So I see some 38 year old state department chick made a big public to-do about her resignation from DOS over Gaza policy.
Upon further review...
1. It is generally very bad form for a DOS person to do this, as most DOS people actually understand that their job is to implement the policy of the president. There are plenty of internal nonpublic channels by which they may register dissent, but once the policy is set, you implement it or you go away. But you don't throw a pity party.
2. In case you were wondering our "DOS Official" is a one-year foreign service officer in the "Office of Near Eastern Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor". In other words, waaaaaaayyyy down the food chain. Dr. Google suggests that prior to that, our newly-minted PhD seems to have spent her life in quasi academia, analyzing (apparently not very well) the implications of combating violent extremism and encouraging religious tolerance with a whole four (!) years living in the middle east.
3. This is what happens when the rubber of academic peace studies graduates meet the road of the middle east. In short, bald tires.
4. I cannot help but be reminded of a very good law school friend who spent his first year after law school working for the (Bill) Clinton campaign. He really and truly thought and expected that he'd get a major policy appointment - probably requiring Senate confirmation - out of his gig, and was genuinely disappointed to become assistant deputy undersecretary for briefcase carrying to the deputy administrator.
Upon further review...
1. It is generally very bad form for a DOS person to do this, as most DOS people actually understand that their job is to implement the policy of the president. There are plenty of internal nonpublic channels by which they may register dissent, but once the policy is set, you implement it or you go away. But you don't throw a pity party.
2. In case you were wondering our "DOS Official" is a one-year foreign service officer in the "Office of Near Eastern Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor". In other words, waaaaaaayyyy down the food chain. Dr. Google suggests that prior to that, our newly-minted PhD seems to have spent her life in quasi academia, analyzing (apparently not very well) the implications of combating violent extremism and encouraging religious tolerance with a whole four (!) years living in the middle east.
3. This is what happens when the rubber of academic peace studies graduates meet the road of the middle east. In short, bald tires.
4. I cannot help but be reminded of a very good law school friend who spent his first year after law school working for the (Bill) Clinton campaign. He really and truly thought and expected that he'd get a major policy appointment - probably requiring Senate confirmation - out of his gig, and was genuinely disappointed to become assistant deputy undersecretary for briefcase carrying to the deputy administrator.
