U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell bids farewell to State Department

Yahoo News ^ | 1/19/05

[Libloather]

Powell bids farewell to State Department
Thursday January 20, 7:18 AM

(Kyodo) _ U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said farewell to State Department employees Wednesday, thanking them for improved ties with China and other achievements but also acknowledged that North Korea's nuclear program is one of the unresolved issues in the past four years as the nation's top diplomat.

Appearing before hundreds of personnel at a department ceremony with his wife Alma, the retired Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "You are wonderful patriots who serve your nation as its troops in the far-flung outposts of American diplomacy. You are in the first line of offense of America's foreign policy."

Powell was also accompanied by other outgoing senior officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, a strong advocate of Japan in the administration, whom Powell nicknamed "Buddha." President George W. Bush has nominated U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick as Armitage's successor.

The ceremony came as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 16-2 to approve the nomination of Condoleezza Rice, Bush's confidant and national security adviser, as Powell's successor for the president's second term starting Thursday.

"I know that the kind of support and loyalty that you have given to me you will give to my successor, Dr. Condi Rice, a dear friend, somebody I've known for many years and who I know will bring gifted leadership to the department and to American foreign policy," Powell said.

Highlighting achievements made over the past four years, Powell said the United States has put its relations with China "on the soundest footing that they have been in decades" through "patient diplomacy and listening to the Chinese in their concerns, (and) their listening to us" after a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided over the South China Sea in April 2001.

Washington had considered China an "adversary," and the 2001 incident was thought to send the bilateral ties into "the deep freeze," Powell said.

Powell also said the United States has helped India and Pakistan "defuse a conflict situation and...resolve some of their difficulties," and has beefed up alliances with Asian nations into an "excellent condition."

He also referred to what he called success in Iraq and Afghanistan in "getting rid of two of the most despotic regimes on the face of the Earth," improved ties with Russia, and the Middle East peace process.

But Powell also spelled out unresolved issues, including the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs.

"We have not shrunk from the challenges," he said. "We are focusing on Iran and North Korea and trying to persuade them that there is a better way."

Referring to Libya's abandonment of its programs for weapons of mass destruction, Powell said, "We hope other nations that are thinking in those terms will come to the same conclusion that the Libyans did."

[Libloather]

I heard that the applause at the end of his speech continued until he met most everyone while leaving the room...

State Department employees clap for Secretary of State Colin Powell before his farewell speech at the State Department on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Secretary of State Colin Powell gestures during a farewell speech to State Department employees on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Arimtage (C) and Alma Powell (L) clap US Secretary of State Colin Powell during his farewell address in the main lobby of the US State Department building in Washington DC.(AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell talks to employees of the State Department during the farewell address at the State Department in Washington, January 19, 2005. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

[jackibutterfly]

"U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell bids farewell to State Department. . "

FINALLY!!!!

[sine_nomine]

Yes!

[MisterRepublican]

HOORAY!!!

[Tarpaulin]

... Door... Crack... BYE!

[iopscusa]

Just what State did not need during wartime, a warm & fuzzy Sec. Get the hell out....retire, fix Volvos, earn a paycheck not from the taxpayers, go anywhere besides anything to do with US policy. BYE!

[OldFriend]

And is now forced to stay on because the dems have refused to allow a full senate vote on Dr. Rice.

They want more time to debase and disrespect Dr. Rice prior to the full vote.

[SkyPilot]

State Dept employees wearing red?

How appropriate.