Powell Takes On Tough Foreign Policy Issues

In an early indication that bipartisanship may already have ended in foreign policy, Secretary of State-designate Colin L. Powell stood his ground Wednesday as Senate Democrats confronted him with tough questions and polite warnings on a range of hot-button issues.

The split between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was deepest on the issues of Balkans peacekeeping and national missile defense, both of which received considerable attention during last year’s presidential election campaign. But it extended to less familiar but potentially divisive issues, such as the International Criminal Court and a women’s rights treaty.

Democrats, led by Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), opened Powell’s confirmation hearing by expressing deep concern that the new Bush administration may rush to withdraw American troops from Bosnia and Kosovo, endangering the fragile Balkan peace.

It would be a “serious mistake” to withdraw American troops, who make up 20% of the international force in the Balkans but are the “linchpin” of the peacekeeping operation, Biden said.

In response, Powell said that the Bush administration still plans to reduce the American military presence in the Balkans but promised to do so in close consultation with allies.

Democrats also warned about racing ahead “precipitously” to develop a national missile defense system capable of shooting down missiles aimed at the United States by a potentially hostile regime, such as North Korea. Deploying such a system would alienate even the closest U.S. allies, who are unanimously opposed to it, they noted.

Biden called on the new administration to conduct a comprehensive review of missile defense technology and reassess the treaty before proceeding. But Powell stood firm, saying that he would continue to support deployment, even if North Korea agrees to freeze its missile development program and curtail missile exports. “We should continue to move ahead as aggressively as possible,” he said. “In the end, it will benefit the world.”

Powell did, however, pledge to continue efforts launched by the Clinton administration to engage North Korea and to forge a formal agreement limiting its missile development, as long as it addresses “political, economic and security concerns.”

Democrats expressed concern that the missile defense plans would unravel half a century of international arms pacts, beginning with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff responded that the ABM treaty is “probably no longer relevant to our new strategic framework.”

Despite the deep differences evident on specific issues, Powell was personally heralded by all members of the committee. Biden, the panel’s temporary chairman, predicted that Powell would be confirmed unanimously in the committee and then the full Senate.

Offering a sweeping survey of the world as he views it, Powell provided a detailed outline of the incoming administration’s foreign policy and how it will differ from the Clinton administration’s.

Powell said that the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy would be a pledge “to help any country that wishes to join the democratic world, any country that puts law in place and begins to live by that rule, any country that seeks peace and prosperity.”

America’s alliances with Europe, through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Asia, particularly Japan, are the “bedrock” of U.S. foreign policy, he said. The United States is both “a European and a Pacific nation” and will continue to represent and defend American interests in both theaters.

China is a “potential regional rival,” but also a “dynamic” country and trading partner that must be nurtured into a constructive relationship, Powell said.

At the same time, Washington should continue to provide for Taiwan’s defense needs to ensure that any formal reunification with the mainland occurs through peaceful political negotiations.

Turning to Russia, Powell said that Moscow must begin living up to its obligations as the “newest democracy with world power credentials” by stopping the proliferation of missile and nuclear technology to countries like Iran and pushing ahead with stalled political reforms.

Powell called on Russia to negotiate an end to the bloody war in Chechnya. He also pledged to continue expanding the NATO alliance, despite Moscow’s objections.

Speaking on the 10th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, Powell indicated that the new administration might try to toughen the international embargo against Iraq. Allowing Saddam Hussein to accumulate new weapons of mass destruction would be far more dangerous to the people of Iraq, as well as the entire region, than “tightened sanctions,” he said.

Powell said that the United States should not neglect its own hemispheric neighborhood. The Bush administration will back Plan Colombia, the Clinton administration’s plan to provide $1.3 billion in aid to help curtail drug trafficking in the South American nation.

But Powell said he would not submit for ratification the treaty signed by President Clinton last month to establish the world’s first permanent International Criminal Court, unless it contains guarantees that U.S. troops would not be taken to court on politically motivated charges.