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"We didn't impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and . . . it got out of control." - Powell

But General, the imposition of American will is no way to "win hearts and minds."

....although it is the only way to win.

although it is the only way to win. Very true We should have written the interim constitution ourselves, the one the Iraqis wrote is a disaster. They picked the European model, where Afghanistan picked the US one. I think that is the main reason for the trouble in Iraq. The government the picked is barely workable in a well establish country. We should have created a government, then given it greater freedom as it gained experience in operating a country. On hearts and minds, propaganda. It can still be the truth, but reported to make us look better. The newspaper bribes that the liberals whined about was a stroke of genius. The military did a great job, the problem was not with them. It is not the military's job to create governments. The problem was the state department and CIA being controlled and run into the ground by a bunch of naive Clinton hold-over liberals with no clue. Which Powell should have fixed, at least for the state department.

But General, the imposition of American will is no way to "win hearts and minds."...although it is the only way to win.

Sounds almost like he's condemning his own philosophy as Sec. of State