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Secretary of state Colin Powell is undergoing prostate surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Spokesman Adam Ereli said the surgery had been scheduled for some time and he described it as "routine intervention."


Ereli said Powell is expected to be hospitalized for several days, then go home to recuperate. Deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage will be in charge in his absence, Ereli said.


In a statement, the State Department said that Powell "is undergoing surgery this morning for prostate cancer," and that after he returned home from the surgery would be on a "reduced schedule."

Powell, 66, is a retired four-star general who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. He held that position during the Persian Gulf War.

He has been Bush's secretary of state for his entire term. There has been much speculation whether he will continue in that position if Bush is re-elected next year.

Powell is credited with winning international support for a UN resolution last year that led to the return of weapons inspectors in Iraq. But he ultimately was unable to win a second resolution in support of the US-led war.

About 190,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the United States every year, and about 30,000 men died of the disease in 2002, according to American Cancer Society statistics.
Sorry, I had too.  

Good one. [:D]

Only one reply?

[s]Colin[/s] colon cancer is very serious.

[BD]

Prostate Cancer ain't Colon Cancer.  It ain't no joke, but it's not as serious as colon cancer.