Updated @8:33 am PST:
The ARB announcement is set to be published on October 4, 2012. The pre-publication notice in the Federal Register dated October 1 went online today, October 3, with all the names included below, minus the name of the Executive Secretary of the Board. The FR notice says that the Board will submit its conclusions and recommendations to Secretary Clinton within 60 days of its first meeting, unless the Chair determines a need for additional time. Anyone with information relevant to the Board’s examination of the Benghazi incidents should contact the Board promptly at (202) 647-6246 or send a fax to the
Board at (202) 647-6640.
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Secretary Clinton in a letter to the House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrel Issa (R-CA) said that the Accountability Review Board chaired by Ambassador Pickering will begin work this week (read Clinton’s letter to Issa here via The Cable).
The letter also lists all members of the ARB with the exception of the still unidentified Executive Secretary to the Board, normally a senior Foreign Service officer or a retired senior Foreign Service officer recommended by DGHR/CDA.
Ambassador Thomas Pickering (Ret)
He spent four decades in Foreign Service including ambassadorships in Russia (1993–1996), India (1992–1993), United Nations (1989–1992), Israel (1985–1988), El Salvador (1983–1985), Nigeria (1981–1983), and Jordan (1974–1978). He also served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1997 to 2000. He holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service.
A retired United States Navy admiral who left the Navy after over 43 years of service. He served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2011.
Director, ad interim, for the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) in 2008. Mr. Shinnick joined OBO after retiring from the Foreign Service as a Senior Foreign Service Officer, class of Minister Counselor (FE/MC).
About Mr. Shinnick, The Skeptical Bureaucrat writes:
[…] Richard Shinnick, a retired very senior management officer who served as Interim Director of the Office of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) a few years ago, where he picked up the pieces after General Williams marched off to do whatever it is he’s doing now.
Mr. Shinnick (it is a mark of my regard for the man that I always think of him as “Mister” Shinnick) was a New York City firefighter before he became an FSO, and I remember him as a pillar of commonsense and good judgment back in the era of the first big push to increase security of our overseas missions during the late 80s and early 90s.
She is a Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She was the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program from 1992 to 2002. During the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, Ms. Bertini served as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Family Support Administration in the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Food and Consumer Services at the United States Department of Agriculture. She was appointed a member of the Board of International Food and Agricultural Development, which advises USAID by President George W. Bush and reappointed by President Obama in 2011.
A former deputy director of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations under George J. Tenet. He reportedly represents the intelligence community on the Board.
Executive Secretary to the Board – (no info publicly available at this time).
Updated @ 10/8 –– I understand that Uzra Zeya was appointed Executive Secretary to the Pickering Board. Ms. Zeya is currently the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. She has over two decades of policy experience in the Department, where she has focused on the Near East and South Asia regions and multilateral affairs. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1990, Ms. Zeya’s overseas assignments have included Paris, Muscat, Damascus, Cairo, and Kingston. Ms. Zeya served most recently as Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, where she supported a range of policy initiatives, ranging from the U.S. response to transitions in the Middle East to deepening engagement with emerging global powers. Prior to that, Ms. Zeya served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. In Washington, she served as a Deputy Executive Secretary to Secretaries Rice and Clinton, as Director of the Executive Secretariat Staff, and as UNGA coordinator for the International Organizations bureau.
Related articles
- Now Comes the Accountability Review Board Created by Congress, But Dammit! Congress Can’t Wait (diplopundit.net)
- GOP says White House ignored Libya warnings (cbsnews.com)
- Exploiting the Benghazi Attack (consortiumnews.com)
- Militants Attacked Benghazi Outpost Over and Over (wired.com)
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