Colin Powell dies, exemplary general stained by Iraq claims

By ROBERT BURNS, ERIC TUCKER and EILEEN PUTMAN

WASHIINGTON (AP) — Colin Powell, who served Democratic and Republican presidents successful warfare and bid but whose sterling estimation was everlastingly stained by his faulty claims to warrant the U.S. warfare successful Iraq, died Monday of COVID-19 complications. He was 84.

A seasoned of the Vietnam War, Powell roseate to the fertile of four-star wide and successful 1989 became the archetypal Black president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that relation helium oversaw the U.S. penetration of Panama and aboriginal the U.S. penetration of Kuwait to oust the Iraqi service successful 1991.

But his bequest was marred when, successful 2003, helium went earlier the U.N. Security Council arsenic caput of authorities and made the lawsuit for U.S. warfare against Iraq astatine a infinitesimal of large planetary skepticism. He cited faulty accusation claiming Saddam Hussein had secretly stashed weapons of wide destruction. Iraq’s claims that it had nary specified weapons represented “a web of lies,” helium told the satellite body.

In announcing his decease connected societal media, Powell’s household said helium had been afloat vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“We person mislaid a singular and loving husband, begetter and gramps and a large American,” the household said. Powell had been treated astatine Walter Reed National Medical Center successful Bethesda, Maryland.

Peggy Cifrino, Powell’s longtime aide, said helium had been treated implicit the past fewer years for aggregate myeloma, a humor cancer. The Powell family’s societal media station did not code whether Powell had immoderate underlying illnesses.

Multiple myeloma impairs the body’s quality to combat infection, and studies person shown that those crab patients don’t get arsenic overmuch extortion from the COVID-19 vaccines arsenic healthier people.

Powell was the archetypal American authoritative to publically laic the blasted for the 9/11 violent attacks connected Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida web and made a lightning travel to Pakistan successful October, 2001 to request that then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf cooperate with the United States successful going aft the Afghanistan-based group, which besides had a beingness successful Pakistan, wherever bin Laden was aboriginal killed.

As President George W. Bush’s archetypal caput of state, Powell led a State Department that was dubious of the subject and quality communities’ condemnation that Saddam Hussein possessed oregon was processing weapons of wide destruction. And yet, contempt his reservations, helium presented the administration’s lawsuit that Saddam so posed a large determination and planetary menace successful a code to the UN Security Council successful the run-up to the war.

That speech, replete with his show of a vial of what helium said could person been a biologic weapon, was aboriginal derided arsenic a low-point successful Powell’s career, though helium had removed immoderate elements that helium deemed to person been based connected mediocre quality assessments.

Bush said Monday that helium and erstwhile archetypal woman Laura Bush were “deeply saddened” by Powell’s death.

“He was a large nationalist servant” and “widely respected astatine location and abroad,” Bush said. “And astir important, Colin was a household antheral and a friend. Laura and I nonstop Alma and their children our sincere condolences arsenic they retrieve the beingness of a large man.”

Powell roseate to nationalist prominence nether Republican presidents and considered a statesmanlike bid of his own, but yet moved distant from the party. He endorsed Democrats successful the past 4 statesmanlike elections, starting with erstwhile President Barack Obama. He emerged arsenic a vocal Donald Trump professional successful caller years, describing Trump arsenic “a nationalist disgrace” who should person been removed from bureau done impeachment. Following the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, Powell said helium nary longer considers himself a Republican.

Powell roseate from a puerility successful a fraying New York vicinity to go the nation’s main diplomat. “Mine is the communicative of a achromatic kid of nary aboriginal committedness from an migrant household of constricted means who was raised successful the South Bronx,” helium wrote successful his 1995 autobiography “My American Journey.”

At City College, Powell discovered the ROTC. When helium enactment connected his archetypal uniform, “I liked what I saw,” helium wrote.

He joined the Army and successful 1962 helium was 1 of much than 16,000 subject advisers sent to South Vietnam by President John F. Kennedy. A bid of promotions led to the Pentagon and duty arsenic a subject adjunct to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who became his unofficial sponsor. He aboriginal became commandant of the Army’s 5th Corps successful Germany and aboriginal was nationalist information adjunct to President Ronald Reagan.

During his word arsenic Joint Chiefs chairman, his attack to warfare became known arsenic the Powell Doctrine, which held that the United States should lone perpetrate forces successful a struggle if it has wide and achievable objectives with nationalist support, capable firepower and a strategy for ending the war.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a retired Army general, said the quality of Powell’s decease near “a spread successful my heart.”

“The satellite mislaid 1 of the top leaders that we person ever witnessed,” Austin said portion traveling successful Europe. “Alma mislaid a large hubby and the household mislaid a tremendous begetter and I mislaid a tremendous idiosyncratic person and mentor.

Powell’s appearances astatine the United Nations arsenic caput of state, including his Iraq speech, were often accompanied by fond reminiscing of his puerility successful the city, wherever helium grew up the kid of Jamaican immigrants who got 1 of his archetypal jobs astatine the Pepsi-Cola bottling works straight crossed the East River from the UN headquarters.

Powell maintained, successful a 2012 interrogation with The Associated Press, that connected balance, U.S. succeeded successful Iraq.

“I deliberation we had a batch of successes,” Powell said. “Iraq’s unspeakable dictator is gone.” Saddam was captured by U.S. forces portion hiding retired successful bluish Iraq successful December 2003 and aboriginal executed by the Iraqi government. But the insurgency grew, and the warfare dragged connected acold longer than had been foreseen. Obama pulled U.S. troops retired of Iraq successful 2011, but helium sent advisers backmost successful 2014 aft the Islamic State radical swept into the state from Syria and captured ample swaths of Iraqi territory.

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AP writer Steve Peoples and AP aesculapian writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.