Is Colin Powell Leaving?
An article in the Washington Post (State Dept. Changes Seen if Bush Reelected) starts with this interesting phrase:
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and his deputy, Richard L. Armitage, have signaled to the White House that they intend to step down even if President Bush is reelected...
The article goes on to say that
Powell has indicated to associates that a commitment made to his wife, rather than any dismay at the administration's foreign policy, is a key factor in his desire to limit his tenure to one presidential term.
Yeah, right. And if you believe that, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.
I'm no expert in foreign policy, but it seems to me that (a) Powell has tried mightily to steer the Bush administration in a direction less likely to alienate our allies, (b) been hoodwinked by bad intelligence before his appearance at the Security Council in February, and (c) generally been unable to win the bureaucratic battles within the administration against Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Cheney. My bet is that he's frustrated as hell and has just decided to give up.
MovableType has a "bookmarklet" facility that makes it really easy to make an entry. I just click on the link on my Netscape toolbar. It logs me in and copies a hyperlink to the page I'm looking at. If the page is a blog using Trackback, I can even link directly to the particular entry to which I'm replying.
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I know what you mean. I'm frankly surprised that Powell has lasted as long as he did. You can see the frustration on his face every time he has to make a decision about anything. I always had the feeling that he was not doing what he thought was right and was at odds with this administration.