In politics, a week is a long time
As British Prime Minister Harold Wilson said circa 1964, a week is a long time in politics – due especially to the fast-changing pace of the political landscape.
But so is it, too, for diplomacy...
It is over two years now since US ambassador to Tanzania (May 22, 2014–November 25, 2016), Mark Childress, left that post – with no reason(s) given for his abrupt departure.
Since then, America hasn’t had a dedicated envoy posted to the country. Ms Virginia Blaser briefly replaced Childress in an ‘acting’ capacity. (See ‘US envoy warns Tanzania;’ The Citizen, May 31, 2017).
Then Chargé d’Affaires Inmi Patterson took over the ‘acting’ ambassadorial mantle, so to speak – and it is business as usual at the US Embassy... Or is it, prithee?
This is the second time since the 1960s that there has been a gap in diplomatic representation in Tanzania/US relations. The first was during the third-phase government of President Benjamin Mkapa (1995-2005).
When US ambassador Robert Royall terminated his diplomatic mission in Tanzania on November 21, 2003, that post remained vacant until August 2005 when Michael Retzer Sr. replaced him on March 9, 2005. Diplomat Michael Owen served as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.
There are similar scenarios in the region East African region.
A military major general who was brought up as a young man in Kenya, Scott Gration, resigned as US Ambassador to Kenya in 2012 after only 13 months in Office. Gration was replaced as ambassador by Robert Godec, serving from January 2013 to February 2019.
Incidentally, sitting US President Donald Trump (Jan. 20, 2017–) had a rough time getting his nominee to replace Ambassador Godec approved by the Senate.
Another interesting bit is that, since 1994, all the US ambassadors to Tanzania have been political appointees rather than career Foreign Service officers.
This is what researcher Jon Greenberg says on the matter: “President Barack Obama appointed Gration to head the American Embassy in Kenya, a retired Air Force general who had spent years in East Africa as the child of missionaries...”
He was a key foreign policy adviser to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and was to serve as Obama’s special envoy to Sudan before moving on to lead the embassy in Nairobi.
Less than a year-and-a-half-later, Gration resigned, saying that “differences with Washington regarding my leadership style and certain priorities lead me to believe that it’s now time to leave.”
Gration stepped down about a month before the release of an internal management audit by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General. Gration was given the chance to respond to it before it came out.
There are key findings out there.
For one, a large number of US ambassadors tend to be appointed based on their personal relationships with the president of the day. We are, of course, familiar with cronyism in our neck of the woods.
Also, Foreign Service officers tend to bring more to the table in terms of knowledge, language and even culture as required by diplomacy and bilateral relations.
Such qualities assist US diplomats to navigate potentially difficult or awkward situations.
There is also the added advantage that some diplomats draw knowledge and strength from their intelligence and/or military service tenure(s).
In the times when we want to pursue economic diplomacy, it is imperative that we also work on building bridges and seriously taking reciprocity issues.
This takes us back to where we started: the absence of a fully-fledged US ambassador in Tanzania for a long period is a matter of great concern all-round.
Can someone please provide an answer/solution to this?
As twice-British Premier James Harold Wilson (1964-70, and 1974-76) said 55 years ago, a week is indeed a long time in politics. Due to the fast-changing pace of the political landscape, the fortunes of a politician or political grouping can change drastically in just the course of a single week.
