Powell's departure raises Arab fears of tougher US line

From Egypt to the Palestinian territories to Qatar to Sudan, commentators praised Powell but many were apprehensive at the idea that US President George W. Bush would name his national security advisor to the State Department.

"I fear that Colin Powell's departure and his replacement by Condoleezza Rice signifies that George Bush's second mandate will be the one of the hawks," said Hassan Nafaa, a professor at Cairo's institute of political studies.

"Rice is more hardline than Powell. She is also very close to Bush and best placed to relate his thinking," he said, but underlined that he did not consider Rice a hawk in the sense of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"I'm also worried that as more of a Russia specialist, with no special knowledge of the Middle East, Mrs Rice could be influenced by previous policies ... and that she will not be innovative."

In Qatar, the Al-Sharq newspaper said Powell's departure marked a "victory for the conservatives... who want to mould the government in their way for the next four years by excluding those who are considered 'doves'."

It said Bush's new mandate "does not inspire optimism... for the region, which is more than ever threatened by the dangers of violence and terrorism, in Iraq like Palestine, due to US policy based on the use of force."