Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
US ambassadors face no-confidence vote amid backlash over appointments
Source: The Guardian
US ambassadors face no-confidence vote amid backlash over appointments
Dan Roberts in Washington
theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 February 2014 19.05 GMT
Ambassadors to Norway, Argentina and Hungary will face a formal vote of no confidence next week by the professional association for US diplomats, in an escalating dispute over Barack Obama’s nomination of political donors to embassy posts.
The three fundraisers – George Tsunis, Noah Mamet and Colleen Bell – gave more than $4.2m combined to Obama’s re-election campaign in 2011 and 2012 but caused outrage in foreign policy circles last month after Senate hearings revealed they had little or no knowledge of their future postings.
A Guardian investigation in July revealed that the controversial practice of rewarding donors with plum foreign postings has accelerated under Obama, leaving the average “price” paid by his donors for ambassadorships in the last election cycle at nearly $2m.
Now the American Foreign Service Association, an independent professional body representing US diplomats, is preparing to make its first formal complaint about a US ambassador’s suitability since 1992, in a sign that recent appointments may have proven the final straw for the diplomatic community.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Dan Roberts in Washington
theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 February 2014 19.05 GMT
Ambassadors to Norway, Argentina and Hungary will face a formal vote of no confidence next week by the professional association for US diplomats, in an escalating dispute over Barack Obama’s nomination of political donors to embassy posts.
The three fundraisers – George Tsunis, Noah Mamet and Colleen Bell – gave more than $4.2m combined to Obama’s re-election campaign in 2011 and 2012 but caused outrage in foreign policy circles last month after Senate hearings revealed they had little or no knowledge of their future postings.
A Guardian investigation in July revealed that the controversial practice of rewarding donors with plum foreign postings has accelerated under Obama, leaving the average “price” paid by his donors for ambassadorships in the last election cycle at nearly $2m.
Now the American Foreign Service Association, an independent professional body representing US diplomats, is preparing to make its first formal complaint about a US ambassador’s suitability since 1992, in a sign that recent appointments may have proven the final straw for the diplomatic community.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/25/us-ambassadors-confidence-vote-amid-firestorm
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
