The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2009

tenure, the report criticizes her failure to press hard enough to gain sufficient resources for funding of ForeignServicepositions, as well as for the overall ForeignAffairs 150account. But it praises her for ably handling the reorganiza- tion and management of foreign assistance. It also offers suggestions to Secre- tary Hillary Rodham Clinton for future action. Among the report’s key findings are three main points: • As Secretary, Rice failed toprovide the necessary support for the Foreign Service and her department when it came to human capital and resources. During her first three years, she managed to add only eight Foreign Service positions overall. In contrast, Secretary Colin Powell’s “Diplo- matic Readiness Initiative” added 1,200 positions,most ofwhichwere absorbed by the added de- mands of Iraq, Afghanistan and other critical priority posts. As amanager, Secretary Rice did not adequately pur- sue the resources needed to remedy the various shortages facing the Foreign Service and the department. • On the other hand, the report lauds Sec. Rice’s efforts to reorganize foreign assis- tance, singlingouther creation of the so-calledFBureau. The report prais- es what it sees as a streamlining of policy- makingandcoordinationthat resulted from the naming of a new Director of Foreign Assistance, who is dual-hatted as the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. • Sec. Rice did an admirable job in sup- porting and continuing the activities of the Office of theCoordinator for Reconstruc- tion andStabilization, whichhadbeenput in place by Sec. Powell. The report sup- ports this effort and, inparticular, the surge capacity that hasbeencreatedasmoreactive and retired officers are brought in to staff the operation. The assessmentmakes anumber of rec- ommendations for future action, includ- ing seekingout increased resources for staff at the foreignaffairs agencies andsupporting the further expansion of the civilian re- sponse corps. The assessment also highlights the October 2008 task force report, “AForeign Affairs Budget for the Future,” compiled by the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Henry L. Stimson Center (see the Dec. 2008 AFSA News for more details). The Foreign Affairs Council is a non- partisanumbrellagroupof 11organizations concernedabout theprocessesof diplomacy and the leadershipandmanagement of the people of the Foreign Service and State Department. 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