Colin Powell

Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American Secretary of State. He served as the 15th United States National Security Advisor from 1987 to 1989 and as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.

Powell was born in New York City in 1937 to parents who had immigrated from Jamaica. He was raised in the South Bronx and educated in the New York City public schools, receiving a bachelor's degree in geology from the City College of New York (CCNY). He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. He was a professional soldier for 35 years, during which time he held many command and staff positions and rose to the rank of four-star general. He was Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command in 1989.

Powell's last military assignment, from October 1989 to September 1993, was as Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, the highest military position in the United States Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War against Iraq in 1990–1991. He formulated the Powell Doctrine, which limits American military action unless it satisfies criteria regarding American national security interests, overwhelming force, and widespread public support. He served as Secretary of State under Republican president George W. Bush. As Secretary of State, Powell gave a speech before the United Nations regarding the rationale for the Iraq War, but he later admitted that the speech contained substantial inaccuracies. He was forced to resign after Bush was reelected in 2004.

In 1995, Powell wrote his autobiography, ''My American Journey'', and then in retirement another book, ''It Worked for Me, Lessons in Life and Leadership'' (2012). He pursued a career as a public speaker, addressing audiences across the country and abroad. Before his appointment as Secretary of State, he chaired America's Promise. In the 2016 United States presidential election, Powell, who was not a candidate, received three electoral votes from Washington for the office of President of the United States. He won numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and decorations. His civilian awards included the Presidential Medal of Freedom (twice), the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award. Powell died from complications of COVID-19 in October 2021, while being treated for a form of blood cancer that affected his immune system.

Early life

Colin Luther Powell was born on April 5, 1937, in Harlem, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, to Jamaican immigrants, Maud Ariel (née McKoy) and Luther Theophilus Powell. His parents were both of mixed African and Scottish ancestry. Luther worked as a shipping clerk and Maud as a seamstress. Powell was raised in the South Bronx and attended the now closed Morris High School, from which he graduated in 1954.

While at school, Powell worked at a local baby furniture store, where he picked up Yiddish from the Eastern European Jewish shopkeepers and some of the customers. He once spoke to a Jewish reporter in Yiddish, much to the man's surprise. He also served as a Shabbos goy, helping Orthodox families with needed tasks on the Sabbath. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from the City College of New York in 1958 and said that he was a "C average" student. Powell also graduated from George Washington University with an MBA in 1971 and an Honorary Doctor of Public Service in 1990.

Despite his parents' pronunciation of his name as (), Powell pronounced his name () from childhood on after the World War II flyer Colin P. Kelly Jr.

Military career

Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, holding a variety of command and staff positions and rising to the rank of general.

Training

While attending the City College of New York, Powell joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). He described the experience as one of the happiest experiences of his life. According to Powell:

As a cadet, Powell joined the Pershing Rifles, the ROTC fraternal organization and drill team begun by General John Pershing.

Early career

Upon graduation, he received a commission as an Army second lieutenant; at this time, the Army was newly desegregated (see: Executive Order 9981). He underwent training in the state of Georgia, where he was refused service in bars and restaurants because of the color of his skin. After attending basic training at Fort Benning, Powell was assigned to the 48th Infantry, in West Germany, as a platoon leader. From 1960 to 1962, he served as group liaison liaison officer, company executive officer, and commander of Company A, 1st Battle Group, 4th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Vietnam War

Captain Powell served a tour in Vietnam as a South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) advisor from 1962 to 1963. While on patrol in a Viet Cong-held area, he was wounded by stepping on a punji stake. The large infection made it difficult for him to walk, and caused his foot to swell for a short time, shortening his first tour.

Powell returned to Vietnam as a major in 1968, serving as assistant chief of staff of operations for the 23rd (Americal) Infantry Division. During the second tour in Vietnam he was decorated with the Soldier's Medal for bravery after he survived a helicopter crash and single-handedly rescued three others, including division commander Major General Charles M. Gettys, from the burning wreckage.

