Powell Promises Active U.S. Role on Global Issues

In a move designed to reassure both a divided nation and an anxious world, President-elect George W. Bush on Saturday announced his choice of Colin L. Powell as America’s 65th secretary of State and signaled that the retired general will play a commanding role in the new administration.

Bush called Powell, who appears destined to become the highest-ranking African American in U.S. history, an “American hero.” He cited Powell’s strong leadership, “towering integrity” and valued counsel to three previous presidents as qualities that make him unusually suited to become the top U.S. diplomat to the world.

“I know of no better person to be the face and voice of American diplomacy than Colin L. Powell,” said Bush, who made the announcement in the gymnasium of a small-town elementary school not far from his Texas ranch. “Wherever he goes and whomever he meets, the world will see the finest of the United States of America.”

Bush’s decision to make Powell his first formal Cabinet appointment reflects the unusual stature of the 63-year-old retired military commander, who served as national security advisor and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in previous administrations and who has been encouraged to run for president himself.

Bush is expected to announce a second key appointment today, formally naming Condoleezza Rice as White House national security advisor. It appears Bush has not yet settled on the third key member of his foreign policy team, the next secretary of Defense.

While conceding the new administration will face many foreign policy challenges, Powell predicted they would pale in comparison to the “wonderful opportunities” brought about by the Cold War’s end and the rapid spread of political and economic reforms worldwide.

Powell, the son of working-class Jamaican immigrants, is the embodiment of a “great American story,” Bush said. “It’s a great day when a son of the South Bronx succeeds to the office first held by Thomas Jefferson.”

In accepting Bush’s invitation, Powell issued an oblique notice to isolationists within the Republican Party by pledging to keep America actively involved in the world. The United States will be an inspiration and model for other nations, he said, “not by using our strength and our position of power to get back behind our walls, but by being engaged with the world.”

Many Washington policy analysts believe Powell will be Bush’s most important Cabinet appointment, not only because of his specific knowledge and experience in foreign policy but also for his stature among Democrats and Republicans alike. He is likely to receive a quick and possibly unanimous endorsement during Senate confirmation hearings, according to congressional officials.

Of all the appointments the president-elect makes, probably none will play a more important advisory role than Powell and the other members of Bush’s national security team, which informally includes Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, a former Defense secretary.

“More than any recent president that I can think of, Bush will rely almost 100% on his foreign policy advisors because he comes to office with virtually no prior engagement in foreign policy issues or decisions, and limited foreign travel,” said Jessica Mathews, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. “And he seems to be quite comfortable with that.”

Bush said his foreign policy will be guided by six principles: working with allies in Europe and the Far East to extend peace; promoting a fully democratic Western Hemisphere; defending U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf and advancing the Mideast peace process based on a secure Israel; preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction; working toward a world with no barriers to trade; and promoting human freedom, not as “an empty formality of diplomacy” but as a “guiding principle.”

“America has unique power and unmatched influence, and we will use them in the service of democracy, spreading peace across the world and across the years,” said Bush, visibly relaxed as he spoke to several hundred local residents. “This is a great moment of opportunity, and my administration will seize it.”

Powell, for his part, outlined several specific steps the new administration intends to take in hot spots from the Mideast to the Balkans. He issued a warning that the United States will stand firm against the world’s political tyrants, terrorists and governments attempting to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

“We will not be afraid of them. We will meet them. We will match them. We will contend with them. And we will defend our interests from a position of strength,” he said.

Powell said former global rivals China and Russia will not be viewed as potential enemies, but neither will they be considered strategic partners. His remarks appeared to represent a step back from the position of the Clinton administration, which has sought to more closely engage both countries.

In a move intended to boost sagging morale in the State Department and the Pentagon, Powell promised to tell Congress “in the most powerful terms that I can muster” that America’s foreign service officers and military personnel need better support and funding to succeed.

During a brief question-and-answer session in which Bush repeatedly deferred to Powell, the secretary-designate said the new administration would work to “re-energize” the sanctions imposed against Iraq a decade ago and would not succumb to growing pressure from allies to lift the embargo on everything but humanitarian supplies.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will not be around in a few years, Powell predicted. In the meantime, Washington will continue to contain him at all times and confront him when necessary, he said.

On the Mideast, Powell said the Bush administration would monitor pending talks in Washington about reviving peace efforts and pledged he would remain “very much engaged” in the volatile region.

While continuing to ensure the right of Israelis to live in freedom and security, the United States has to “do everything we can” to deal with Palestinian aspirations, Powell said. He promised that America would be a “friend to all sides.”

In the Balkans, Powell said the Bush team would launch a policy review and on-the-ground assessment immediately after taking office to review the U.S. military deployment in both Bosnia and Kosovo.

He said U.S. armed forces are “stretched rather thin, and there is a limit to how many of these deployments we can sustain.” At the same time, he said the U.S. would not be “cutting and running.”

“The focus would be on finding ways of substituting other organizations, possibly even police groups,” for U.S. peacekeepers. “And consultations would be held with U.S. allies before taking a final decision.”

Powell also confirmed the new administration’s commitment to develop a national missile defense as an essential part of U.S. military strategy to “diminish the value of offensive weapons.”

After assessing the state of missile defense technology, he promised to consult with allies in what are bound to be “tough” negotiations.

The secretary-designate said he will continue to work with America’s Promise, a private organization that encourages volunteer work and financial aid for America’s disadvantaged youth. He said he plans to take essentially the same message with him as he tours the world as secretary of State.

“We have nothing more valuable as a national asset in anyone’s country than the young people,” Powell said. “And we have to prepare them.”

Powell’s star power was clearly evident during Saturday’s events. He spoke roughly twice as long as Bush, and during a subsequent question-and-answer session Bush was reduced to the role of emcee, calling on reporters who then directed their attention to Powell.

Besides demonstrating a command of global issues, Powell displayed flashes of humor, thanking Bush at one point for not holding the announcement ceremony at his nearby ranch. “Nothing wrong with ranches, but I don’t yet do ranch-wear very well,” he said.

“Hey,” he added, “I’m from the South Bronx, and I don’t care what you say, those cows look dangerous.”

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Chen reported from Crawford and Wright from Washington.