Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Fri 03/29/2024 View Thu 03/28/2024 View Wed 03/27/2024 View Tue 03/26/2024 View Mon 03/25/2024 View Sun 03/24/2024 View Sat 03/23/2024
2018-02-02 -Land of the Free
No. 3 U.S. diplomat quits in latest departure under Trump
And so the unforced downsizing of the executive branch continues, one decision to quit or retire at a time. It will soon be noticed that there were a great many middle ranking men and women perfectly capable of managing the promotions they had so patiently been waiting for.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department’s third-ranking official, Tom Shannon, said on Thursday he was stepping down, the latest senior career diplomat to exit since President Donald Trump took office a year ago. Shannon, who serves as under secretary of state for political affairs, is the most senior career diplomat at the State Department and has been a fixture among the nation’s diplomatic ranks during more than 34 years of service. In a letter to department staff, Shannon, 60, said he was resigning for personal reasons.

"My decision is personal, and driven by a desire to attend to my family, take stock of my life, and set a new direction for my remaining years," Shannon wrote in a note to staff after informing U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday of his decision to retire.

Shannon worked recently on some of the most complex and sensitive issues, including Iran’s compliance with the landmark nuclear deal and fraught relations with Russia.

Shannon’s departure is part of a steady stream of senior career diplomats who have left since Trump became president. It will deprive the State Department of a seasoned veteran at a time when the United States is grappling with crises on several fronts, most notably North Korea’s nuclear threat. His calm demeanor, language skills and decades of experience made him a frequent choice for some of the thorniest assignments.

Shannon this month represented the United States at the inauguration of Liberia's new president, George Weah, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the region after reported remarks by Trump that immigrants from Africa and Haiti come from "shithole" countries.

Shannon, who was ambassador to Brazil from 2005 to 2009 and served in posts in Cameroon, Gabon and Johannesburg, was tasked by former President Barack Obama in 2015 with improving acrimonious relations with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.

He was seen as a stabilizing force after Trump and Tillerson took office with a promise to downsize the State Department and policies. He had to manage growing dissent among career diplomats over the new president's policies that antagonized Muslim nations and long-time allies in Europe and in Mexico.

The forcing out of many senior diplomats, the failure to nominate or to win Senate confirmation for officials to fill key agency roles, and a perception that Tillerson is inaccessible have eroded morale, according to current officials.

The State Department's Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Steve Goldstein, said Shannon's departure was not related to low morale and called him "an amazing man."

Tillerson in November said he was offended by claims that the State Department was being hollowed out under Trump, saying it was functioning well despite scathing criticism from former American diplomats including Nicholas Burns and Ryan Crocker.

In a statement on Thursday, Tillerson congratulated Shannon on a distinguished career saying "his time was well spent."

"I particularly appreciate his depth of knowledge, the role he played during the transition ...and his contributions to our strategy process over the past year," Tillerson said.

In his note, Shannon said he had agreed to stay on until a successor had been named and to ensure a smooth transition.
This article starring:
Tom Shannon
Posted by 746 2018-02-02 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ]  Top

#1 And he’s got tickets to Rio.
Posted by Skidmark 2018-02-02 00:04||   2018-02-02 00:04|| Front Page Top

#2 Tillerson and his group are a one man State Department. They confirm intent with the heads of Nations without using the diplomatic core.

The professional diplomats are in for a surprise when the big issues are already handled.
Posted by newc 2018-02-02 00:20||   2018-02-02 00:20|| Front Page Top

#3 Personally overheard while standing in line at ATM, across town from the University back in '92-92. Two young men commiserating about the 'bad luck' of a fellow graduate student about to graduate with a Poli-Sci degree, East Europe/USSR focus. He was planning on a government career and then the Berlin Wall fell and all of his expertise went *Poof!*...
In that vein, exactly what are all of the layers of bureaucrats in State actually doing? Other than hiring each other's children...?
Posted by magpie 2018-02-02 03:27||   2018-02-02 03:27|| Front Page Top

#4 What good can come to the Hive when all the drones are gone?
Posted by Lumpy Ghibelline2198 2018-02-02 06:23||   2018-02-02 06:23|| Front Page Top

#5 He was seen as a stabilizing force after Trump and Tillerson took office with a promise to downsize the State Department and policies He had to manage growing dissent among career diplomats over the new president's policies that antagonized Muslim nations and long-time allies in Europe and in Mexico..

And was seen as acceptable as liaison to Maduro? Helluva losing trail there
Posted by Frank G 2018-02-02 06:54||   2018-02-02 06:54|| Front Page Top

#6 Shannon, who was ambassador to Brazil from 2005 to 2009 and served in posts in Cameroon, Gabon and Johannesburg, was tasked by former President Barack Obama in 2015 with improving acrimonious relations with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
Not exactly a sterling CV.
Posted by Clurong Peacock9529 2018-02-02 09:40||   2018-02-02 09:40|| Front Page Top

#7 In that vein, exactly what are all of the layers of bureaucrats in State actually doing?

Nothing! It occurred to me about a year ago that one of Harvard's colleges, the Kennedy School of Government, existed for the sole purpose of churning out bureaucrats. How fucking useless is that?
Posted by Raj 2018-02-02 10:21||   2018-02-02 10:21|| Front Page Top

#8 In that vein, exactly what are all of the layers of bureaucrats in State actually doing?

Squandering our tax dollars.
Posted by Abu Uluque 2018-02-02 11:19||   2018-02-02 11:19|| Front Page Top

#9 Okay. Harvard is an easy target, and is often a target of my ire. The Kennedy School of Government is one of everyone's favorite targets. But Thomas Schelling, co-founder of that school, was one of my favorite lecturers.



I wasn't there for history or economics, I was pursuing an education in Physical Chemistry. Nonetheless, Schelling changed my life, and opened my mind to things I had never considered. Please do check the link; anyone involved in the core ideation of Dr. Strangelove is by definition a marvel. Read about this man at the link, please. He was a guy who would be happy to one-on-one with a beer at a local bar. And did.

I didn't fit well with the rest of the student body. I had spent ten years in the Army, 11B4P. Then I got out and went to college. Harvard. I am still amazed they accepted me, and they are probably still amazed that they did.

My advisor (ad hoc) was Edward M. Purcell, another wonder. I think I have been blessed..
Posted by Whiskey Mike 2018-02-02 14:27||   2018-02-02 14:27|| Front Page Top

#10 My link didn't take, and I don't know why it bolded. Help please, mods.

Intended link:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/12/thomas-schelling-game-theory-pioneer-95/

Posted by Whiskey Mike 2018-02-02 14:30||   2018-02-02 14:30|| Front Page Top

#11 Ah, the link turned into the bolded text. Click the bolded text.
Posted by Whiskey Mike 2018-02-02 14:31||   2018-02-02 14:31|| Front Page Top










Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com