Colin Powell: From Warrior to Diplomat

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COLIN POWELL: FROM WARRIOR TO DIPLOMAT

BY MIGUEL LOZANO (PRENSA LATINA)

HAVANA, Dec 22 (PL) The Caribbean, a region traditionally ignored by
Washington, is currently placing its hopes on Secretary of State Colin
Powell -- a man who paradoxically won this position as warrior -- for an
improvement in its relationship with the US.

According to Barbados' Vice-Prime Minister Billie Miller, "it would be good
to have a US Secretary of State [to whom] we do not have to give information
on the region," alluding to Powell's Jamaican origins and to former US state
secretaries' lack of knowledge.

Barbados' "The Nation" daily reported that St. Lucia's Ambassador to
Washington Sonia Johnny considers it positive that "a person of Jamaican
origins will now listen to our concerns." The source confirms that from
Barbados to Jamaica, Antigua to St. Lucia, people are hoping that the
designation of a Jamaican immigrants' son will lead to a more sensitive and
fair policy on the region.

Even though some analysts acknowledge Powell as a defender of US minority
groups' rights, they recall he is Republican -- the most conservative trend
of the two US parties -- so optimism seems to be excessive.

Concerning this, the African Affairs Newsletter warns that any one who
listens to him will be fully convinced of Powell's love for the US, and his
idea that the future of the world lies in the country's ideology. His
position cannot be interpreted in any other way.

AsiaWeek magazine considers that his post is the result of Republicans' need
to create images, to put on a show for voters.

George W. Bush himself somehow revealed this objective when confirming that
Powell may help Republicans to once again be the party of Abraham Lincoln.

According to these criteria, far from representing the success of the
"American Dream" for emigrants, Powell behaves as a conservative and a
protector of the US. Thus neither Africans, because of the color of their
skin, nor Caribbeans, because of their origins, should take for granted that
they will have an ally in the US State Secretary.

Since the day he was announced for the post, Powell has clarified his
position by saying that Washington will make use of force to defend its
national interests, as demonstrated in the so-called Gulf War.

Powell was born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. His most brilliant
international experience came in the war against Iraq. In this war, the US
had an amazing technical superiority, and minimum casualties, compared with
Iraqi victims.

What has been so far demonstrated is that Powell's public campaign is
designed to rescue the myth of US life, given the recognition that young
people are increasingly skeptical. However, little is yet known of his
foreign policy proposals.

It is thought that -- at least for an initial period -- the author of the
current US military doctrine will depend on the criteria of his assistants
before adding his personal ideas on foreign policy.

This is something that Africans and Caribbeans are dreaming of, placing
their hopes on the former general's race and origins.

(c) 2000 Prensa Latina, NY Transfer News. All rights reserved.

 
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