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>From http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/06/14/usat-rummy-powell.htm
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06/13/2002 - Updated 09:18 PM ET
Rivalry can make U.S. policy look shaky
By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — At the Pentagon, they call them "snowflakes" — a blizzard of
memos from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to his staff. But Rumsfeld also
blankets the State Department with unsolicited advice that irked diplomats deride as
"Rummygrams."
Rumsfeld's memos, which he sometimes sends to Secretary of State Colin Powell
or directly to President Bush, undercut State Department views, Powell aides
complain. One questioned whether Powell should maintain a dialogue with
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom Rumsfeld distrusts. Another expressed
concern that the State Department was trying to rehabilitate Libyan leader
Moammar Gadhafi.
The controversial "Rummygrams" are a telling sign of the biggest struggle in the
Bush administration. Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell are the most powerful
members of President Bush's Cabinet. But they often disagree, and no one in the
Bush White House seems able to steer the two men toward a comfortable
consensus, administration officials say.
The result: Bush, an inexperienced hand in foreign policy, often appears to vacillate
on critical issues ranging from how to achieve peace in the Middle East to whether
to wage war against Iraq. Such wavering contributes to a perception of confusion
that worries U.S. allies and could fracture the coalition Bush has assembled to fight
the war on terrorism, critics say.
New conflict surfaces
The latest example of dissension surfaced this week, when the White House
undercut Powell by distancing itself from his comments that the administration
might recognize a fledgling Palestinian state, a concession to Arafat opposed by
Pentagon officials.
"I'm struck by Bush's unwillingness to force his administration to come to closure,"
says William Kristol, chief of staff to the first President Bush's vice president, Dan
Quayle. "There is a real difference of world view that goes beyond Iraq and that has
been brought to a head by the events of Sept. 11. Administrations benefit from
debate, but it is now hurting the administration to have the debate out there
unresolved."
"They are two 800-pound gorillas," adds Kenneth Duberstein, a Powell confidant
and Ronald Reagan's chief of staff when Powell was national security adviser.
"They are not fighting for the same mate. They are focused on what each thinks is
the right policy for George W. Bush and the country."
State Department officials grouse that "Rummygrams" land on their desks at least
once a week, sometimes with newspaper clippings and questions attached. One
included an article that suggested the State Department favored lifting sanctions
against Libya, and asked, "Is this true?" Another urged giving Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon a free hand to curb Palestinian terrorism.
"When do they do the Defense stuff?" says an annoyed senior State Department
official who did not want to be named.
At the Pentagon, staffers working for Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, an
advocate of military force to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, concede they are at
war with the State Department. They say Powell is too cautious and that the United
States must take risks to prevent another catastrophic terrorist attack.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher downplays talk of a Powell-
Rumsfeld feud. The two men are "friends of long standing and believe their job is to
serve the president by having an open debate on the issues," he says.
Bryan Whitman, a Defense Department spokesman, says his boss "has been asked
about this (conflict with Powell) several times and calls this nonsense."
But privately, supporters of the two men say they're frustrated with the day- to-day
battles and the unwillingness or inability of the White House to settle debates.
Sharp contrasts
The different worldviews that Powell and Rumsfeld hold are matched by sharply
contrasting backgrounds and personalities.
Powell, 65, is an up-by-the-bootstraps American success story who spent most of
his career in the Army. Considered one of Washington's most charismatic figures,
Powell is viewed by many conservatives as the administration's lonesome dove, a
moderate who favors negotiated solutions to global conflicts.
Rumsfeld, 69, who was born into a family of wealth and privilege, is a savvy veteran
of the political and corporate worlds. Known for his abrasive manner, Rumsfeld is
the administration's chief hawk who doesn't shy from situations that could require
U.S. military might.
Among their disputes:
Iraq. Powell came into office pursuing a policy of "smarter sanctions" that would
continue to contain Iraq's development of dangerous weapons but ease the
humanitarian crisis afflicting Iraqis. Rumsfeld pushed to draft a plan for
overthrowing Saddam even before Sept. 11. Bush seemed to side with his Defense
chief by vowing to oust Saddam. After protests in the Arab world against an attack
on Iraq, Bush softened his rhetoric for a few months, but lately, he's been talking
tough again. State and Defense also disagree over which Iraqi groups should lead
the opposition to Saddam.
