In fact, some foreign policy analysts say it is premature to look for rifts as the administration settles in and some key posts are unfilled. In some key areas, Powell clearly is the administration's point man. On Yugoslavia, for example, it is up to him to decide whether Belgrade is doing enough to bring Slobodan Milosevic to judgment, thus ensuring continued U.S. aid to the country. On most fronts, meanwhile, Powell apparently is in accord with Bush's national security agenda. He is an enthusiastic booster of Bush's dream of a futuristic shield against missiles to protect the United States from attack.
Critics consider it a costly fantasy and a threat to existing curbs on nuclear weapons.
Powell shares his foreign policy views privately with the president, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser. On at least one occasion Powell, the career soldier, was publicly out of step. The Clinton administration worked hard to improve relations with communist North Korea, with the aim of curbing its dangerous missile development and export programs. A deal trading food and other goods for some curbs on missiles seemed within reach. Powell said three weeks ago that the administration would pick up with the policy of seeking better relations with Pyongyang.