In January 1991, the United States formed an international coalition to liberate Kuwait and launched an aerial war. The ground war that followed was lightning fast, and ended in less than 100 hours.
The victory was widely celebrated by Powell and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf; it seemed that once in a while, war went as planned.
In Powell's hometown, more than 4,000,000 people attended a ticker-tape parade on June 21, 1991. He exulted that it was a wonderful day to be home in New York.
He told Military Times that the best thing about the operation, from his perspective, was the way the American people saw it. They were told that thousands could be killed. They were concerned about the volunteer army, which had never seen combat at this level before. They were thrilled with the results. They also held parades for our troops.
In the fall 1993, Powell retired from military service. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in 1993 rated Powell as favorably rated at 64%, compared to 6 percent for unfavorable.
Joe Klein, a journalist for Newsweek in 1994, wrote that Colin Powell is a unique case. At 57, he is the most revered figure in American public life. He is an African-American man who transcends race and a public man who transcends politics.
Powell, buoyed by sales of his autobiography My American Journey and the success of a mission in Haiti with former President Jimmy Carter, and then-Sen. Sam Nunn, that prevented a war, was widely regarded as the strongest challenger for President Bill Clinton in 1996.
Powell decided not to run for the presidency. He declared that he was a Republican on Nov. 8, 1995 and immediately quit.
Marcy Nighswander/AP Photo
Powell stated that he never felt the passion within me to run for office. He told CNN in 2009: "It just wasn't me. And you have to be true to your self."
On September 1996, Republican nominee Bob Dole was on his way to defeat by Clinton. He told ABC's Barbara Walters that Powell could get any job in his Cabinet. He joked that he almost would give his job to him.
Powell was elected to the public service after Clinton's second term ended. He was still wildly popular and accepted George W. Bush's invitation to lead the State Department.
The selection of Powell was seen as evidence Bush wanted to heal the nation's wounds following the 2000 divisive presidential election. Powell was unanimously confirmed one day after Bush's inauguration.
Powell stated that the old world map, which had a red and blue side competing for what was called the Third World, is no more. The new map is a mosaic made up of many pieces and many colors spread around the globe.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the world. Bush's administration responded by fighting Taliban in Afghanistan, and then it turned its attention to Iraq where Hussein was still in power 10 years after the Gulf War. Bush and his associates were keen to topple him, but the case was not as strong as that linking the Taliban to 9/11.
Bush used his popularity to assign Powell the task of making the case against Iraq before the rest. Matthews said that Powell was naturally cautious and sought out incontrovertible conclusions.
Powell took the case of the Bush administration to the United Nations in February 2003. He said that every statement I made today is supported by solid sources. These are not assertions. These are facts and conclusions that are based on solid evidence.
After several weeks, the U.S. invaded Iraq. As the war progressed it became apparent that Powell's facts weren't as solid as he claimed them to be. The invasion of Iraq did not produce weapons of mass destruction. A and B did not add up to C.
Powell's path to this point was not without its stumbling blocks. Powell had played a minor role in the cover up of the 1968 massacre at My Lai, a Vietnamese village. He was involved in illegal arms sales to Iran during the Reagan years. Powell would have been required to testify against Weinberger about the illegal sale of arms to Iran if he had not been pardoned prior his trial. The 1992-1993 intervention in Somalia was bloody and complicated.
Powell's reputation was damaged this time.
Thomas Ricks, who was then out of office, wrote Fiasco: The American Military Adventures in Iraq that Powell would spin his record and talk about the victories he had with Bush's administration and other allies. He would also seem to realize that the false case at United Nations will be associated with his time as secretary of state.
Bush won a second term in 2004 and Powell was elected to the presidency. He stated that it was always my intention to serve only one term. Despite tensions at the White House regarding foreign policy, it was clear that the decision was mutual.
Although Powell had influenced the president in some areas, such as fighting HIV/AIDS worldwide, he was at odds with Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and others regarding North Korea, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and other global hotspots. His disagreements with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the difficult transition to democracy in Iraq had also led him to be at odds.
In 2011, Powell stated that it was obvious by 2004 that the team wasn't functioning as a cohesive unit. We had differing views and they were not necessarily compatible.
Bush loyalists would later disparage Powell. Cheney was particularly critical of his remarks on the war in Iraq.
As a speaker and expert in national security issues, the retired general was still highly sought-after. He was a sought-after speaker and expert on national security issues. Schools were named after him and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership was established by the City College of New York.
Powell was also a recipient of numerous awards, including two Presidential Medals of Freedom and the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP. He also received the Liberty Medal, Ronald Reagan Freedom Award, and a Congressional Gold Medal. He was ranked as one of the Gallup Polls most respected men around the globe 16 times.
Despite all of this, he didn't run for office. However, in 2016, three faithful electors in Electoral College voted in his favor instead of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Powell spoke of his charm in 2020 when discussing his surprising third-place finish.
He endorsed Barack Obama in October 2008 as he was just weeks away from becoming the nation's first African-American president. Powell stated on NBC's Meet the Press that he believes he is a transformative figure.
Powell said, "I can't deny that it would be a historic occasion when an African American becomes President." All Americans should be proud of that event, not just African Americans.
