Politics

No Problem For Powell

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 18, 2001 / 1:06 PM EST / CBS

To no one's surprise, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously confirmed retired Gen. Colin Powell to be secretary of state on Thursday.

There was no debate as the nine senators present recommended the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to succeed Madeleine Albright as America's chief diplomat.

Confirmation by the Senate is expected within a few days.

Powell is one of Bush's least controversial Cabinet selections. Senators from both parties showed great deference toward Powell during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and several of his colleagues referred to Powell as "Mr. Secretary" during the hearing.

"I can imagine no better qualified person to serve as the first U.S. secretary of state in the 21st century." said Helms.

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., admitted he was dazzled as Powell outlined his thoughts on missile defenses, the future of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, turmoil in Zimbabwe and the wisdom of using sanctions as a tool for taming nations that misbehave.

Biden called Powell's 4 ½ hour performance a "tour de force," noting that Powell fielded questions from senators on a variety of complex issues without the benefit of a briefing book or refresher memos handed to him by aides.

Despite the plaudits, the performance was less than perfect. At one point, Powell referred to Russia as an "Atlantic" country. At another, he suggested that Latin America was awash in military dictatorships just 12 years ago. There was only one at the time.

It's not unusual for the Senate to gush over nominees to be secretary of state. Madeleine Albright became the first woman to hold the job four years ago, winning Senate confirmation 99-0, and Powell, the first black nominee, may win unanimous approval as well.

The committee was not expected to be as deferential toward Powell in the coming months and years as it was on Wednesday.

Democrats generally support ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and retention of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. Most Democrats also oppose a national missile defense.

On each of these issues Powell took the opposing position.

"We will not be asking for the Congress to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in this next session," Powell said.

Also, he said, "The ABM treaty in its current form is probably no longer relevant to our new strategic framework. We hope to persuade the Russians of the need to move beyond it."

And, he said, "We also see weapons of mass destruction at the top end of missiles that are being developed by nations. We have an obligation to our troops, an obligation to ourselves, an obligation to our allies and friends to move forward with missile defense."

Biden challenged Powell on the missile defense issue.

"I am concerned that we not undertake precipitous rush to deploy a national missile defense," Biden said, expressing agreement with President Clinton's decision last fall to defer the deployment decision to the next president.

"Neither the technology nor the diplomatic efforts had advanced far enough, in my view, to warrant a decision to deploy at the time," Biden said.

He also noted that the most recent estimates conducted by the intelligence community "underscore the risk that a deployment decision now could leave us less, and not more, secure.

"I am concerned that a decision to deploy a national missile defense will reverse four decades of agreed-upon strategic doctrine and, therefore, threaten our interests. So I don't think it should be taken in haste."