The Revolving Door Continues...

I was recently asked for my comments on the resignation of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale. While I am sure that Ms. McHale tried her best to reinvigorate PD and took some steps in the right direction to attempt to reassert some "command and control" of this function within the State Department, her tenure was only marginally successful.

As long as political appointees continue to stay in office for an average of two years or less, our foreign policy and particularly our public diplomacy efforts will be less than successful. Each new appointee is determined to "reinvent the wheel." By the time they figure out what the problems are and have some sense of what to do they are out the revolving door back to wherever they prefer to be and the next incumbent will start the process all over again.

Multiply this by 1500 senior administration positions and another 1500 staff aides etc. and you have a prescription for inefficiency which plagues every administration. Isn't it time we cut back on the number of non-professionals in diplomacy just as we have in the military? In the 19th century, most officers--including generals--were appointees or simply bought their commissions and the nation paid a high price for such amatuerism. We professionalized the military officer corps in the early 20th century and it is now the most efficient force in the world. Will we ever professionalize the diplomatic service and the senior ranks of the bureaucracy? The president is entitled to have a cabinet that is loyal and politically committed but below the cabinet level and at the ambassadorial level abroad, most advanced countries rely on career professionals to perform these roles.