The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2009

J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17 relevance in Washington: “What have you done for me lately?” Giving others what they most need, rather than bat- tling them for influence, would en- hance State’s role. The department is well-positioned to be a central point of information and coordination, thus being of sub- stantial assistance to others in a com- plex policy environment. No other agency can capably look at particular- istic elements within the larger context of overall U.S. interests. The views of the other organizations, with their more limited functions, are too nar- row. Someone must mind the whole policy store. But in addition to a required change in attitude—one that a Senate-school- ed Secretary of State is ideally suited to impart to her departmental colleagues — improvements in each of the other four areas discussed are vital. Sufficient resources, a streamlined structure, a more coherent mission portfolio and better utilization of personnel would all help carry out this function. To knit all these changes together, taking long- term strategic and budgetary planning seriously, would enhance the depart- ment’s ability to play this part. One could easily list other changes that would improve State’s skills base and standing relative to the rest of the foreign affairs and national security universe. But even modest success on these five fronts would go a long way to help. ■ William I. Bacchus spent 27 years of his government career in management and legislative affairs positions at the De- partment of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was a lead staffer in development and pas- sage of the Foreign Service Act of 1980; executive secretary and co-director of the 1992-1993 task force that prepared State 2000: A New Model for Manag- ing Foreign Affairs ; and executive di- rector of USAID’s Management Coun- cil and a predecessor organization, from 1993 to 2001. The author of four books on the State Department and the international affairs community, he is currently consulting and carrying out foreign affairs reform projects. A longer version of this article, titled “How to Reinvigorate the State De- partment,” appeared originally in an online journal, The Smart Globalist , published by the Economic Strategy In- stitute (www.smartglobalist.com ). S P E A K I N G O U T