COLIN POWELL SINGS "YMCA" AT SECURITY MEETING by Slobodan Lecik

© Associated Press   JAKARTA, Indonesia (July 2, 2004) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell donned a hard hat and tucked a hammer in his belt Friday, performing a version of the Village People's hit "YMCA" at the conclusion of Asia's largest security meeting.

Tradition dictates that the meeting wrap up with a night of song and dance, provided by the diplomats themselves.  On Friday, Powell danced alongside five other U.S. officials sporting costumes that included an Indian headdress.  The group blasted out a version of the 1970s disco classic, to the delight of foreign ministers from across the Asia-Pacific and Europe.

"President Bush, he said to me: 'Colin, I need you to run the Department of State. We are between a rock and a hard place," Powell and his colleagues sang to the tune of the disco classic.