Middle East. Powell says more active U.S. diplomacy to help
Palestinians achieve independence will help curb violence in the region. Rumsfeld
supports a tough Israeli response to terrorist bombings. Bush, who tried for more
than a year to stay out of the conflict, reluctantly sent Powell to the region in
April.
But Bush hasn't put much pressure on Israel to end retaliatory strikes in Palestinian
territories and has refused to meet Arafat. A peace conference Powell said would be
held this summer has been downgraded by the White House to a "meeting."
North Korea. From the start of the administration, Powell has pushed
to hold talks with North Korea to encourage it to end its self-isolation and improve
ties with South Korea. Rumsfeld sees North Korea as a dangerous regime that is
seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Bush first ruled out talks, then switched and
agreed to hold them, but interagency bickering has delayed the start of a dialogue.
Libya. If Libya compensates relatives of the victims of Pan Am 103
and admits responsibility for the bombing in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland, the
State Department is likely to support an easing of U.S. sanctions and might
recommend that Libya be taken off a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Rumsfeld worries about Libya's possible pursuit of chemical and biological weapons
and opposes any rewards for Gadhafi. Bush hasn't announced a decision on what to
do.
Russia. Powell pushed for a binding agreement on arms reductions
and changes in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to allow missile- defense tests,
so Bush would not have to withdraw from the accord. Rumsfeld persuaded Bush to
reject the ABM Treaty rather than amend it, but he failed to convince the president
to forgo a new arms reduction treaty with Russia.
Friendship with an edge
After some early setbacks, Powell is winning several policy battles, as increased
Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed and fears of a nuclear confrontation in South Asia
have forced Bush to get more engaged in diplomacy and postpone military action
against Iraq.
Despite their rivalry, Powell and Rumsfeld have tried to maintain a cordial
relationship. Powell and his wife dined at Rumsfeld's home in May, a Powell friend
says.
But there is an edge to the way they interact that goes beyond what Powell's friend
calls "towel-snapping, locker room" jousting. Rumsfeld, a Princeton graduate who
exudes self-assuredness, has been overheard correcting Powell's pronunciation of
Afghanistan's capital, KA-bul, which Powell pronounces Ka-BUL. Rumsfeld also has
poked fun at Powell, a City College of New York alumnus and son of Jamaican
immigrants, for calling Afghans "Afghanis."
At a joint news conference in Australia last summer, Rumsfeld quipped that their
only policy differences were over "those few cases where Colin is still learning."
Powell noted Rumsfeld's reluctant moves toward more dovish State Department
positions in dealing with North Korea and China, and shot back, "Who's teaching
who?"
Still, some foreign policy experts draw parallels between the Bush and Reagan
administrations. They say President Reagan's failure to stem a rivalry between
Defense secretary Caspar Weinberger and Secretary of State George Shultz
contributed to the Iran-contra scandal in 1986, when the United States secretly sold
weapons to Iran and used the profits to illegally fund anti-communist guerrillas in
Nicaragua.
"The personal venom under Reagan far exceeded what you have today," says
Raymond Tanter, a member of the National Security Council under Reagan. "But
from an ideological standpoint, this is a more intense conflict."
Powerful allies
In Powell's camp, administration sources say, is CIA Director George Tenet, who
has become one of Bush's top advisers. Tenet has direct access to the president
and holds views close to Powell on Iraq and the Arab-Israeli dispute.
Rumsfeld has his own influential allies, including Vice President Cheney, who
succeeded Rumsfeld as President Ford's chief of staff.
Some foreign leaders express concern about how State-Pentagon clashes will
eventually play out.
In a recent interview with USA TODAY, Jordan's King Abdullah voiced alarm about
a possible invasion of Iraq.
Abdullah said he was worried that Powell's efforts to move forward on a Palestinian-
Israeli peace plan would be undercut by Pentagon officials who prefer to see Israel
impose a military solution to the conflict.
"A lot depends on how well supported the secretary of State is," the king said. "He
knows what it takes. He needs a clear mandate in order to move forward."
White House officials say the president is comfortable receiving conflicting advice
from Powell and Rumsfeld and can be decisive when necessary.
But critics say his job is made more difficult because his national security adviser,
Condoleezza Rice, has trouble forging compromises between Powell and Rumsfeld.
"No one really knows where Rice and Bush come down at the end of the day," says
Geoffrey Kemp, a member of Reagan's National Security Council staff and now an
expert at the Nixon Center, a Washington think tank. "But they are smart enough to
know that most of the rest of the world is rooting for Colin Powell."
Contributing: Jonathan Weisman
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