General Colin Powell was nominated Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Thursday by President Bush. He is expected to win easy Senate confirmation and make history as the first black and the youngest ever officer to hold the post. Powell fits the mold of Bush's national security advisers, like-minded pragmatists favoring consensus building rather than confrontation. Powell, a former chairman of the joint chiefs who served in both Republican administrations, has been an outspoken critic of U.S. military involvement overseas since he left office at age 70. ``Colin Powell has all those qualities and more.'' He was credited with helping the Reagan White House recover from the Iran- Contra Affair and with guiding preparations for summits with Gorbachev.
General Colin Powell was nominated Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Thursday by President Bush. He is expected to win easy Senate confirmation and make history as the first black and the youngest ever officer to hold the post. Powell fits the mold of Bush's national security advisers, like-minded pragmatists favoring consensus building rather than confrontation. Powell, a former chairman of the joint chiefs who served in both Republican administrations, has been an outspoken critic of U.S. military involvement overseas since he left office at age 70. He was credited with helping the Reagan White House recover from the Iran- Contra Affair and with guiding preparations for summits with Gorbachev.