In 2001 he was nominated and confirmed as US Secretary of State. After the September 11 attacks he took a leading role in aligning allies for military action in Afghanistan. Powell dealt with a number of international crises including a near war between India and Pakistan (both of which had nuclear weapons) in 2001–2002. In February 2003 he appeared before the United Nations Security Council. He presented evidence that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This convinced many in the US that Iraq was a threat. In September 2004 he appeared before the United States Congress to testify that the intelligence used to show Iraq had WMDs was wrong. Then, on November 15, 2004, Powell announced his resignation.