The Foreign Service Journal, February 2005

Kissinger was 30 years ago at Foggy Bottom. In some ways, Powell’s experience mirrored that of Cyrus Vance, who was kept at bay by NSC adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski during the Carter administration. Through it all, Powell rarely showed anger publicly. But one instance occurred during a House International Relations Committee hearing in February 2004. Powell thought Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, crossed a line when he contrasted Powell’s military experience to Bush’s record with the National Guard. When Brown said Bush “may have been AWOL” from duty, Powell exploded. “First of all, Mr. Brown, I won’t dignify your com- ments about the president because you don’t know what you are talking about,” Powell snapped. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean, Mr. Secretary,” Brown replied. “You made reference to the president,” Powell shot back. Brown repeated his AWOL allega- tion. “Mr. Brown, let’s not go there,” Powell retorted. Moments later, Powell became annoyed with a com- mittee staff aide who was non-verbally registering his disagreement with Powell’s comments on Iraq’s prewar weaponry. “Are you shaking your head for something, young man?” Powell asked when he noticed an aide to Brown apparently disagreeing. “I seldom come to a meeting when I’m talking to a congressman and I have people aligned behind you giving editorial comment by headshakes,” Powell said. Brown, defending his assis- tant, said, “I think people have opinions.” Powell never let world problems overwhelm him. There was one memorable evening in August 2002, days before Powell’s White House meeting with Bush about whether to seek U.N. support in the looming U.S. confrontation with Iraq. The venue that evening was the annual regional forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Brunei. As is customary, several of the delegations represented performed skits on stage after a final dinner. In Vietnam the previous year, Powell had bombed badly when he tried his hand at singing a 1950s-era hit, “El Paso,”while playing a ker- chiefed cowboy vying for the love of a Mexican bar- maid, played by Japan’s female foreign minister. In Brunei, with delegates from 22 Pacific Rim nations and guests looking on, the U.S. skit was built around the fallout — all fictional — of Powell’s dud performance in Vietnam. A video- tape showed Bush sitting in the Oval Office and delivering a mock apolo- gy to the nation for the embarrass- ment Powell caused. He promised it would never happen again. There was a mock demonstration outside the State Department, also video- taped, showing protesters with placards saying, “Got a song in your heart? Keep it there!” Another tape pur- ported to show the Chinese National People’s Congress voting to oppose any effort by the Americans to sing at the Brunei meeting. Powell sang anyway, performing much better than the previous year. The tune was “Some Enchanted Evening,” but the words were tailored for the occasion: Some Bruneian evening, ASEAN is laughing. Despite last year’s mess, as strange as it may seem, Our Secretary of State will still want to sing. Who can explain it, who can tell you why. Fools keep on singing, wise men never try. It brought down the house. Later that night, on a flight to Indonesia, Powell and his aides stood in the aisle of his plane to do a reprise for the press. It was a raucous scene; only Powell and a few aides knew about the critical meeting with Bush on Iraq that awaited him shortly after his return to Washington. The Gift of Gab Powell was very gifted at public speaking, both in formal settings and off-the-cuff; he seldom found him- self at a loss for words. Indeed, no Secretary of State ever spoke more frequently than he did. But he set no travel records. According to a Washington Post survey, he traveled less than any predecessor over the past 30 years. When he was on the road, he assiduously avoid- ed shopping and only rarely did he sightsee. Powell certainly was not like some government offi- cials, including many in the administration, who feel uncomfortable among reporters. With the exception of a five-minute appearance by James Baker in 1992, Powell is the only Secretary of State in at least 30 years to drop by the press room on the department’s second floor, doing so at least three times. F O C U S 36 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 5 Powell’s February 2003 speech at the U.N. may have been the defining moment of his time at Foggy Bottom.