State Department a Mess?
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James Joyner | Thursday, January 11, 2007 |
Robert Novak’s column today pours more cold water on the prospects of turning around the mess in the Middle East.
Republicans in Congress who do not want to be quoted tell me that the State Department under Condoleezza Rice is a mess. This comes at a time when the U.S. global position is precarious. While attention is focused on Iraq, American diplomacy is being tested worldwide — in Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Korea and Sudan. The judgment by thoughtful Republicans is that Rice has failed to manage that endeavor.
Rice’s previous government duties had been as an analyst and staffer rather than as a manager. That made it important for her to name a strong deputy secretary to run the building.
The rest of the piece reveals discusses the messiness of that endeavor, likely fed by the disgruntled. Still, the combination of poor management, massive egos, and a rebellious bureaucracy sounds quite plausible.
I would note, too, that Condi Rice seems to have dropped off the list of favored presidential candidates touted by the enthusiasts.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Isn't Negroponte coming over to be her new #2? Won't that solve everything? (/sarcasm)
Rice has been a miserable failure at every gov't job she's held. Why anyone expected that to change is beyond me.
She is a woman in a man's world. Say what you want about gender equality in the workplace but I would bet big money (again) that there are males in that Department who just refuse to be "led" by a woman and they quietly do everything they can to make sure she fails.
I expect the very same thing to happen to Ms. Pelosi. Ever notice the sly grin on Mr. Hoyer's face?
patrick McGuire -- didn't we have a female sectary of state a few years ago that did not have these problems?
Rice is a lackey for Bush, nothing more. Her entire career is based on blind loyalty and toeing the party line. She is simply another incompetent in an administration filled with them.
didn’t we have a female sectary of state a few years ago that did not have these problems?
And somehow, I doubt that Madeleine Albright ever referred accidentally to Clinton as her "husband."
Are y'all suggesting that Madeleine Albright had no problems? Y'all are kidding right? Who do you think created the climate for today's problems?
It's not about whether Albright's policies were correct; it's about whether she was so incompetent that she couldn't hold her division together. Rice is that incompetent.
Patrick,
So the world was a perfect place until Albright came along and screwed everything up?
She is simply another incompetent in an administration filled with them.
Interesting coming from one who lacks the ability to spell or form original, coherent thoughts.
LDJ,
Those who can, debate.
Those who can't, check spelling.
I think we all know which side of the fence you are on...
O.k. let's go for the coherent thought part of it. What part of your echoing partisan propaganda qualifies as debate?
You remind me of the Monty Python skit:
I'm here for an argument...
No you're not...
This isn't an argument, you're just contradicting me.
LJD,
Come back when you have something interesting to say dude. No one will be holding their breath waiting...
In the meantime, there must be some typos somewhere on the internet that you can police, since you arn't in Iraq on "The Mission".
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