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CNN Live Sunday

Secretary Powell Faces Busy Week

Aired May 13, 2001 - 18:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Secretary of State Colin Powell hosts a Palestinian negotiator this week in an effort to restart the Middle East peace process. And that's probably the easiest part of his week. CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel reports now on the mixed signals that Colin Powell gets and gives.

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ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Retired four-star General Colin Powell has been welcomed at the State Department and on Capitol Hill like a conquering hero. But at the White House, the Pentagon and overseas, Powell has had a much tougher fight.

On North Korea policy, it was quickly apparent the secretary of state was out of step with the rest of the Bush administration.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We do plan to engage with North Korea, to pick up where President Clinton and his administration left off.

KOPPEL: One day later, as President Bush met with the South Korean president, Powell was forced to make an about face. North Korea policy, said Powell, was still under review.

In April during the stand-off with China over the fate of 24 American crew members and their $80 million spy plane, it was Powell who took the lead and successfully orchestrated the crew members' release. Initially President Bush, prompted by other advisers, took a hard-line.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Failure of the Chinese government to react promptly to our request is inconsistent with standard diplomatic practice and with the expressed desire of both our countries for better relations.

KOPPEL: China's president countered, demanding a U.S. apology, but it wasn't long before Powell softened the administration's message.

POWELL: We regret that the Chinese plane did not get down safe and we regret the loss of the life of that Chinese pilot.

LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: The perception at least is there's a real difference between Secretary Powell's approach to a number of world issues, and some of the other major players in the administration.

KOPPEL: And yet, as the president's top adviser on international policy, it is Secretary Powell's job to mediate between those officials determined to take a more U.S.-centric approach and the rest of the world.

ANTONY BLINKEN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: I think if you talk to European diplomats, they would tend to tell you that the State Department and Secretary Powell understands their needs and interests perhaps a little bit better than the Pentagon or the White House.

KOPPEL: Europeans were stunned, as was Secretary Powell, by President Bush's sudden decision not to sign a major global warming treaty. This move was interpreted by the Europeans as part of a larger U.S. pattern. The backlash came at the United Nations this month in an unexpected and embarrassing decision to vote the United States off the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

(on camera): Since Powell's arrival here at the State Department almost 4 months ago, as expected, he's emerged within the Bush administration as a powerful player with a powerful voice.

But with so many policies influx, it's difficult to say how much of Powell's council the president will continue to follow.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, the State Department.

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