Colin Powell in Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate, by Bob Woodward

On War & Peace: 1990: Encourage Iraqi to leave Kuwait to avoid US deaths

He hoped to demonstrate to the world and to his critics that he was determined to go the extra mile to achieve a peaceful resolution. He could not have a war without maximizing his effort to at least speak with the Iraqis. "So if he gets out without a war, that's okay?" Bush asked Powell.

"Yes, sir," Powell replied. That was the goal of both the US and the UN: Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. If there was no war, no US servicemen would be killed, Powell stated, speaking like a good military leader looking out for his troops. [But if Saddam withdrew] it would be politically and logistically impossible--and politically unsupportable in the US--to keep the troops there for an extended period. The president said plainly, "We have to have a war." His words hung in the air as heavily as any he had ever spoken.