The General and Sec of State was 84…..
The cause was complications from covid-19, his family said in a statement. He had been treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., his family added, noting he had been fully vaccinated.
Born in New York to Jamaican immigrants, Gen. Powell rose rapidly through the Army to become the youngest and first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs. His climb was helped by a string of jobs as military assistant to high-level government officials and a stint as national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan. Charming, eloquent and skilled at managing, he had a knack for exuding authority while also putting others at ease….
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In the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the idea of attacking Iraq first arose, Gen. Powell helped persuade Bush to stay focused on striking al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
Throughout 2002, Gen. Powell continued trying to slow the march to war with Iraq, warning Bush in a meeting in August that an invasion could destabilize the Middle East and shackle the United States with a great reconstruction burden.
“You break it, you own it,” he recalled saying.
But Gen. Powell eventually threw his substantial public credibility behind the decision to attack Iraq, agreeing to Bush’s request to present the U.S. case for war to the U.N. Security Council in February 2003.
His 75-minute speech, asserting that Iraq possessed chemical, biological and perhaps even nuclear weapons, proved deeply embarrassing when no weapons were found after the invasion. He told an interviewer several years later that the speech would remain a “blot” on his career, which was “painful” for him to accept….
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During Trump’s tumultuous term in office, Gen. Powell became increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the president, who threatened and encouraged the use of force against racial-justice activists in 2020. He scorched Trump’s ethics and accused other Republicans of accommodating or acquiescing to the president’s divisiveness out of political self-interest…
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Republicans, he told CNN, “would not stand up and tell the truth or stand up and criticize him or criticize others. And that’s what we need. We need people who will speak the truth, who remember that they are here for our fellow citizens. They are here for our country. They are not here simply to be reelected again.”…
Note….
Powell was fully vaccinated, but cancer and the virus proved too much for him…..
image…KKTV
Powell’s passing after being vaccinated has generated some media ‘virus break thru’ questions, but he was suffering from other health issues also….
The vaccine doe NOT make you immune to the virus
No manufacture or the CDC says that…
It cuts down ur response to it…
Area’s with high vaccination rates have very low infection rates…(Masking helps also)
And the overall ‘reported’ number of cases, deaths and hospital stays CONTINUE to drop daily….
HowardKurtz
@HowardKurtz
Colin Powell, despite being vaxxed, had a weakened immune system from fighting cancer of the white blood cells. So at 84 he was unable to fight off the complications from a breakthrough infection. Let’s not read anything more into it
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Michael J. Stern
@MichaelJStern1
Replying to
@HowardKurtz
and
@PaganLady3
Let’s read into it that someone near him had Covid and did not take the necessary precautions being around someone who was immunocompromised.
Wear masks.
Well the rightwing media folks are already making the Powell death an issue, they’re saying that the vaccine really isn’t effective. I am sure Tucker Carlson will be all over this, and, of course, the internet is lite up with these types of theories.
But, of course, first everyone needs to be vaccinated in the first place.
Are you vaccinated James? All the happy talk in the World cannot make up for the fact that every citizen has the responsibility to vaccinate themselves to protect others. Have you done that James?
A couple years ago my co-worker’s mother in law died in a car accident at the age of 91 even though she was wearing a seatbelt. The driver of the car was 30 years younger–also belted in– easily survived the accident.
Powell was 84 and had a form of blood cancer and Parkinson’s. My brother-in law’s sister died at 55 of COVID, her only underlying condition was mildly high blood pressure. She was unvaccinated.
I would guess that the seat belt example is one that most people would understand, but I’m afraid to mention it to anti-vaxxers as they will probably say that since clicking it didn’t save a 90 yr old woman it won’t save their kids and throw out their car seats!
Of course this from Trump who never misses a chance to be an asshole….
Former President Donald Trump lambasted the media on Tuesday for what he said was too favorable coverage of former Secretary of State Colin Powell after his death on Monday.
“Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media. Hope that happens to me someday,” Trump said in a statement.
Trump referred to Powell as “a classic RINO” referring to the acronym “Republican in name only.”….
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Nothing but class and consideration from our discreetly retiring former Chief Magistrate.
And the Republican sheep’s reaction to their Leaders outrageous trash?
Silence
Must be some more of those
“Conservative Values”
But?
They ARE twisting themselves like pretzels to look like they are following ‘their leader’…….
(Maybe off a political cliff?)
Colin L. Powell was remembered for his leadership skills, his love of Abba and Bob Marley, and “his sense of humor, his insatiable curiosity and his comfort in his own skin” at a funeral Friday that drew presidents past and present, military leaders and hundreds of Washington dignitaries.
President Biden, along with first lady Jill Biden and two of his predecessors — Barack Obama and George W. Bush and their spouses — joined Powell’s wife, Alma, and other family members for the religious service in which traditional hymns, Abba’s “Dancing Queen” and Marley’s “Three Little Birds” echoed through Washington National Cathedral….
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The service brought together Republicans and Democrats. Also in attendance were former vice president Richard B. Cheney; former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright; former defense secretary Robert Gates; and former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage.
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Biden on Powell passing…
President Joe Biden on Monday mourned the loss of Colin Powell, describing him as a “dear friend” and a dedicated public servant who broke barriers as the first Black US secretary of state.
“Colin Powell was a good man,” Biden said in a statement. “He will be remembered as one of our great Americans.”
“Colin embodied the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat. He was committed to our nation’s strength and security above all. Having fought in wars, he understood better than anyone that military might alone was not enough to maintain our peace and prosperity,” Biden said….
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Hopefully James read what Scott wrote about the unvaccinated. Hopefully.