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Colin Powell, the first African-American to serve as U.S. secretary of state, who was also a four-star U.S. Army general and also the first African-American to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died of complications from COVID-19 on Monday, CNN reported. He was 84.
Born in the Bronx, New York, he rose through the ranks of the U.S. military to shape U.S. foreign policy in the 1980s and 1990s, serving under several presidents, including Ronald Reagan,, Bill Clinton both George W. Bush and George W. Bushand led the efforts behind Operation Desert Storm during the 1991 Gulf War.
In a post on their Facebook page, Powell’s family said he had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. CNN reported that he suffered from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that weakens the body’s ability to fight infections.
“We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring attitude. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” the family said in a statement.
VIDEO: Colin Powell – Portrait of a Leader
defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was among the first on Monday morning to express grief over the loss of his longtime friend and mentor.
A humble beginning
The son of Jamaican immigrants, Colin Luther Powell was born on April 5, 1937, and grew up in a working-class neighborhood in the South Bronx. He attended City College in New York, where he specialized in geology. But his military career began when he joined the ROTC there and received an army commission as a second lieutenant when he graduated in 1958.
Years later in Vietnam, he served two shifts, first in 1962 as an adviser to the South Vietnamese army when he was wounded. He returned in 1968 as Assistant Chief of Staff of the 23rd Infantry Division. During this tour, he survived a helicopter crash and was credited with rescuing three comrades. Upon his return from Vietnam, he received a master’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University.
Powell, who became a four-star general, continued to become a national security adviser to President Reagan while still serving as a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army while serving on the National Security Council. But his star continued to rise, prompting President George W. Bush to elect him chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first African-American to do so.
CONNECTED: Retired General Colin Powell publicly supports Joe Biden at DNC 2020
But Powell is best known for his role in decision-making during the Gulf military operation, when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and US forces invaded Kuwait in an attempt to thwart Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein. Bush and then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney Powell ordered and General Norman Schwarzkopf to launch Operation Desert Storm by building a coalition of Britain, France, Italy, Syria and Italy to liberate Kuwait.
Looking back on this operation, Powell recalled the efforts that had to be made in an interview with the website of the Association of Military Officers MOAA.org
“In those first days after Iraq invaded Kuwait, we had to figure out what we could do. “It is reported that we have had debates in the administration,” he said. “It’s not unreasonable. My position was: Mr President, tell us what you are ready to do and we will show you how to do it.
However, Powell is also known for his roles in the decision to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan in the weeks following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He was elected US Secretary of State by President George W. Bush after winning the 2000 election. , again the first African-American elected to serve in that position and unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
After the attacks, the nation was in crisis, with many in Congress calling for retaliation. The Bush administration has risen to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Powell warned the president that building a democratic nation would be difficult, but he went to the United Nations in 2003, arguing for a new invasion of Iraq in search of “weapons of mass destruction.” Inspectors never found such weapons, but Congress authorized the use of military force in both Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003, which ultimately led to the longest war in America, which ended only this year.
Powell later regretted his involvement in what was seen as a reckless rush into a costly war for America. In his memoirs Work for me, life lessons and leadership, he said he did not realize at the time that much of the evidence for the alleged weapons was false.
“I’m mostly angry with myself for not feeling the problem,” Powell wrote. “My instincts let me down.”
After service life
After leaving the office, Powell devoted much of his energy to the speaker circuit and the leadership foundations of which he was a part. He and his wife, Alma, launched the America’s Promise program, which is dedicated to supporting and promoting leadership for young people in all walks of life. But his name has emerged as a possible presidential candidate since at least the 1990s.
He supported the campaign of His. John McCain in 2008 and was even mentioned as a potential candidate. However, later that year, Powell backed what was then Illinois Senator Barack Obama during an interview with NBC News’ Get acquainted with the press.
Although he served in the Republican administration and described himself as a “moderate” member of the Republican Party, he was highly critical of President Donald Trump, saying the party should “take control” and stand up to the former president. “Currently, Republican leaders and members of Congress – both the Senate and the House – are abstaining because they fear what will happen to each of them if he speaks,” he said. in an interview with CNN.
Powell survived his wife Alma; his son Michael, who was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005; and two daughters, Linda and Anemari.
He has twice been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as the Gold Medal of Congress, the President’s Citizens’ Medal, and the Secretary of State Medal for Excellence.
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