ABSTRACT
No good soldier wants to go to war and would prefer instead to see all other options exhausted. . . . At the same time, our military never tried to avoid using force either, nor did they speak out against it. Colin Powell, ever the professional, wisely wanted to be sure that if we had to fi ght, we would do it right and not take half measures. He sought to ensure that there were suffi cient troops for whatever option I wanted, and then the freedom of action to do the job once the political decision had been made. I was determined that our military would have both. I did not want to repeat the problem of the Vietnam War . . . where the political leadership meddled with military operations. I would avoid micromanaging the military.
