Wiston Papers

Why Foggy Bottom troubles should worry all of us

This news is not one of either interest or importance to most Americans.  But as a former federal employee who took occasional guidance from the Department of State, it caught my eye.  And by extrapolation it should be watched carefully by all U.S. citizens.

The Washington Post,  this date, detailed the frustratingly slowprocess that Secretary of State John Kerry has encountered in filling vacancies at Foggy Bottom: “Bottleneck of would-be nominees for State Department couldimpede Kerry’s progress” declared the headline.

There are several issues here—some explained in the article; others not mentioned: 

First, Secretary John Kerry always has been long on intellect, but short on political muscle. He is a good choice for diplomacy, but a poor choice for the down-and-dirty game of political hardball. He should be pressuring the White House to move faster on his requests. 

Second, the criticism of Mr. Kerry can be applied to President Obama. Smart but not politically tough. His failure to secure Senate passage of a gun control background check— a measure favored by two thirds of Americans and with his Democrat party in control of the chamber—is a perfect example of his weakness.  Of course, most of us could see that coming when he promised that the survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting massacre “Deserve a vote.” That cry is not as compelling as a “Deserve a victory!”   

The White House undoubtedly is waiting to decide which political donors will be named to the so-called “ice cream” diplomatic posts of Paris, Ottawa, and Tokyo. But there is no excuse for the delay in nominating and pushing confirmation of the ambassadorial appointments that traditionally go to career Foreign Service Officers for assignments in Burkina Faso.  None of these goes to a political appointee and none requires extensive vetting. 

Third, the Senate is culpable for not holding confirmation hearings in a timely fashion. Since it isn’t passing any legislation it should quickly clear the backlog of long overdue State Department nominations. 

Finally, there are far more vacant State Department positions today because there are far more top-level offices than in the past. As with virtually all bureaucracies, the State Department has become increasingly top heavy by expanding the levels of administrative decision-making and multiplying the number of assistant secretaries and deputy undersecretaries.   Here are some examples:

1--At the top of the organizational chart are Secretary Kerry, are his Counselor and Chief of Staff,  Secretary to the United Nations (UN), and Secretary for the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID)

2—Below them are the Deputy Secretaries of State D(B) and D(N)—D is often referred to as the “alter ego” of Mr. Kerry and D(N) is in charge of  Management and Resources.  Not surprisingly there is some unnecessary duplication within their offices.

3—Under D(B) on the left side of the chart, you’ll see three more underlings: one for  Political Affairs (P); a second for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment (E); and a third for Arms Control and International Security Affairs (T).

4—Under D(N) on the right side, you find the underlings for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R),  Management (M), and Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (J).

Wait, there’s more:

5—P (see 3 above) oversees separate agencies for African Affairs (AF) , European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR), East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP),  Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA), and International Organizations (IO).

Take notes because we’re not finished:

6—E (see 3 above) supervises separate agencies for Economic and Business Affairs (EB),  Energy Resources (ENR), Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), and the Office of Chief Economist (OCE).

You guessed it, the list continues:

7—T (see 3 above) is in charge of three areas: Arms Control, Verification and Compliance (AVC); International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN); and Political-Military Affairs (PM). 

Yes, we could stop for a midterm exam.  But let’s push ahead.  Moving to the right side of the organizational chart:

8—R (see 4 above) has three supervisory tasks: Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA);  International Information Programs (IIP); and Public Affairs (PA).

9—M (see 4 above) is responsible for eleven separate agencies: Administration (A);  Budget and Planning (BP); Consular Affairs (CA); Diplomatic Security and Foreign Missions (DS); Foreign Service Institute (FSI);  Comptroller, Global Financial Services (CGFS); Human Resources (HR); Information Resource Management (RM);  Office of Medical Services (MED);  Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO).

Take a deep breath, just one more list:

10—J (see 4 above) has nine agencies: Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO);  Counterterrorism (CT); Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL); International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL); Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM); Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP); and the Office of Global Criminal Justice (OCJ).

I’ll spare you the remaining ten officers who report directly to Mr. Kerry.

My point is simple.  The lack of political muscle by the White House, muted demands by John Kerry, and the cowardice of the Senate all merge to produce an unacceptable stalemate. 

Although the State Department focus of the newspaper article is of little interest to most U.S. citizens,  the reason for the delay is symptomatic of a larger problem that should worry every resident of the nation—the intolerable inaction by our elected and appointed officials. 

Their protracted inertia is inexcusable but all too familiar.  And their failure to do the right thing on a long list of issues is a repugnant stain on our democracy.

Steve Coon

May 05, 2013