The current guessing game of how long Powell will remain as secretary of state is much less important than the question of whether he and his successors can adapt and be effective in the world shaped by 9/11 and the strategy of military preemption it provoked….Guiding other nations to make difficult but needed changes is the heart and soul of diplomacy. How well Powell and his diplomats can do this in Saudi Arabia is now a crucial test to his still-unformed legacy.