In the Hot Seat

By DAVID ELLIS

Senate confirmation for a second term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a virtual certainty, but COLIN POWELL can expect some uncomfortable moments along the way. Several members of the Armed Services Committee, led by Georgia's Sam Nunn, recognize Powell as a primary source for Bob Woodward's controversial book The Commanders. The Senators will ask the general whether he truly preferred economic sanctions to war against Iraq, as the book claims, and whether it was appropriate for him to disclose the confidential advice he gave to the President.

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart