Interview with Blog “Random Thoughts”

June 9, 2013

Tags: Powell, Random Thoughts
Posted in: Afghanistan, Embassy/State, Iraq

I enjoyed a recent interview with the blog Random Thoughts. A sample:

Teri: In light of new reports on the wasted money we spent on Iraq’s reconstruction, I suspect you got an apology from the State Department. Did you?

Van Buren: You’re a funny person. My apology may have been lost in the mail.

Teri: You’ve worked for the State Department under a number of Secretaries. Who was the most effective of these, in your opinion?

Van Buren: Ironically, the first half of the Colin Powell tenure. Powell, likely because of his military background where caring for the troops is an essential requirement for any leader, was the only Secretary to make positive changes to the life and work of the rank and file. Powell, for example, overruled Diplomatic Security’s ban on the internet inside of the State Department. Security claimed it was dangerous to info security while Powell said the reality of our modern world demanded access. Without him State employees would still be getting their news a day late in paper form. The irony, of course, is that it was Powell who plunged State into Iraq and thus helped to destroy the rank and file by wasting their time, energy and lives inside that failed war.

Have a look at the whole discussion on Random Thoughts.

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