an old friend. you have a situation, you have a flat tire, you re going to fix the flat. there was a connection between the two of you. yeah, because once i saw the leg, i wasn t sure whether it was blown off or whether he had an infection. it turned out it was a combination of the two. and so i knew he was one of me. he was one of my guys. he was one of my guys. just two military men doing what they were trained to do, to serve. joining me now is former secretary of defense, leon panetta. thanks for being with us today. i know you have a lot of reflections, but you ve inherited a military that had really been transformed by colin powell, but also foreign policy establishment that had been informed by his silent protest. some said too silent, but his protest against the first iraq war and the misjudgments. colin powell is is in many ways, i think, one of the finest military leaders we ve had in
wanted to be referred to after he left the state department for the rest of his life as general powell. that s a really interesting point. technically as the secretary of state, he would be referred to as secretary going forward after his retirement, but you know, if that was his preference that would make a lot of sense. you mentioned that he served in the military. he s ultimately reaching the chairman of the joint chiefs, the first african-american to serve in that role and also the youngest at 52 years old when he took over as four-star general and the chairman. back up 35 years before that, as a young man and college in new york city, he was in the rotc candidate. he graduated from college as a young second lieutenant, and then he spent two tours in vietnam before coming back to the united states and serving in a number of increasingly more and more senior roles in the military and in washington, d.c., including as deputy national security adviser, and then national security adv
the children and grandchildren and peggy sofrino, his so loyal long-time assistant, and all of you jon, and nichole you knew him so well and we all looked up to him. let me also move on to this memory as i thank you two. in 2019, a veteran driving along the washington beltway came across a driver, a driver stuck trying to change a flat tire on the side of the road. he looked closely, the good samaritan did not know that that driver was retired four-star general colin powell. here s part of their story. when i walked up to him, i said you re general colin powell, and he said yes, i am. he jumped out of his car, his sleeveless shirt on, short pants and so why is this guy freezing to death? he just wanted to help me. it almost felt like meeting
discussion we had this morning was on the data about infections going down. but obviously this latest breaking news shows how covid is still very much a part of the fabric of american life right now. right. and there are breakthrough cases. and certainly people with compromised immune systems, older americans as well, are still facing some complications and tragically, in the case of colin powell, and some others, sometimes die even after being vaccinated. colin powell, going back to his career, he was, again, one of the most respected voices in foreign policy through the years. obviously, mika, i know your father had the greatest respect for general powell, and as you said, first black secretary of state. he again, his reputation was burnished in the first iraq war,
man who was very protective of american national security values and equities. i think if you look at the powell doctrine, which if you re going to go into a military conflict, be sure you have an exit strategy. be sure that you know what you re trying to accomplish, what your objectives are, and how you re going to use the precise application of military force to achieve those objectives and how you re going to use all american aspects of power, including diplomatic power, including the moral power of the united states to further advance our interests and our values. i think if you look at that as well as the pottery barn rule, if you break it you buy it. if the united states is going to use our military power, we re going to own some of the consequences. i think those lasting legacies will hopefully inform generations of national security leaders because that s what colin powell left for the world as his legacy. i m so grateful to you, jeremy, for being with us today on that score,