Senator Lugar on Twitter vs. Terror

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Is the State Department ready for this brave new world?



The ranking member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar writes a piece for Foreign Policy on “How the U.S. State Department should enable and encourage social-networking sites in the global fight for freedom (FP | Argument | January 6). Excerpts below:  

The adroit use of social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and others, coupled with text messages and increasingly widespread mobile-phone technology, can help lend support to existing grassroots movements for freedom and civil rights, connect people to information, and help those in closed societies communicate with the outside world. It also promises to give a strong economic boost to small entrepreneurs and the rural poor. The World Bank estimates that for every 10 percent increase in the number of mobile-phone users in a developing country, there is nearly a 1 percent increase in its economic output.

[…]

But social networking technologies are more often used to enable individuals across a country, or across the globe, to interact, engage, and become empowered. Although this means that our government will not be able to control the message as well as it might with conventional public diplomacy tools, I believe it is a risk worth taking. Terrorists and other anti-American propagandists have for some time been using the Internet and other techniques to communicate and recruit. America needs to beat them at their own game, especially since we invented most of the technology.

I would encourage the administration and our diplomats to be nimble, flexible, and innovative as they pursue a wide range of foreign-policy initiatives that use these new communication and connection techniques. Diplomacy and development are our best means of winning the global war of ideas, and we must come to the battle armed with the most modern tools at our disposal.

Read the whole thing here.

In 1975, Donald Warwick of Harvard University wrote "A Theory of Public Bureaucracy" a 252-page book on the Politics, Personality and Organization in the State Department where he says:  

The motivational mix in federal agencies varies, but in most cases includes heavy emphasis on security. The rewards are job tenure, regular promotions, adequate salaries, a clean work place, and better-than-average retirement benefits. Many positions, particularly at higher levels, involve inherently interesting work and offer the employee ample opportunities to express his talents. But in most established agencies, there is little call for entrepreneurship, creativity,  innovation and risk-taking. These qualities are neither solicited nor rewarded, and may be punished.

The book, by the way, is an excellent study on the oldest executive department in the union.  Although written over 30 years ago, many of the problems and organizational issues that he talks about in the book are familiar as day.

One of the reports he cited in the book is called the State Department's Task Force on the Stimulation of Creativity (can you believe that?) which concluded that "conformity is prized in the Foreign Service above all qualities." 

... The pressures to avoid rocking the boat, to avoid dress and behavior which depart from the norms of the group, to avoid expression of controversial views are of the subtle, unspoken kind which are hard to document. But we have the testimony of a broad cross section of the officers whose views we sought that they are a powerful, all pervasive influence. Such pressures, of course, are the death of the creative impulse (U.S. State Department, 1970, p.310). 

Senator Lugar in his piece makes two important points in this new engagement: 1) less control of the message and 2) nimbleness, flexibility and innovation in engagement. Both points are still kind of "foreign objects" in the State Department's galaxy.

I have no doubt that the desire to control the message is what cause the demise of Madam le Consul's blog.  The "tried and true" in the bureaucracy is often preferable than "wild ideas" or even simple new ideas.  The prevailing wisdom might be that shutting her down "protects" her and of course, by extension the mother ship.  But how can an organization presume to "beat the enemies" at their own game when it has low tolerance for  employees engaging with "friendlies" on the web.  And if you can get in trouble for saying something that has not been cleared through the 12-steps program within the mission and the bureaus, how can you encourage flexibility and innovation?        

Senator Lugar says "we must come to the battle armed with the most modern tools at our disposal."  I hate to tell Senator Lugar this.  The tools are here alright.  Bright and shiny and ready for razzle dazzle.  But "control" and "culture" have not shown up for the party.  It remains to be seen if they'll make it here before 2050.           

     

        

SFRC Clears USAID and State Dept Nominees

Shah, Warlick, M., Warlick, J., Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, Rowe, Fernandez, Wills, Andrew, Nelson, King, Kennedy, Donahoe, Zeitlin

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee cleared the following nominations yesterday (reported on December 8, 2009 by Mr. Kerry without printed report). These nominations now go to the Senate for a full vote.

