One of America’s best-known soldier statesmen has died from complications from COVID at 84yo. Powell was the first black man person to be US Secretary of State in 2000, meaning he was America’s top diplomat during the 9/11 crisis and the invasion of Afghanistan. Harbouring doubts about the invasion of Iraq in 2003, he struggled to make the case on the world stage before being asked by the Bush administration to leave the post. His theory of “you break it, you own it” ended up being true with America just recently moving to wrap up those conflicts… Before that, he was the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US military where he guided America’s campaign in the 1991 Gulf War. Once considered a potential Republican presidential candidate, he dropped his party allegiance later in life and supported Barack Obama before criticising Donald Trump. A favourite quote of his: “Bad news isn’t wine. It doesn’t improve with age.” His family said he’d had multiple myeloma in recent years. The blood cancer compromised his immune system leaving him unable to fight off the coronavirus despite being double vaccinated.