Hitting Bottom in Foggy Bottom

[jcustis]

State department types are concerned with who gets invited to what cocktail party and how to quickly get out of whatever strategically critical "hole" they findthemselves in and more to a comfortable "hole". Those that do stay at the "hole" and may go "native". IMHO this is Zero value added at best, contrary to American interests at worst..

I think that your frustration (and yeah, it's mine at times too) stems from a peculiar dynamic. State was not fully behind the invasion of Iraq, so its performance at doing state work reluctantly makes sense, from the whole psychology of it all.

As for OEF, well, perhaps the distinct difference of opinions that exist between the "let's play whack-a-mole" CT advocates, and those advocating reconciliation and reintegration, and a focus on governance, will cause similar dragging of feet.

Then again, perhaps it isn't deliberate or all that well-thought out after all. Perhaps the problem is so deeply rooted culturally (and something that history has shown us before) that we really should not be surprised.

This is not to say that there isn't good work being done...just that your frustrations imply a deliberate process of ignorance or nose-thumbing, when it may be more basic than that.