Colin Powell's chief of staff speaks at Konover

Colin Powell's former chief of staff, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, spoke to UConn students and faculty Wednesday about his experiences in government service and the challenges facing our country, economically and militarily.

The event took place in the Konover Auditorium at the Thomas J. Dodd Center. The speech revolved around the national security challenges faced by the Obama administration and future national security teams. It also delved into much more, including Wilkerson's personal experiences with national security, Colin Powell and the Bush Administration.

Wilkerson was Colin Powell's chief of staff from 2002 to 2005, when Powell was the Secretary of State. During this time, he said he saw the U.S. go to war based on faulty information, and played a key part in Powell's presentation to the U.N. Security Council on weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq.

The event was sponsored by the International Relations Association (IRA), and attracted more students to the Dodd Center than could be seated. Not only was every seat occupied, but students kept flocking in and crowded into the auditorium, standing in the back and both side isles as well.

"It is extremely important that we hear from those responsible for the most important decisions of our times," said Stephen Dyson, assistant professor of political science, and the advisor for UConn's IRA. "The first-hand knowledge Colonel Wilkerson has of how the key decisions were made on issues like Iraq, treatment of detainees, and the war on terror is invaluable to all who study politics."

Wilkerson started his speech with the question; "How could this happen?" he asked. How could the country be in such a gross situation, economically and militarily? He then gave an intriguing history lesson going back to America's mentality post-World War II, comparing the country at the time to the Roman Empire, with its newly-acquired awesome power.

He talked about the military's rapid expansion negatively impacting the image of the U.S. in the eyes of other countries, once again comparing us to the "Warrior" image once held by Roman soldiers.

Wilkerson asked the young audience to "awaken to the crisis," which he said was not because of AIG or Wall Street, but because of the country's inability to balance a National Security State and a Welfare State efficiently.

"We failed at being both," he said. "Your empire is on its margins frittering itself away."

The auditorium remained silent, almost awestruck, for the 45 minute speech, which was followed by a 45 minute question and answer session. All throughout, Wilkerson was sincere, brutally honest, and incredibly charismatic, never once approaching the microphone.

Wilkerson answered 15 thought-provoking questions, covering everything from his involvement and knowledge - or lack thereof - relating to the faulty reports presented to the United Nations to his expert opinion on how the country can recover from its current deflated state.

"I liked the Q and A, and how we got to get answers from someone so high up about important decisions and how they are made, said a 2nd-semester accounting major Alex Bass.

Wilkerson ended his speech with an old Chinese adage; may you live in interesting times. "You live in interesting times."

When asked what he wanted UConn students to walk away with from his speech, Wilkerson said, "The world belongs to you. We messed it up bad enough. It's up to you to fix it."