Mỹ Lai massacre inquiry

Powell was charged with investigating a detailed letter by 11th Light Infantry Brigade soldier Tom Glen, which backed up rumored allegations of the 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre. Powell wrote: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Later, Powell's assessment would be described as whitewashing the news of the massacre, and questions would continue to remain undisclosed to the public. In May 2004, Powell said to television and radio host Larry King, "I was in a unit that was responsible for My Lai. I got there after My Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored."

After the Vietnam War

When he returned to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1971, Powell earned a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He later served a White House Fellowship under President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1973. During 1975–1976 he attended the National War College, Washington, D.C.

In his autobiography, ''My American Journey'', Powell named several officers he served under who inspired and mentored him. As a lieutenant colonel commanding 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry in South Korea, Powell was very close to his division commander, Major General Henry "Gunfighter" Emerson, whom he regarded as one of the most caring officers he ever met. Emerson insisted his troops train at night to fight a possible North Korean attack, and made them repeatedly watch the television film '' Brian's Song'' to promote racial harmony. Powell always professed that what set Emerson apart was his great love of his soldiers and concern for their welfare. After a race riot occurred, in which African-American soldiers almost killed a white officer, Powell was charged by Emerson to crack down on black militants; Powell's efforts led to the discharge of one soldier, and other efforts to reduce racial tensions. During 1976–1977 he commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division.

Powell subsequently served as the junior military assistant to deputy secretaries of defense Charles Duncan and Graham Claytor, receiving a promotion to brigadier general on June 1, 1979. At the ceremony, he received from Secretary Harold Brown's protocol officer, Stuart Purviance a framed quotation by President Abraham Lincoln. The quote was "I can make a brigadier general in five minutes. But it's not so easy to replace one hundred ten horses." Taped to the back of the frame was an envelope with instructions that it not be opened for ten years. When Powell opened the note in 1989, after he had become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he read Purviance's prediction that Powell would become Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Powell wrote that he kept the Lincoln quote as a reminder to remain humble despite his rank and position.

National Security Advisor and other advisory roles

Powell retained his role as the now-senior military assistant into the presidency of Ronald Reagan, serving under Claytor's successor as deputy secretary of defense, Frank Carlucci. Powell and Carlucci formed a close friendship, referring to each by first names in private, as Powell refused any sort of first-name basis in an official capacity. It was on Powell's advice that newly-elected President Ronald Reagan presented Roy Benavidez the Medal of Honor; Benavidez had received the Distinguished Service Cross, which his commander argued should be upgraded, but army officials believed there was no living eyewitness to testify to Benavidez's heroism. A soldier who had been present during the action in question learned in July 1980 of the effort to upgrade Benavidez's medal and provided the necessary sworn statement; the upgrade to the Medal of Honor was approved in December 1980. Powell also declined an offer from Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh Jr. to be his under secretary due to his reluctance to assume a political appointment; James R. Ambrose was selected instead. Intent on attaining a division command, Powell petitioned Carlucci and Army chief of staff Edward C. Meyer for reassignment away from the Pentagon, with Meyer appointing Powell as assistant division commander for operations and training of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado under Major General John W. Hudachek.

After he left Fort Carson, Powell became senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, whom he assisted during the 1983 invasion of Grenada and the 1986 airstrike on Libya. Under Weinberger, Powell was also involved in the unlawful transfer of U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missiles and Hawk anti-aircraft missiles from Israel to Iran as part of the criminal conspiracy that would later become known as the Iran–Contra affair. In November 1985, Powell solicited and delivered to Weinberger a legal assessment that the transfer of Hawk missiles to Israel or Iran, without Congressional notification, would be "a clear violation" of the law. Despite this, thousands of TOW missiles and hundreds of Hawk missiles and spare parts were transferred from Israel to Iran until the venture was exposed in a Lebanese magazine, '' Ash-Shiraa'', in November 1986. According to Iran-Contra Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, when questioned by Congress, Powell "had given incomplete answers" concerning notes withheld by Weinberger and that the activities of Powell and others in concealing the notes "seemed corrupt enough to meet the new, poorly defined test of obstruction." Following his resignation as Secretary of Defense, Weinberger was indicted on five felony charges, including one count Obstruction of Congress for concealing the notes. Powell was never indicted by the Independent Counsel in connection with the Iran-Contra affair.

