'Meet the Press' transcript for Oct. 19, 2008

GEN. POWELL:  Well, let's start at the beginning.  I said to the president in 2002, we should try to solve this diplomatically and avoid war.  The president accepted that recommendation, we took it to the U.N.  But the president, by the end of 2002, believed that the U.N. was not going to solve the problem, and he made a decision that we had to prepare for military action.  I fully supported that.  And I have never said anything to suggest I did not support going to war.  I thought the evidence was there.  And it is not just my closing of the whole deal with my U.N. speech.  I know the importance of that speech, and I regret a lot of the information that the intelligence community provided us was wrong.  But three months before my speech, with a heavy majority, the United States Congress expressed its support to use military force if it was necessary.  And so we went in and used military force.  My unhappiness was that we didn't do it right.  It was easy to get to Baghdad, but then we forgot that there was a lot more that had to be done.  And we didn't have enough force to impose our will in the country or to deal with the insurgency when it broke out, and that I regret.

MR. BROKAW:  Removing the weapons of mass destruction from the equation...

GEN. POWELL:  I also assure you that it was not a correct assessment by anybody that my statements or my leaving the administration would have stopped it.

MR. BROKAW:  Removing the weapons of mass destruction from the equation, because we now know that they did not exist, was it then a war of necessity or just a war of choice?

GEN. POWELL:  Without the weapons of mass destruction present, as conveyed to us by the intelligence community in the most powerful way, I don't think there would have been a war.  It was the reason we took it to the public, it was the reason we took it to the American people to the Congress, who supported it on that basis, and it's the presentation I made to the United Nations.  Without those weapons of mass destruction then Iraq did not present to the world the kind of threat that it did if it had weapons of mass destruction.

MR. BROKAW:  You do know that there are supporters of Barack Obama who feel very strongly about his candidacy because he was opposed to the war from the beginning, and they're going to say, "Who needs Colin Powell?  He was the guy who helped get us into this mess."

GEN. POWELL:  I'm not here to get their approval or lack of approval.  I am here to express my view as to who I'm going to vote for.

MR. BROKAW:  There's a summing up going on now as, as the Bush/Cheney administration winds down.  We'd like to share with our audience some of what you had to say about the two men who are at the top of the administration.  At the convention in 2000, this is Colin Powell on President Bush and Dick Cheney at that time.

(Videotape, July 31, 2000)

GEN. POWELL:  Dick Cheney is one of the most distinguished and dedicated public servants this nation has ever had.  He will be a superb vice president.

The Bush/Cheney team will be a great team for America.  They will put our nation on a course of hope and optimism for this new century.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW:  Was that prophetic or wrong?

GEN. POWELL:  It's what I believed.  It reflected the agenda of the new president, compassionate conservatism.  And some of it worked out.  I think we have advanced our freedom agenda, I think we've done a lot to help people around the world with our programs of development.  I think we've done a lot to solve some conflicts such as in Liberia and elsewhere.  But, at the same time, we have managed to convey to the world that we are more unilateral than we really are.  We have not explained ourself well enough.  And we, unfortunately, have left an impression with the world that is not a good one. And the new president is going to have to fix the reputation that we've left with the rest of the world.

Now, let me make a point here.  The United States is still seen as the leader at the world that wants to be free.  Even though the numbers are down with respect to favorability ratings, at every embassy and consular office tomorrow morning that we have, people will be lined up, and they'll all say the same thing, "We want to go to America." So we're still the leader of the world that wants to be free.  We are still the inspiration of the rest of the world.  And we can come back.  In 2000, it was moment where I believed that the new administration coming in would be able to achieve the agenda that President-elect Bush had set out of compassionate conservatism.

MR. BROKAW:  But it failed?

GEN. POWELL:  I don't think it was as successful--excuse me (clears throat)--I don't think it was as successful as it might have been.  And, as you see from the presidential approval ratings, the American people have found the administration wanting.

MR. BROKAW:  Let me as, you a couple of questions--quick questions as we wrap all of this up.  I know you're very close to President Bush 41.  Are you still in touch with him on a regular basis?  And what do you think he'll think about you this morning endorsing Barack Obama?

GEN. POWELL:  I will let President Bush 41, speak for himself and let others speak for themselves, just as I have spoken for myself.  Let me make one point, Tom, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama will be good presidents.  It isn't easy for me to disappoint Senator McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that.  But I strongly believe that at this point in America's history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects, who will not just continue, basically, the policies that we have been following in recent years.  I think we need a transformational figure.  I need--think we need a president who is a generational change.  And that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama.  Not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Senator John McCain.

MR. BROKAW:  And finally, how much of a factor do you think race will be when voters go into that booth on November 4th?

GEN. POWELL:  I don't know the answer to that question.  One may say that it's going to be a big factor, and a lot of people say they will vote for Senator Obama but they won't pull a lever.  Others might say that has already happened.  People are already finding other reasons to say they're not voting for him.  "Well, he's a Muslim," "He's this." So we have already seen the so-called "Bradley factor" in the current--in the current spread between the candidates.  And so that remains to be seen.  I hope it is not the case.  I think we have advanced considerably in this country since the days of Tom Bradley.  And I hope that is not the case.  It would be very unfortunate if it were the case.

MR. BROKAW:  Finally, if Senator Obama is elected president, will there be a place for Colin Powell in that administration?  Maybe as the ambassador at large in Africa or to take on the daunting task of resolving the Israeli/Palestinian issue?

GEN. POWELL:  I served 40 years in government, and I--I'm not looking forward to a position or an assignment.  Of course, I have always said if a president asks you to do something, you have to consider it.  But I am in no way interested in returning to government.  But I, of course, would sit and talk to any president who wishes to talk to me.

MR. BROKAW:  You're not ruling it out?

GEN. POWELL:  I would sit and talk to any president who wishes to talk to me, but I'm not anxious to rule it in.

MR. BROKAW:  General Colin Powell, thank you very much for being with us this morning.  Appreciate it.

GEN. POWELL:  Thank you, Tom.

MR. BROKAW:  Coming up next, Decision 2008, the home stretch.  We'll look at the states and strategies in play with David Brooks, Jon Meacham, Andrea Mitchell, Joe Scarborough.  And Chuck Todd, our political director, will take us through the electoral map.

(Announcements)

BROKAW:  The Decision 2008 battleground, we'll have new state polls and our political roundtable coming up after this brief station break.

(Announcements)

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