www.washingtonpost.com/...The State Dept is already purposefully understaffed. Now we find out under Tillerson the State Dept’s newest Mission Statement no longer lists promoting Democracy. This seems rather ominous. If our State Dept is not promoting Democracy abroad because it no longer supports here at home?
The original Mission Statement reads as follows:
“The Department’s mission is to shape and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere.”
The new Mission Statement leaves out the words “just” and “democratic”. It reads:
“We promote the security, prosperity and interests of the American people globally.”
Additionally, the State Department will soon eliminate the www.humanrights.gov website and move its content to an alternative web address, www.state.gov/j/drl
State Department considers scrubbing democracy promotion from its mission
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has ordered his department to redefine its mission and issue a new statement of purpose to the world. The draft statements under review right now are similar to the old mission statement, except for one thing — any mention of promoting democracy is being eliminated.
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Former senior State Department officials from both parties told me that eliminating “just” and “democratic” from the State Department’s list of desired outcomes is neither accidental nor inconsequential.
“The only significant difference is the deletion of justice and democracy,” said Elliott Abrams, who served as deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy during the George W. Bush administration. “We used to want a just and democratic word, and now apparently we don’t.” …. “That change is a serious mistake that ought to be corrected,” he said. “If not, the message being sent will be a great comfort to every dictator in the world.”
Tom Malinowski, who served as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor for the Obama administration, said the new proposed mission statement brings U.S. foreign policy into closer alignment with that of some of America’s chief adversaries, including Russia.
“It’s a worldview similar to that of Putin, who also thinks that great powers should focus exclusively on self protection and enrichment, rather than promoting democracy,” he said. “By removing all reference to universal values and the common good it removes any reason for people outside the United States to support our foreign-policy.”
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