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Born April 5, 1937

Harlem, New York

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and U.S. secretary of state during the 2003 Iraq War

"We met the Iraqi army in the field and ... dealt it a crushing defeat and left less than half of what it had been"

Colin Powell in My American Journey.

Colin Powell served as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking post in the American military, during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. As the top military advisor to President George H. W. Bush (see entry) and his administration, he played an important role in shaping the U.S. response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. He also supervised all aspects of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, the military operations that made up the Persian Gulf War and delivered a crushing defeat to Iraq's army. The victory over Iraq...