For Immediate Release
April 21, 2004

Global Message

Secretary Powell on Iraq, from the Sean Hannity Show, 4/19/04

The fact of the matter is my responsibility to the President is to give him the best advice I can. And the first bit of advice I gave him was we should take this issue to the UN. The UN is the party that's offended. The whole world is offended by what Saddam Hussein has done, so take it to the UN.

The President, Mr. Cheney, Mr. Rumsfeld, and Condi Rice agreed, and the President took the Iraq issue to the UN. In September of 2002, he made his case to the world. And when he did that I knew that we had two roads ahead, and I'm not sure which one we would follow: Road one was that the UN was able to solve this. But I also knew that there was a second road, and if the UN didn't act, the President would act. And he would take it to war, if that's what it took, and ask like-minded nations to join us.

Unfortunately, the UN did not act in a timely manner. The President took that second road. I knew that it might happen, and I knew that when he took that second road, I'd be with him for the whole way. I don't quit on long patrols.

For the transcript of Secretary Powell's interview, please visit http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/31591.htm