ShiningIce
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) dismissed a widely-publicized suggestion that he resign from President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s administration over the war in Iraq (news - web sites).
Powell, who is seen as the most moderate member of the Bush cabinet and the lone liberal among a stable of social conservatives, said he fully agreed with the president's policy on Iraq and had no plans to leave.
"Personally, I'm very much in sync with the president and he values my services," he said in an interview with National Public Radio.
"I also have to take note of the fact if you would consult any recent Gallup poll, the American people seem to be quite satisfied with the job I'm doing as secretary of state," Powell said.
Asked whether he planned to stay in the Bush administration, Powell replied: "Oh, absolutely."
On Saturday, Bill Keller, a prominent commentator for the influential New York Times, suggested in a widely-reprinted column that the secretary should quit because the war against Iraq was "a failure of Colin Powell's politics."
"The most important reason the secretary of state should go is that the president has chosen a course that repudiates much of what Mr Powell has stood for -- notably his deep suspicion of arrogant idealism," Keller wrote in the piece entitled "Why Colin Powell Should Go."
The column was notable because Keller, who has written positively of Powell in the past, said he continued to have the utmost respect for the secretary but felt that the Bush administration was undeserving of his services.
And, he noted that he had spoken with Powell the day before the piece appeared in the Times, although he said the secretary had dismissed the suggestion of resigning.
"Such a loyal and optimistic man would make some president a great secretary of state," Keller wrote. "Just not this president."
In a conversation with reporters outside the State Department on Tuesday, Powell confirmed he had met with Keller but said he had not spoken to him since the column appeared.
Although Powell said he was not going to quit, he did offer a cryptic assessment of the column in Wednesday's National Public Radio interview, saying: "I appreciate Mr Keller's advice."
Powell, who is seen as the most moderate member of the Bush cabinet and the lone liberal among a stable of social conservatives, said he fully agreed with the president's policy on Iraq and had no plans to leave.
"Personally, I'm very much in sync with the president and he values my services," he said in an interview with National Public Radio.
"I also have to take note of the fact if you would consult any recent Gallup poll, the American people seem to be quite satisfied with the job I'm doing as secretary of state," Powell said.
Asked whether he planned to stay in the Bush administration, Powell replied: "Oh, absolutely."
On Saturday, Bill Keller, a prominent commentator for the influential New York Times, suggested in a widely-reprinted column that the secretary should quit because the war against Iraq was "a failure of Colin Powell's politics."
"The most important reason the secretary of state should go is that the president has chosen a course that repudiates much of what Mr Powell has stood for -- notably his deep suspicion of arrogant idealism," Keller wrote in the piece entitled "Why Colin Powell Should Go."
The column was notable because Keller, who has written positively of Powell in the past, said he continued to have the utmost respect for the secretary but felt that the Bush administration was undeserving of his services.
And, he noted that he had spoken with Powell the day before the piece appeared in the Times, although he said the secretary had dismissed the suggestion of resigning.
"Such a loyal and optimistic man would make some president a great secretary of state," Keller wrote. "Just not this president."
In a conversation with reporters outside the State Department on Tuesday, Powell confirmed he had met with Keller but said he had not spoken to him since the column appeared.
Although Powell said he was not going to quit, he did offer a cryptic assessment of the column in Wednesday's National Public Radio interview, saying: "I appreciate Mr Keller's advice."
