The Wake

“It is a great pleasure to be with you,” former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday, Oct. 3 when he spoke at Northrop Memorial Auditorium. “At this stage in my life and career it’s a great pleasure to be anywhere,” he said, followed by laughter from the crowd. Powell continued by talking about the transitions that we make in life. Powell joked about a time when he had his own 757 and the red carpet that went with it. “One day you’re the Secretary of State and the next they give your plane to ‘Condi,’” Powell joked.

After retiring from the United States Government, reality set in while eating breakfast with his wife. It was a shocker for both when they realized he was going to be home all day.

In an effort to occupy his time and feel young again Powell purchased a Corvette – a silver one. “I don’t miss anything in life,” Powell said in response to not missing his position in the United States Government. “There is no point going through life looking in the rearview mirror. I am always looking ahead to see what’s next.”

Powell looked into the crowd of almost 5,000 and began speaking on the topic of leadership, both personal and political. Against the advice of his wife, he treated his first day at the state department like his infantry in the army. “Good Morning troops, how are you?” were his first words to his team. To Powell, it didn’t matter if it was the entire U.S. Armed Forces or the Department of State; to him, leadership is leadership is leadership.

“Leaders have the principle responsibility of making sure they convey a sense of purpose to an organization,” Powell said. “They also recognize that leaders are there because of the followers – they are the ones that get the work done. Leaders set the vision and the purpose and then they get the people motivated.”

Powell went on to talk about some of the great leaders that he met during his time working for the United States. Powell spoke highly of great leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union who realized the Soviets had to end the Cold War. “It took a great leader [Gorbachev], someone with a vision, a mission and a purpose to say to the Soviet people ‘we can’t keep moving like this.’”

Another great leader, Deng Xiaoping of China, also became an ally of the United States while Powell served. Xiaoping realized that China was falling further and further behind, so he changed the economic system. According to Powell Xiaoping, like Gorbachev, faced reality and didn’t turn away.

Powell also spoke of a world that is about to be bequeathed to the youth of America. He spoke of an Asia that is more interested in trade than war and the fact that Americans are investing more money in Africa now than ever before. “It is a world that you will inherit and you will move forward. It is a world in which there is more democracy now then ever before, but it is a world with challenges,” Powell said.

According to Powell, there are three challenges that will define our times and this presidency: Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.

Powell spoke of the war in Iraq in three phases. Phase one: go to Baghdad, take out Iraqi army and bring the regime down – the easy one. Phase Two: the Insurgency. More difficult because we [America] did not have enough troops, political will or political understanding to suppress it before it got too large or out of control. Phase Three: the sectarian warfare, Shia vs. Sunni. This phase is more difficult because this war can only be solved by the Iraqi people themselves.

Powell said that it is up to leaders, especially new, young leaders, to deal with those challenges and find solutions. “But as you watch these challenges unfold don’t ignore, don’t overlook the great successes that we [America] have had.” Powell reminded the crowd of the trust the world still places on America. He explained that we are the leader of the world that wants to be free. People still come to the shores of America betting for a better life, believing that the opportunity here exists nowhere else.

“What makes it all work is the fact that we have great universities such as this, great institutions such as this where we are turning out great young people with smiles on their faces and energy in their eyes,” Powell said.