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Colin Powell, RIP
Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State under George W. Bush, has died from complications of Covid-19. He was 84.
Family statement:
We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American.
We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment.
Powell had been previously diagnosed with multiple myeloma. May he rest in peace.
Published in Healthcare
I truly sorry he died.
Was he expected to live forever?
Covid hysteria.
He didn’t die from Covid so much as he died from cancer.
Had he run for President in 1996 against Bill Clinton, he would have likely won. World would be a much better place without a second Clinton term. And I know I would not have agreed with much of what Powell supported, but he would have been a much better President than Clinton. (Or Obama.)
I never understood the drawdown of Gulf War I which seemed to have occurred right on the verge of total victory. Was that Powell’s recommendation, or was it another Bush flub leading eventually to Gulf War II? I didn’t understand the initiation much of Gulf War I either, but I’m no statesman. I’m sure there are subtleties I don’t get.
And then Powell had the unenviable job of selling the WMD story to the world. Wow, our Intelligence Community has looked inept (corrupt) for a long time now!
It will be interesting to see if he gets a state funeral from a Democrat maladministration. In any case, RIP.
An honored man I deeply respected, though I sometimes disagreed with. He graduated from the same college I did, City College of NY. I didn’t realize he was that old, but I guess I’m losing sight of how the years are creeping up. His great legacy has to be his execution of the first gulf war. Completely flawless as far as I can tell. Eternal rest in peace for a good soldier, a good man, great general, and a good citizen of a great country.
Given what happened after the second gulf war, I think the draw down looks better and better. If we didn’t draw down we would have had to nation build, and I’ve lost complete confidence in that.
Why? Why would we have had to nation build? We could have “deposed” Saddam (multiple avenues) and left the Iraqis and their neighbors to figure it out.
Wait, Iran might have taken over? You mean, like it has now that we’ve expended all that blood and treasure?
I’m not advocating nation building. I’m not even convinced we should have gone in in the first place. We can’t settle every boundary dispute in the world. Heck, we can’t even maintain our own boundaries!
All I know is our military is really good at killing bad guys and breaking stuff — and our diplomatic corps is worse than useless at changing the character/culture of a people. Dummies.
I think in today’s world, that is not possible. Plus, yes the turmoil in the middle east would have been great and irresponsible.
I salute Sec. Powell for his long and honorable service to our country. I pray that the Lord will comfort his family and friends.
His service as Secretary of State was historic. I’m sometimes uncomfortable with the “first black man” or “first woman” narrative, because, I think, it detracts a bit from the achievement. On the other hand, I do feel some pride in these milestones, as I think that they are positive reminders of the enormous progress that our country has made in overcoming the legacy of unfair discrimination.
I think that it is fair to say that Sec. Powell, when he became Secretary of State, was the highest-ranking black man or women ever, in the history of our country. One might argue that Supreme Court Justice outranks Secretary of State, but I don’t think so. There had been many prior black cabinet members, but State is one of the two highest.
If I may venture a suggestion, I’m not sure that this thread is a good place to debate policy issues. I don’t want to stop anyone, and it is perfectly understandable that Sec. Powell’s death would lead to reflections on the wars, particularly in Iraq, in which he played such a prominent part. Perhaps a separate post would be a better forum, and we could keep this one largely confined to honoring his memory and his service.
Sorry to see he passed. Powell might well be remembered as the man who turned down the chance to become the first black President. He would have been significantly better than Obama . . .
My understanding of the drawdown is that Powell insisted on an international coalition before signing on to Gulf War I. His reason was that he didn’t want another Viet Nam situation or something. Said international coalition required that all we could do was push Iraq back out of Kuwait — no invasion, and thus no total victory, was allowed.
I always liked him. Didn’t always agree with him. But I think he was an honest broker. The late Mr She liked him too.
This discussion seems perfectly timed to coincide with Ricochet member @iWe’s post about the “perfect hero.” There’s no such thing.. And Powell certainly wasn’t one.
But on balance? And in light of current events? I’ll take Colin Powell over Thoroughly Modern Milley as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff any day of the week. And in comparison to Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State?
Not. Even. Close.
Thank you, Colin Powell, for your service. A grateful nation sends you–and your family–its prayers.
Served honorably. Awarded a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and the Soldier’s Medal. RIP.
I once was in an audience of about ten thousand attendees who heard a day-long group of speakers on leadership, and the one speaker I recall as most impresssive all these years later was Colin Powell. He was compelling and charismatic even at a distance of many hundreds of feet. I remember thinking if this man runs for office, he will win. Didn’t care for his later political stances, but his appeal was indelible. RIP
It was a total victory. We pulled out while maintaining a level of stability, unlike the second gulf war. In the second gulf war we left a power vacuum which we couldn’t maintain, or perhaps more precisely didn’t have the will to maintain at the cost of our blood. Heck, we didn’t have the will to maintain Afghanistan with minimal troops. The first gulf war was a perfection of modern warfare that has not been duplicated since. You have to go back to WWII for a better executed war and its aftermath. And there was plenty of nation building after WWII. We may still be technically nation building.
