In early August 1990, the president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, ordered the invasion of Kuwait. Some of Hussein’s contentious justifications ranged from accusing Kuwait of stealing crude oil from Iraqi territory to the idea that Kuwait was an artificial state originally a part of Iraq carved out by western powers. In the eyes of many countries, this reasoning did not justify Iraq’s actions; in addition, Iraq’s failure to adhere to the UN Security Council’s resolution calling for its withdrawal from Kuwait resulted in NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] allies, as well as several Arab nations, conducting Operation Desert Storm and the beginning of the Gulf War. Nearly a year after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Iraqi forces were pushed out and forced to retreat on February 28, 1991. President Bush then declared a ceasefire.

Colin Powell remained deeply involved throughout the Gulf War conflict as he was serving as the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. During this time, he developed the Powell Doctrine, which was based upon the U.S. experience in Vietnam. It stated that if the United States goes to war, it needs to have a clear military objective. The Doctrine’s purpose is to ensure an appropriate amount of troops are deployed, the military has popular public support, and that it has an exit strategy. This was to ensure that the function of troops would be solely focused on military operations rather than non-military activities, like building schools. Read more

Imagine being secretary of state during the deadliest attack on American soil since 1941. This was Colin Powell’s job on September 11, 2001 when the terrorist attack occurred. Nearly 3,000 people were killed after four passenger planes were hijacked and crashed against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane hit the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, while the fourth crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The event triggered President George W. Bush to intensify U.S. efforts to combat terrorism. Powell’s role, therefore, became increasingly important in handling U.S. foreign relations in order to maintain a cohesive “coalition of the willing” in the War on Terrorism.

On the day of the attack, Powell was in Lima, Peru, trying to get the OAS [Organization of American States] to sign the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which is the document that established the norms for representative democracy for countries in the Western Hemisphere.

John Maisto served as Senior Director for Latin America in the National Security Council. He and Powell were having breakfast with Alejandro Toledo, the president of Peru, when the first messages of the attack came in. Read more

On October 18, 2021 America lost a remarkable leader and public servant. Colin Powell served as the highest ranking soldier, national security advisor, and diplomat. Powell served the U.S. Army for thirty-five years, rising through the ranks to become a four-star general. Additionally, Powell was the first Black national security advisor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and secretary of state. Not only do we grieve a profoundly successful leader, but a problem-solver who helped pave new pathways for America and those who succeed him.

           

Powell was born in Harlem, New York to Luther and Maud Powell, both Jamaican immigrants, in 1937. After growing up in the South Bronx and graduating from City College of New York, Powell joined the Army through the ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps] program and was commissioned as second lieutenant. Powell served two decorated tours in Vietnam, where he received the soldier’s medal for pulling his comrades from a burning helicopter. Throughout his military career, Powell held many high level positions including the commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command. Even as a top military official, Powell was a dedicated leader and a great listener. When describing leadership he said, “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” Read more

The Biden administration nominated Ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes to serve as assistant secretary of state for the department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). A career diplomat, Noyes previously served as deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where she managed relations between Western Europe and the EU from 2014 to 2015––a time in which refugees fleeing conflict from the Middle East were streaming into Europe seeking asylum.

Coordinating with international organizations like the UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Organization for Migration, PRM provides relief and resettlement to displaced populations around the world and promotes policies aimed at increasing life-sustaining aid and family planning. Issues of refugees and family planning are not only critically important in the foreign policy realm, but often carry with them a political charge here at home. Read more

On the same day that the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, US diplomat Chuck Hunter witnessed police forces violently crack down on a peaceful celebration of LGBTQ+ rights in Istanbul—essentially Turkey’s last legal pride parade.

The annual pride parade in Istanbul, which had been going for decades, had been the largest in the Muslim world—notably attracting thousands of people celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride.

However, the pride parade in 2015 turned out differently, ending with police shooting water cannons, tear gas, and rubber pellets at the peaceful marchers to disperse the annual celebration, which that year coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Ever since that year, the parade has been banned by the local authority citing security concerns and the need to uphold public order. In 2018, 2019, and 2021 people nevertheless showed up to celebrate LGBTQ+ rights, only to be met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and arrests by the police. Read more