CNN.com - Foreign policy rift simmers in White House
Woodward book details administration infighting

A foreign policy rift simmering in the Bush administration shows no signs of mending and could affect Iraq policy as well as U.S. dealings in the Middle East and with North Korea and China.

For the moment, Secretary of State Colin Powell, a centrist, appears to have the upper hand, prevailing over hard-liners like Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in persuading President Bush to seek U.N. Security Council approval on disarming Iraq.

The victory could be short-lived.

Cheney and Rumsfeld remain a potent force, and Bush's natural tendencies appear to favor bold action over Powell-style cautious diplomacy. Meanwhile, Republican midterm gains in the House and Senate have diminished Democratic influence as a force in foreign policy, further emboldening conservatives.

Bush also must choose among conflicting advice as he makes important decisions on Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, North Korea's nuclear threat and growing Chinese military and economic influence.

In family discussions Thursday, everyone was supporting Powell. My socially conservative sister, in seeing first hand the State Republican party influence on school districts, no longer usually votes Republican although she has not switched to being a Democrat.