Gen. Colin Powell

as previously stated, one of the perks of being a student at the Humphrey Institute is getting the opportunity to see interesting dialogue on world events. this wk was a visit from General Colin Powell, probably most well known to the general public as the US Secretary of State during George W's first 4 years in office (tho he also served as NSA under the Reagan administration and as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). his visit is quite timely, considering the recent dialogue on the Geneva Convention and his public statement to uphold it.

i took my friend Joe w/me, a former coworker who retired just over a year ago. even tho he's right of center, he came w/liberal me to see President Clinton speak at last year's lecture series, so i tho it only appropriate that i invite him to see someone closer to his side of the political fence.

Gen. Powell's message was on leadership and taking an active role in making change. to say the least, it was awesome! inbetween jokes (he's actually REALLY funny...you'd never know it from watching him on C-SPAN), he used examples from his previous life to illustrate how leadership played a role (both good and bad) in the Cold War, 9/11, and the Middle East. globablization is unavoidable so it's vital to engage others now thru exemplary leadership in order to create sustainable growth for the future.

his speech also made quite the case for national security, but not in an arms-race-sort-of way. he emphasized the need for transparent foreign policy that compliments the interdependence we're moving towards. people react intuitively to change, making thoughtful interaction that much more important.

for a four-star general w/an amazing career, the man is incredibly humble. time, administration changes, and events over the last couple of years have moved him just outside mainstream media's political spotlight. but he knows that he was the one who went to the UN Security Council to make a case for pursuing Iraq. he recognizes the fact that the intelligence was wrong and no WMDs were found. he knows the US exit strategy was grossly underestimated. and he knows no matter what the outcome of this war, his name will forever be associated with it.

i have a new respect for the man and admire his candor. definitely feeling a little inspired.