In an interview with Oprah Winfrey on October 22, 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell said: “the U.S. government had sure knowledge that Saddam was ‘trying to acquire nuclear weapons’ and that only the threat of military force would capture his attention. ‘One thing you can be sure of: He isn’t going to disarm, he is not going to let the inspectors in, unless he is fearful of a conflict that would remove him from power. …If peace can be maintained while disarming Saddam Hussein and disarming the Iraqi regime, fine. But if it takes conflict, we must keep the prospect of conflict there or else he will not cooperate.’ ”
– Karen DeYoung, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell, Pages 412-413