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Who was Colin Powell?

Colin Powell was a U.S. general and statesman. He was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–93) and secretary of state (2001–05). Powell was...

When did Colin Powell resign as U.S. secretary of state?

Colin Powell announced his resignation as U.S. secretary of state in 2004. He was succeeded by Condoleezza Rice in 2005.

Did Colin Powell play a role in Operation Desert Storm?

Colin Powell played a leading role in planning the Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations of the Persian Gulf crisis and war (August 1990–March...

What books did Colin Powell write?

Colin Powell wrote My American Journey (1995, written with Joseph E. Persico) and It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership (2012, written with Tony...

What was Colin Powell's role in the Iraq War?

As U.S. secretary of state, Colin Powell unsuccessfully sought broader international support for the Iraq War. His speech before the UN in February...

What was Colin Powell's military career?

Early Military Career. Reagan and Bush Administrations. Iraq Controversy. Retirement. Jamaican-American military official and diplomat Colin Powell was born in New York in 1937. After serving two tours in Vietnam, he ascended the military ranks while earning positions at the Pentagon and the Department of Defense.

Why did Powell go to war with Bush?

Bush decided to go to war and, in a crucial moment, Powell agreed to support the president. To advance the case for war with the international community, Powell appeared before the U.N. Security Council in February 2003 to present evidence that Iraq had concealed an ongoing weapons development program.

Why did Colin Powell resign?

Bush’s secretary of state in 2000, but resigned in 2004 after acknowledging his defense of an Iraq invasion was based on faulty information.

Why did Colin Powell come under fire?

During his tenure, Powell came under fire for his role in building the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Initially, Powell had serious misgivings about President Bush’s plan to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein. Powell believed the policy of containment was sufficient to control the Iraqi regime.

How many children does Colin Powell have?

While stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, Colin Powell met Alma Vivian Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama, and they married in 1962. The couple now has three children: son Michael, and daughters Linda and Annemarie. That same year, he was one of 16,000 advisers sent to South Vietnam by President John Kennedy.

What did Colin Powell get wounded by?

That same year, he was one of 16,000 advisers sent to South Vietnam by President John Kennedy. In 1963, Powell was wounded by a punji-stick booby trap while patrolling the Vietnamese-Laotian border. During this first tour of duty, he was awarded a Purple Heart and, a year later, a Bronze Star.

How many civilians were killed in the My Lai massacre?

In this incident, more than 300 civilians were killed by U.S. Army forces. Colin Powell’s report seemed to refute the allegations of wrongdoing and stated, “Relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent.” Also during this tour in Vietnam, Powell was injured in a helicopter crash. Despite his injury, he managed to rescue his comrades from the burning helicopter, for which he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal. In all, Powell has received 11 military decorations, including the Legion of Merit.

What is Colin Powell's legacy?

Powell’s legacy is marked by his decades of service in the military, rising from college ROTC member to the highest military offices in the nation. He will also likely be remembered for a major miscue during his time as the Secretary of State to George W. Bush, an error that plagued his record and led to shifting feelings towards the Republican Party for the rest of his public life.

What year did Colin Powell speak out against the Bush administration?

2007 : In media appearances that summer, Powell, perhaps spurred by his feelings regarding his actions that led to the war in Iraq, begins to speak out against the Bush administration.

What cancer did Colin Powell have?

2003: Powell receives surgery related to a prostate cancer diagnosis he was given earlier that year.

How long did Colin Powell serve in the military?

1993: Powell retires from the military after 35 years of service, having ascended to the rank of general.

What rank did Colin Powell hold?

1971: Powell earns his Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University. At this point in his military career, he holds the rank of lieutenant colonel.

How did Colin Powell get wounded?

While working as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Army, Powell was wounded by a Viet Cong booby trap by stepping on a sharpened, buried piece of bamboo. The injury resulted in a large infection, ending his first tour in Vietnam.

When did Colin Powell give his address?

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell delivers his address to the UN Security Council February 5, 2003 in New York City. Powell made a presentation attempting to convince the world that Iraq is deliberately hiding weapons of mass destruction. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

What was Colin Powell's net worth?

Colin Powell was cautious about money in his early years: as he described in " My American Journey ," the soldier didn't even buy his wife, Alma, an engagement ring since he thought "we would be better off spending the money on household items." But by the end of his life, Powell had less reason to worry.

Why did Colin Powell change his name?

But Powell changed his name's pronunciation because of a decorated war hero called Colin P. Kelly, who became famous as one of the first American pilots who died after Pearl Harbor, per the Military Times. "Colin Kelly's name was on every boy's lips, and so, to my friends, I became Coh-lin of Kelly Street," Powell wrote, adding that his parents didn't indulge his decision. "To my family, I remain Cah-lin to this day."

How did Colin Powell become famous?

Colin Powell became a household name through his televised updates about the Gulf War. "First we're going to cut it off, then we're going to kill it," he famously commented about the Iraqi army, per The Washington Post . The four-star general was by then overseeing American military action in various countries, like the 1989 invasion of Panama. He was cautious about getting involved in another long-running unwinnable war like Vietnam, which earned him a reputation for being reluctant and helped form his characteristic Powell Doctrine.

Why did Colin Powell add the "oh" sound to his name?

In his " My American Journey " autobiography, Powell admitted that he added the long "oh" sound of "Colin" himself, thanks to World War II.

What did Colin Powell call the speech?

Powell himself later called the speech "a great intelligence failure on our part" in an interview with PBS' Frontline : "Suddenly, the CIA started to let us know that the case was falling apart. ... It was deeply disturbing to me and to the president [George W. Bush], to all of us, and to the Congress, because they had voted on the basis of that information."

