Why We Don't Have Enough Diplomats, Vol. XXX Posted by Heather Hurlburt

I've written before on this site that diplomat-bashing seems to have come back in fashion, starting with Rudy Giuliani, who seems to think that the problem with US diplomacy is that US ambassadors don't "understand the policy" well enough; extending to lots of conservative commentators who think everyone in Foggy Bottom should be falling over themselves to volunteer for duty in the Green Zone; and, frankly, even to some of our progressive friends who are under the mistaken impression that everyone who has worked for the US in the last seven years is a Bush Republican.

It broke my heart to read the reports of Ambassador Michael Guest's decision to resign over the lack of benefits for same-sex partners -- the Washington Post piece points out that pets are treated better on overseas assignments than same-sex partners -- for several reasons:

1) Colin Powell took personal responsibility for making Mike the first openly gay ambassador confirmed by the Senate; this is one more proof, on top of much weightier ones, that no one in this Administration, not even Condoleezza Rice, took what Powell did seriously, on policy or on strengthening the State Department. 

2)  Mike was a career guy who tried to make things better through career channels.  This is something free-spirit progressive bloggers, who love to trash career folks and politicals indiscriminately,  need to understand -- we need a backbone of smart, principled career people who really believe the US amounts to something more than a battle of parties and will keep our institutions alive.  Mike got an award for "constructive dissent" but at the end, Rice wouldn't respond to his communications and her senior management people couldn't come up with more than platitudes.

3)  Mike was my boss when I was a young intern lo these getting-to-be-many years ago, and although the experience turned me off of a career in the Foreign Service, I admired him greatly and still do.

Comments

[Nicholas Beaudrot]

Wait ... really? I tended to think the left-of-center netroots have a certain amount of deference for the career civil service professionals. Everyone seemed to think of Richard Clarke as the consummate professional, Carl (?) Ford probably prevented the full-term Bolton appointment, one of the primary complaints about Bushism is that it's not let much of the civil service do their jobs.

[Don Bacon]

Pardon me for having my priorities misplaced, but I'm supposed to get worked up because Michael Guest resigned over the lack of benefits for same-sex partners while the largest foreign policy fiasco in US history is taking place, with no comparable publicity for foreign service officers resigning over a foreign policy which has seriously weakened the US, contributed to future threats and put US world prestige in the dumpster?

Of course US diplomacy is not possible with a militaristic government involved solely with threatening, invading and occupying other countries, so the State Department should be focusing on other matters, such as benefits for same-sex partners, I suppose.

[Zathras]

Every Foreign Service Officer with a mistress is probably thinking the Department doesn't look after their needs adequately either.

I know that just about anything related to sex is sacred ground for social liberals, but right off the top of my head I can think of about a half-dozen things that need to be done to strengthen the State Department, and this doesn't make the cut.

[Neil]

Heather, Mike came right out and blamed Condi, a member of his own party, as the reason.

I take you at your word that Mike is a smart, principled career person, a highly competent pro and an excellent boss. And I see the loss, the personal one for Mike, and the great loss for our country.

I gotta tell you though, BushCo has done more to damage career folks in State and DOJ/Civil Rights/Voting and FEMA and GOA that any one of those free-spirit progressive bloggers... like myself.

For the record, I have not trashed a career employee at State... I did trash one IRS agent (you would have too) and all the new hires at DOJ from Regent University who took and passed a the loyalty oath test. (No, not to the Constitution, to George Bush and the Republican Party.) I don't have to tell you that criminal.

[reenie]

I don't know Neil, but my sense is he's on target that Bush has done much more to destroy career service folks at State (and the notion of career civil service being more important than loyalty to one particular politician) than a bunch of free-spirited progressive bloggers could manage.

Thank you for making this point. Some other bloggers here can choose to make fun or insist there should be higher priorities, but same-sex benefits do matter in recruitment and retention, and even long-term career retention of senior people. Plus, I think your point about Colin Powell and his efforts to bolster State (same-sex partners being just one example) was seriously overlooked by earlier commentary.

[cheap rf gold]

I always heard something from my neighbor that he sometimes goes to the internet bar to play the game which will use him some rf gold，
he usually can win a lot of rf online gold，

[eve isk]

eve isk
I hope i can get eve isk in low price.
i buy eve online isk for you.

[ghost online gold]

You can buy ghost online goldfor your game equipments, players to do the search for the ghost gen of a mysterious invisible enemy in the excitements.

[aoc gold]

My friends like to play it and buy aoc gold. If you have money to buy age of conan gold, you will find it is very useful.

[luxury watches]

I am so with you,rolex watch
luxury watch

[cheap coach handbags]

Thank you for your sharing! I like i very much!

[m3 real]

I would like to say the state department is the great way to distinguish civil unions from marital relationships.So they have a civil union between another person of their gender should not receive benefits that are identical to married couples.