The Foreign Service Journal, February 2012

16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 2 Building on the QDDR Obviously, few of these proposed reforms can be implemented rapidly, even if there were the requisite polit- ical and congressional interest and approval. (Exporting COM authority into the crisis management area might require legislative action.) However, they do constitute a spec- trum of possible reform, with each point on the spectrum worthwhile on its own account and opening the way to further reform in the future. (For a fuller discussion, see “Expanding Chief of Mission Authority to Produce Unity of Effort,” by Edward Marks and Christopher Lamb, Institute for Na- tional Strategic Studies). If the QDDR is to avoid the usual fate of blue-ribbon organizational re- views — filed away for the interest of historians — then some movement is required. As the report notes: “Ulti- mately, however, the reforms and rec- ommendations presented in the QDDR are only as good as their im- plementation.” Edward Marks spent 40 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, including an as- signment as ambassador to Guinea- Bissau and Cape Verde. After retiring from the Service in 1995, Ambassador Marks did consulting work with the United Nations, private companies and the Department of Defense, and con- tinues as a senior mentor at various military institutions. He is a retiree representative on the AFSA Governing Board, a member of the American Diplomacy board and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at George Mason Uni- versity. S P E A K I N G O U T Few of these proposed reforms can be implemented rapidly. However, they do constitute a spectrum of possible reform.