A Colin with Intestinal Fortitude!Colin Powell served under President George W. Bush as the United States secretary of state from January 20, 2001 until November 12, 2004. Prior to that he had a distinguished career in the United States Army, rising to the rank of four star general.
Powell is the son of Jamaican immigrants; he was born in New York City and raised in the South Bronx. He was the youngest person to date and the first African American to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993). He was also the first African American to serve as secretary of state. Powell is a moderate Republican; he is pro-choice regarding abortion, supportive of affirmative action, and in favor of "reasonable" gun control. He is opposed to gays serving in the military.
Powell spent 35 years as a soldier. He held several commanding positions, eventually rising to the rank of 4-star General. In 1987, at the age of 49, Powell became Ronald Reagan's last National Security Advisor (1987 - 1989). Powell's final military assignment was as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989 - 1993). He oversaw many military actions, including the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Desert Storm.
As secretary of state, Powell's job became critical after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; he was put in charge of securing a coalition to fight the war on terrorism. Powell addressed a plenary session of the United Nations Security Council on February 5, 2003 to argue in favor of military action against Iraq. After he left the Bush administration, Powell said that he regretted the speech.
He announced his resignation as Secretary of State in November, 2004. The following day, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was nominated to replace him.
Powell was serving on the board of directors for America Online when it made the decision to merge with Time Warner in January, 2000. His son Michael was a member of the Federal Communications Commission during this time; he was the only commissioner who advocated allowing the AOL-Time Warner deal to go through without further examination. Powell's stock in the company increased by $4 million.
Powell wrote the best-selling memoir, My American Journey. In addition, he enjoys public speaking, addressing audiences around the world. Powell founded American's Promise, an organization devoted to helping children from all walks of life. | |
Your Comments About Colin Powell | Comments to date: 2. The most recent comments are below.
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A B L Texas USA | Posted at 7:14pm on Sunday, May 24th, 2009 | It is my hope that some day I will be able to vote for Colin Powell for president. He was a true representative of the America I grew up in.
He is honest caring concerned desiring to do the right things for America and what is right for humanity. He stood and did his job for his president and his nation with the information he was given. I believe I could see on his face as he made the speach for the war with iraq uncertainty his countance and body language showed uneasiness in what he was having to do. I think he suspected something was wrong. I beleive that is why he removed himself from his position. To me he is a American Hero. I wish he could know America is in need of his leadership. We see what he was up against. He stayed as long as he thought he could bring sanity to the situation then he removed him self when he could no longer be assocated with the decisions being made. I am a former Republican who is now a independant who is tried of being lied to I speak at the voting bouth. I hope Colin Powell will give me a chance to vote for him.
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samson mwafusi Mombasa ,kenya | Posted at 10:08am on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 | Gen. Powell had a distiguished career in the army and we have known him for his intelligent and focussed decisions he made during his high profile years that still give him credit to this day.Born smart,live smart,work smart,powell did it all.Let smartness acknowledge his record.
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