I THink that is sad, he is one of the few people I realy liked and trusted, However I heard rumors of Condi Taking his place.

he is a good general and i really like his hair style,
anyway,

is his leaving related to wut he said to BEijing government about Taiwan policy , he used really direct lauguage to say that Taiwan belongs to China

He's a good man. I have much respect for him. Personally, I think it'd be another American dream to come true if he became the president of the United States of America. If the world can vote for the US president, it would be him over either Bush or Kerry or anyone else nearby. Sadly, he doesn't even stay as long as he could... understandably though.

I don't think the world would have preferred Powell over Kerry.

I believe, if Powell became the US president, the world would be a much better place for all to live.

Then again, everything serves a purpose. We just don't know before it completely unfolds. We probably will see what the current US policy means to its own future and to the whole world in less than 10 years... or 20?

Following the resignation yesterday of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, President Bush is expected to nominate a successor as early as today, with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice tipped by senior administration officials to succeed him, writes Conor O'Clery, North America Editor, in New York.

Mr Powell was one of four top officials to resign yesterday, bringing to six the number of cabinet members to quit as Mr Bush puts together a new administration following his re-election.

Others stepping down are Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Education Secretary Rod Paige. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans have already announced their intentions to leave the administration.

Mr Powell served notice he was resigning in a letter to President Bush dated last Friday and released yesterday after he and Mr Bush met in the White House.

"As we have discussed in recent months, I believe that now that the election is over, the time has come for me to step down as Secretary of State and return to private life," wrote Mr Powell (67), in his four-paragraph letter.

Mr Powell told reporters later that he and and the President came to a "mutual agreement" that it was time for him to resign.

"I assure you, I'll be working hard until the very, very end," he said, adding that he expected to remain in office for a few weeks or a month while his successor awaits approval by the Senate.

The Secretary of State sought to play down his resignation, telling reporters "it had always been my intention to serve one term" and that he was not departing immediately. Officials said his deputy, Mr Richard Armitage, was likely to leave with him.

While not a surprise, Mr Powell's departure deprives the administration of a moderate voice and highly regarded diplomat at a time when Mr Bush has said he is willing to spend political capital to restore relations with allies and reinvigorate the Middle East peace process.

Mr Powell was weakened by his frequent internal battles over Iraq with Vice President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, whose advice most often prevailed with the President.

While officials encouraged speculation that his job would go to Dr Rice (50), who has supported Mr Bush's hard line in the global war on terrorism, another name frequently mentioned yesterday was the US ambassador to the United Nations, Mr John Danforth (6, a former Republican senator.

Mr Bush nominated White House lawyer Alberto Gonzales to replace Mr Ashcroft last week and the choice of Dr Rice for Secretary of State would indicate a pattern of getting his personal team to head up departments.

Later yesterday Mr Powell met Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and will attend a meeting of Asian officials in Chile tomorrow and a multinational conference on Iraq next week. He also plans to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the Middle East as a narrow window for progress is opened up with elections in Palestinian territories on January 9th. He then will meet European leaders in December to discuss, among other issues, the roadmap to a Middle East settlement.

Mr Powell will be remembered for his presentation to the UN Security Council on February 5th, 2003, when he made the case for the US invasion of Iraq on the basis of weapons of mass destruction which turned out not to exist.

In his letter to Mr Bush, Mr Powell said, "I am pleased to have been part of a team that launched the global war against terror, liberated the Afghan and Iraqi people."

There is no reason to believe that this is an unusual event. The position of Secretary of State in the United States is not a long term position. Look at the last eight. These span almost 25 years.

Name: Edmund Sixtus Muskie
State of Residency: Maine
Non-career appointee
Appointment: May 8, 1980
Entry on Duty: May 8, 1980
Termination of Appointment: Jan 18, 1981

Name: Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr.
State of Residency: Connecticut
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jan 22, 1981
Entry on Duty: Jan 22, 1981
Termination of Appointment: Jul 5, 1982

Name: George P. Shultz
State of Residency: California
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jul 16, 1982
Entry on Duty: Jul 16, 1982
Termination of Appointment: Jan 20, 1989

Name: James Addison Baker, III
State of Residency: Texas
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jan 25, 1989
Entry on Duty: Jan 25, 1989
Termination of Appointment: Aug 23, 1992

Name: Lawrence S. Eagleburger
State of Residency: Florida
Foreign Service officer
Appointment: Dec 8, 1992
Entry on Duty: Dec 8, 1992
Termination of Appointment: Jan 19, 1993
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate. Served as Acting Secretary of State, Aug 23-Dec 8, 1992.

Name: Warren M. Christopher
State of Residency: California
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jan 20, 1993
Entry on Duty: Jan 20, 1993
Termination of Appointment: January 17, 1997

Name: Madeleine Korbel Albright
State of Residency: District of Columbia
Non-career appointment
Appointment: January 17, 1997
Entry on Duty: January 23, 1997
Termination of Appointment: January 19, 2001

Name: Colin L. Powell
State of Residency: Virginia
Non-career appointment
Appointment: January 20, 2001
Entry on Duty: January 20, 2001

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/1682.htm

EDITED

President Bush turned to his most trusted foreign policy adviser, Condoleezza Rice, to lead U.S. diplomacy during his second term, replacing Secretary of State Colin Powell , who often was out of step with more hawkish members of the administration's national security team.

Rice is the second White House loyalist to land a Cabinet post since Bush's re-election triggered a top-tier shakeup that has presented several agency heads with the clear impression that their services were no longer needed. White House counsel Alberto Gonzales is Bush's nominee to replace Attorney General John Ashcroft。

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...et_dcsa103.jpg

What you can do is start showing some more respect in your posts. You can't afford to live on the edge here anymore, Frog.

State your opinions freely, but do so with maturity. No more warnings.

It will be interesting to listen to his comments about international issues now that he is "outside the tent"!