Rajiv J. Shah, of Washington, to be Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, vice Henrietta Holsman Fore, resigned.

Mary Burce Warlick, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Serbia.

James B. Warlick, Jr., of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Bulgaria.

Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, of California, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Hungary.

Leslie V. Rowe, of Washington, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Mozambique.

Alberto M. Fernandez, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

Mary Jo Wills, of the District of Columbia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Mauritius, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Seychelles.

Anne Slaughter Andrew, of Indiana, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Costa Rica.

David Daniel Nelson, of Minnesota, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

Betty E. King, of New York, to be Representative of the United States of America to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador.

Laura E. Kennedy, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service as U.S. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament.

Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, of California, for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service as the United States Representative to the UN Human Rights Council.

Jide J. Zeitlin, of New York, to be Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador.

Jide J. Zeitlin, of New York, to be Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations during his tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform.

SFRC Hearings: Andrew, Nelson, King, Kennedy, Donahoe

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1^st Session

Presiding: Senator Dodd

Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2009Time: 1:00 P.M.Building: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building

NOMINATIONS:

Anne Slaughter Andrew, of Indiana ,to be Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica

David Daniel Nelson, of Minnesota ,to be Ambassador to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay

The Honorable Betty E. King, of New York ,to be Representative of the United States to the Officeof the United Nations and Other International Organizationsin Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador

The Honorable Laura E. Kennedy, of New York, ,for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of serviceas U.S. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament

Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, of California ,for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of serviceas the United States Representative to the UN Human Rights Council

The prepared testimonies and hearing videos should be posted in this page.

SFRC Hearing: Today, Rajiv Shah’s Nomination for USAID

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1^st Session

Presiding: Senator KerryDate: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 Time: 10:00 A.M. Building: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senator Kerry's Opening Statement

Senator Lugar's Opening Statement

NOMINEE:

Rajiv J. Shah, of Washington ,to be Administrator of the United States Agencyfor International Development (USAID)

The prepared testimony and video should be posted in this page. Haven’t figured out where they put the links to the hearing videos at this time. From the looks of it, based on its place holders here, we should expect a section for Statements and Hearing Files in this new website. Audio, video and transcript of hearings presumably will be posted under the Hearings Files.Updated @8:57 pmClick here to go to the SFRC hearing page. Click on the link “ Archived Version” "Recorded Hearing" to watch the video. Video is 130:05 minutes in length. The hearing starts at 25:14 minutes into the video with Senator Kerry’s opening statement. Rajiv Shah’s prepared testimony is here (pdf).

Updated: 12/2I have added links to the opening statements of Senators Kerry and Lugar above. You can also read the Questions for the Record Submitted for the Nomination of Rajiv Shah to be USAID Administrator. The nominee provided written answers to the 20 pre-hearing questions from Senator Kerry (the Word doc was obtained by Josh Rogin of The Cable).

SFRC Report: How We Failed to Get Osama bin Laden

Image by Michael Foley Photography via Flickr

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) posted today its report titled “Tora Bora Revisited: How We Failed to Get Bin Laden and Why It Matters Today.” And in black and white print, it points fingers -- “the decision not to deploy American forces to go after bin Laden or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks.” Elsewhere in the report, and much harsher: “The responsibility for allowing the most wanted man in the world to virtually disappear into thin air lies with the American commanders who refused to commit the necessary U.S. soldiers and Marines to finish the job.”

You think maybe one of those guys named in the report would take to the air waves or the op-ed pages to rebut this in the next 24-48 hours? Quick excerpts below:

Fewer than 100 American commandos were on the scene with their Afghan allies and calls for reinforcements to launch an assault were rejected. Requests were also turned down for U.S. troops to block the mountain paths leading to sanctuary a few miles away in Pakistan. The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines. Instead, the U.S. command chose to rely on airstrikes and untrained Afghan militias to attack bin Laden and on Pakistan’s loosely organized Frontier Corps to seal his escape routes. On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan’s unregulated tribal area. Most analysts say he is still there today.

