new career in the us armed forces. he was general powell, former chairman of thejoint he was general powell, former chairman of the joint chiefs to be sworn in as our nation's top diplomat. after that, he was mister secretary. he gave the state department the very best of his leadership, his experience, his patriotism. he gave us his decency and the state department loved him for it. one of the things colin powell was known for was the so—called powell doctrine. that america should only go to war if a number of tests were met — among them. is a vital national security interest threatened? is there a plausible exit strategy? and does the united states have genuine broad international support? thomas fingar is a lecturer at stanford university. he worked with colin powell at the state department between 2001 and 2005. the doctrine was when he was joint chief of staff, chairman of the