Well, maybe it will free up a few of them to go to Iraq:ÂÂ
The former director of President Bush‘s flagship democracy program for the Middle East is saying that the State Department has “effectively killed” a program to disburse millions of dollars to Iran‘s liberal opposition.
In an interview yesterday, Scott Carpenter said a recent decision to move the $75 million annual aid program for Iranian democrats to the State Department’s Office of Iranian Affairs would effectively neuter an initiative the president had intended to spur democracy inside the Islamic Republic.
“In my view, this pretty much kills the Iran democracy program,” Mr. Carpenter said of the decision by the State Department to subsume the program. “There is not the expertise, there is not the energy for it. The Iran office is worried about the bilateral policy. I think they are not committed to this anymore.”
That’s Demockracy for you.
Well, that settles it – we’re just going to have to bomb the shit out of them now. Well done, Foggy Bottom!
Back when it was more fashionable to proclaim that the stupid Bushies don’t know what they’re doing and they’re screwing Iran up with their money, the New Your Times had this to say:
Are you actually certain that a decision of this magnitude is being made contrary to the wishes of Rice, and by extension, those of Bush? Don’t make me link an org chart.
No one can make State Department employees do anything they don’t want to do.
Wait. So the “Office of Iranian Affairs” inside our State Department is effectively acting on behalf of the Iranian government? The same Iranian government that committed an act of war and held State Department employees hostage for nearly a year?
Why can’t we get rid of the idiots like this? Is it that the “point to your country” test has lost its effectiveness?
Ah yes, a conspiracy so immense…
No one can make State Department employees do anything they don’t want to do.
Word.
Hello, Hubris. Long time …
Conspiracies don’t need to be immense to accomplish goals. It only takes one small office (id est, “Office of Iranian Affairs”) among a minor section of an Executive Department to decide that their opinions outweigh the properly elected government’s policies, by simply refusing to follow policy, calling a press conference and then daring the Administration to reprimand them.
If Bush/Rice were to fire these people for insubordination, the cries of outrage by liberals and the MSM (“Suppression of Speaking Truth To Power”) would echo off the moon. Witness the cries of protest over the firing of the Federal Attorneys – a perfectly legal act but the moonbats are claiming that it is an impeachment offense.
Drumwaster,
But there’s no evidence that the department is refusing to follow the executive’s current policies. Also, here the “truth to power” guy is the former director who went to the press to complain about what the State Dept, i.e., an arm of the Bush administration, is now doing with the funds. But instead of the moonbats, it’s the Birchers issuing the criest of protest. Treason!
P.S. Howdy JD
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 11/08/2007 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
and some of the policy they write could be classified as very foreign policy.
Thanks for running that up the flagpole, David.
That’s an idiom.
Sounds like the State Department is giving the Bush administration the ‘Steely Dan’*. I wouldn’t want to be in Condi’s shoes. While she works for Bush, she presides over a staff of tenured bureaucrats who pretty much can’t be disciplined or fired. They all belong to the government employees’ unions, and they probably run 90% Democratic with heavy socialist undertones. Sometimes it’s a wonder that a Republican administration can accomplish anything when all their minions are undercutting them at every opportunity.
*Couldn’t help chuckling when I saw the Jason Rubenstein quote in the sidebar calling Jeff the Steely Dan of the blogosphere. ‘Cause I remember where the band got the name. Might be an insult, but I think I’d take it as a compliment regardless.
75 million is all that we spend promoting democracy in Iran? And they took it away from Mr. Carpenter? and now he’s all mad? thats so sad.
No matter how much money is spent on something, you can be sure that folks on the Left, like andy, will think that we are just not spending enough.
Jeeze, Dan – your cut-and-paste still has NYSun “related reference” embeds in it? That’s kinda skeery…
Or was it intentional?
I wants to make your flesh creep.