Mail Call.(Letter to the Editor)

Taking the Measure Of a Mythic Man

Some readers defended Colin Powell from what they considered our biased March 5 SPECIAL REPORT. "The most damning thing about him is that he does not like to shed American blood? Good for him." wrote one reader, while another praised Powell for his "unquestionable loyalty to the American soldier." Others criticized Powell for his "docility" during the gulf war. "After 10 years," wrote one European, "Saddam Hussein continues to make fools of everybody."

Powell in Power

Thanks for a profoundly illuminating article on America's new secretary of State ("Colin Powell: Behind the Myth," SPECIAL REPORT, March 5). Intellectuals in Europe regard Colin Powell as inherently hawkish on all important military and foreign-policy issues simply because he served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the gulf war. So, you were right to inform readers that on several occasions, it was he who warned his civilian superiors that rushing into war without premeditating the implications and the enormous complexities can be worse than counterproductive. Let's hope now that Powell possesses the political and diplomatic skills required to resolve the situation in the Middle East that seems even more volatile and explosive than it was 10 years ago.

Werner Radtke

Paderborn, Germany

Powell's foreign policy, whether as an officer or as a statesman, reflects an unquestionable loyalty to the common American soldier. A modern leader steeped in Census data and Washington hype would be a leader fighting not for the people but for the bureaucracy. The ability to send men and women to die is no less difficult a decision than using your own hands in battle. We should not judge the character of a leader from his willingness to send troops into conflict. A quality leader is one who can forestall the soldiers from ever being used--that's Colin Powell.