The decision not to deploy American forces to go after bin Laden or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, the architects of the unconventional Afghan battle plan known as Operation Enduring Freedom. Rumsfeld said at the time that he was concerned that too many U.S. troops in Afghanistan would create an anti-American backlash and fuel a widespread insurgency. Reversing the recent American military orthodoxy known as the Powell doctrine, the Afghan model emphasized minimizing the U.S. presence by relying on small, highly mobile teams of special operations troops and CIA paramilitary operatives working with the Afghan opposition. Even when his own commanders and senior intelligence officials in Afghanistan and Washington argued for dispatching more U.S. troops, Franks refused to deviate from the plan.[…]After bin Laden’s escape, some military and intelligence analysts and the press criticized the Pentagon’s failure to mount a full-scale attack despite the tough rhetoric by President Bush. Franks, Vice President Dick Cheney and others defended the decision, arguing that the intelligence was inconclusive about the Al Qaeda leader’s location. But the review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora.[…]Regardless of the exact number of enemy fighters, assaulting Tora Bora would have been difficult and probably would have cost many American and Afghan lives. The Special Operations Command’s history offered this tightly worded assessment: ‘‘With large numbers of well-supplied, fanatical AQ troops dug into extensive fortified positions, Tora Bora appeared to be an extremely tough target.’’ For Dalton Fury, the reward would have been worth the risk. ‘‘In general, I definitely think it was worth the risk to the force to assault Tora Bora for Osama bin Laden,’’ he told the Committee staff. ‘‘What other target out there, then or now, could be more important to our nation’s struggle in the global war on terror?’’[…]The responsibility for allowing the most wanted man in the world to virtually disappear into thin air lies with the American commanders who refused to commit the necessary U.S. soldiers and Marines to finish the job.[…]For American taxpayers, the financial costs of the conflict have been staggering. The first eight years cost an estimated $243 billion and about $70 billion has been appropriated for the current fiscal year—a figure that does not include any increase in troops. But the highest price is being paid on a daily basis in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where 68,000 American troops and hundreds of U.S. civilians are engaged in the ninth year of a protracted conflict and the Afghan people endure a third decade of violence. So far, about 950 U.S. troops and nearly 600 allied soldiers have lost their lives in Operation Enduring Freedom, a conflict in which the outcome remains in grave doubt in large part because the extremists behind the violence were not eliminated in 2001.

Read the entire report here.

SFRC Website Finally Gets a Make Over, Sort Of

Screen Capture of New SFRC Website

The much awaited make-over of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee page is finally here. The new website looks classy, has a better layout than the previous one and much better photos (except that they’re still using Senator Lugar’s old photo). The main page includes a welcome message from the SFRC Chairman, photos of both the chairman and the ranking member on its landing page, as well as the names of committee members and the list of subcommittees. It has links to the hearings page, and the press sites for both the chairman and the ranking member. The “About” page includes links to Committee History and Committee Rules and Jurisdiction.

There is a link to the contact page at the very bottom of each page. But don’t get your hopes up because it looks like a “cut and paste” thingy from the previous website:

U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations446 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510-6225

Majority Phone: (202) 224-4651 Minority Phone: (202) 224-6797For internship information with the Majority Office,please send email to democrat_interns@foreign.senate.gov.For internship information with the Minority Office,please send email to katie_lee@foreign.senate.gov.

Back in February Brian Young, the new webmaster on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff had a piece on TPM about updating the SFRC website. Part of what he posted at TPM below:

Because we're not just looking to spruce up the website, drag it into the 21st century with links to press releases, video of hearings, etc, etc. We want to do more than that; we want to create a website worthy of the Committee. Of all Committees in Congress, this is the one most suited for a powerful, interactive website.This is a priority for Senator Kerry. He hired me with this in mind. He wants a site that creates a portal into the foreign policy deliberations this nation needs to have to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

This site will be designed to involve people in a conversation about the future of this country's foreign policy.

I don’t know if this site has been officially rolled out. My old link just went dark and so I had to look this up. I can find the links to the prepared testimonies but can find no links to the hearing videos at this time nor any of the promised “interactive” thingies.

Something that would also not make the general constituents happy is the absence of a a real contact page for the committee staff. I hope this is still a work in progress.

