Colin Powell, senior US soldier and diplomat, dies of complications from COVID-19

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Reuters) – Colin Powell, the first black U.S. secretary of state, senior military officer and national security adviser, died Monday at the age of 84 from complications from COVID -19. He was fully vaccinated, his family said.

Powell had multiple myeloma, cancer of the blood in remission, and early stage Parkinson’s disease, said a close friend who asked not to be named. Blood cancer reduces the body’s ability to fight infection and puts people at a higher risk of getting a serious case of the virus.

Powell served three Republican presidents in senior positions and rose to the leadership of the U.S. military as it regained its vigor from the trauma of the Vietnam War, where he toured twice as an officer of the ‘army.

“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and great American,” his family said, thanking staff at the military hospital near Washington who treated Powell but providing few details about his condition. sickness.

He was the highest ranking officer in the US military when US-led forces drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in 1991 and the head of US diplomacy in 2003 when Washington relied on flawed intelligence on the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify its invasion of Iraq.

The son of Jamaican immigrants who rose to the top of the national security establishment, Powell himself admitted that his presentation of this false US intelligence would mar his record.

In a brief statement on Facebook, the Powell family said he died Monday morning from COVID-19, had been fully vaccinated against the disease and thanked medical staff at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center who had him. cared for.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said hospitalizations and deaths are “extremely rare” among fully vaccinated people and said Powell’s death underscored the underlying health problems and d other diseases can lead to an increased risk of viruses.

“He had two very serious underlying conditions. And unfortunately, (the vaccination) didn’t work. God loves him, ”President Joe Biden told reporters at a White House education event. He again pleaded with all Americans to get vaccinated.

Biden praised Powell in a statement.

“Colin embodied the highest ideals of warrior and diplomat,” Biden, describing Powell as a “patriot of unparalleled honor and dignity” and a man who “could drive his Corvette Stingray like nobody’s business” .

Former President George W. Bush, a Republican who appointed Powell US secretary of state, noted that “many presidents have relied on the advice and experience of General Powell.”

“He was such a favorite of presidents that he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom – twice,” said Bush, referring to a medal considered the US government’s highest civilian honor.

IRAQ WARS

Powell was the United States National Security Advisor under Republican President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989. As a four-star general in the Army, he served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Republican President George HW Bush during the 1991 Gulf War in which the United States led forces expelled Iraqi troops from neighboring Kuwait.

The New York native considered running for president in 1996, but his wife Alma’s concerns about his safety helped him decide otherwise. In 2008, he broke with his party to support Democrat Barack Obama, who became the first black person elected to the White House.

Illustrating his deep concerns about how the Republican Party will go as it moved to the right, Powell backed Democrats Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and Biden last year against Donald Trump. Powell called Trump a liar who posed a danger to the United States.

Biden, who described his 2020 presidential bid against Trump as a fight for the soul of the United States, thanked Powell for pushing back his Republican Party to support him.

“I am eternally grateful for his support for my candidacy for the presidency and for our common fight for the soul of the nation,” Biden said.

Powell will be forever associated with his controversial February 5, 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council, arguing to Bush that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein posed imminent danger to the world due to the stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in the United States. country.

He later admitted that the presentation was riddled with inaccuracies and twisted information provided by other members of the Bush administration and represented “a stain” that “will always be on my record.”

Richard Boucher, one of Powell’s closest associates at the State Department, praised him for admitting the mistake.

“The honorable thing is to say ‘I made a mistake.’ Powell did that. He possessed it. He recognized his mistakes as much as his incredible successes, “said Boucher.

Reporting by Will Dunham and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Jonathan Landay, Jeff Mason Writing by Will Dunham, Arshad Mohammed and James Oliphant; Editing by Alex Richardson, Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis

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