Rice flanked by Bush (R) and Gonzales during a press conference

By Adam Wild Aba, IOL Correspondent

WASHINGTON, November 23 (IslamOnline.net) – The shape of US foreign and even domestic policies looks increasingly uncertain as the new Bush administration is very much expected to fall into the neo-conservative camp with wartime President George W. Bush opting for confidantes at the expense of the qualified and seasoned politicians.

After being reelected for a second term in office, President Bush was keen on putting an end to the genial moderation presented by Colin Powell, the outgoing  secretary of state, and naming in his stead his closest and most-trusted advisor Condoleezza Rice.

According to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph, Powell was asked to step down after telling President Bush he wanted more power to confront Israel over the moribund peace process.

And as far as Rice is concerned, she will not of course follow in the footsteps of Powell, but rather adopt a new policy serving Bush’s agenda.

When she met with Israeli Minister-without-Portfolio Natan Sharansky in Washington, Rice highly praised his latest book “The Case for Democracy”.

“You know why I am reading your book? Because the president is reading your book and he thinks I should read it,” according to the Sunday Times.

Neo-Conservatives

“The coup of the neoconservatives is complete. They have achieved a remarkable political victory by failing upward,” said Scheer

Observers fear the worst-case scenario that the new administration would be studded with neo-conservatives, who would certainly drift Washington toward greater isolation from the rest of the world.

The latest decrees were announced Friday, November 19, which saw the appointment of White House advisor for legal affairs Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General and Bush’s advisor on internal affairs Margaret Spellings as Education Secretary.

There are strong US media reports that Bush intends to appoint neo-conservative and pro-Israel John Bolton, the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, as the deputy secretary of state.

Not to mention Vice President Dick Cheney, who is sure of remaining in his post, leading the administration’s hawks.

Outgoing Powell was widely rumored to be ready to resign after four years of conflict  with Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Public Relation Secretary Dan Bartlett is also expected to undertake broader responsibilities as White House sources said he would named as an advisor to President Bush.

Until Tuesday, November 23, a number of secretaries have stepped down, chiefly Powell, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Attorney General John Ashcroft, along with the secretaries of education, trade and agriculture.

Other secretaries, including Interior Secretary Jill Norton, Labor Secretary Ellen Shaw, Secretary of Transportation Norman Menita, Treasury Secretary John Snow and Internal Security Secretary Tom Ridge, are said to have not yet made up their mind.

Some reports said that hawkish Rumsfeld would remain in office for a short period of time.

Moreover, Bush has appointed Porter Goss as head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Goss started his first day in office by “relocating” a number of officials opposing Bush's policies, including Michael Shore, the official in charge of Osama Bin Laden’s file.

Shore had said that the September 11 attacks were driven by the blatant US bias towards Israel and anti-Arabs policies.

More “loyalists” have stayed in power, chiefly Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Cheney’s Chief of Staff Lewis Libby and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith, all of whom are Jews.

US writer Robert Scheer, who wrote “The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq”, has said that “the coup of the neo-conservatives is complete. They have achieved a remarkable political victory by failing upward.”