Recently somebody wrote to us about a certain ambassadorial nomination. When told to contact the SFRC, the writer complained that he/she had already contacted the senator representing his/her state. And that trying to contact the chairman or the ranking member of the SFRC was almost impossible. The offices wanted to know if you’re a constituent before they talk to you. I can understand the need for this when it comes to the individual offices of the senators. But the Committee has its own staff; can’t they – you know, assign a catch-all email or a fax number for the interested public?

Related Post:SFRC Website Make Over - When?

SFRC Hearings: Rowe, Fernandez, Wills, Goldberg

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1^st Session

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009Time: 3:30 P.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Feingold

Nominees:

Panel 1:

• The Honorable Leslie V. Rowe, of Washington to be Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique
• Alberto M. Fernandez, of Virginia to be Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea
• Mary Jo Wills, of the District of Columbia to be Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Republic of Seychelles

Panel 2:

• The Honorable Philip S. Goldberg, of the District of Columbia to be Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research

See the video of the confirmation hearings and read the prepared testimonies submitted to the committee here.

SFRC Clears 14 State Dept Nominations

Fernandez, Barton, King, Kennard, Lomellin, Stroum, Polt, Tefft, Huebner, Prahar,

Also clears MCC’s Yohannes, IADB’s Arnavat and EBRD’s Hudson

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee cleared the following nominations yesterday (reported on November 17, 2009 by Mr. Kerry without printed report). These nominations now go to the Senate for a full vote.

Jose W. Fernandez, of New York, to be anAssistant Secretary of State (Economic,Energy, and Business Affairs), vice Daniel S.Sullivan, resigned.

Frederick D. Barton, of Maine, to beRepresentative of the United States ofAmerica on the Economic and Social Councilof the United Nations, with the rank ofAmbassador.

Frederick D. Barton, of Maine, to be anAlternate Representative of the UnitedStates of America to the Sessions of theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations,during his tenure of service asRepresentative of the United States ofAmerica on the Economic and Social Councilof the United Nations.

Robert R. King, of Virginia, to be SpecialEnvoy on North Korean Human RightsIssues, with the rank of Ambassador.

William E. Kennard, of the District ofColumbia, to be Representative of the UnitedStates of America to the European Union,with the rank and status of AmbassadorExtraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Carmen Lomellin, of Virginia, to be PermanentRepresentative of the United States ofAmerica to the Organization of AmericanStates, with the rank of Ambassador, viceHector E. Morales, resigned.

Cynthia Stroum, of Washington, to beAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to Luxembourg.

Michael C. Polt, of Tennessee, a CareerMember of the Senior Foreign Service, Classof Minister-Counselor, to be AmbassadorExtraordinary and Plenipotentiary of theUnited States of America to the Republic ofEstonia.

John F. Tefft, of Virginia, a Career Member ofthe Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinaryand Plenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to Ukraine.

David Huebner, of California, to beAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to New Zealand, and to serveconcurrently and without additionalcompensation as Ambassador Extraordinaryand Plenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to Samoa.

Peter Alan Prahar, of Virginia, a CareerMember of the Senior Foreign Service, Classof Counselor, to be AmbassadorExtraordinary and Plenipotentiary of theUnited States of America to the FederatedStates of Micronesia.

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

Daniel W. Yohannes, of Colorado, to be ChiefExecutive Officer, Millennium ChallengeCorportation, vice John J. Danilovich,resigned.

INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Gustavo Arnavat, of New York, to be UnitedStates Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank for a term ofthree years, vice Miguel R. San Juan.

EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

James LaGarde Hudson, of the District ofColumbia, to be United States Director of theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment, vice Kenneth L. Peel.

SFRC Hearings: The Warlicks, Tsakopoulos Kounalakis

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th Congress1^st Session

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009Time: 10:15 A.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Shaheen

Nominees:

• Mary Burce Warlick, of Virginia to be Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia
• James B.Warlick Jr., of Virginia to be Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria
• Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, of California to be Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary

See the video of the confirmation hearings and read the prepared testimonies submitted to the committee here.

