The Foreign Service Journal, February 2006

is considered one of the main sources of faulty intelligence concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. “He was never really trusted by the State Department,” says the manage- ment officer. “We thought of him as a bit of a shifty character, and I think time has proven us right in that sense.” Rice’s insistence that officers who serve in Iraq should receive prefer- ence in future promotions and assign- ments has further rankled many offi- cers. So has the “baby DAS” controversy, her promotion of some lower-ranking officials who served with her at the National Security Council to deputy assistant secretary positions (typically reserved for senior personnel). Those personnel moves have collectively fed the notion that Rice is disinterested in the views of the rank-and-file. But at a department town hall meeting last June, Rice vigorously defended the appointments. “I think there are some times … when you’re going to promote some people who have not gone through all of the steps,” she said. “It’s going to happen. It should happen. I think it’s a good thing if, once in a while, somebody who is a fast riser, some- body who has demonstrated that they are capable of doing a job that’s one or two grades ahead, gets that promotion. Because what you don’t want to do is to leave the impression that in an organization as esteemed as the Foreign Service that it’s just all about going through the ranks. It’s really about performance; it’s about willingness to take on challenges. We’ve had people who volunteered for some of our hardest posts. We’ve been in some really tough times. It’s tough to serve in Baghdad. It’s tough to serve in Kabul. It’s tough to serve in Colombia. We’ve had people who have been more F O C U S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 21 Sec. Rice can point to several significant achievements on the diplomatic front in her first year.