Military Impact of Colin Powell
Introduction
Conflicts normally exist among parties. The reasons for having conflicts depend on the arguments, beliefs, conviction and ideologies of different parties, and sometimes these conflicts are not resolved. If this happens, conflicts can lead to wars and the destruction of many properties and even lives. This often leaves many women and children homeless, the depreciation of money, the destruction of cities and cultural conflicts among nations. Many people took part in making decisions regarding the past and still existing conflicts and wars all around the world, and the military force of a nation has a lot to do regarding this matter.
Colin Powell and His Doctrine
One of the most unforgettable events in the history of the United States is its participation in the Vietnam War. Many American soldiers fought in this war, some died, and some succeeded in becoming a good military officer. One of them is Colin Powell, who displayed the courage and valor in leading his men and fighting their enemies. As reported by (1996), Colin Powell was born in New York City on April 5, 1937, was educated in the public schools of New York City and at the CCNY or City College of New York. He has also received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation, and received ca Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University, due to his desire for knowledge and formal education. This is because he believed that the Department of Defense needed good business managers (, 2004, p. 408). Powell has toured twice in Vietnam, and ended July of 1969. After his tour in Vietnam, Powell served the government for a few years but then returned to his work in the field under President Reagan. But after his time, Powell worked for President Bush, as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, displaying an organized decisive, quick, clean and successful missions in the use of military force when tensions escalated in crises in the Philippines, Panama and El Salvador ( 2004, p. 410).
It was reported that in August 1990, Iraqi troops invaded Iraq’s southern neighbor, Kuwait, under the leadership of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( 2004, p. 410). Iraqi troops took control of Kuwait’s precious oil resources and positioned military forces for further invasions of Iraq’s neighbors. At the time, Iraq held the most powerful military in the Middle East, and there were fears that it would gain a monopoly on the world’s oil market and mark the world with high oil prices. Powell knew that a strong show of force would be needed to make Saddam Hussein back down and abandon his invasion of Kuwait (, 2004, p. 410). With this, President George H. W. Bush decided to remove Kuwait from the control of Iraq by military force and requested that Powell draw up the war plans for “Operation Desert Shield”. This was the largest deployment of the United States forces since the Vietnam War, and by November 1990, 180,000 U.S. soldiers were poised and ready to remove Kuwait from the hands of the Iraqis.
Powell always believed that war should be the last resort and favored pursuing further economic sanctions against the Iraqis. Nevertheless, Hussein did not flinch despite the buildup of U.S. troops and the sanctions levied by the United Nations; so additional troops were deployed as the U.S. military readied itself for war. (2004) reports that despite Powell’s personal reservations, he began implementing the plan to exercise the full force of military power (p. 411). He added that the United Nations Security Council set January 15, 1991 as a deadline date for Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait or else face war. Hussein’s troops did not retreat, and less that 24 hours after the deadline passed, Persian Gulf War I began (, 2004, p. 411). A little more that a month later the Iraqi military had suffered greatly and a few days later Saddam Hussein agreed to withdraw from Kuwait and submit to the dictates of the United Nations by signing Resolution 1441 ( 2004, p. 411).
(2004) emphasized that with the end of Persian Gulf War I, Powell publicly outlined his philosophy for efficient and decisive military action (p. 411). Although it was not a formal document, his philosophy has become known as the “Powell Doctrine”. This Doctrine expresses that military force should be used only as a last resort and only if it is clear that national security is at risk; if it is, then a disproportionate and overwhelming force should be used against the enemy (, 2004, p. 411). The Powell Doctrine further requires that there should be strong public support for military actions and there must be a clear exit strategy from the conflict (, 2004, p. 411). In addition, (2006) states that Powell based this strategy for warfare in part on the views held by his former boss in the Reagan administration, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, and on his own experience as a major in Vietnam.
Impact of Powell Doctrine
Last 2003, the application of Powell’s Doctrine became a crucial issue when Iraq violated the Resolution and posed a threat on the United States. Despite the campaign for peace and alliance, President George W. Bush decided to take action on this matter and the whole world was alarmed because of his decision to make a military action. Worse, the American citizens clearly support the decision of the President to attack Iraq that would possibly result to a Third World War. (2003) reports that a high number of Americans support military action if the United States was joined by its major allies and also had the full support of United Nations Security Council. Nonetheless, most Americans think President George W. Bush is on the right track, the author added. Several approve the way the president is handling policies to deal with the threat posed by Iraq and Saddam Hussein. The author reports that support for an attack remains high even if the United Nations inspectors do not find evidence that Iraq has chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons (, 2003).
Many citizens believe that the most effective way of stopping these threats is to capture Saddam and destroy his forces. Although some citizens believe that attacking Iraq would pose greater danger in the American citizens as well, for they will be open for more attacks from the Iraqis. However, the United Nations inspectors should get less than a month to continue looking for banned weapons before any kind of military action is taken, and take more time to achieve its goals with Iraq without using military force ( 2003), which is still in accordance to Powell’s Doctrine .
Impact on the Military
It has been reported that one of the first questions General Powell was asked focused on the dramatic turnaround in the U.S. military, which occurred after the end of the Vietnam War (“”, 1995). It was noted that the revival of the Armed Forces was one of the more impressive accomplishments in the past two decades. As reported, Powell pointed out that the Armed Forces has begun to demand more of their personnel, refused to accept disruptive behavior, instituted a zero tolerance policy on drug use and set higher performance standards (“”, 1995). It was reported that Powell stated, “After the war, the draft was rescinded and we became an all volunteer force. That change allowed us to be more demanding about the type of recruits we would accept. After extensive research, we found that requiring a high school diploma was the one thing that had the most impact on the quality of applicants. Not because they were smarter, but because the very traits that led these people to earn their diploma – persistence, focus, achievement oriented – were the characteristics of a successful soldier. In addition, we worked hard to re-instill a sense of pride in our military personnel. They had to believe in themselves again. We also tackled the issue of racism” (“”, 1995).
Furthermore, Powell also commented on the future of military physicians and explained, “We took a long hard look at that and decided that the benefits to be realized by consolidating our physicians into one service were minimal. There are just too many intrinsic differences in the individual branches of the military that impact training and day-to-day service. For instance, I couldn’t see transferring an Army physician to a Naval aircraft carrier” (“”, 1995).
Powell also expressed his thoughts on the reduction in the Federal budget in the military. It was reported that Powell thinks the current funding was “lean” but that they had not reached problem levels (“”, 1995). In addition, Powell states that the cut on the budget has not affected the military’s ability to protect the country, and a modest increase will bring funding back to optimal levels” (”, 1995).
Powell spoke extensively about his military career, but was most impassioned when he described his work with young people (“”, 1995). He frequently talks with inner city and disadvantaged youth and points out the difference between right and wrong, that as members of a larger community, everybody has a responsibility to take care of all the young people.
Conclusion
The hard work of Colin Powell should serve as an inspiration to many, especially to the men in uniform. We have to take note of his courage, leadership and integrity and keep in mind that he is a modern hero that we can all become given any situation. Not all of us have to go to war to become a good example to many people. All we need to do is to become good citizens to our nation, give respect to each other and give our best in fulfilling our duties. This might take a while, but being the best that we are is enough to make our nation proud. We just have to give our 100% in everything, in whatever profession we have and serve the country the best that we could, as Colin Powell serves his county and fellowmen well.
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