Why was Colin Powell awarded a medal?

The soldier's second injury led to him receiving a medal. Powell was decorated for dragging three other soldiers out of a burning helicopter, as he wrote, after it crashed into a tree. Although he broke his ankle during the incident and the pilot broke his back, everybody survived.

How much is Colin Powell worth?

Celebrity Net Worth estimates that through speaking engagements, multi-million-dollar book deal, as well as his various prestigious jobs, Powell earned a fortune of $60 million. In the 1990s, he began earning fees of between $64,000 and $100,000 per public appearance, since he was such a well-known figure. The former Secretary of State was clearly smart enough to follow the money, since he made "109 speaking engagements" in just 2000 and reportedly banked $7 million. According to Crunchbase, he was also a board member or advisor at seven different organizations, including Bloom Energy and Howard University, although he primarily worked with the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins as a Strategic Limited Partner. These roles would have provided Powell with different sources of income, especially since he owned a significant amount of stock, as Wallmine uncovered.

What did Colin Powell do in 1963?

In 1963, Capt. Colin Powell was one of those advisers, serving a first tour with a South Vietnamese army unit. Powell’s detachment sought to discourage support for the Viet Cong by torching villages throughout the A Shau Valley. While other U.S. advisers protested this countrywide strategy as brutal and counter-productive, Powell defended the “drain-the-sea” approach then — and continued that defense in his 1995 memoirs, My American Journey.

What did Glen say about the Vietnamese?

Glen’s letter contended that many Vietnamese were fleeing from Americans who “for mere pleasure, fire indiscriminately into Vietnamese homes and without provocation or justification shoot at the people themselves.” Gratuitous cruelty was also being inflicted on Viet Cong suspects, Glen reported.

What did Colin Powell say about the My Lai massacre?

Powell did include, however, a troubling recollection that belied his 1968 official denial of Glen’s allegation that American soldiers “without provocation or justification shoot at the people themselves.” After mentioning the My Lai massacre in My American Journey, Powell penned a partial justification of the American’s brutality. In a chilling passage, Powell explained the routine practice of murdering unarmed male Vietnamese.

What did Powell report back?

Powell reported back exactly what his superiors wanted to hear. “In direct refutation of this [Glen’s] portrayal,” Powell concluded, “is the fact that relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent.”

What happened to the girls in the round up?

As the round-up continued, some Americans raped the girls. Then, under orders from junior officers on the ground, soldiers began emptying their M-16s into the terrified peasants. Some parents desperately used their bodies to try to shield their children from the bullets. Soldiers stepped among the corpses to finish off the wounded.

Who was the photographer of the My Lai massacre?

Featured image: My Lai massacre victims photo by U. S. Army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle. Capt. Colin Powell in Vietnam, prior to his promotion.

Did Colin Powell cover up the My Lai?

But Powell’s peripheral role in the My Lai cover-up did not slow his climb up the Army’s ladder. Powell pleaded ignorance about the actual My Lai massacre, which pre-dated his arrival at the American. Glen’s letter disappeared into the National Archives — to be unearthed only years later by British journalists Michael Bilton and Kevin Sims for their book Four Hours in My Lai. In his best-selling memoirs, Powell did not mention his brush-off of Tom Glen’s complaint.

Why did Powell accept inflation?

To mitigate the financial market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Powell accepted asset price inflation as a consequence of Fed policy actions. Powell was criticized for using high levels of direct and indirect quantitative easing as valuations hit levels last seen at the peaks of previous bubbles.

Why did Bloomberg call Powell the head of state?

In November 2020, as markets reached record valuations – despite a weak economy, divided Congress, and trade wars – Bloomberg called Powell "Wall Street's Head of State", as a reflection of how dominant Powell's actions were on asset prices, and how profitable his actions were for Wall Street.

How much is Powell worth?

Net worth. $55 million. Jerome Hayden Powell (born February 4, 1953) is the 16th chair of the Federal Reserve, serving in that office since February 2018. He was nominated to the Board of the Federal Reserve in 2012 by President Barack Obama, and subsequently nominated to be the chair of the Fed by President Donald Trump, ...

How much did Powell reduce the balance sheet?

In 2018, for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, Powell reduced the size of the Fed's balance sheet in a process called quantitative tightening, planning to reduce it from US$4.5 trillion to US$2.5–3 trillion in 4 years.

What was Powell's monthly reduction of US$50 billion?

Powell called the monthly reduction of US$50 billion as being "on automatic pilot", however, by end of 2018 global asset prices collapsed; Powell abandoned quantitative tightening in Q1 2019, leading to a recovery in global asset prices.

What was Powell's reputation?

Powell built his reputation in Washington during the Obama administration as a consensus-builder and problem-solver, rather than an aggressive supporter of the Republican party line. He received bipartisan praise for the actions taken by the Fed in early 2020 to combat the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What did Trump say about Powell?

In June 2019, Trump said, referring to Powell: "Here's a guy, nobody ever heard of him before. And now, I made him and he wants to show how tough he is ... He's not doing a good job." Trump called the interest rate increase and quantitative tightening " insane".

Early Military Career

Reagan and Bush Administrations

• Powell earned an MBA at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., and won a White Housefellowship in 1972. He was assigned to the Office of Management and Budget during the Nixon administration and made a lasting impression on Caspar Weinberger and Frank Carlucci. Both men would consult Powell for advice when they served as secretary of de...

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Iraq Controversy

Retirement