Powell, Others Quit Bush Team

Title:	Powell, Others Quit Bush Team
Date:	16 November 2004
Author:	Barbara Ferguson
Agency:	Arab News
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Colin Powell surprised Washington and the world yesterday by announcing his resignation. Also leaving the administration are Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Education Secretary Rod Paige. Earlier this month, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans resigned. Last week, Bush named White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to take Ashcroft’s place. Powell, a former chairman of the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, may best be remembered for leading the Bush administration’s argument at the United Nations for a military attack to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, citing a weapons-of-mass-destruction threat that the administration could never prove. Despite this, Powell enjoyed enormous respect around the world and was viewed as “a moderate voice” in the Bush administration. But it was long believed that he did not have the ear of the president, and was unable to work with the hard-line conservative hawks in the administration. Announcing his resignation during a State Department briefing yesterday, Powell dodged the question: “Why now?” He was ambiguous, saying: “There are many challenges and opportunities ahead of us... We have to make sure we defeat the insurgencies in Iraq,” and “we have to keep working on a broad agenda to strengthen our alliances.” Powell said he had always indicated he would only serve for one term, and said he and the president “agreed this was the appropriate time for me to move on.” Insiders wonder how his resignation will affect his meetings with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait and Iraq when he attends a multinational conference at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh next week. Mideast observers told Arab News it is strange that he would resign just before leaving for the Middle East, and wondered what he could accomplish there as a lame duck secretary. Dr. Naseer Aruri, professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts and author of the book The Obstruction of Peace, said he did not believe Powell’s resignation would change much in the Bush Administration. “There is an assumption in the US that there is a chance for peace now that Arafat is dead. This is faulty assumption because he was not the only obstacle to peace,” said Aruri. “The impediment to peace is the occupation and unless the occupation is dismantled there will not be any serious move toward peace in the region,” he added. Aruri said Powell had been unable to move the peace process forward “because he was constrained. So although his resignation today is not a good omen — it does not mean that had he stayed there would have been anything more serious in the offing.” Bathsheba Crocker, co-director of the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that for the Middle East and Iraq, it was “obviously worrisome to think about changing ships in midstream.” Bush has said he will stay the course, said Crocker. “But I think if we were to see someone who is far more ideological than Powell, this could mean some shifting down the road,” she added. She said the timing of his resignation makes things “more difficult,” as Powell “will be going out to the region and trying to get further contributions from our allies in Europe and the Middle East.” But Crocker said whoever replaces Powell will follow up on any understandings he reaches during his travels next week. Nadia Hijab, executive director of the Palestine Center in Washington, said most observers in the region “believe Powell has long been sidelined in the administration’s policies: He was unable to make a determined push on either the Israel-Palestinian question, or on the war on Iraq. So whatever influence he was supposed to have, it wasn’t very strong.” Hijab said his departure “will probably not make any difference.” Many believe Powell will move into an eminence grise role. Some observers think Powell is more respected by Democrats than Republicans, and that he had to support a war he clearly did not endorse. But, in the end, he was unable to stand up against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who was supported by Vice President Dick Cheney — who is considered the president’s closest adviser.
Source:	http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=54601&d=16&m=11&y=2004

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