Colin Powell's ascendency
cincypost.com
By BILL STRAUB, Scripps Howard News Service
Publication date: 09-27-01
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell, described earlier this month by Time magazine as the Bush administration's ''odd man out,'' has emerged as the leading strategist in the newly declared war on terrorism, rallying other nations behind the cause while fending off Defense Department hawks who want to broaden U.S. objectives.
It was Powell who insisted that the Bush administration take an internationalist approach to the terrorist crisis and attract the support of Islamic nations, such as Pakistan, asserting that ''Muslim nations have just as much to fear from terrorism that strikes at innocent civilians'' as the United States.
Since the Sept. 11 tragedies at the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, Powell has actively solicited the aid of various nations in preparation for the ultimate military action against Osama bin Laden and his organization, al Qaeda.
''He's now up to a hundred phone calls in the last two weeks - all this devoted to trying to build the coalition, get the support, as well as to work on very important issues like the Middle East peace process,'' said Richard Boucher, spokesman for the State Department.
Powell's effort, Boucher said, has resulted in ''very, very broad and solid support around the world.''
''If you look around the world, you'll see all kinds of actions being taken by governments to try to squeeze the terrorist organizations, cut down their financing, cut down on front organizations, offices, their ability to move or to operate,'' he said.
Powell said the United States finds itself engaged in a war against terrorism and he has undertaken ''a full-court press diplomatically.''
America, he acknowledged, is willing to act alone if it needs to.
''But at the same time, because we are working with others, there may well come along specific things that can be done by all of us together,'' he said. ''I think we can all agree that these kinds of (terrorist) organizations should be isolated - financially, legally, in terms of getting into safe haven countries. So there are many things we can do together. There may be some things that the U.S. has to do alone and we will always reserve the right to do that.''
Powell's emergence arrived at a time when it appeared his influence with the White House was waning. Several initiatives he championed, including opening a dialogue with North Korea and easing sanctions to permit humanitarian aid to Iraq, were dismissed by his boss, President Bush.
The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also was blindsided when the administration declared that it would not enter into the Kyoto Treaty on global warming, leading some observers to conclude that Powell was out of the loop and that Bush was leaning more heavily toward his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, a close personal friend.
But in the wake of the terrorist attack, it was Powell, known for his cautious approach, leading the pre-military strike initiative. He also has managed to hold off hawks, like Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who are publicly urging Iraqi strong man Saddam Hussein's removal at the same time the U.S. pursues bin Laden.
Conservatives who back Wolfowitz are challenging Powell and lobbying the administration for strong action against Iraq. Members of one foreign policy group, the Project for the New American Century, sent a letter to President Bush last week asserting that Powell's caution regarding Iraq ''will constitute an early and perhaps decisive surrender in the war on American terrorism.''
''...even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the attack, any strategy aiming at the eradication of terrorism and its sponsors must include a determined effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power,,'' the letter said. It was signed by more than 40 group members, including former Pentagon official Richard Perle and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Powell has remained adamant that the United States first deal with bin Laden, asserting that action against Iraq likely would lead to a breakdown of the international coalition he has worked to build. Islamic countries in particular, allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are unlikely to support military action against Iraq.
Powell has long been among the most admired men in America. A self-described ''black kid living in a slum area in New York City,'' the son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell joined the ROTC during his undergraduate years at the City College of New York and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the army after graduating in June 1958.
For the next 35 years, Powell served as a professional soldier, rising to the rank of four-star general. He served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs for four years, beginning in 1989, and oversaw Operation Desert Storm in the 1991 Gulf War.
(Reach Bill Straub at straubb@shns.com or visit www.shns.com) |
