Colin Powell Sounds the Alarm

"Secretary of State Colin Powell doesn't mind sticking up for what he believes, even when it puts him slightly at odds with the boss and stalwarts in the Republican Party. And that makes him a rare and valuable player on the Bush team.

"Last week, Powell called the global HIV/AIDS pandemic 'a catastrophe far worse by orders of magnitude than any other catastrophe or problem or crisis we have on the face of the earth right now. ...I went to the president and said this is a catastrophe worse than terrorism. ...'

"[Powell] outlined the steps needed to fight the war on AIDS. 'We need to get on education. We need to get on treatment. We need to get on cure. We need to educate our youngsters on how to protect themselves. I'm a great believer in abstinence programs. ...But I'm also a believer in protecting oneself, and you may have noticed I got myself in a little trouble recently over the issue.'

"In February, Powell ruffled the feathers of some Christian conservatives when he suggested [during an international forum of young people on MTV] that sexually active young people should use condoms.

"...When it comes to condoms, the United States sends the world mixed messages. The Bush administration, while espousing chastity at home, sends condoms by the barrelful overseas.

"...When he became secretary of state, Powell said he realized that HIV/AIDS was more than a health problem. It was a democracy problem, a social problem, a cultural problem.

"...Powell said he'd 'see what we can do' to gain presidential support of a bipartisan Senate plan to add $700 million more in supplemental spending for global AIDS programs.

"'We could do more, I think,' the secretary of state said, but he added, 'We should not be ashamed of what we have done.'"

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