S. 1524: USAID Reform Bill Scheduled for Mark Up

The Kerry-Lugar foreign aid reform bill is scheduled for mark up today at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. John Rogin of The Cable has some background on this here. Rogin reports that the State Department leadership “has been asking Kerry to slow-walk the bill, not wanting the legislation to preempt State's Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR).” But apparently, Senator Lugar wanted this to move along and "It's important for Kerry to maintain his arm-link with Lugar, so he pushed back." Rogin quotes one development expert close to the discussions.

S.1524 also known as the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009, amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID):

(1) an Assistant Administrator for Policy and Strategic Planning to assist in matters related to policy planning, strategic planning, program design, research, evaluation, and budget allocation and management;(2) a Bureau for Policy and Strategic Planning whose primary duties shall include policy and long-term strategy development, evaluation of program effectiveness, and establishment of resource and workforce allocation criteria. Establishes:

• (1) in the Bureau for Policy and Strategic Planning an Office for Learning, Evaluation, and Analysis in Development;

• (2) the Council on Research and Evaluation of Foreign Assistance and the Council on Research and Evaluation of Foreign Assistance Advisory Board.

The bill directs the Administrator of USAID to: (1) develop a comprehensive workforce and human resources strategy and a related task force to support the objective of promoting development and reducing global poverty; and (2) establish career guidelines for Foreign Service officers and civil service officers that incorporate interagency, intergovernmental, or international organization rotational assignments.

It also directs the President to require all federal departments and agencies to make publicly available on their Web sites comprehensive and accessible information about U.S. foreign assistance on a program-by-program and country-by-country basis. Sets forth USAID program fund guidelines.

If you are currently with USAID, you might want to read Section 7 of this bill as it relates to workforce planning requirement for the agency. Section 8 covers rotations, promotions, including promotions into the senior ranks and external training and educational opportunities for USAID personnel.

SEC. 7. COMPREHENSIVE WORKFORCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY FOR THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

(a) Comprehensive Workforce and Human Resources Strategy for the United States Agency for International Development- The Administrator shall develop and implement a comprehensive workforce and human resources strategy for the Agency to support the objective of promoting development and reducing global poverty.

(b) Scope- The strategy required under subsection (a) shall be a strategy for modernizing the workforce of the United States Agency for International Development in support of foreign assistance and policy priorities, and shall--

• (1) determine long-term Agency personnel priorities, including priorities over 5- and 10-year time periods;

• (2) identify career professional development programs for all personnel, including training, language, and education, interagency and intergovernmental rotations, and assignment opportunities outside the United States Government;

• (3) include an assessment of future development and foreign policy priorities and the implications of such priorities for technical and policy expertise, including how to meet future unanticipated demands brought about by manmade and natural disasters;

• (4) include an overseas facilities and security assessment examining the implications of such facilities and security for personnel increases;

• (5) include the appropriateness of regional platforms to perform necessary Agency functions and to provide services to other donors and organizations;

• (6) consider structural reform options to professionalize the human resource capacity of the Agency, including options to outsource the entirety of the human resource capacity of the Agency; and

• (7) address the means to enable the Agency to access cutting-edge technical and managerial expertise.

(c) Factors To Consider- In developing the strategy required under subsection (a), the Administrator shall, among other things--

• (1) examine the objectives the Agency is mandated to fulfill, and assess whether its current workforce model effectively supports the goals of the Agency;

• (2) review the Agency’s workforce evolution and identify the additional program demands that have been placed on the workforce in the past 10 years;

• (3) examine different personnel and workforce management models from other United States Government agencies, international organizations, and the private sector and determine the comparative advantages the models might offer and whether they would allow the Agency to better structure its workforce to carry out its responsibilities and meet the challenges of a changing environment;

• (4) examine different bureaucratic and legislative constraints facing the Agency in implementing a comprehensive workforce planning and management system and how these constraints can be addressed, including--

• (A) which limitations, if any, currently exist that prevent the Agency from hiring the right people for the right positions in a timely manner, including mid-level hires and reentry of mid-level professionals into the Agency; and

• (B) how this compares with other organizations, such as the Department of State and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and how the Agency compares to the Department of State and the MCC in its ability to attract and retain high caliber professionals;

• (5) examine the advantages and disadvantages of the Agency’s use of contractors in the last 10 years to carry out its core mission and management responsibilities;

• (6) assess the scope and effectiveness of training, including the availability of language training, for Agency personnel, and the extent to which available trainings support carrying out Agency objectives; and

• (7) present a cost analysis for using a contracting model versus a direct hire model and determine the cost savings and consequences that could result from the elimination of institutional contractors and the hiring of the same professionals as personal services contractors.

