MARCH 2 – Early on a drizzly Monday morning, Colin Powell stopped by Stanford University’ s historic Memorial Hall to speak, joke, and pantomime about his civilian life, his policy choices as Secretary of State, and even his controversial endorsement of President Obama.
Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer first came out and inrtoduced President Reagan’s Secretary of State George Schultz, now a Hoover Fellow.
Former-Secretary Schultz spoke briefly, complimenting former-Secretary Powell’s many achievements. Powell served as National Security Advisor to Reagan in his first term.
Particularly interesting was Secretary Schultz’s comments on the Powell Doctrine. Referencing the first Gulf War, Shultz said icily that Powell “After the defeat of Saddam Hussein . . . Powell managed to avoid mission creep.”
This was a clear jab George W. Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, a policy that Powell publicly helped craft, but, behind closed doors, was a fierce opponent.