RIP, Colin Powell
Oct. 19th, 2021 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerYesterday Colin Powell, retired general and former Secretary of State, died from complications of Covid-19 combined with underlying conditions such as cancer and Parkinson's disease. He was 84.
Colin Powell became a household name during the 1991 Gulf War when he served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. There was talk later in the '90s that he might run for president. There is, after all, considerable history of successful military leaders going on to hold high office. And as a commander his philosophy toward war was appealing. He did not relish war, preferring instead to work via diplomatic means. But when war was necessary he preferred to fight it only from a position of strength, with clear goals, and with clear popular support. These three elements— which, BTW, are a repudiation of what's popularly considered to have been wrong about the Vietnam War— became known as the Powell Doctrine.
Powell never did run for president but he was tapped by President George Bush in 2001 to serve as his Secretary of State. Sadly for him he never fit well in the role. ...Not because he was oriented against statesmanship, but because others in the administration, notably Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, saw opportunities to remake the world through military means after 9/11. The president was swayed by these warmongers. Powell, the career officer, toed the line of his boss's decision. He even made his boss's case to the United Nations for invading Iraq: his infamous speech of 5 February 2003 when claimed— falsely, and with flimsy evidence that was soon discredited— that Iraq was developing nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
Powell's reputation never recovered from the stain of false pretenses for invading Iraq. He knew it, too, and remarked on it years later. I think he genuinely regretted it. Still, he is partly responsible for the thousands of lives lost, hundreds of thousands displaced, and trillions of dollars wasted.
May he now rest in peace.
Colin Powell became a household name during the 1991 Gulf War when he served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. There was talk later in the '90s that he might run for president. There is, after all, considerable history of successful military leaders going on to hold high office. And as a commander his philosophy toward war was appealing. He did not relish war, preferring instead to work via diplomatic means. But when war was necessary he preferred to fight it only from a position of strength, with clear goals, and with clear popular support. These three elements— which, BTW, are a repudiation of what's popularly considered to have been wrong about the Vietnam War— became known as the Powell Doctrine.
Powell never did run for president but he was tapped by President George Bush in 2001 to serve as his Secretary of State. Sadly for him he never fit well in the role. ...Not because he was oriented against statesmanship, but because others in the administration, notably Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, saw opportunities to remake the world through military means after 9/11. The president was swayed by these warmongers. Powell, the career officer, toed the line of his boss's decision. He even made his boss's case to the United Nations for invading Iraq: his infamous speech of 5 February 2003 when claimed— falsely, and with flimsy evidence that was soon discredited— that Iraq was developing nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
Powell's reputation never recovered from the stain of false pretenses for invading Iraq. He knew it, too, and remarked on it years later. I think he genuinely regretted it. Still, he is partly responsible for the thousands of lives lost, hundreds of thousands displaced, and trillions of dollars wasted.
May he now rest in peace.