SEC. 8. PERSONNEL AND HUMAN RESOURCES.

(a) Career Professional Development- Chapter 2 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2381 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 630 the following new section:

SEC. 630A. INTERAGENCY AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ROTATIONS.

(a) Rotations-

• (1) CAREER GUIDELINES- The Administrator shall establish career guidelines for Foreign Service officers and civil service officers that incorporate interagency, intergovernmental, or international organization rotational assignments. The guidelines established under this paragraph shall include--

• (A) selection;

• (B) professional education and training;

• (C) types of relevant interagency, intergovernmental, and international organization assignments; and

• (D) such other matters as the Administrator considers appropriate.

• (2) PROMOTIONS TO SENIOR RANKS- Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish additional guidelines that consider participation by relevant officers in at least 1 interagency, intergovernmental, or international organizational rotational assignment of at least 6 months as a factor for promotion into the ranks of the Senior Foreign Service or Senior Executive Service.

• (3) PROMOTION POLICY OBJECTIVES FOR ASSIGNMENTS TO INTERAGENCY, INTERGOVERNMENTAL, AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS-

• (A) QUALIFICATIONS- The Administrator shall ensure that promotion precepts and promotion panels do not penalize officers who have been assigned to interagency, intergovernmental or international organizations.

• (B) REPORT- The Administrator shall provide an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees that--

• (i) specifies the aggregate number of officers and the promotion rates of officers who are serving in, or have served in, interagency, intergovernmental, or international organization rotational assignments; and

• (ii) details efforts to meet the objectives described in paragraph (1).

(b) External Training and Educational Opportunities- It is the sense of Congress that--

• (1) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development should augment and expand external training and educational opportunities for Foreign Service and civil service personnel and expand opportunities for work assignments to entities outside the United States Government;

• (2) a strong development agency should have a knowledgeable and capable workforce that is familiar with and has access to cutting edge development practices, methodologies, ideas, work experience, and programs; and

• (3) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development should ensure that personnel of the Agency have opportunities during their careers to obtain a range of knowledge-building work experiences and advanced education and training in academic and other relevant institutions in the United States and abroad to increase the capacity of the Agency to fulfill its mission.’.

Read the whole text of the bill here.

In a related item -- Anne-Marie Slaughter, the State Department's Director of Policy Planning Staff and one of the leads in the QDDR process at State was over at the Center for American Progress yesterday as keynote speaker for its event on "Integrating the Instruments of National Power." She was quoted as saying that "the overall aim of the QDDR is to integrate and elevate development and diplomacy across the spectrum of the American foreign policy." [...]"You still need to integrate the power of development professionals, the ideas and the expertise, with the political clout and strategy and reach of diplomacy. That seems to me to be the perfect example of integrated power ... and that is what Secretary Clinton would like to see as one of her legacies." Rogin reports that she had the "whole development world scratching their heads."

Sorry, brain freeze here; I don't know how to translate what she said. I must point out that she was previously on the record with the "M" word as in -- "no merger," so I imagine integrate means incorporate, mix but ...

SFRC Hearings: Bleich, Huebner, King

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1st SESSION

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009Time: 2:30 P.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Menendez

Nominees:

Jeffrey L. Bleich, of California to be Ambassador to Australia

David Huebner, of California to be Ambassador to New Zealand, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to Samoa

Robert R. King, of Virginia to be Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues, with the rank of Ambassador

See the SFRC hearing page here for video and prepared statements.