In 1986, Powell took over the command of V Corps in Frankfurt, Germany, from Robert Lewis "Sam" Wetzel. The next year, he served as United States Deputy National Security Advisor, under Frank Carlucci.

Following the Iran–Contra scandal, Powell became, at the age of 49, Ronald Reagan's National Security Advisor, serving from 1987 to 1989 while retaining his Army commission as a lieutenant general. He helped negotiate a number of arms treaties with Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union.

In April 1989, after his tenure with the National Security Council, Powell was promoted to four-star general under President George H. W. Bush and briefly served as the Commander in Chief, Forces Command (FORSCOM), headquartered at Fort McPherson, Georgia, overseeing all Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard units in the Continental U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. He became the third general since World War II to reach four-star rank without ever serving as a division commander, joining Dwight D. Eisenhower and Alexander Haig.

Later that year, President George H. W. Bush selected him as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Powell's last military assignment, from October 1, 1989, to September 30, 1993, was as the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. At age 52, he became the youngest officer, and first Afro-Caribbean American, to serve in this position. Powell was also the first JCS chair who received his commission through ROTC.

During this time, Powell oversaw responses to 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 to remove General Manuel Noriega from power and Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. During these events, Powell earned the nickname "the reluctant warrior"—although Powell himself disputed this label, and spoke in favor of the first Bush administration's Gulf War policies.

As a military strategist, Powell advocated an approach to military conflicts that maximizes the potential for success and minimizes casualties. A component of this approach is the use of overwhelming force, which he applied to Operation Desert Storm in 1991. His approach has been dubbed the Powell Doctrine. Powell continued as chairman of the JCS into the Clinton presidency. However, as a realist, he considered himself a bad fit for an administration largely made up of liberal internationalists. He clashed with then-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright over the Bosnian crisis, as he opposed any military intervention that did not involve U.S. interests.

Powell also regularly clashed with Secretary of Defense Leslie Aspin, whom he was initially hesitant to support after Aspin was nominated by President Clinton. During a lunch meeting between Powell and Aspin in preparation of Operation Gothic Serpent, Aspin was more focused on eating salad instead of listening and paying attention to Powell's presentation on military operations. The incident caused Powell to grow more irritated towards Aspin and led to his early resignation on September 30, 1993. Powell was succeeded temporarily by Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral David E. Jeremiah, who took the position as Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Soon after Powell's resignation, on October 3–4, 1993, the Battle of Mogadishu, the aim of which was to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, was initiated and ended in disaster. Powell later defended Aspin, saying in part that he could not fault Aspin for Aspin's decision to remove a Lockheed AC-130 from the list of armaments requested for the operation.

Powell took an early resignation from his tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on September 30, 1993. During his chairmanship of the JCS, there was discussion of awarding Powell a fifth star, granting him the rank of General of the Army. But even in the wake of public and Congressional pressure to do so, Clinton-Gore presidential transition team staffers decided against it.

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Badges

File:Combat Infantry Badge.svg, Combat Infantryman Badge
File:Expert Infantry Badge.svg, Expert Infantryman Badge
File:Ranger Tab.svg, Ranger Tab
File:US Army Airborne basic parachutist badge.gif, Parachutist Badge
File:Pathfinder.gif, Pathfinder Badge
File:AirAssault.svg, Air Assault Badge
File:US - Presidential Service Badge.png, Presidential Service Badge
File:Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge.png, Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
File:Joint Chiefs of Staff seal.svg, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
File:United States Army Staff Identification Badge.png, Army Staff Identification Badge

