Powell backs Obama on national security record

[February 22, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is rejecting charges that the country is less safe because of the way President Barack Obama has handled national security matters.

The former army general and secretary of state under President George W. Bush says the U.S. "is still at risk" of attack. But he says the country isn't less safe because of Obama's handling of security, as former Vice President Dick Cheney has claimed.

Powell is a Republican who supported Democrat Obama for president in 2008.

Powell says he thinks Obama may have put "too much on the plate" as he tackles domestic issues during a period of deep economic uncertainty.

Powell spoke on CBS's "Face the Nation."

[Associated Press]

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