SFRC Hearings: Zeitlin, Arvanat, Barton, Yohannes, Lomellin

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1st SESSION

Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009Time: 2:30 P.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Menendez

Nominees:

Jide J. Zeitlin, of New York to be Representative of the United States to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador and to be Alternate Representative of the United States to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations during his tenure of service as Representative of the United States to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform

Gustavo Arnavat, of New York to be United States Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank for a term of three years

Frederick D. Barton, of Maine to be Representative of the United States on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador

Daniel W. Yohannes, of Colorado to be Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge Corporation Carmen Lomellin, of Virginia to be Permanent Representative of the United States to the Organization of American States, with the rank of Ambassador

SFRC hearing page is here (for video and prepared statements).

John Kerry: Man of the Hour in Afghanistan

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has just released a statement on the Announcement of First Round Results of that contentious Afghan presidential elections:

The United States welcomes today’s announcement of certified results in the first round of the Afghan Presidential elections. We congratulate all candidates in this historic race, and applaud the vigorous campaigns run by President Karzai and Dr. Abdullah, garnering support across the country and ethnic lines. As neither of the top two candidates received more than fifty percent of the vote, the Constitution calls for the holding of a run-off. We welcome President Karzai’s statesmanlike acceptance of this result and his agreement to a second round of voting.The United States commends the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) for fulfilling their mandates, working in coordination with one another to ensure that the electoral and adjudication processes were carried out under Afghanistan’s Electoral Law and according to international standards.Read the whole thing and view the photos here.

Looks like our man of the hour in Afghanistan is no other than Senator John Kerry of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Photos below from the US Embassy Kabul's Facebook page.

That's Amb Eikenberry, the ECC official, Senator Kerry,UNAMA's Kai Eide and President Hamid Karzai

Senator Kerry with Abdullah Abdullah and Ambassador Eikenberry

Senator Kerry with President Karzai

Makes one wonder where in the world is the Special AfPak Rep, Richard Holbrooke?

SFRC Hearings: Nominees for European Posts

Kennard, Legarde, Stroum, Tefft, Polt

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111th CONGRESS1st SESSION

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009Time: 2:30 P.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Shaheen

William E. Kennard, of the District of Columbia to be Representative of the United States to the European Union, with the rank and status of Ambassador

James Legarde Hudson, of the District of Columbia to be United States Director for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Cynthia Stroum, of Washington to be Ambassador to Luxembourg

The Honorable John F. Tefft, of Virginia to be Ambassador to Ukraine

The Honorable Michael C. Polt, of Tennessee to be Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia

Video of hearings and testimonies are posted here.

SFRC Clears Six State Dept Nominees

Jacobson, Solomont, Feinstein, White, Posner, Hormats

The following six nominations were reported by Mr. Kerry of the Committee on Foreign Relations (without printed report) on September 17. The nominations now go to the Senate for a full vote.

David C. Jacobson, of Illinois, to beAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to Canada.

Alan D. Solomont, of Massachusetts, to beAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to Spain, and to serve concurrentlyand without additional compensation asAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to Andorra.

Lee Andrew Feinstein, of Virginia, to beAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to the Republic of Poland.

Barry B. White, of Massachusetts, to beAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to Norway.

Michael H. Posner, of New York, to beAssistant Secretary of State for Democracy,Human Rights, and Labor, vice David J.Kramer, resigned.

Robert D. Hormats, of New York, to be anUnder Secretary of State (Economic, Energy,and Agricultural Affairs), vice Reuben JefferyIII, resigned.

Robert D. Hormats, of New York, to be UnitedStates Alternate Governor of theInternational Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment for a term of five years; UnitedStates Alternate Governor of the Inter-American Development Bank for a term offive years; United States Alternate Governorof the African Development Bank for a termof five years; United States AlternateGovernor of the African Development Fund;United States Alternate Governor of theAsian Development Bank; and United StatesAlternate Governor of the European Bank forReconstruction and Development, viceReuben Jeffery III.