Medals and ribbons

Foreign decorations

Potential presidential candidate

Powell's experience in military matters made him a very popular figure with both American political parties. Many Democrats admired his moderate stance on military matters, while many Republicans saw him as a great asset associated with the successes of past Republican administrations. Put forth as a potential Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 1992 U.S. presidential election or even potentially replacing Vice President Dan Quayle as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Powell eventually declared himself a Republican and began to campaign for Republican candidates in 1995. He was touted as a possible opponent of Bill Clinton in the 1996 U.S. presidential election, possibly capitalizing on a split conservative vote in Iowa and even leading New Hampshire polls for the GOP nomination, but Powell declined, citing a lack of passion for politics. Powell defeated Clinton 50–38 in a hypothetical match-up proposed to voters in the exit polls conducted on Election Day. Despite not standing in the race, Powell won the Republican New Hampshire Vice-Presidential primary on write-in votes.

In 1997, Powell founded America's Promise with the objective of helping children from all socioeconomic sectors. That same year saw the establishment of The Colin L. Powell Center for Leadership and Service. The mission of the center is to "prepare new generations of publicly engaged leaders from populations previously underrepresented in public service and policy circles, to build a strong culture of civic engagement at City College, and to mobilize campus resources to meet pressing community needs and serve the public good."

Powell was mentioned as a potential candidate in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, but again decided against running. Once Texas Governor George W. Bush secured the Republican nomination, Powell endorsed him for president and spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Bush won the general election and appointed Powell as secretary of state in 2001.

In the electoral college vote count of 2016, Powell received three votes for president from faithless electors from Washington.

Secretary of State (2001–2005)

President-elect George W. Bush named Powell as his nominee to be secretary of state in a ceremony at his ranch in Crawford, Texas on December 16, 2000. This made Powell the first person to formally accept a Cabinet post in the Bush administration, as well the first black United States secretary of state. As secretary of state, Powell was perceived as moderate. Powell was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote on January 20, 2001, and ceremonially sworn in on January 26. Over the course of his tenure he traveled less than any other U.S. Secretary of State in thirty years. This is partly attributed to a letter from former diplomat George F. Kennan, who advised Powell to focus on his duties as the president's principal foreign policy advisor and avoid trips that risked undercutting the duties of the ambassadors.

On September 11, 2001, Powell was in Lima, Peru, meeting with President Alejandro Toledo and attending a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of American States. After the September 11 attacks, Powell's job became of critical importance in managing the United States of America's relationships with foreign countries in order to secure a stable coalition in the War on Terrorism.

2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq

Powell came under fire for his role in building the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A 2004 report by the Iraq Survey Group concluded that the evidence that Powell offered to support the allegation that the Iraqi government possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) was inaccurate.

In a press statement on February 24, 2001, Powell had said that sanctions against Iraq had prevented the development of any weapons of mass destruction by Saddam Hussein. Powell favored involving the international community in the invasion, as opposed to a unilateral approach.

Powell's chief role was to garner international support for a multi-national coalition to mount the invasion. To this end, Powell addressed a plenary session of the United Nations Security Council on February 5, 2003, to argue in favor of military action. Citing numerous anonymous Iraqi defectors, Powell asserted that "there can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more." Powell also stated that there was "no doubt in my mind" that Saddam was working to obtain key components to produce nuclear weapons. Powell stated that he gave his speech to the UN on "four days' notice".

Britain's '' Channel 4 News'' reported soon afterwards that a British intelligence dossier that Powell had referred to as a "fine paper" during his presentation had been based on old material and plagiarized an essay by American graduate student Ibrahim al-Marashi.

A Senate report on intelligence failures would later detail the intense debate that went on behind the scenes on what to include in Powell's speech. State Department analysts had found dozens of factual problems in drafts of the speech. Some of the claims were taken out, but others were left in, such as claims based on the yellowcake forgery. The administration came under fire for having acted on faulty intelligence, particularly that which was single-sourced to the informant known as Curveball. Powell later recounted how Vice President Dick Cheney had joked with him before he gave the speech, telling him, "You've got high poll ratings; you can afford to lose a few points." Powell's longtime aide-de-camp and Chief of Staff from 1989 to 2003, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, later characterized Cheney's view of Powell's mission as to "go up there and sell it, and we'll have moved forward a peg or two. Fall on your damn sword and kill yourself, and I'll be happy, too."

