tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post1259789828910290998..comments2024-03-29T05:29:57.536-04:00Comments on The DiploMad 2.0: The Professional Amateurs at State and the Chen "Crisis"DiploMadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02316439950882822419noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-53272514780242583042012-05-07T21:22:48.555-04:002012-05-07T21:22:48.555-04:00@BWebster: There's a reason I use "Lesli...@BWebster: There's a reason I use "Leslie Slote" as my pseudonym.Consul-At-Armshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391037582103556978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-82164900400890418462012-05-07T16:26:55.960-04:002012-05-07T16:26:55.960-04:00When the Secretary of State job is only seen as a ...When the Secretary of State job is only seen as a place to stash a political appointment, this is what you get. But you are right that for many years, the value of a first rate Foreign Service/Policy has not been realized. You might trace it to the proliferation of cabinet level officers in the last 100 years. Lincoln's cabinet had all the people required for good decision making (War,Navy, State, Treasury, Justice, Interior) and the Post Office to make sure the orders were delivered. Even with Commerce and Labor added later, you could still have a small table discussion. Fudges like the NSC cannot fix the problem.dmoellinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13128088863830769762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-47311435512439291712012-05-07T00:54:00.341-04:002012-05-07T00:54:00.341-04:00I will not disagree with your characterization of ...I will not disagree with your characterization of State, the current Secretary, of the entire "maladministration." But I was just a little surprised by the ineptitude they all demonstrated in the Chen affair, because my recollection of the China hands at State is that they were greater specialists than you would run into in any other geographic bureau (possible exception: WHA) and they tended to see the PRC government as the criminal enterprise it is. Of course I retired from the FS 15 years ago, so my recollection could be overcome by later developments. This current flap certainly does not reflect well on the embassy, the China desk, the Secretary, or the White House. Regarding the last two, I admit I am not surprised. But I truly expected better of the embassy and the china desk.Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06981706601001285694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-4627031935116979842012-05-06T21:14:17.394-04:002012-05-06T21:14:17.394-04:00One can also bet that the amount of money owed the...One can also bet that the amount of money owed the Chinese factored into State's behavior. Debt makes cowards of us all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-11585797464336614852012-05-05T15:19:22.581-04:002012-05-05T15:19:22.581-04:00I was surprised by a WSJ report that "[T]he U...I was surprised by a <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304743704577381763498522768.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop" rel="nofollow">WSJ report</a><i> that "[T]he U.S. didn't allow Mr. Chen to have a cell phone or call his friends freely while in the embassy."</i> Is that just standard operating procedure?JM Haneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01716562692206675312noreply@blogger.com