Last April, in response to a question from a reporter, Powell claimed that the US did not have any plans for attacking Syria or Iran.
Source
"Despite serious concerns about weapons of mass destruction in Syria and Iran, the United States has no plans for further military action in the region, says Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Speaking to reporters at the Foreign Press Center in Washington April 15, Powell said: "We have concerns about Syria. We have let Syria know of our concerns. We also have concerns about some of the policies of Iran. We have made the Iranians fully aware of our concerns.
"But there is no list, there is no war plan right now to go attack someone else, either for the purpose of overthrowing their leadership or for the purpose of imposing democratic values," he said."
Low and behold, as we've all suspected, such plans not only do exist, but are being updated right now.
From Newsweek via MSNBC:
"Deep in the Pentagon, admirals and generals are updating plans for possible U.S. military action in Syria and Iran. The Defense Department unit responsible for military planning for the two troublesome countries is "busier than ever," an administration official says."
Now, there are still those who give Powell the benefit of the doubt. As in, maybe he's not enough 'in the loop' to know what the Pentagon is doing. I am not that generous.