After two weeks’ watching as public uprisings appear to be
re-drawing the ideological and political maps of the Middle East,
and with virtually no role for the United States, career State
Department employees and longtime National Security Council
observers point their finger at the decisions made by President
Barack Obama to surround himself with yes-men and
inexperienced foreign policy hands.
“He has someone with a strong national security background
in [Gen.] Jim Jones, and he tosses him over the
side for Tom Donilon, who was a former lobbyist
for Fannie Mae. What does that say about the President’s interest
in foreign policy?” says a long-time State Department staffer who
had worked both the European and Middle East portfolios over the
past ten years.
General James Jones was Obama’s first national security
adviser before abruptly leaving the administration last fall.
Donilon was his deputy, but was viewed as someone with closer ties
to both Vice President Joe Biden and the Obama
team. In fact, Donilon is said to have been the lead voice in
prepping Obama on foreign policy matters before presidential
debates in 2008.
According to White House sources, Donilon was also a lead
voice during foreign policy reviews early in the Obama
Administration calling for a “disengagement” from the Middle East
and to engage more fully in China and other emerging powers.
Donilon reportedly also voiced support for diminishing America’s
influence in Pakistan.
