The Powell Doctrine, a journalist-created term, was named after the former U.S. Secretary of State General Colin Powell. It was the military experience of the American Statesman that contributed to its formation. The doctrine advocates that American troops should only be sent to conflict areas when the national interests of the United States are clearly involved. In other words, when considering sending troops overseas, the U.S. should exercise caution.

"Powell Doctrine" can be traced back to Powell's former superior and former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. The doctrine embodies the eagerness of the U.S. military's strategic decision-makers to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future. After the defeat of the Vietnam War, this doctrine prevailed among U.S. military decision-makers. When planning to send troops overseas, the United States must formulate a "retreat strategy" to avoid falling into a similar situation as in the Vietnam War.

Powell Doctrine advocates that it is not appropriate for the U.S. to carry out excessive interventions and that it should think twice before acting. It proposes that a country should only resort to military power when it has exhausted all political, economic, and diplomatic means. Military intervention should utilize absolute superiority as the guarantee of victory, and use all resources and tools to force the weaker troops to surrender, so as to minimize casualties and quickly end the conflict.

Powell has recently died of COVID-19 complications at the age of 84, at the critical moment of his life. I have reasons to guess that Powell's death may have something to do with the mess within the U.S. military. Although he was very old and we do not exactly know the condition of his underlying diseases, it is estimated that this would not be the case if there were attempts to save or protect him. Therefore, it may be that not much of attention was placed on him, as Powell’s point of view was somewhat awkward. The Democrats thought he was a Republican, while the Republicans thought his position was that of the Democratic Party.

Regardless how one evaluates Powell, one has to admit that the time when he was in power, it was the best time for U.S.-China relations.