The Bush administration was stripped of its last dissenting voice of moderation on Monday when the secretary of state, Colin Powell, resigned and Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser who is known for her conservative instincts, was lined up to replace him.
Powell’s departure, which came after four years of bureaucratic struggle and frustration, could have far-reaching consequences for George Bush’s second term, and the US’s outlook on the world.
Ms Rice could be formally nominated as early as Tuesday, according to senior administration sources, a move that would put Washington’s hawks in unchallenged control of the country’s foreign policy.
Powell’s resignation robs the Blair government of its closest ally in Washington. He joined forces with Tony Blair in 2002 to persuade President George Bush to take his case against Saddam Hussein to the United Nations.
On Monday Blair said Powell was ”a remarkable man and has been a good friend to this country”. The outgoing secretary of state spoke regularly and frankly to his British counterpart, Jack Straw, providing a window into the administration’s thinking and an open channel of communication across the Atlantic. Straw on Monday described Powell as ”a very fine man — great soldier, great statesman”.
Rice, a member of Bush’s inner circle since the days when his father was president, reportedly had been interested in heading the Pentagon, but with no signs of restlessness from the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, she settled on the state department. Although an acknowledged expert on the former Soviet Union, Rice has come under fire for her failure to grasp the threat posed by al-Qaeda before September 11.
But in large measure because of her personal rapport with Bush — sealed by a shared enthusiasm for American football — she has assumed a high profile position.
Her appointment would make her the highest ranking African-American woman in US history. A US official said she would be succeeded by her deputy, Stephen Hadley.
Powell’s announcement came after repeated clashes with the Pentagon chief, Donald Rumsfeld, and the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, over Iraq and the Middle East peace process in which the state department chief was often the loser. Despite the deep misgivings he was known to have over the invasion of Iraq, Powell had been a loyal servant to Bush and there was no dissent in his resignation letter. ”I wish you all continued success as you lead our beloved nation,” he wrote.
He told a press conference on Monday he never intended to serve beyond the first term of the administration, and had discussed his exit with Bush for months before tendering his resignation last Friday.
Powell said he would continue to act as secretary of state, perhaps into the new year, until his successor took over. He said he would go ahead with talks scheduled yesterday with the Israeli foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, and would travel as planned to the Middle East next week for talks with Arab leaders.
Aside from exploring the ”new opportunities” for Israeli-Palestinian peace created by the death of Yasser Arafat, he said he intended to focus on consolidating the situation in Afghanistan, and repairing international alliances damaged by the war on Iraq.
The secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, told CNN that Powell was a ”voice of moderation” in the Bush administration. Although Powell rarely triumphed in the administration’s internal battles, the former army chief remained the most popular member of the cabinet.
During four years shaped by September 11 and America’s war on terror, Powell was often identified as a lonely voice urging the White House to work for consensus within the international community. But he will be remembered for a speech to the UN in February 2003 in which he argued the case for going to war in Iraq.
The victorious commander of the first Gulf war under the first President Bush in 1991, Powell was seen as an asset to the White House. He remained a respected figure in the international arena despite the divisions between Europe and America in the run-up to the war on Iraq.
”He won some and he lost some, but he is a rare commodity in this town: a decent and classy guy who will be missed,” said Joe Biden, the senior Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee.
Powell’s exit was the most prominent of four Cabinet resignations expected on Monday. They include Rod Paige, the education secretary, Ann Veneman, the agriculture secretary, and Spencer Abraham, the energy chief. – Guardian Unlimited Â