Colin Powell died of complications from COVID-19 due to an underlying illness. Most memorials emphasize his role in the now-unpopular Iraq War.
Summary
Former Army General and Secretary of State Colin Powell died Monday due to an underlying illness and complications with COVID-19.
- Powell, who started his Army career in Vietnam, became the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and first Black secretary of state.
- Powell was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but was undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma, which typically compromises the immune system.
- Multiple former presidents and secretaries of state remembered Powell as a “wise and principled man” who “lived the promise of America.”
- Powell was considered a frontrunner in the 1996 presidential election and the only true threat to President Bill Clinton’s re-election prospects. Powell ultimately chose not to run.
- In a 2012 memoir, the former secretary of state listed 13 rules for life including “Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision” and “Have a vision. Be demanding.”
- Huffington Post emphasized Powell’s time as Secretary of State, saying he “lied” when proposing evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq’s possession.
- NBC News eulogized Powell as a statesman who used “discretion” to “steer clear of elective office” who would “put his country above personal ambition and partisan politics.”
- CNN hailed Powell as an inspiration for Black Americans, albeit with a “complicated legacy” due to the intelligence failures leading up to the Iraq War.
- Newsmax focused on Powell’s cancer diagnosis and its relation to COVID-19, noting it was unknown if Powell received a COVID-19 booster shot and that “vaccines are likely less effective” in patients with compromised immune systems.
- Daily Wire highlighted Powell’s sometimes-flawed political analysis and willingness to buck the Republican trend during his civilian career.
- RedState criticized President Biden for his “platitudes” about Powell in death after Biden’s blunder of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
