished Speakers Series. He is the first invited to speak in the series a second time.

Although he touched upon the war in Iraq, Powell did not comment on his statements to the United Nations Security Council in 2003 connecting Iraq with Al Qaeda and "weapons of mass destruction," a speech he later called a "blot" on his record.

That incident, however, attracted a crowd of about 50 who protested outside Alumni Arena before his lecture.

Powell stated there should have been more troops on the ground at the close of the invasion, but went on to support Americans' continued involvement in Iraq. He said that the U.S. "must not walk away from this task."

"It's going to be a long, difficult process," he said. "We can't fall away until we've helped (the Iraqis) accomplish their mission themselves."

"We have to stay the course," he said to applause.

Powell later talked about his objection to the Bush administration's assertion that certain detainees in the war on terror are not prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention.

"I disagreed with the Attorney General," he said, noting the U.S. must do all it can to protect its soldiers. "If we want them to get that protection, then we need to be a better model for the rest of the world."

As former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as a past national security advisor, Powell spoke about America's increased security following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He called the measures taken at national borders and airports necessary and appropriate, but noted that after a little more than a year, the U.S. saw a significant drop in international students coming to America to study.

"I told the president to start moving in the other direction," he said, citing concerns the U.S. had sent the wrong message to the rest of the world—that America appeared to be closing others out.

"Our nation is increasingly diverse," he noted, adding that globalization demands that students travel to other nations to learn and that the U.S., in turn, encourages foreign scholars.

Throughout his speech, Powell emphasized America's prominent role in world affairs and said it needs to remain a place of welcome. He also said the U.S. must do more to aid foreign nations.

He said he was proud that the United States doubled its foreign aid in the four years he served as secretary of state, but added, "We can afford to do more and ought to do more." He went on to point specifically to the AIDS epidemic and other crises in Africa.

"There is so much more we have to do to help our brothers and sisters in Africa," he said to applause.

In addition, he identified the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the issue he most wishes to see come to an end. "It's the longest running, unresolved conflict in the world," he stated.

He expressed less concern for threats from North Korea, noting that solutions to nuclear disputes with that nation, as well as Iran, could be reached diplomatically.

"There will be no major war in Asia in our lifetime," he said.

Powell focused much of his speech on strides made toward peace throughout the world. He said most anti-America sentiment is concentrated on certain policies and personalities, not the nation itself. He said the U.S. is still a country the world trusts and recognizes as a force for democracy.

He praised American forces in ousting of the Taliban to clear the path for free elections in Afghanistan.

He also emphasized the importance of NATO and called the organization an "insurance policy" because it includes the United States, whereas the European Union does not. He said the international outlook is very good compared to the past. "For the first time there is no imminent threat of war in Europe," he stated, noting the EU has unified Europe, Russia is making economic strides in the wake of the Cold War and China, too, "is far from the communism Mao Zedong had in mind."

In fact, he said, China has emerged as an economic power to rival the United States and the European Union, emphasizing that the U.S. encouraged China to develop. "Our...nations should work together," he said.

He later noted that the growing Chinese and Indian economies will create a "tremendous" international demand for oil and other fuel.

"You in Western New York are going to see it reflected in your heating bills," he said.

America needs to conserve more, he noted. He also supported the construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S. "We've got to start facing some difficult decisions," he said.

Powell quoted from the Declaration of Independence at the close of this lecture. America still embodies our Constitution, our Bill of Rights and our Declaration, he asserted. "Those powerful words are still seen as a reflection of America around the world."