POWELL ON MTV

Colin L. Powell proved once again last week that he is no ordinary secretary of state. He spent more than an hour on MTV’s global satellite television program “Be Heard,” fielding questions, some hardball, from young people around the world. His answers were as good as the questions.

A young Afghan who said his mother had been killed by the Taliban wanted to know why the United States waited until Sept. 11 to focus its attention on Afghanistan. Mr. Powell acknowledged that “we were slow off the mark recognizing the nature” of the Taliban. But he credited the Clinton administration with “taking some military action against al-Qaida,” Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization.

A Norwegian woman asked how it felt to “represent a country commonly perceived as the Satan of contemporary politics.” He answered that, “far from being the great Satan, I would say we are the great protector.” He answered that the United States had rebuilt Europe and Japan after World War II defeated communism and fascism, “and the only land we ever asked for was enough land to bury our dead.”

When a Brazilian woman, diagnosed HIV positive, suggested that the United States was “more interested in protecting patents than the lives of those who can’t afford these drugs,” he said this country was working to lower costs and removing some patent restraints, while it also protected “the industries that develop these drugs.”

By far the toughest question was about condoms, a controversial subject that the Bush administration dances around and seems to find embarrassing. A questioner from Milan, describing herself as “a young Catholic woman,” asked about her church’s ban on condoms in an age of AIDS.

Mr. Powell began his answer by saying, “I certainly respect the judgment of the Holy Father and the Catholic Church.” Then he went on to say that condoms were a vital defense against disease and declared: “I not only support their use, I encourage their use among people who are sexually active and need to protect themselves.” He continued: “It is important that the whole international community come together, speak candidly about it, forget about taboos, forget about conservative ideas with respect to what you should tell young people about. It’s the lives of young people that are put at risk by unsafe sex. And, therefore, protect yourself.”

Predictably, Gary Bauer, former Republican presidential candidate and president of American Values, and Tom Coburn, chairman of President Bush’s advisory commission on AIDS, assailed condoms as giving teen-agers a false sense of security. And the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, reflected the administration’s position that abstinence and abstinence education are the most effective way to prevent AIDS and unwanted pregnancy. He interpreted Mr. Powell’s words and said the secretary had “limited his answer to people who are sexually active.”

Despite the backlash and White House clarification, the forthright talk from Mr. Powell was a relief from an official in an administration that prides itself for publicly saying as little as possible.