Four Horses?

Colin Powell is stepping down. Our nation should mourn this loss. Critics may say Powell was unable to accomplish much during his tenor as Secretary of State. His term was not about what was accomplished but instead what was not.

Imagine the current Bush foreign policy team minus Powell. Rice, Cheney and Rumsfeld, better known as the three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Where would we be without him there to rein the others in? One might imagine there would be US ground forces dispersed throughout the world, and undoubtedly the France would have been a prime target for “regime change.” Many may have imagined Powell would have ridden the “white horse” but chaffed the Administration by instead wearing a white hat.

Ms. Rice appears to be the best candidate for the job. This is frightening and sad. Just a few years ago the right wing of the Republican Party was trending isolationist. Isolationism certainly runs counter to the strong business interests that run the Party on a day-to-day basis. These experts are rightly eliminated from consideration. Where does that leave the Party? Nowhere. The Party has slim pickings when it comes to foreign policy experts. Even Rumsfeld is a throwback from Administrations past.

This is my problem with Rice. She is tragically stuck in the past. She admitted to underestimating the threat of terrorism because her focus was on the former Soviet republics. Even casual observers of foreign relations realized the next area of global concern for national security was not going to come from this region. The threat from the former Soviets was terrorists acquiring nuclear material. The Administration has done an excellent job in curtailing the spread of nuclear materials from those states. The Department of Energy was responsible for this task.

The world trembles at the thought of Dr. Rice running the nation’s foreign policy unchecked. The Senate should inform her during her confirmation they will not allow the nation to run amuck during the second term. The Senate must emphasize the importance diplomacy as Secretary of State. The Secretary should not simply threaten those who oppose our nation’s view of the world. The Secretary must now learn to effectively reign in the warmongers within the Administration. We must now act in a conciliatory nature to the rest of the world. Establishing peace and prosperity requires a global commitment from all nations, not just our closest allies. Outreach to those nations who have opposed our view of the world is essential to achieve our foreign policy goals.

The confirmation process will be quick but the Senate must ensure the incoming Secretary understand the full responsibility of the position. It is to the President, but it is also to the nation as well as the rest of the world. It is the Senate’s responsibility to ensure the Secretary does not mount the fourth horse.