The Foreign Service Journal, February 2005

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 25 ists at State because the political operatives of the White House cared about nothing more than re-election. In the January 2004 issue of Foreign Affairs , Powell wrote that the Bush foreign policy was not unilater- alist, did not favor military means over diplomacy and was not obsessed with terrorism. He instead asserted that it is a visionary strategy based on partnerships. Echoing Dean Acheson, he said he knows this is true because he was present at its creation. Powell professed to be unable to understand why much of the world doesn’t buy this line and implied those who hold a different opinion are either dishonest or irrationally partisan. He concluded that anyone who cherished freedom, human dignity and peace should recognize the nobility of the president’s policy and pro- vide the administration the only thing it really needs: encouragement. Perhaps Powell forgot about Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and the memos from the White House urging that the Geneva Conventions be ignored and insisting that torture sometimes was acceptable. The rest of the world has not, and sees incon- sistency and hypocrisy instead of a visionary foreign policy motivated by the highest intentions and loftiest goals. What anyone who has paid attention knows, yet Powell refuses to acknowledge, is that our men and women in uniform were used as the cannon fodder of the re-election campaign, and that the “moral clarity” of the administration’s foreign poli- cy is just a marketing device. Powell also wrote that the doctrine of pre-emptive attacks was not a central part of Bush’s national securi- ty strategy. The Republican National Committee, however, used pre-emption as a central tenet of Bush’s re-election strategy. RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie F O C U S Even if Powell did win style points with his arguments, they had no effect on the ultimate outcome. Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE” h finder5@IX.netcom.com Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619 Executive Lodging Alternatives