Will the Lonely Dove Fold Its Wings?

`Why doesn`t US State Secretary Colin Powell quit?`

This is the buzzword in the US political circle this summer. Washington Post reported on the 1st that both liberals and conservatives want him to resign. The reason is that both sides are misunderstanding Colin Powell.

Powell has gone up the career ladder to State Secretary without a hitch in the GOP administration. But he has suddenly become the one who are adored by liberals. In the George W. Bush administration, which has already tilted toward Israel, Powell has insisted to take balance between Israel and Palestine, and supported a prudent approach to military action against Iraq. He seems the only one in the conservative government who speaks for liberals. Liberals want him to publicly make objection to the Bush administration by tendering his resignation.

But Powell recalled in his memoir the moment Bill Clinton took power in 1993, when he worked as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that I felt as if I were a skunk surrounded by picnic goers.

His remarks show that he is the person who cannot go along with liberals. He cited former president Ronald Reagan as the person who made the US most respected and trusted military superpower.

The Post said that he just does not agreed to the methodology the government has chosen of when, how and with whom it would strike Iraq, so his position is different from that of liberals, who oppose the country`s military intervention.

On the other hand, conservatives have pressured him to step aside or resign, saying that he is not the right person who carries out the President`s policies. Bill Kristol, conservative commentator and editor of Weekly Standard said, "His resignation will be just a two-day ado. Everything will get back on track over night once Condolizza Rice is appointed as his successor and the Capitol Hill confirms her.

Washington Post said that the conservatives` such calculation was flawed and predicted that Powell`s resignation would make millions of independent voters ignorant of politics turn their back to the Republican Party.

The Post also said that if the nation`s military attack on Iraq turns out to be a failure or falls into stalemate, people would vehemently criticize the government for not listening to Powell.

Eun-Taek Hong euntack@donga.com