Sandoval helps Powell at OAS meeting

Friday, June 11, 2004 | 8:23 a.m.

Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval was drafted last weekend by the White House for a special diplomatic mission, the state official said Thursday evening.

White House officials called Sandoval at the end of last week and asked him to be a special adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell at a meeting of the Organization of American States in Ecuador.

Sandoval said he didn't know why he was tabbed for the trip that began Saturday and ended early Thursday morning but guessed that his selection was related to his position on a homeland security committee and to his office's emphasis on public integrity. Combating terrorism and public corruption were two important themes of the conference held in Quito, Ecuador, Sandoval said.

Sandoval represented the United States in bilateral and multilateral negotiations with countries attending the conference.

"You really don't have an appreciation for the importance of diplomacy until you see the representatives of countries coming together," said Sandoval, who had never before traveled outside of North America.

Sandoval said he expects knowledge he picked up in Equador to add expertise to his membership on the State and Local Officials Senior Advisory Committee of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. In particular, advice he received about methods that could be used to keep prospective terrorists from entering the United States would be valuable, he said, declining to specify the advice.

"I think this will allow me to be a better attorney general and to use the experience on behalf of the people of Nevada," Sandoval said.

The first-term Republican was elected in a 2002 landslide and is widely touted as one of the party's top future stars, not just in Nevada but nationally.

The federal government is paying for Sandoval's expenses on the trip, he said. Sandoval co-chairs President Bush's Nevada re-election campaign with Gov. Kenny Guinn.

The Reno native and University of Nevada, Reno and Ohio State University Law School graduate said he was was surprised by the wide-ranging differences between many of the OAS-member countries.

OAS members include all 35 countries in the Americas, although Cuba has been banned from participation in the association since 1962.