YETMO

”What’s New? The State Department” (October 9 – 13, 2006)

Never have I felt so much and so little were transpiring simultaneously. This is a strange week.

On the political front, the Axis of Evil are hogging the spotlight and promise to do so for the foreseeable future, up to and through the mid-term elections. Domestically, politicians continue to attack each other. Voters are dreaming of a “None of the Above” entry on the ballot. That choice would win in a landslide.

Within our endearing and beloved Executive Branch, personnel systems and contracting out considerations continue to hold interest and grab headlines.

Yet, something is appearing on the horizon. It’s actually been there for years, but true to its nature, it’s been quiet, discreet, unassuming, and nearly invisible.

It’s our Diplomatic Corps. By that I mean workers at the State Department. They are now required to repair the damage done by the Department of Defense under Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s leadership and, of course, those pesky Iraqi insurgents who have opted out of the planned democratization of the country.

Excuse my characterization of the Defense Department. I exaggerate to make a point. News report for years have suggested that Secretary Rumsfeld and his coterie of commanders have been unsuccessfully directing the dance in the doomed Middle Eastern theater.

How can we be certain how much influence Defense enjoyed versus State? If we will ever know for sure, I’m afraid we’ll have to await the verdict of historians over the next few decades. Conventional wisdom offers a simplistic assessment. The neoconservatives in the Defense Department and White House have been calling the shots while silencing any other countervailing voices in the marketplace of ideas. I suspect this simplistic answer is simply too simple to be either correct or comprehensive.

Regardless of the forthcoming historical assessments and inevitable revisionist accounts for innumerable decades to come, I believe our State Department folks will move to center stage in this tragic unfolding passion play and will be called upon to save ourselves from unreasonable foreign leaders – and ourselves.

Conditions worldwide appear to be deteriorating, as violence and unspeakable atrocities seem to increase unabated.

Although elected political leaders will ultimately make the policy decisions and steer this country in one direction of another, I suspect that there will be an increasing premium placed upon career Executive Branch employees to offer thoughtful insights and recommendations to help us move forward properly.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has recently directed that aspiring agency employees accept assignments at a hardship post or two to include on their resumes, if they wish to advance in the ranks. The Secretary’s prescient policy presages the criticality of effective engagement with countries and citizens in the world’s hottest spots.

Lay down the gauntlet. It’s moving across the river, from Virginia, to State Department headquarters just a short distance from the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial.

One thing is for certain. This country needs skilled and talented State Department employees to deal with countries led by megalomaniacs who wish to instill ideological extremes on their populations.

Let’s watch closely in the coming months and see if the State Department steps up to the plate, which it sorely needs to do. Let’s also witness whether political circumstances will permit or prohibit that.