The planning to liberate Kuwait originated with Warden's group of air power advocates in the Air Staff. Warden and his team at Checkmate had reacted quickly to the task laid out by Generals Powell and Schwarzkopf, and had laid out a strategic and offense-oriented plan, that, while it underwent vigorous review and revision, put the initiative in coalition hands and resulted in the overwhelming victory of Desert Storm. Colin Powell stated, "His original concept remained at the heart of the Desert Storm Air Campaign"