in uniform. reporter: after a distinguished 35-year career, powell retired from the army in 1993. ten years later, the united states would become involved in another gulf war and powell again played a key role. my colleagues, every statement i make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. these are not assertions. what we re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence. reporter: then secretary of state powell made a case in front of the u.n. security council arguing that iraq posed a grave threat to the world because they said they had weapons of mass destruction. the following month, the u.s. invasion began. the war lasted more than eight years, no weapons of mass destruction ever turned up. i regret it now because the information was wrong. reporter: after four years as president george w. bush s secretary of state, powell returned to private life. he spent his civilian years empowering youth, promise alliance and the colin powell school
he was 84 years old. his family confirmed the news in a statement on facebook, saying they have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and great american. the powell family says he was fully vaccinated. they thanked the staff at walter reed national medical center for their caring treatment. powell served in multiple republican administrations, shaping american foreign policy over the last 20 years, also marking a number of firsts. wolf blitzer honors his life time of service. i will never not be a soldier. reporter: colin powell, a soldier turned statesman, made history on many fronts. the first african-american and youngest chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and later, the first african-american secretary of state. so i ve always felt strongly that you should try to solve conflicts in this world through negotiations, through diplomacy. any time we can solve a problem that way and not use force and satisfy our objectives, let s push for that.
Of stodgy, old men. general powell was not stodgy and not old. he was one of those people who could take a problem and dissect it in a way that made it manageable and everybody who served with him benefitted from his abilities that way. even to serve him from a distance, that was i think one of the greatest legacies of general powell s life and it was the fact that he did that for so many people in the military. colonel, thank you so much, as we reflect on the legacy of colin powell on this day where we have learned that he has passed away at the age of 84. colonel, thank you again. john? you bet, brianna. joining me is charley dent, former republican congressman. charlie, i appreciate you being with us. you can t say this about everyone. this is a loss for america. the death of colin powell is a loss for america.
To make, you have to learn to describe your problems in a way that others can understand that are not in the army. don t make your problems, think that your problems and your charges are the biggest things that are going to affect congress. you have to talk to them in your, in their voice to help influence them to help you solve some of your challenges. that s the kind of mentor he was. i remember one time working with general freddy franks and we were called up to general powell s office, this was when the war in kosovo and albania was going on. general franks was asked by general powell to lay out maps and what are the problems going into bosnia at the time and general franks and i were crawling around the floor of his office. he gave me a coin afterwards but this is the kind of guy he was. he wanted the details of europe. he wanted the details of the world and he listened closely to
My heart breaks for general powell s family, and for the almost 750,000 other families who have suffered this kind of loss and all those who have known them. dr. reiner, we thank you for being with us this morning. we ll lean on you throughout the day and reminder, severe breakthrough cases of covid are rare but expected especially among seniors. our special coverage on the passing of general colin powell continues right now. good monday morning. i m erica hill. we begin with breaking news. i m jim sciutto. breaking in us this morning, sad news, general colin powell, the barrier-breaking former secretary of state as well as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff during war time has died of complications from covid-19.