The inner workings and logic of the US Department of State are a bit of a mystery for most of us, and it's likely that Bush will spend some - or maybe a lot - of his poltical capital reforming it.
Diplomacy is not for idealists. It involves putting on shows, making unpalatable compromises, and taking the cynics' view of world affairs. It is what fails when wars begin, but it has few measurable successes to show for itself.
Condi Rice is much less likely than Colin Powell to accept the organizational inertia in the State Department and will probably fire or retire people rather than try to raise morale. It will be made abundantly clear that foreign policy is set in the West Wing and not at Foggy Bottom.
This is probably a long-overdue adjustment. But it won't amount to much if Rice uses diplomats to assert US interests at the expense of exercising diplomacy. The Bush administration has let everything but military power atrophy in the last few years, and more than ever we need effective diplomacy. In other words, it's time for State officials to focus on what they're (supposed to be) good at. We'll see if Condi can do that.
Sent from my Blackberry
Comments