Unlike His Boss, Powell Takes Pro-Condom Stand

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell on Thursday strongly advocated condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS, setting himself apart from President Bush’s views on sex education and angering some of the president’s closest supporters on the political right.

“It is important that the whole international community come together, speak candidly about it, forget about taboos, forget about conservative ideas with respect to what you should tell young people about,” Powell told an MTV music channel audience. “It’s the lives of young people that are put at risk by unsafe sex. And, therefore, protect yourself.”

Powell’s remarks, aired Thursday night on MTV and scheduled for rebroadcast around the globe, are consistent with U.S. support of international AIDS prevention programs. But they appeared to diverge from the message delivered by the president and other administration officials that abstinence from unmarried sex is the principal weapon against the spread of the deadly human immunodeficiency virus.

The secretary of State’s comments prompted a round of hisses and cheers. Ken Connor, president of the conservative Family Research Council, said Powell’s remarks were “reckless and irresponsible” and a “slap in the face” to the president’s core constituency.

Powell is “skilled in areas of diplomacy,” said Gary Bauer, former Republican presidential candidate and president of American Values, but on “public health issues, he should follow the lead of the Bush administration which he serves.” Bauer said condoms give teenagers a false sense of security, a view shared by Tom Coburn, the new chairman of Bush’s advisory commission on AIDS.

But Marsha Martin, director of the liberal advocacy group AIDS Action, said of Powell: “We want to salute him and say, ‘Bravo!’ He is a member of the Bush administration, so I would say we are getting perhaps a new message and a welcome message about HIV prevention.”

The president has remained somewhat elliptical in his public statements about condom use, opting instead to tout abstinence as the preferred mode of prevention.

Last summer, Surgeon General David Satcher caught the ire of White House officials with a detailed report on sexuality that said there is no evidence that teaching abstinence-only works.

At the time, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer distanced the administration from Satcher, noting that the doctor had been appointed by President Clinton.

While conservatives cranked up their criticism, administration spokesmen said Powell’s message meshed with White House policy.