Mon 18 October 2021:
Colin Powell, a US combat hero and the first Black secretary of state, died of complications with Covid-19. Powell’s legacy was tarnished when he made the case for war in Iraq in 2003. He was 84 years old when he died.
The family released a message on social media on Monday, saying, “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather, and a great American.”
He was so widely respected after the 1991 Gulf War that he was tipped to be the next president of the United States, but he never ran for the office.
Powell’s death also brought back memories of a bleak period in his otherwise distinguished career.
Powell’s influence in creating US diplomacy was eventually tarnished by his support for the Iraq War, which began in 2003, after four decades of public service as America’s top soldier, diplomat, and national security advisor. Powell said that his backing for action in Iraq troubled him after America’s participation into long wars in the Middle East.
“It’s a blot… and will always be a part of my record. It was painful. It’s painful now,” Powell said in a 2005 interview with ABC news.
Powell completed two tours of duty in Vietnam — in 1962-63 as one of John F Kennedy’s thousands of military advisors, and again in 1968-69 to investigate the My Lai massacre.
He married his wife Alma in 1962. They had three children: Michael, Linda and Annemarie.
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