Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with President Bush after a meeting in the Oval Office on January 13, 2003. “As Powell remembered the conversation, Bush said, ‘ *I really think I’m going to have to take this guy [Saddam] out.* And I said, ‘Okay, we’ll continue to see if we can find a diplomatic way out of this. But do you realize what you’re getting into? You realize the consequence of this?* He said, *Yes, I do.* ‘ ”
– Karen DeYoung, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell, Page 429