Bush detainee plan fuels doubts over U.S. - Powell

WASHINGTON, Sep 19 (Reuters) Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview that he decided to publicly oppose the Bush administration's bid to more narrowly define protections for prisoners under the Geneva Conventions because it fuels world doubts about the United States.

''If you just look at how we are perceived in the world and the kind of criticism we have taken over Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and renditions... whether we believe it or not, people are now starting to question whether we're following our own high standards,'' Powell told The Washington Post in an interview published yesteray.

Powell also argued that the Bush administration's proposal to ''clarify'' U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions could backfire on American soldiers.

President George W. Bush's first secretary of state and a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell has rarely opposed the administration publicly since leaving the State Department.

But he took issue with the administration's plan in a letter to Sen. John McCain of Arizona, one of three powerful Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee who have rebelled against the Bush proposal.

McCain, who was himself held prisoner for years during the Vietnam War, released Powell's letter which said ''the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism.'' Powell wrote that he opposed Bush's proposal to redefine the Geneva Conventions standards that require humane treatment or prisoners. Bush insists this is essential for the CIA to elicit valuable information from ''high-value'' detainees.

White House spokesman Tony Snow called the former secretary of state ''confused'' and Bush rejected Powell's objections as ''flawed logic.'' Powell declined to address Bush's comment, The Washington Post said.

''To say that we want to modify, clarify or redefine Common Article 3, which has not been modified for the 57 years of its history, I think adds to the doubt'' about U.S. morality, Powell said. ''Plus I believe that the legitimate concerns that the administration has can be dealt with in other ways.'' Reuters LL DB1157