I think that President Bush made the right decision. His authorization from Congress (remember when Presidents recognized Congress’ sole Constitutional right to declare war?) was to restore the sovereignty of Kuwait, not to remove Saddam.
Rest in Peace.
Powell pushed for the Cease Fire. It is an irrefutable historical fact that his opinion alone pushed GHW Bush to stop the offensive. The temporary ceasefire that was repeatedly violated by the Iraqi regime until being resolved in the “second” Gulf War.
A clear victory in 1991 would have changed the history of the last 30 years. It was Powell’s blighted legacy.
Rest in Peace.
He had a great press agent.
It wasn’t a draw down but a Cease Fire that required the United State to maintain bases in the Gulf but especially in Saudi Arabia that provoked the Islamist Jihadis outrage on September 11, 2001. Powell was responsible for the Cease Fire when he couldn’t stomach the destruction of the Republican Guard and the need for a second Gulf War and nation building. A destroyed Baathist Regime in 1991 and the rapid removal of US troops from the region would have change the entire history of the last 30 years. Powell’s legacy as head of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State was unrelenting failure.
That decision was way above Powell’s pay grade at the time. Bush and the Saudi insisted on an international coalition to protect Islamic Sensibilities. The Vietnam War had Koreans, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, and assorted countries involved.
Actual Declaration of War doesn’t support your claim.
Continued:
RESOLUTION 660-AUGUST 2, 1990: Condemns Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and demands immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces.
RESOLUTION 661-AUGUST 6, 1990: Imposes trade embargo and financial sanctions against Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. (Medical supplies and humanitarian foodstuffs are exempt from the trade embargo.)
RESOLUTION 662-AUGUST 9, 1990: Declares Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait null and void and demands that Iraq rescind the annexation.
RESOLUTION 664-AUGUST 18, 1990: Demands that Iraq permit immediate safe departure of foreign nationals from Iraq and Kuwait. Demands rescindment of Iraq’s orders to withdraw diplomatic immunity and close diplomatic missions in Kuwait.
RESOLUTION 665-AUGUST 25, 1990: Calls upon states to enforce the trade embargo against Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait.
RESOLUTION 666-SEPTEMBER 14, 1990: Provides for humanitarian provision of any necessary food and medical supplies to Iraq and Kuwait.
RESOLUTION 667-SEPTEMBER 16, 1990: Demands that Iraq protect diplomatic personnel and premises and take no action that hinders the performance of their duties.
RESOLUTION 669-SEPTEMBER 24, 1990: Authorizes Sanctions Committee to examine requests for assistance from states confronted with special economic problems related to the sanctions.
RESOLUTION 670-SEPTEMBER 25, 1990: Requires states to cooperate with air embargo and to detain any ships that are being used to violate the sanctions. (Food and medical supplies being shipped for humanitarian reasons are exempt, but subject to authorization.)
RESOLUTION 674-OCTOBER 29, 1990: Reminds Iraq that it is liable under international law for any loss, damage, or injury arising in regard to Kuwait and third states and their nationals as a result of Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
RESOLUTION 677-NOVEMBER 28, 1990: Condemns Iraqi attempts to alter Kuwait’s demographic composition and destroy Kuwaiti civil records. Mandates steps to be taken by the U.N. to safeguard the demographic composition of Kuwait.
RESOLUTION 678-NOVEMBER 29, 1990: Authorizes member states to use all means necessary to uphold the above resolutions and restore international peace and security in the region, unless Iraq fully complies with the above resolutions on or before January 15, 1991.
As far as I can tell, the Baathist regime and Sadam Hussein had little impact on the Middle East after the gulf war. Hussein was concerned with survival and little else, as was discovered after we took him down in the second war. There were no WMDs and he was isolated with no allies.
The only “Obama Republican” who always comes to mind. I know there were others. But this was the guy.
RIP, and thank you for your service.
As I understand it, his wife exercised her veto. There was no legislature to attempt an override.
I think of Chris Christie.
Powell sold out on that one. Iran has been trying to build a nuclear bomb for 30 years with lots of evidence, yet somehow Iraq was going to turn a pile of metal tubes into a nuclear program. Ridiculous, but Powell had a *lot* of credibility. Shame on him. He should have stood up to Cheney and the other neo-cons.
He was the most famous person I ever met.
RIP
There were plenty of those. I don’t think that CC announced that he had voted for Obama, but I could be wrong.
That is not an accurate assessment. The Baathist regime corrupted the Food for Oil program and the United Nations to rearm, violated the terms of the Cease Fire repeatedly, engaged in supporting terrorist activities with planning, training, and funding, especially in Palestinian conflict. Syria was a surrogate depot for Iraqi weapons development and smuggling of weapons that violated the terms of the UN Sanctions and Cease Fire agreement.