Powell, Armitage to step down

Rice and Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz are the leading candidates to replace Powell. Rice appears to have an edge due to her closeness to the President, but it is unclear whether she would be interested in running the State Department’s vast bureaucracy. With 18 months left in Bush’s current term, officials said talk of a new foreign policy team is premature — particularly because Bush’s re-election is not assured.

The security lineup for a second Bush term is already a major topic of conversation, at least among those who make and analyse US foreign policy. Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet is already the third-longest serving CIA chief and is expected to depart, perhaps before the current term ends. Tenet’s role in Iraq weapons’ controversy has led to calls on Capitol Hill for his dismissal, fuelling speculation he will quit soon.

The current administration has been characterised by fierce policy disputes, often between Powell and more hawkish members, and a reshuffling would change the tenor and character of the foreign policy team. Although Bush appears to value the range of opinions he has received from his chief national security advisers, he may feel free during a second term to realign his foreign policy to the harder-edged, conservative view exemplified by Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. (LAT-WP)