Opinion: No more doves, only hawks

11/22/2004In 2004, being a dove amongst hawks is not easy. When everyone is rushing to action, it is the dove that slows the pace and commands the hawks to retract their war-thirsty talons. In an administration where war is seen as the most feasible option for peace and diplomacy as a sign of weakness, Secretary of State Colin Powell provided a dove-like voice of reason. Unfortunately for the world, the dove has left the nest.

Secretary of State Colin Powell's announcement last week that he would not return to the State Department for a second term came as no surprise to the diplomatic community. Since the beginning of the Bush presidency in 2000, Powell has traveled the world as the United States' chief diplomat spreading an optimistic outlook about the potential for international cooperation on issues like the war on terrorism and peace in the Middle East. While his message was popular with world leaders and diplomats seeking peaceful resolutions for the world's major conflicts, there was always a sense that his words would be defunct upon return to Washington. A dove cannot speak for a hawk.

Now, with National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State, the world will know that the messages coming out of State will align with those of the White House and Defense Department. America's message, and subsequently its actions, will be streamlined and consistent.

Mr. Powell, along with his deputy Richard Armitage, provided a check on the president and vice-president's power. Before they rushed to war in Iraq unilaterally, Powell insisted that the president meet with the United Nations to present a case for war. When the violence in the Sudan escalated, Mr. Powell insisted that the United States take a stand and condemn the genocide. He single-handedly engaged the president in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as a part of the Roadmap to Peace. When North Korea threatened to go nuclear, it was once again Powell that insisted on diplomacy rather than threats. In the majority of these cases, the president eventually resigned to his original position of inaction, but at least the world knew that there was a voice for positive-change in the United States government.

The president's new cabinet will most likely consist of men and women who will support the administration's positions on issues of war and peace. Richard Armitage will most likely be replaced by John R. Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Ms. Rice will most likely be replaced by Stephen J. Hadley, the current deputy national security advisor. Donald Rumsfeld, to the surprise of many analysts, will remain in secretary of defense position as the President does not want to shake up the Defense Department mid-war.

The Central Intelligence Agency is also undergoing a change of policy. When Deputy Director of Operations Stephen R. Kappes and his deputy Michael Sulick resigned last week, Porter J. Goss, the new intelligence chief, issued a memo to agency employees stating that their job is to "support the administration and its policies." The memo further stated that "as agency employees we do not identify with, support or champion opposition to the administration or its policies... We provide intelligence as we see it -- and let the facts alone speak to the policy maker."

So there we have it: a lean, mean, fighting machine. The American people have four years of hawkish, streamlined foreign policy to look forward to. Sure, Ms. Rice has publicly said that her first priority will be to mend relations with our allies, but there is no indication that she will be any more successful at this than her predecessor. After all, it was Ms. Rice who, after the initial invasion of Iraq, was quoted as saying the United States ought to "punish France, ignore Germany, and forgive Russia." This is not the rhetoric of a good diplomat, but rather of an arrogant bully that has no time for differing viewpoints on important, international issues. There is no credibility to her now seemingly-diplomatic stance on world issues.

Foreign policy will now be handed down to the president by the vice-president and his advisors, most notably Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. The President will then have his new appointees at the State Department start up a hawkish dialogue that will only further intimidate our enemies and alienate our allies. Eventually, when war becomes the "only option," the president can count on the CIA to provide all of the supportive intelligence necessary to sell the campaign to the American people, without all the bothersome dissent of the last war. Hold onto your hats, this is going to be a fast and wild ride.