U.S. May Delay Iraq Power Transfer

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell signaled Wednesday that the administration might delay plans to return sovereignty to Iraqis by June 30, telling a congressional oversight panel that violence continued to vex U.S. and Iraqi officials.

In his first appearance before Congress to explain the State Department budget for fiscal 2005, Powell said the administration was “looking forward to transferring authority at the end of June, if all goes well.”

But he added that “we have a difficult security problem” in Iraq, as evidenced by a suicide bombing in Baghdad on Wednesday that killed at least 47 people and came only a day after a blast near the Iraqi capital killed more than 50.

Powell’s comments to the House International Relations Committee about the hand-over deadline follow similar hints by other U.S. and United Nations officials that the date may change. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said last week that he would “never say never” on altering the deadline and noted that the decision was ultimately up to President Bush.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week that if concerned parties all wanted to change the hand-over date, “I don’t think we should be able to resist.”

Despite his suggestion that a delay was possible, Powell sought to emphasize that the administration wanted to meet the deadline. “We are pressing to that end,” he said.

A substantial delay in the transfer of power could anger some Iraqis and expose Bush to political risk at home in an election year.

Powell’s appearance was his first before Congress since former chief U.S. weapons inspector David Kay said he did not believe that weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq. The hearing was testy, with Powell encountering tough questions from House Democrats on that issue and on Bush’s war record.

Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Americans were relying on Powell’s judgments about war and peace, because Bush “may have been AWOL” during his Vietnam-era National Guard service, Vice President Dick Cheney had “said he had other priorities” than military service during Vietnam, and “other administration officials did not serve.”

Powell shot back, “First of all, Mr. Brown, I won’t dignify your comments about the president, because you don’t know what you’re talking about.” A few minutes later, Powell scolded an aide to another Democratic House member, who was standing behind Brown and shaking his head as Powell explained the administration’s views on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction.

“Are you shaking your head at something, young man, back there? Are you part of these proceedings?” Powell demanded of the aide.

When Brown protested that “I’ve never heard a witness reprimand a staff member,” Powell replied, “I seldom come to a meeting where I am talking to a congressman and I have people aligned behind you giving editorial comment by head shake.”

Brown’s press aide, Tim Miller, said later that Powell’s comments were “a sign that the administration is on the defensive these days.”

Powell also faced criticism because the State Department has scaled back its budget for Latin America, a region Bush described in 2001 as a top priority.

Rep. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said he was “outraged” over cuts that made Latin America the only region in the world to lose ground in economic, anti-drug and military aid.

Powell said the cuts were the result of “higher priorities that we had to deal with of a more serious nature in other parts of the world. It’s one of those trade-offs we make.”

The overall foreign affairs budget of $31.5 billion is up 11% from fiscal 2004. Nearly half the money is direct aid or other spending intended to advance the U.S.-declared war on terrorism, Powell noted.