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Michael Walsh

Rubio Must Fix US Foreign Policy Planning

President Joe Biden talks on the phone with President Isaac Herzog of Israel in the Oval Office, Monday, October 7, 2024 (Credit: White House)
President Joe Biden talks on the phone with President Isaac Herzog of Israel in the Oval Office, Monday, October 7, 2024

The October 7 Attacks show that there is a clear and present need for the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to re-evaluate the policy guidance for the unclassified strategic plans of the diplomatic missions, functional bureaus, and geographic bureaus of the US Department of State. 

The Biden Administration had a total of 472 days in which to revise any and all relevant Functional Bureau Strategies, Joint Regional Strategies, and Integrated Country Strategies. However, it generally failed to do so. Consider the following examples:

Function Bureau Strategies

Joint Regional Strategies

Integrated Country Strategies – Core Zone

Integrated Country Strategies – Shared Border

Integrated Country Strategies – Near Neighborhood

These findings should deeply concern the Trump Administration, 119th United States Congress, and American public.

It is clear that the October 7 Attacks counted as an extraordinary event that resulted in “substantial changes in policy and/or bilateral relations” with Israel and surrounding countries. That should have triggered relevant US diplomatic missions to revise their strategic plans. Both branches should be asking why that didn’t happen.

About the Author
Michael Walsh is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He conducts research on the strategic, operational, and tactical gaps that exist in American foreign policy.
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