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State Department considers scrubbing democracy promotion from its mission
It's labeled as opinion.
Hat tip, a comment by Rebecca Gardner at JoeMyGod: http://www.joemygod.com/2017/08/01/white-house-denies-colluding-fox-false-seth-rich-story-meant-divert-attention-russia/
Rex Tillerson has ordered @StateDept to rewrite its mission statement, removing any mention of promoting democracy.
Link to tweet
Josh Rogin Opinion
State Department considers scrubbing democracy promotion from its mission
By Josh Rogin August 1 at 5:01 AM
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has ordered his department to redefine its mission and issue a new statement of purpose to the world. The draft statements under review right now are similar to the old mission statement, except for one thing — any mention of promoting democracy is being eliminated.
According to an internal email that went out Friday, which I obtained, the State Department’s Executive Steering Committee convened a meeting of leaders to draft new statements on the department’s purpose, mission and ambition, as part of the overall reorganization of the State Department and USAID. (The draft statements were being circulated for comment Friday and could change before being finalized.)
....
Former senior State Department officials from both parties told me that eliminating “just” and “democratic” from the State Department’s list of desired outcomes is neither accidental nor inconsequential.
“The only significant difference is the deletion of justice and democracy,” said Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy during the George W. Bush administration. “We used to want a just and democratic word, and now apparently we don’t.”
....
The State Department declined to comment.
Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post. He writes about foreign policy and national security.
Follow @joshrogin
State Department considers scrubbing democracy promotion from its mission
By Josh Rogin August 1 at 5:01 AM
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has ordered his department to redefine its mission and issue a new statement of purpose to the world. The draft statements under review right now are similar to the old mission statement, except for one thing — any mention of promoting democracy is being eliminated.
According to an internal email that went out Friday, which I obtained, the State Department’s Executive Steering Committee convened a meeting of leaders to draft new statements on the department’s purpose, mission and ambition, as part of the overall reorganization of the State Department and USAID. (The draft statements were being circulated for comment Friday and could change before being finalized.)
....
Former senior State Department officials from both parties told me that eliminating “just” and “democratic” from the State Department’s list of desired outcomes is neither accidental nor inconsequential.
“The only significant difference is the deletion of justice and democracy,” said Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy during the George W. Bush administration. “We used to want a just and democratic word, and now apparently we don’t.”
....
The State Department declined to comment.
Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post. He writes about foreign policy and national security.
Follow @joshrogin
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