Thursday, November 9, 2017

A Large Number Of Top U.S. Diplomats Have Left The State Department



The Guardian: Top ranks of US diplomacy 'depleted at dizzying speed' under Trump

Barbara Stephenson, head of foreign service association, says US has lost more than half its career ambassadors since Donald Trump took office.

The US has lost more than half its career ambassadors and a significant proportion of other senior diplomats since Donald Trump took office, the head of the foreign service association has said.

Barbara Stephenson, a former ambassador to Panama and charge d’affaires in London, said that the top ranks of US diplomacy were being “depleted at dizzying speed”, and the state department was under “mounting threats”.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The U.S. State Department has responded .... Union says career diplomats bolting; State Dept. fires back (FOX News). Hmmmm .... career ministers are down from “33 to 19” (of which a few of them were going to retire anyway), and minister counselors have fallen from 431 after Labor Day to 369 in November and “are still falling.” Is this a big thing .... no .... people will be promoted and these positions will be filled with time. The big problem is between the State Department and the White House .... specifically on who to appoint to certain positions .... Diplomats unhappy as nominee with Pence ties is tapped for State job (CNN).

More News On Top U.S. Diplomats Leaving The U.S. State Department

Top U.S. Diplomat Blasts Trump Administration for ‘Decapitation’ of State Department Leadership -- Foreign Policy
Trump Is Making US Weaker, Says Top Diplomat, As Record Numbers Quit -- Newsweek
US diplomacy cuts 'decapitates' State Department leadership -- BBC News
Top ranks of career US diplomats thin under Tillerson: union -- Reuters
Top Diplomat Says US Has Lost 60% of Its Career Ambassadors Under President Trump -- TIME
'Rapid loss' of US diplomats under Trump Administration prompts fears of weakened influence -- DW

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this is actually a big deal. Given how bad Trump has proven himself to be at hiring people, I would be worried. The former top diplomats are all going to be replaced by his picks. Pussy grabbers all around

Anonymous said...

I think it is great that those nolifers, that have represented US interests so poorly for a long time, leave for good.
.

Anonymous said...

Nolifers?

Unknown said...

Lifers are people who have a career for life like FSOs.

No-Lifers would be people, who are not FSOs, who got a political appointment and will use the same sleaze that they used to get the State gig to get another gig through the DNC crime syndicate.

I think many FSOs are overjoyed that there is so much room at the top and all the political flunkies are jumping ship. Now their chances of promotion are much better.

It is kind of like a war. A war starts and hack generals and hack colonels are relieved or set to the side and the army starts performing better.

I would like to see how many of those leaving were bundlers or other government employees that found anther sinecure somewhere else.

Ask Why 5 times

Drill down and categorize them.

The Guardian stopped at the onion peel they wanted to promote a certain narrative.

Unknown said...

"Stephenson said career ministers are down from “33 to 19” and minister counselors have fallen from 431 after Labor Day to 369 in November and “are still falling.”


The spokesperson said that the “60 percent reduction” to career ambassadors was a “misleading description,” noting that in January 2017, there were five career ambassadors serving, three of whom retired this year." - Fox

This is funny.

1) These top level officials are long in the tooth.

2) They are SES or something and the union does not represent them.

3) What will happen is that FSOs some of whom union members will interview for the top level jobs and get them. At which time they will no longer be covered by the union. Not that they will complain as they will be making more money and will call more shots that as lower level employees they thought they could do better anyway.

4) Three people retire out of 5 and The Guardian staff can actually divided 3 by 5 and come up with .6. Impressive Maybe they could tell us how old they were, the state of health, etc so we get a better idea about this 60% "Oh Nooooeeesss!"

But they didn't. Must have filed the story and went for a 3 martini lunch.

Unknown said...

"Barbara Jean Stephenson (born 1958) is an American diplomat and since 2015 has been the head of the American Foreign Service Association. She was formerly the Dean of the Leadership and Management School of the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia. Formerly, she was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in London, and acted as Chargé d'Affaires following the departure of Ambassador Louis Susman. She is the former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and was appointed by President Barack Obama in the Summer of 2010." - Wiki

Seems that Barbara Left her job as a top diplomat and found a nice cushy job with little responsibility compared to an ambassador.

Maybe those 3 The "Guuuuuurdian" is bellyaching about did likewise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_J._Stephenson