The first Director of Policy Planning at the State Department was George Kennan. The 25th will be National Intelligence Council Vice Chairman David Gordon. The formal announcement is likely to be made in the next two weeks. David Gordon is an outstanding choice for this key position in America’ foreign policy establishment.
Alexander Litvinenko, on his deathbed, accused Vladimir Putin of orchestrating his murder. Having ranted a few times on this blog about the current state of U.S.-Russia relations, I should say that I was pleased to see that Presidents Bush and Putin are planning to meet in early July.
After Zimbabwe won its election to Chair the Commission on Sustainable Development and Paul Wolfowitz held the World Bank hostage last month, international institutions were due for a boost. The month wasn’t all bad – after all, human rights groups did manage to help defeat Belarus in its bid for a seat on the U.N….
Last week, McCain and Obama traded barbs over the Iraq war. McCain first derided Obama for voting against the war supplemental, then Obama called out McCain for his farcical pronouncement that Baghdad is secure, and McCain finally ended the exchange by smugly correcting the Obama team’s spelling of “fla[c]k jacket.
Daniel Levy is one of a handful of people who really could move the Palestinians and Israelis (and Americans, and Europeans, and Russians, and UN bureaucrats, and Saudis, Syrians, and Jordanians) towards a negotiated comprehensive deal establishing a Palestinian state that doesn’t undermine Israel’s national security.
(Richard Vague and blogger Juan Cole speak at New America Foundation/American Strategy Program dinner for Zbigniew Brzezinski) I have become a fan of a daily email and blog site, DelanceyPlace.com, that is published by businessman Richard Vague.
There are only 10 cabins left — and I am soooo tempted to go on this Alaska National Review cruise. I’d be civil, of course, but would hold my ground on my views and otherwise enjoy the scenery and the celebrity of being a token independent progressive on the ship.
Tonight on Charlie Rose will appear outgoing World Bank President and former Bush administration Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. Should be a fascinating show. As a note to Charlie, some of the points of advice I have given publicly to incoming World Bank President Bob Zoellick may make interesting points for discussion with Wolfowitz….
In just about 90 minutes, President Bush is going to speak to the “international development agenda” of his administration and announce his support for Robert Zoellick as President of the World Bank.
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has noted that convicted former Cheney chief-of-staff Scooter Libby has shown no remorse for his role in obstructing the investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert responsibilities for the CIA and has asked for a 30 to 37 month jail sentence for Libby.