Rubio Must Demand Horizontal & Vertical Alignment

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio should direct Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Stephanie Hallett to improve horizontal and vertical alignment in the strategic planning of the United States Embassy in Israel.

As a matter of policy, US diplomatic missions are supposed to declare all other US strategic plans that are aligned with their mission strategic objectives. In practice, that rarely happens though.

Under prior administrations, the United States Embassy in Israel was no exception.

The Integrated Country Strategy for Israel produced by the last administration serves as case in point.

Under the Biden Administration, the United States Embassy in Israel only declared six linkages in its mission strategic plan. Those linkages included the Joint Strategic Plan, (Interim) National Security Strategy, Joint Regional Strategy for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Function Bureau Strategy for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ten-Year Memorandum of Understanding, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Strategic Plan.

That short list suggests that the Country Team put very little thought into horizontal and vertical integration when they drafted their strategic plan.

For the Biden Administration, such incompetency was problematic for a couple of reasons.

From a functional perspective, it suggested weak vertical alignment with a number of relevant higher-level strategic plans of the US government. Examples include the US Strategies on Countering Corruption, Global Water Strategy, Countering Wrongful Detention, and Women, Peace, and Security, Prevent Conflict. They also include the US Strategies to Promote Stability, Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities, and Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally.

In parallel, it suggested weak vertical alignment with the strategic plans of a number of relevant functional bureaus within the US Department of State. Examples include the Offices of Civil Rights, International Religious Freedom, and the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. They also include the Bureaus of Counterterrorism, Diplomatic Security, Political-Military Affairs, and Population, Refugees, and Migration.

From a geographic perspective, it suggested weak vertical alignment with the strategic plans of a number of relevant regional bureaus within the US Department of State. Examples include the Bureaus of African Affairs and European and Eurasian Affairs.

Moreover, it suggested weak horizontal alignment with the strategic plans of a number of relevant diplomatic missions within the US Department of State. Examples include the US diplomatic missions in neighboring countries (i.e., Egypt; Jordan; Lebanon; Syria), Abraham Accord countries (i.e., Bahrain; Morocco; Sudan; United Arab Emirates), and other highly relevant independent states (e.g., Canada; Germany; India; Italy; Russia; Saudi Arabia; South Africa; Spain; Turkey; Yemen).

The US Department of State therefore needs to dramatically improve the quality of horizontal and vertical strategic alignment in mission strategic planning for Israel.

To achieve that outcome, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio should direct the United States Embassy in Israel to produce a new mission strategic plan that is horizontally and vertically aligned within a maximum of 60 days.