Tag Archives: Strobe Talbott

Familiar Names For Foggy Bottom in a Potential Clinton White House

August 4, 2016 By in Elections, Hillary Clinton, People, Public Service, Secretary of State, Social Media, Spectacular, State Department Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted: 3:01 am ET
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The names on who might be coming or coming back to Foggy Bottom in a Clinton Administration are not unexpected. Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador Nicholas Burns, also a former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs have been with her through the primary season. The two were part of a group of former top government officials who issued a joint statement raising questions about Senator Bernie Sanders’ proposals for countering ISIS and dealing with Iran. Probably the only surprising name in this round is James Stavridis, a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) who is the current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Via Politico:

Secretary of State

For obvious reasons, this is seen as the job Clinton will think about most — potentially empowering the pick, or potentially leading to an extra level of oversight at Foggy Bottom from the West Wing. Clinton’s seen as being intrigued by having a person in the role who has experience in elected office, but there’s no obvious contender from the House and Senate (except for current Secretary of State John Kerry, whom people expect would leap at the chance to stay on, though probably would suffer from Clinton wanting to have her own pick in this job most of all). People at the State Department and elsewhere are pulling for Wendy Sherman, the former undersecretary of state for political affairs and a key player in the Iran nuclear deal, and Bill Burns, a career diplomat who was deputy secretary of state. Nick Burns is seen as being in the mix as well, a career foreign officer who rose to undersecretary of state for political affairs in Bush’s second term and has been a strong defender of Clinton in the campaign. Kurt Campbell, Clinton’s assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has expressed interest to several people. Strobe Talbott, the friend of the Clintons and a deputy secretary of state during Bill Clinton’s first term and now the president of the Brookings Institute, is also seen as a possibility. Or Clinton might go for a surprise like James Stavridis, the admiral who was the only nonpolitician to be vetted for her running mate.

Would be interesting to see who might be coming to Foggy Bottom in a potential Trump administration. GOP national security folks, all 121 of them, recently published an open letter  saying “… we are united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency.”

The letter was coordinated by Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor of the Department of State (2007–8) under Secretary Rice, and Bryan McGrath, Managing Director of The FerryBridge Group, a defense consultancy. Lots of familiar names. All saying, “as committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a Party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head. We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office.”  These folks have effectively ruled themselves out from working in a Trump Administration.  Which begs the question, who are still left in the tent?

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Meet Secretary Kerry’s New Foreign Policy Board

October 22, 2014 By in Appointments, Foreign Policy, John F. Kerry, Secretary of State, State Department Tags: , , , ,

— Domani Spero
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Via state.gov:

The distinguished group is comprised of up to 25 members who meet at the Department of State periodically to discuss strategic questions, and to provide the Secretary and other senior Department officials with independent informed perspectives and ideas.

The following new members were appointed by Secretary Kerry:

  • Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs;
  • Ambassador Johnnie Carson, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs;
  • Mr. Nelson Cunningham, President and Co-founder, McLarty Associates;
  • Retired Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, Chief Executive Officer, the American Security Project;
  • Dr. Karen Donfried, President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States;
  • The Honorable David Dreier, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and chairman of the Rules Committee;
  • Ms. Anne M. Finucane, Global Chief of Strategy and Marketing, Bank of America;
  • Ambassador William Kennard, former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, and former Chairman, U.S. Federal Communications Commission;
  • Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt;
  • Dr. Joseph S. Nye, former Chairman, U.S. National Intelligence Council;
  • Ambassador Louis B. Susman, former U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James and former Vice Chairman, Citigroup Global Markets;
  • Mr. Thomas J. Vallely, Senior Advisor, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation;
  • The Honorable Christine Todd Whitman, former Governor, the State of New Jersey, and former Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

These new members join the following returning members to the Board:

  • Mr. Stephen J. Hadley;
  • The Honorable Jane Harman;
  • Ambassador Carla A. Hills;
  • Dr. Robert Kagan;
  • Retired Admiral Michael Mullen;
  • Dr. Vali Nasr;
  • Ambassador John Negroponte;
  • Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering;
  • Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter.

At Secretary Kerry’s request, former Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will continue to serve as the Board’s Chair. He will work closely with the Secretary and his Policy Planning Director, David McKean, to coordinate the Board and its meetings.

The State Department statement says that “These appointments continue the tradition of a distinguished, diverse, and bipartisan Board membership with a wide range of expertise and backgrounds, including from government, academia, politics, development, and business.”

The Board is relatively new, constituted during the Clinton tenure.  According to state.gov:

The Foreign Affairs Policy Board was launched in December 2011 to provide the Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretaries of State, and the Director of Policy Planning with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning matters of U.S. foreign policy. The Board serves in a solely advisory capacity, with an agenda shaped by the questions and concerns of the Secretary. Its discussions focus on assessing global threats and opportunities; identifying trends that implicate core national security interests; providing recommendations with respect to tools and capacities of the civilian foreign affairs agencies; defining priorities and strategic frameworks for U.S. foreign policy; and performing any other research and analysis of topics raised by the Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretaries, and the Director of Policy Planning. […] The Board meets in a plenary session several times a year and is chartered to have up to 25 members.

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Secretary Kerry Swears-In New Ambassador to the Philippines, Philip Goldberg (Video)

November 26, 2013 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, John F. Kerry, Secretary of State, Social Media, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , ,

– By Domani Spero

Secretary Kerry swore-in Philip Goldberg as U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 21, 2013. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remark….

….”we’re proud that we’re sending to the Philippines the right person for the job. Phil Goldberg is a consummate professional who has held an enormous array of positions in the Foreign Service – Executive Secretary to Strobe Talbott, worked with Dick Holbrooke in trying to help resolve – not at trying – in resolving the challenges of the Balkans, spent many long hours in smoke-filled rooms negotiating and working on that peace accord; has served as Deputy – as Chief of Mission in Kosovo, Ambassador in Bolivia; and through State Department in Washington positions; and abroad two Chief of Mission positions – this man is absolutely the right person for this job, most recently serving most capably as the Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research.”

Ambassador Designate Goldberg, following the new media tradition of his two predecessors in Manila, has joined Twitter and on November 25 announced his arrival in a tweet:

Screen Shot 2013-11-25

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Secretary Kerry Hosts Swearing-in Ceremony for EUR A/S Victoria Nuland

September 20, 2013 By in FSOs, John F. Kerry, Org Life, Regional Bureaus, Secretary of State, State Department, Top Ranks Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

— By Domani Spero

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hosted a swearing-in ceremony for Victoria Nuland as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC on September 18, 2013. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remark….

During his remarks, Secretary Kerry noted that “Toria has served our country her entire adult life. And as the most prominent member of the unique – some might even say improbable – member of the Dick Cheney–Hillary Clinton Alumni Association – (laughter) – she has earned the trust and confidence of Democrats and Republicans alike, without party affiliation.”  

Among the guests:  Senator John McCain, Representative Keating, and former Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, and former Secretary General of the NATO Javier Solana as well as members of the EUR alumni club: former “P” Marc Grossman, Acting NEA A/S Elizabeth Jones, former Special Envoy to Guantanamo Daniel Fried, and EUR A/S predecessor Philip Gordon.

-09/18/13  Swearing-in Ceremony for Victoria Nuland as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs;  Secretary of State John Kerry; Benjamin Franklin Room; Washington, DC.

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