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Bush Nominates Colin Powell As U.S. Secretary Of State
CRAWFORD, Texas (AFP) – U.S. President-elect George W. Bush on Saturday nominated Gulf War “hero”, retired General Colin Powell, as his secretary of state, making Powell the first African-American to be named to the post in U.S. history.
The announcement, Bush's first cabinet appointment, occurred at an elementary school near Bush's ranch, located some 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of Austin, Texas' capital.
Flanked by Powell and his Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, Bush described the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the nation's presumed 65th secretary of state as "an advisor to our last three presidents providing good counsel, strong leadership and an example of integrity."
"I know of no better person to be the face and voice of American diplomacy than Colin Powell," Bush said. "Wherever he goes ... the world will see the finest of the United States of America."
Powell, 63, a “hero” with wide appeal and a reputation as a man of honor aloof from the political fray, will bring an impeccable military pedigree to his new job.
His assumption of duty will take place only after confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
The newly nominated secretary of state was promised smooth sailing through a Senate confirmation process as Jesse Helms, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowed Saturday to put his candidacy on a fast track.
"The Foreign Relations Committee will move with haste to confirm General Powell, so that he is available to serve the president on his first day in office," Helms said in a written statement.
The conservative senator said he had known Powell for years and had a chance to work with him on a number of foreign policy matters.
"I have every expectation that he will be an exceptional Secretary of State and I commend President-elect Bush for this excellent appointment," said Helms.
Madeleine Albright, the current secretary of state, said she had "a very nice" telephone conversation with Powell prior to his official nomination.
"I have always admired him," said Albright. "I look forward to working with him for a very smooth transition."
In a strong and confident speech, Powell stressed U.S. policy would be implemented from a position of strength.
"We will stand strong with our friends and allies against those nations that pursue weapons of mass destruction, that practice terrorism," he said.
"We will not be afraid of them. We will not be frightened by them. We will meet them. We will match them. We will contend with them. We will defend our interests from a position of strength," Powell said.
Residents of this tiny wheat-growing and cattle-ranching community had lined up since early morning outside the school building to try and get a glimpse of the event, as crowds of journalists swarmed to cover the announcement.
Under normal circumstances, a president-elect would have more than two months after the election to prepare his move into the White House.
But after the five-week long election battle, Bush has just 37 days to fill 6,000 jobs, lay out his legislative wish list and the 2002 federal budget.
Bush is scheduled to arrive in Washington today for meetings later in the week with President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, his former Democratic rival in the race for the White House, to discuss the handover of power after the most protracted and divisive election in modern U.S. history.
Meanwhile, Ari Fleischer, spokesman for the Republican transition team, praised the Clinton administration for offering the Bush team full cooperation.
"The Clinton administration has indeed been helpful, and we look forward to a lot more cooperation with them," Fleischer told Fox television. "The cooperation has been good."
Bush will also meet in Washington with congressional leaders, both Republicans and Democrats.
"It will be a fairly intense period of time at the beginning of the week when he is here," said Cheney earlier.
Bush was to be formally elected Monday by the 538-member Electoral College, where he holds 271 votes, one more than the 270 needed to win the presidency.
He will be sworn in as the nation's 43rd president on January 20th.
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