Wednesday, November 17, 2004
The Diplomad, a group blog written "by career US Foreign Service officers," has a whole lotta suggestions for how the new Secretary can reform the State Department. And when I say a lot, I mean...a lot. The fact that there would still be a Foggy Bottom left after implementing all those suggestions just goes to show how huge the State Department is.
Drastically reduce the layers of bureaucracy. Do we need so many staff assistants, special assistants, executive assistants, etc.? Flatten out the pyramid. Work on eliminating whole offices and bureaus. Have the Secretary go to Congress and argue for eliminating the annual human rights report exercise -- an enormous and wasteful enterprise that keeps hundreds of people employed to appease a handful of NGOs who don't like the reports anyhow. Kill off this requirement; eliminate the whole human rights bureau (DRL). Scrap the Undersecretary for Global Affairs (G): what the hell is that job anyhow? Cut the oceans and environment bureau (OES). Merge the three quasi- pol-mil bureaus and reduce their overall size. Beef up the INR function. Spin off USIA, again. Take a merciless look at the consular affairs (CA) bureau, and get rid of all those lawyers in that bureau! Do we need to baby long-term American expats who haven't lived in the US for years and years and often don't pay taxes? Split the CA bureau: hive off citizen services from visa issues...
I believe that's what she was known for at Stanford. The Womens Studies cabal there actually filed a complaint against her!
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110005908