Such impassioned sentiments do not appear to be widely shared.
But what is widespread within the State Department is the view that the U.S. intervention in Iraq ultimately must be judged in part by whether it generates more anti-American terrorism. Diplomats worry that the administration is insensitive to the risks its policies carry.
"When I was a kid, conservatives were the ones who did not want to take big risks" to change the world, recalled one middle-aged veteran at State, adding that "these people seem willing to take huge risks" that can truly be termed radical.
"Their willingness to roll the dice with people's lives I find troubling," he said.
Powell remains highly popular within the State Department. But some wonder whether the former general is too loyal to Bush and should consider resigning if his powers are being usurped with presidential approval by the hawks agitating on his right flank.
Others note that most such resignations on principle do almost nothing to change the political system.
Powell reportedly has told close associates he doesn't need the job, but Bush knows he is loyal and will carry out the president's decisions. "If you come after us, you're in for a fight, and I'm going to fight back," Powell told senators last week. And senior officials say Bush, though more conservative than Powell, has frequently sided with the former general on key issues.
But some of Powell's underlings, much as they revere their boss, are worried that their team is losing more battles than they'd like to admit.
"If you've got to deal with the Pentagon at the working level, it's a difficult existence," one senior official conceded. "They're so ideological, and they're so over the top now that the testosterone is flowing" since the Iraq war.
"But morale here is not crashing," he said. "On the contrary, we are entering a period in which we are going to need to turn to diplomacy -- in the Middle East and beyond."
