Colin Powell's death raises questions over his shameful Iraq War legacy

Colin Powell, who died Monday due to complications related to Covid-19, commanded respect from Washington elites and the broader public across the political spectrum — an extraordinary feat that stemmed from his reputation for discipline and fairness. The Harlem, New York-born son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell became a four-star general and the first Black secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Unfortunately, Powell marshaled that reputation and power in service of a terrible misdeed: making the Bush administration’s most powerful case for the Iraq War. Powell went on to express at least some regret for his part in the invasion, and his legacy cannot be reduced to this one chapter of his career. But in this instance, his judgment was so poor and his actions were so consequential that any discussion of his legacy must include a reckoning with his complicity in one of the most heinous foreign policy decisions in modern American history.