Colin Powell meets P J O'Rourke.

And what a fascinating interview ensues.

I would like to see the whole world have an economy as strong as ours. That would benefit us. But it isn't going to happen anytime soon.

...


A story I tell a lot — I think it's in my book — that same Russian counterpart was here — Moiseyev. I took him to the missile fields and he was not the least bit interested. "We have those." "Well, look at my new tank." "We have those." "You want to see how we build a submarine?" "We have one of those." We ended up having a potato peeling contest on the submarine because he didn't want to see the nuclear reactor. There's pictures in the book. He beat me.

...

There's a thinking, breathing enemy out there and he's not subject to our policy whims. You have to respond to how he responds. Therefore, you are always modifying policy, changing policy, discarding that which doesn't work and looking for something that does work. Why this should shock and surprise people, I don't know. But it does.

...

I was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "I'll give you a Volvo on a rope."

Yes, he really said that.

I think I may use this terminology in the future:

There's no longer just the United States versus the Soviet Union, but the whole West and international community against [here the Secretary gave a diplomatic, and apt, name to what opposes the West] the whole whatever-you-want-to-call-it.

Nice one.