US President-elect George W. Bush was expected to name Condoleezza Rice, an African American woman, as his national security advisor Sunday, before heading for the federal capital for handover talks with incumbent President Bill Clinton.
Bush was expected to announce his nomination of Rice in Austin at 2:30 pm (1730 GMT) before heading to Washington where he was scheduled to arrive at Dulles International Airport at 8:50 PM Sunday (0150 GMT Monday).
Bush, who became president elect Wednesday after a five-week legal battle against his Democratic rival in the race for the White House, Al Gore, on Saturday nominated Gulf War hero, retired General Colin Powell, as his secretary of state.
Powell, 63, is the first African-American to be named to the post in US history.
A hero with wide appeal and a reputation as a man of honor aloof from the political fray, Powell will bring an impeccable military pedigree to his new job.
His assumption of duty will take place only after confirmation by the US Senate.
Powell and Rice will be the first black Americans to hold such key US foreign policy roles.
Rice, 46, a highly qualified academic and fluent Russian speaker earned political kudos as advisor to former president George Bush on how to engineer a soft landing to the Cold War.
Bush announced the first of his cabinet appointments Saturday at an elementary school near his ranch, located some 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of Austin, the Texas capital.
Flanked by Powell and his Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, Bush described Powell, a former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, as "an advisor to our last three presidents providing good counsel, strong leadership and an example of integrity."
"I know of no better person to be the face and voice of American diplomacy than Colin Powell," Bush said. "Wherever he goes ... the world will see the finest of the United States of America."
And Powell, in a strong and confident speech, stressed US policy would be implemented from a position of strength.
"We will stand strong with our friends and allies against those nations that pursue weapons of mass destruction, that practice terrorism," he said.
"We will not be afraid of them. We will not be frightened by them. We will meet them. We will match them. We will contend with them. We will defend our interests from a position of strength," Powell said.
Later at his ranch, Bush, who had been visibly moved at Powell's speech said: "It was emotional because I so admire Colin Powell. I love his story.
"It was a great moment and he's going to do a fantastic job."
And, in response to press questions about his perceived lack of overseas perspective, Bush said he had been abroad "about a dozen times."
He listed vacations in France, Bermuda and Italy, a visit as part of a governor's delegation to Israel and Egypt, a business trip to Guatemala, and visits to China and the Gambia linked to his father's political posting.
He also said he had visited Canada and Mexico "many, many times."
Powell was promised smooth sailing through a Senate confirmation process as Jesse Helms, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowed Saturday to put his candidacy on a fast track.
"The Foreign Relations Committee will move with haste to confirm General Powell, so that he is available to serve the president on his first day in office," Helms said in a written statement.
Under normal circumstances, a president-elect would have more than two months after the election to prepare his move into the White House.
But after the election battle, Bush has just 37 days to fill 6,000 jobs, lay out his legislative wish list and the 2002 federal budget.
In Washington, Bush will hold meetings with President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore to discuss the handover of power after the most protracted and divisive election in modern US history.
Meanwhile, Ari Fleischer, spokesman for the Republican transition team, praised the Clinton administration for offering the Bush team full cooperation.
"The Clinton administration has indeed been helpful, and we look forward to a lot more cooperation with them," Fleischer told Fox television. "The cooperation has been good."
Bush will also meet in Washington with congressional leaders, both Republicans and Democrats.
Bush will be formally elected Monday by the 538-member Electoral College, where he holds 271 votes, one more than the 270 needed to win the presidency.
He will be sworn in as the nation's 43rd president on January 20 -- AUSTIN, Texas (AFP)
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