Posted on 04/03/2002 7:21:52 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
<
High-level sources in a number of governments friendly to the United States have expressed concern over what now appears to be a fundamental ideological rift between the key leadership of the US Bush Administration and US Secretary of State Colin Powell. This has been exacerbated by reports that Secretary Powell has been actively considering pursuing the Democratic Party nomination for the US Presidency in the 2004 election, with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate.(....hmmmm..anyone else heard of this?) This would place Sec. Powell directly at odds with Pres. Bush, and the fact that the split is so profound at this point means that many foreign governments are unsure with which part of the US Administration they should deal.Quite apart from the fact that Sec. Powell’s popularity in the first half of the Bush Administration first term made him a credible threat to the chance of a second George W. Bush term in the Presidency, the schism was seen as damaging to the US projection of its "war on terrorism" and its ability to maintain credibility in the Middle East conflict. It was now clear that many Arab leaders were pinning all of their hopes on dealing with Sec. Powell, and were, in effect, playing off the State Department (which essentially supports Secretary Powell’s negotiated approach to almost all issues) against the White House.
Both Sec. Powell and the White House have been at great pains to demonstrate mutual support since the start of the George W. Bush Administration in January 2001 — and the rift is essentially about methodology in foreign policy rather than goals — but this has not disguised the fact that Sec. Powell is the "odd man out" in developing and conducting US strategic policy, which is largely in the hands of Pres. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and their advisors. Sec. Powell, and State Department officials, have maintained a subtle media campaign on their own, not directly criticizing the Bush team, but rather attempting to highlight the differences in their approach to foreign policy.
Pres. Bush cannot dismiss Secretary Powell, without a clear confrontation from Sec. Powell, and the Secretary of State will clearly not provide this for the President. Sec. Powell remains overwhelmingly popular with the US electorate, and has been at pains to ensure that this image is sustained, making him, to all intents, politically bullet-proof. However, as one senior official in a US ally told GIS: "Do we throw our weight behind President Bush, knowing that Colin Powell might move against him at the next election? If Powell wins, many of the Bush initiatives would then be vitiated, and we would be remembered for ignoring him [Powell] as Secretary of State. This is a no-win situation for many states which would otherwise be ready to throw more weight behind the Bush strategic policy."
Not surprisingly, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasir Arafat appealed to Secretary of State Powell on April 1, 2002, to help raise the Israeli siege of his compound in Ramallah. It was clear that Arafat, and those Arab leaders supporting him, placed their hopes in Powell, rather than anyone else in the Bush Administration.
If Bush aint the boss, that's Bush's problem. Is he a man or a moose?
Maybe the stupidest think I've heard in months. Verrrry unlikely.
Hell yes it stupid If Powell run with Hillary ... Hillary would have Powell "gone" in someway in 6 mo.
It would just too good a set up for Hillary to pass on... pining it on the VRWC
The administration is playing a masterful game of "good cop, bad cop" while we get ready for Iraq. Powell is the "good cop" (as defined by liberals, the EU, and Muslims).
It's fun to watch masters at their game.
ISSA is a private "NGO" run by Gregory Copley, who seem to be a bit of a conspiracy theorist. Copley was a vociferous opponent of the Kosovo campaign and reported that NATO sustained the following losses that were covered up by DOD: 38 combat aircraft, six helicopters, seven UAV's, "many" cruise missiles shot down and, get this, 12 US Green Beret casualties and 8 British SAS commandos all KIA. He also claimed a US Air Force pilot was secretly held as a POW.
I would not rely on this source without corroberation.
(That would have been quite an interesting sight on the circuit : Lincoln, (6'4") next to Butler (5'3").)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.