In September 2005, Powell was asked about the speech during an interview with Barbara Walters and responded that it was a "blot" on his record. He went on to say, "It will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now."

Wilkerson later said that he inadvertently participated in a hoax on the American people in preparing Powell's erroneous testimony before the United Nations Security Council.

As recounted in ''Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell'', in 2001 before 9/11, Richard A. Clarke, a National Security Council holdover from the Clinton administration, pushed the new Bush administration for action against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a move opposed by Paul Wolfowitz who advocated for the creation of a "U.S.-protected, opposition-run 'liberated' enclave around the southern Iraqi city of Basra". Powell referred to Wolfowitz and other top members of Donald Rumsfeld's staff "as the 'JINSA crowd,' " in reference to the pro-Israel Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Again invoking "the JINSA crowd" Powell also attributed the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 to the neoconservative belief that regime change in Baghdad "was a first and necessary stop on the road to peace in Jerusalem."

A review of ''Soldier'' by Tim Rutten criticized Powell's remarks as a "blot on his record", accusing Powell of slandering "neoconservatives in the Defense Department -- nearly all of them Jews" with "old and wholly unmeritorious allegations of dual loyalty". A 2007 article about fears that Jewish groups "will be accused of driving America into a war with the regime in Tehran" cited the DeYoung biography and quoted JINSA's then-executive director, Thomas Neumann, as "surprised" Powell "would single out a Jewish group when naming those who supported the war." Neumann said, "I am not accusing Powell of anything, but these are words that the antisemites will use in the future".

Once Saddam Hussein had been deposed, Powell's renewed role was to once again establish a working international coalition, this time to assist in the rebuilding of post-war Iraq. On September 13, 2004, Powell testified before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, acknowledging that the sources who provided much of the information in his February 2003 UN presentation were "wrong" and that it was "unlikely" that any stockpiles of WMDs would be found. Claiming that he was unaware that some intelligence officials questioned the information prior to his presentation, Powell pushed for reform in the intelligence community, including the creation of a national intelligence director who would assure that "what one person knew, everyone else knew".

Other foreign policy issues

Additionally, Powell was critical of other aspects of U.S. foreign policy in the past, such as its support for the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. From two separate interviews in 2003, Powell stated in one about the 1973 event "I can't justify or explain the actions and decisions that were made at that time. It was a different time. There was a great deal of concern about communism in this part of the world. Communism was a threat to the democracies in this part of the world. It was a threat to the United States." In another interview, however, he also simply stated, "With respect to your earlier comment about Chile in the 1970s and what happened with Mr. Allende, it is not a part of American history that we're proud of."

In September 2004, Powell described the Darfur genocide as "genocide", thus becoming the first cabinet member to apply the term "genocide" to events in an ongoing conflict.

In November the president "forced Powell to resign", according to Walter LaFeber. Powell announced his resignation as Secretary of State on November 15, 2004, shortly after Bush was reelected. Bush's desire for Powell to resign was communicated to Powell via a phone call by Bush's chief of staff, Andrew Card. The following day, Bush nominated National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice as Powell's successor.

In mid-November, Powell stated that he had seen new evidence suggesting that Iran was adapting missiles for a nuclear delivery system. The accusation came at the same time as the settlement of an agreement between Iran, the IAEA, and the European Union.

Although biographer Jeffrey J. Matthews is highly critical of how Powell misled the United Nations Security Council regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he credits Powell with a series of achievements at the State Department. These include restoration of morale to a psychologically demoralized professional diplomats, leadership of the international HIV/AIDS initiative, resolving a crisis with China, and blocking efforts to tie Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Life after diplomatic service

After retiring from the role of Secretary of State, Powell returned to private life. In April 2005, he was privately telephoned by Republican senators Lincoln Chafee and Chuck Hagel

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