It seems Colin Powell is having a change of heart.

THE transformation of Colin Powell has been astonishing. For the past two years, the secretary of state has sometimes seemed to be the Bush administration's in-house opposition. His caution, his distaste for “hard power” and his preference for multilateral support have won him praise and blame in equal measure: praise from those Europeans who think he is the only man preventing a foreign-policy disaster, blame from hawks who say he is the main domestic obstacle to an American-led better ordering of the world.



Yet now the dove has grown claws. Three weeks ago, Mr Powell was urging patience with Iraq and argued that the United Nations' weapons inspectors needed more time. Now, he says, “Iraq's time for choosing peaceful disarmament is fast coming to an end,” and—in full Dick Cheney mode—“inspections will not work.” The voice of the turtle sounds like a war trumpet.