SFRC Hearings: Solomont, Feinstein, White, Fernandez

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1st SESSION

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009Time: 9:30 A.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Shaheen

Nominees:

Alan D. Solomont, of Massachusetts to be Ambassador to Spain, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to Andorra

Lee Andrew Feinstein, of Virginia to be Ambassador to the Republic of Poland

Barry B. White, of Massachusetts to be Ambassador to Norway

Jose W. Fernandez, of New York to be Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs

Related Items:

• Officially In: Alan D. Solomont to Madrid
• Officially In: Lee A. Feinstein to Warsaw
• Officially In: Barry White to Oslo
• Officially In: Jose W. Fernandez to be A/S at EEB

SFRC Hearings: Robert Hormats

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1^st SESSION

Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2009Time: 10:00 A.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Cardin

Senator Lugar's Opening Statement

Nominee

Robert D. Hormats of New York (PDF)to be Under Secretary of State for Economic,Energy, and Agricultural Affairs

Related Item: Officially In: Robert Hormats to “E”

Ambassador Hill Updates Congress on Iraq

Image via Wikipedia

The US Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher R. Hill will be on Capitol Hill the next two days to give an update on Iraq. I will add links to the prepared statements when they become available.

At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 cancelledThursday, September 10, 2009IRAQ: Report From the Field Time: 2:30 P.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senator Kerry's Opening StatementSenator Lugar's Opening Statement

Ambassador Hill's StatementSee video of SFRC hearing via cspan.orgRead transcript of hearing.

At the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Thursday, September 10, 2009Outlook for Iraq and U.S. PolicyTime: 9:30 AMLocation: Room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Statement by Howard L. Berman

Statement by Ambassador Hill

Webcast (need Real Player)

Updated 9/11 with links to videos and statements

Pending Nominations Update - August 2009

The following are the pending State Department nominations in the Committee on Foreign Relations as of August 7. For the list of the most recent confirmation prior to the summer recess, click here. The Senate resumes business on Tuesday, September 8.

Aug 07, 09 PN910 Department of State Barry B. White, of Massachusetts, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Norway.

Aug 06, 09 PN874 Department of State Alan D. Solomont, of Massachusetts, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Spain, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Andorra.

Aug 06, 09 PN873 Department of State William E. Kennard, of the District of Columbia, to be Representative of the United States of America to the European Union, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Aug 06, 09 PN872 Department of State Jose W. Fernandez, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs).

Jul 29, 09 PN829 Department of State Robert D. Hormats, of New York, to be United States Alternate Governor of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a term of five years; United States Alternate Governor of the Inter-American Development Bank for a term of five years; United States Alternate Governor of the African Development Bank for a term of five years; United States Alternate Governor of the African Development Fund; United States Alternate Governor of the Asian Development Bank; and United States Alternate Governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Jul 28, 09 PN822 Department of State Mary Jo Wills, of the District of Columbia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Mauritius, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Seychelles.

Jul 22, 09 PN798 Department of State Alberto M. Fernandez, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

Jul 20, 09 PN795 Department of State Robert D. Hormats, of New York, to be an Under Secretary of State (Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs).

Jul 20, 09 PN794 Department of State Lee Andrew Feinstein, of Virginia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Poland.

Jul 07, 09 PN710 Department of State Michael H. Posner, of New York, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Jun 24, 09 PN650 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development James Legarde Hudson, of the District of Columbia, to be United States Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Jun 08, 09 PN552 Department of State David C. Jacobson, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Canada.

The two nominations below were reported out of SFRC on July 28 but have not been confirmed by the full Senate when it left for the summer break. You can read more on these two nominations here.Arturo A. Valenzuela, of the District ofColumbia, to be an Assistant Secretary ofState (Western Hemisphere Affairs), viceThomas A. Shannon, Jr., resigned.Thomas Alfred Shannon, Jr., of Virginia, aCareer Member of the Senior ForeignService, Class of Career Minister, to beAmbassador Extraordinary andPlenipotentiary of the United States ofAmerica to the Federative Republic of Brazil.

SFRC Hearings: David Jacobson

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONSUNITED STATES SENATE111^th CONGRESS1^st SESSION

Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009Time: 10:00 A.M.Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingPresiding: Senator Kaufman

Nominee

David C. Jacobson, of Illinois to be Ambassador to Canada

The SFRC hearing page is here for videos and opening statements.