United States
paid tribute
Friday to
the “general
diplomatic
”
Colin
Powell
, the first
African American
secretary of
state
who died
on October 18
during a national
funeral
in the cathedral of
Washington.
In the presence of
President
Joe
Biden
and his wife
Jill
and the main
leaders
of
the Pentagon, the
former head
of
diplomacy
Madeleine
Albright
spoke of ”
a character who
almost
transcended
history, because
its virtues
were
Homeric
:
honesty, dignity
, loyalty
and unwavering
firmness
commitment to their
profession and
to the fulfillment of
his word
.
”
”
The soldiers
loved him
,
respected him
and
his adversaries
in
the State Department
was much more
popular
than its predecessor
,” joked
Albright
,
Colin
Powell
‘s successor
as head of
the State Department
.
Next to the
presidential couple
were
former President
Barack Obama
and his wife
Michelle
, his predecessor
George
W.
Bush
and his wife
Laura
, and the
former first lady
and former
US Secretary of State
Hillary
Clinton.
The
Her husband
Bill Clinton,
who was recently
hospitalized with
an infection
,
was absent
.
He died at the
age of 84
from complications related to
Covid
-19
.
Colin
Powell
was
the first African American
and the youngest
man
to serve as
Chief of Staff
of the
Army
from 1989 to
1993
,
before becoming
the first
black
secretary of
state
under
Republican
President George W.
Bush.
His son
Michael
Powell
paid tribute to his
military commitment
.
”
He loved
soldiers
, yet the
heart of it
,” he
said.
”
He knew
that you can not
ask the
soldiers
what
he
is not
willing to
do.”
Son of
Jamaican immigrants
born in
Harlem
,
Colin
Powell
enlisted in
1958
in the US Army
,
where he rose
in
all ranks
before becoming
chief of staff
, becoming known
for his
management of the first
War of
the Gulf
against Iraq in 1991
.
Known for his
moderate positions
,
he saw his
tarnished
career when
he played
an unwavering
support for
the Iraq war
as he
was the
top diplomat
George
W.
Bush.
On
February 5, 2003
he delivered
a long
speech to
the Security Council
of the UN on
weapons of mass
destruction that
Iraq
allegedly possessed
,
arguments
used to justify
the invasion of
the country.
In particular
,
there was
stirred
a flask containing
,
according to him,
Anthrax
,
an image
that has remained
famous
.
He later admitted
that this action
was a ”
blot” on
his reputation
.
He had
married his
wife
Alma
in 1962
and had
three children
:
Michael
,
Linda
and
Annemarie
.
