Colin Powell: American Power and Intervention from Vietnam to Iraq

One of the more tragic political casualties of the latter Bush Administration, former Secretary of State Colin Powell was a powerful voice for moderation who was unable to curb the neoconservative agenda of colleagues Rumsfeld, Cheney and Wolfowitz. Powell instead became their fall guy, notoriously presenting flawed intelligence to the U.N. portraying Iraq as an immediate threat. A Vietnam veteran who had vowed to keep the U.S. out of any more Vietnams (a doctrine is named for him), Powell jettisoned the most dubious intelligence Cheney produced, but also provided the final impetus for the war's launch O'Sullivan never uncovers the reasons why, nor does he cast blame, but he does highlight the more striking contradictions of Powell's career: as Clinton's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell spoke up against gays in the military and intervention in Bosnia, but retained a soldier's silence and obedience during Bush II's march to war. Throughout, O'Sullivan keeps his account remarkably balanced, probing the four-star General's remarkable sense of loyalty for the secrets to his meteoric rise and its abrupt halt. Once a powerful contender for the presidency, Powell's story is particularly poignant, and captured with authority in this respectful, illuminating biography.