US Secretary of State
"It will be hard to start another war. Everyone can see what happens."
Colin Powell was the most credible American official to make the case for the Iraq War — and the one who most regretted having done so. His February 5, 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council, with satellite imagery of alleged Iraqi WMD facilities, Secretary-General Annan at his side, and the collected ambassadors of the world watching, was the defining moment of the pre-war diplomatic effort. His personal credibility — as the Black son of Jamaican immigrants who had risen to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs — was deployed to sell a war he had privately doubted. He had told Bush that if he went into Iraq he would own it: 'You break it, you own it.' Bush went in anyway. The WMDs were never found. Powell called the UN speech 'a blot' on his record that would follow him forever. He resigned after the 2004 election and spent his remaining years trying to rehabilitate his reputation. He died of COVID-19 complications in 2021, immunocompromised by a blood cancer that his aides had not disclosed.
Did you know?
Powell later called his February 5, 2003 UN presentation — in which he laid out the case for Iraqi WMDs using satellite imagery and intercepts — 'a blot' on his record that 'will always be a part of my record.' He knew at the time that some of the intelligence was contested, but delivered it anyway. He regretted it until his death.
March 20 – April 9, 2003 · 4,000 total casualties
The speed of Baghdad's fall seemed to validate Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's 'transformation' theory — that a smaller, faster military could defeat conventional armies cheaply. The iconic statue pull-down provided a powerful visual of liberation — though the watching crowd was small and the toppling partly staged. What the cameras didn't show was the looting of Baghdad's museums, hospitals, and ministries that began immediately, while US forces watched under orders not to intervene — Rumsfeld's dismissal: 'Stuff happens.'
April 5, 1937
🌅 Birth
Born in Harlem, New York City
1958
📚 Education
Graduated City College of New York; commissioned as Army officer
1962–1963, 1968–1969
⚔️ Battle
Two tours in Vietnam — survived helicopter crash; investigated My Lai aftermath
1989–1993
milestone
Served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; directed Gulf War strategy
February 5, 2003
milestone
Presented Iraq WMD case to UN Security Council — later called it 'a blot' on his record
October 18, 2021
✝️ Death
Died at Walter Reed hospital of COVID-19; immunocompromised by blood cancer