COLIN POWELL, July 2007:
“I tried to avoid this war…I took him (Bush) through the consequences of going into an Arab country and becoming the occupiers.”
“The civil war will ultimately be resolved by a test of arms…It’s not going to be pretty to watch, but I don’t know any way to avoid it. It is happening now.”
“It is not a civil war that can be put down or solved by the armed forces of the United States.” All the military can do, Powell suggested, is put “a heavier lid on this pot of boiling sectarian stew”.
“We have to face the reality of the situation that is on the ground and not what we would want it to be.”
“America’s volunteer army is already overstretched. Bush will be forced to face the situation on the ground and alter course by the end of this year.”
“Al-Qaeda is only 10% of the problem in Iraq and Nouri al-Maliki (prime minister) lacks the political will to establish an effective government.”
On Syria and Iran: “You have to talk to the people you dislike most in this dangerous world.”
“Shi’ites will ultimately prevail because they are 60% of the population and their militias can be pretty violent. They will prevail also because they are determined not to be ruled again by the Sunnis.”
“The Sunnis are struggling for power and survival and it’s going to be resolved by a test of arms. It’s going to be very ugly.”
