that worked for him. he expected a lot of them for sure, but there s no doubt that this is a very sad day for the state department, for america s diplomats and for anyone who worked for him. well, our sympathies are with you and all those who knew him so well. michael sang, we appreciate your time today. thank you so much. that s going to do it for me this hour. andrea mitchell reports starts next. good day, everyone. this is andrea mitchell reports in washington where we are mourning the passing of a military leader, a statesman, an advocate for immigrant and minority rights, general colin powell. general powell who started as a foot soldier in vietnam and rose to four-star general and the first black chairman of the joint chiefs and later secretary of state has died at age 84 from covid complications. he was vaccinated but was also
american living rooms as he reported on what was happening with the first gulf war after a long period of time when the u.s. had not been actively enfwajed in a hot war. and colin powell then was a voice on the international stage urging america to use its military might with restraint, and we know that during the second gulf war, the iraq war of 2003, that was a complicated period for him, acting as secretary of state where he had delivered the remarks to the united nations about weapons of mass destruction in iraq that proved not to be true. and colin powell sober and self-reflective about that in the time since. i think washington is really struck by the personal nature of his legacy that he was a person with great confidence, great ability, breaking through barriers, but always with a sense of humility and a sense of
could and should lead with confidence and humility and that the world was safer when the united states was engaged and its allies and partners were united. future military leaders and diplomats studied colin powell s work, like the powell doctrine that hammered out criteria for when and how the united states should use force, and his support for expeditionary diplomacy, diplomats and military working together to bring stability to high threat environments. he was a man of ideas, but he wasn t ideological. he was constantly listening, learning, adapting. he could admit mistakes. it was just another example of his integrity. as is probably evident by now, i was a huge admirer of secretary powell s. i always will be. and he was very generous with me. this past 4th of july, we spent a few precious hours together talking about the state department, discussing all the challenges we re confronting
here at the state department at c. street, and at our embassies and consulate thes around the world. he came to the state department after a long and extraordinary career in the u.s. armed forces. he was general powell, former chairman of the joint chiefs. when he walked into the oval office to be sworn in as our nation s top diplomat. after that he was mr. secretary. he gave the state department the very best of his leadership, his experience, his patriotism. he gave us his decency. and the state department loved him for it. secretary powell trusted the career work force here. he empowered them. he made sure that the desk officer who knew a particular country or issue most deeply was the one who got to brief in for the president. he told his staff that hay didn t need to worry about getting his fancy lunches, hamburgers and hot dogs were just fine. when he hopped onto the elevator
powell from 2004 to 2005. he was a former senior director of and managing director of the washington institute. also joining us this morning, jack jacobs, medal of honor recipient and msnbc military analyst. thanks to all of you for being here on a day we re all remembering a towering figure in american history. kelly, you covered his career for decades. take us through what we re learning today about his death. well, what an extraordinary american life. and one that brings together people from a wide political spectrum who have admired his public service when you think of colin powell as a young soldier, in combat, in vietnam, then commanding other soldiers in the first gulf war, and then advising presidents in both parties and reaching the pinnacle of public service as secretary of state. and then continuing to have