The Foreign Service Journal, March 2008

ber election becoming clearer, it’s not a moment too soon to review the many excellent Internet resources to help voters choose the right candi- date. For those who want to make sure they choose a candidate who will get foreign policy right, in particular, there are a number of helpful sites. The Foreign Policy Association’s “Forum for the 2008 Presidential Election” is a blog that will follow developments leading up to the November contest, focusing specifi- cally on foreign policy and interna- tional affairs issues ( http://elect ion.foreignpolicyblogs.com/ ). Hosted by Erin Dian Dumbacher and Mark Dillen, a former senior FSO with the State Department, the blog offers candidates’ profiles, with major issues and notable quotes, as well as updated commentaries and news in more than a dozen categories. The Council on Foreign Relations’ “Campaign 2008” page features links to a wide variety of news and views on the campaign focused on issues of international policy ( www.cfr.org/ campaign2008/index.html ). With daily analysis, profiles of candidates’ policies and links to relevant speeches and the debates, as well as features tracking specific issues such as immi- gration and nonproliferation, links to selected polls and election “must reads,” the site has much to offer. Also providing an array of useful links is About.com ’s “Presidential Candidates and U.S. Foreign Policy” ( http://usforeignpolicy.about.co m/od/2008presidentialrace/a/20 08potus.htm ). Keith Porter, the director of communication and out- reach and executive radio producer for the Stanley Foundation and About.com’ s guide for U.S. foreign policy, maintains this page. In addition to profiles of the candi- dates and their positions on various foreign policy issues, this site contains a link to lists of the candidates’ foreign policy advisers and links to sites such as Real Clear Politics that are moni- toring the election process, as well as related material on foreign policy- making. An Urgent Call to Action on Transformational Diplomacy On Jan. 30, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Advisory Com- mittee on Transformational Diplo- macy presented its final report ( www. state.gov/secretary/diplomacy/ ). This bipartisan group of lawmakers, academics, businessmen, FSOs and other foreign policy professionals, led by former Senator John Breaux and former Governor John Engler, began work in June 2006. Its recommenda- tions are now offered as the basis for action to ensure that American diplo- macy can effectively meet the chal- lenges of the 21st century. Among the recommendations agreed to unanimously by committee members is a call for “ultimately” doubling the work force of the State Department and USAID; creating an integrated Global Affairs Strategic Plan and Budget to facilitate align- ment, joint planning and rational funding of all government overseas activities; consolidating the technolo- gy infrastructure by building a world- class knowledge-management capa- bility and institutionalizing innova- tion; developing strategic public-pri- vate partnerships; consolidating sel- ected bureaus and offices and driving decisionmaking authority downward; and strengthening performance mea- surement and analysis ( www.state. gov/documents/organization/ 99903.pdf ). Before introducing individual com- mittee members attending the cere- mony, Sec. Rice welcomed the rec- ommendations. In fact, her office had already begun acting on them, she said, pointing to the recent cre- ation of the Global Partnership Cen- 12 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 8 C Y B E R N O T E S