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Colin Powell Resigns
Anarcho-Goth writes "It is all over the media now. Secretary of State Colin Powell has resigned 'effective at your pleasure.' He says that he only planned to hold the position for one term anyway, but I'm sure the rumor mill has other ideas. This makes 6 resignations since the election. My local TV news described it as the most important position to resign so far. Isn't Secretary of State the most important cabinet position, period? Articles from CNN, The UK Guardian, The Associated Press, and Fox News."
This was news last year. More than a year ago he said he would resign after one term. article.
The BBC provides a brief but interesting discussion of the "disengagement of Colin Powell".
UPDATE: Being reported that National security adviser Condoleezza Rice is to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state in his second term.
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"My local TV news described it as the most important position to resign so far. Isn't Secretary of State the most important cabinet position, period?"
No. Common misconception. Ever since the creation of the NSC (National Security Council, AKA "The organization that is/should already be doing almost everything that the Homeland Security department has been created to do") and the beginning of the Cold War, the State Department has been diminishing in power.
The Department of Defense (renamed from "Department of War" at the same time that the NSC was created) and the CIA are in a better position to offer near-instant results, while the State Department often takes years to accomplish even simple tasks. In the climate of the Cold War, many presidents liked instant results better, and so chose to neglect the State Department. The purges of the Anti-Communism movement pressured State Dep. officials to not "rock the boat", lest they lose their jobs, and the McCarthy and others were allowed to run rampant in the State Dep. looking for "pinkos" -- however, when McCarthy went after the Def. Dep., he was crushed and swept out of the way.
Nixon's administration saw a shift change of the NSA (National Security Advisor, head of the NSC, and the postion that Condi Rice holds) to a policy-making position, and to one more powerful in the realm of foreign relations than even the SoS. Everyone knows about Kissinger, Nixon's NSA, whether or not they know what position he held, but how many people can name his Secretary of State? Far fewer, I'd wager, and in fact I'd bet that many people would mistakenly guess that Kissinger was the Sec. of State, as he assumed many of the traditional roles of that position.
The modern SoS is predominantly concerned with making sure that the Dep. of State runs smoothly, while the NSA sets policy from within the whitehouse and governs a data set much larger than that of the SoS. Knowledge is power.
So, in many ways, the NSC, DoD, and CIA are much more powerful than the SD. That said, a president can always choose to give a department more or less power than his predecessors have. Perhaps that's what we'll see happen to the State Department if Rice moves there. Otherwise, it'd be a huge step down for her.