WASHINGTON —

From the streets of Harlem, then the battlefields in Vietnam, Colin Powell rose to the highest levels of U.S. government as America’s top soldier, advisor and diplomat, breaking racial and political barriers as he ascended.

But his stellar reputation at the most senior echelons of government was eventually tarnished by his decision to lead his country into a grinding, disastrous war in Iraq, a decision he came to regret as the battles and years wore on.