.General Says His Iraq Envoy Job Was Rescinded
WASHINGTON — When the vice president, the secretary of state and the national security adviser all say you have been tapped to be the next United States ambassador to Iraq, odds are it’s a done deal, right?
Apparently not in the Obama administration.
Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, the former top American commander in the Middle East, said the Obama administration offered him the Baghdad job late last month, but withdrew the appointment without explanation, apparently in favor of a veteran diplomat, Christopher R. Hill.
With General Zinni fuming in undiplomatic fashion about the way he was treated, the question of who should be the next ambassador to Iraq has turned into an embarrassing mess for the Obama administration as it struggles to recover from other stumbles over high-profile nominations. There has still been no formal announcement about the Iraq job.
“By any measure, Zinni is one of the most talented military officers of his generation,” said Michael E. O’Hanlon, a specialist on Iraq at the Brookings Institution. “The bigger issue for the country and the Obama administration is to make sure they explain themselves. Otherwise, people will assume the worst motives.”
The White House and the State Department have refused to talk about discussions with General Zinni, 65, a four-star Marine general who retired in 2000 as head of the military’s Central Command. All indications suggest that the ambassadorial post will go to Mr. Hill, who has been the senior American envoy in negotiations over North Korea, but who has no Middle East experience.
“Our policy is never to discuss our process for making ambassadorial appointments,” said a State Department spokesman, Robert A. Wood. “Zinni would be on anyone’s short list.”
General Zinni was a prominent critic of the Iraq war before the invasion, but he supported the temporary increase in troops in Iraq and opposed a rapid withdrawal there, putting him closer to Senator John McCain’s position than to President Obama’s. Early on, he also called for the defense secretary at the time, Donald H. Rumsfeld, to resign.
The general said he was not looking for a job in the new administration when Mr. Obama’s choice for national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, a former Marine commandant and longtime friend, called him just before the inauguration.
“He asked if I’d like to serve as ambassador to Iraq or in one of the envoy jobs on the Middle East peace process,” General Zinni said in telephone interview. “I said yes.”
About two weeks later, General Zinni said, General Jones called back with a formal offer for the Baghdad job, and an appointment with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Jan. 26.
General Zinni said he met for more than an hour with Mrs. Clinton, discussing a wide range of Iraq issues with her; James B. Steinberg, one of her two appointed deputy secretaries; and William J. Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs.
“She thanked me for taking this, and we went over what needed to be done,” General Zinni said. “She turned to Steinberg and Burns and said: ‘Let’s get the paperwork moving. We’ve got to move on this.’ ”
The next day, General Zinni said, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called to thank him for taking the job.
But that was the last word on Iraq that General Zinni said he heard from the administration.
The call he was told to expect from Mr. Burns never came, General Zinni said, and when he called each day to check on his status, he said, Mr. Burns sounded increasingly vague.
With decisions to make on withdrawing from corporate boards and recruiting aides, General Zinni said he called General Jones on Monday.
General Jones broke the news: “It’s going to be Chris Hill,” General Zinni said he was told.
“As a sorry offer to placate me, they offered ambassador to Saudi,” he said in a separate e-mail message, referring to Saudi Arabia. “I told them to stick it where the sun don’t shine.”
His discussions with the administration were first reported this week by The Washington Times and by a blog, “The Cable,” on ForeignPolicy.com.
His nomination may have run into at least two hurdles. Late last week, Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, a former top military commander in Afghanistan, was named as the next ambassador to Kabul. That made it unlikely that the White House would name another general to a high-profile diplomatic post, and fuel criticism that it was militarizing American foreign policy.
In addition, until December, General Zinni was an executive vice president of DynCorp, a recipient of contracts connected to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But he said that issue never came up when he did a recent strategic assessment on Iraq for Ryan C. Crocker, the departing ambassador, and Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American commander there.
General Zinni said he was more mystified than angry. “I don’t have a problem if they change their mind, but no one even bothered to call me. This is Leadership 101. To this day, no one has told me what happened.”
NYT
Apparently not in the Obama administration.
Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, the former top American commander in the Middle East, said the Obama administration offered him the Baghdad job late last month, but withdrew the appointment without explanation, apparently in favor of a veteran diplomat, Christopher R. Hill.
With General Zinni fuming in undiplomatic fashion about the way he was treated, the question of who should be the next ambassador to Iraq has turned into an embarrassing mess for the Obama administration as it struggles to recover from other stumbles over high-profile nominations. There has still been no formal announcement about the Iraq job.
“By any measure, Zinni is one of the most talented military officers of his generation,” said Michael E. O’Hanlon, a specialist on Iraq at the Brookings Institution. “The bigger issue for the country and the Obama administration is to make sure they explain themselves. Otherwise, people will assume the worst motives.”
The White House and the State Department have refused to talk about discussions with General Zinni, 65, a four-star Marine general who retired in 2000 as head of the military’s Central Command. All indications suggest that the ambassadorial post will go to Mr. Hill, who has been the senior American envoy in negotiations over North Korea, but who has no Middle East experience.
“Our policy is never to discuss our process for making ambassadorial appointments,” said a State Department spokesman, Robert A. Wood. “Zinni would be on anyone’s short list.”
General Zinni was a prominent critic of the Iraq war before the invasion, but he supported the temporary increase in troops in Iraq and opposed a rapid withdrawal there, putting him closer to Senator John McCain’s position than to President Obama’s. Early on, he also called for the defense secretary at the time, Donald H. Rumsfeld, to resign.
The general said he was not looking for a job in the new administration when Mr. Obama’s choice for national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, a former Marine commandant and longtime friend, called him just before the inauguration.
“He asked if I’d like to serve as ambassador to Iraq or in one of the envoy jobs on the Middle East peace process,” General Zinni said in telephone interview. “I said yes.”
About two weeks later, General Zinni said, General Jones called back with a formal offer for the Baghdad job, and an appointment with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Jan. 26.
General Zinni said he met for more than an hour with Mrs. Clinton, discussing a wide range of Iraq issues with her; James B. Steinberg, one of her two appointed deputy secretaries; and William J. Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs.
“She thanked me for taking this, and we went over what needed to be done,” General Zinni said. “She turned to Steinberg and Burns and said: ‘Let’s get the paperwork moving. We’ve got to move on this.’ ”
The next day, General Zinni said, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called to thank him for taking the job.
But that was the last word on Iraq that General Zinni said he heard from the administration.
The call he was told to expect from Mr. Burns never came, General Zinni said, and when he called each day to check on his status, he said, Mr. Burns sounded increasingly vague.
With decisions to make on withdrawing from corporate boards and recruiting aides, General Zinni said he called General Jones on Monday.
General Jones broke the news: “It’s going to be Chris Hill,” General Zinni said he was told.
“As a sorry offer to placate me, they offered ambassador to Saudi,” he said in a separate e-mail message, referring to Saudi Arabia. “I told them to stick it where the sun don’t shine.”
His discussions with the administration were first reported this week by The Washington Times and by a blog, “The Cable,” on ForeignPolicy.com.
His nomination may have run into at least two hurdles. Late last week, Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, a former top military commander in Afghanistan, was named as the next ambassador to Kabul. That made it unlikely that the White House would name another general to a high-profile diplomatic post, and fuel criticism that it was militarizing American foreign policy.
In addition, until December, General Zinni was an executive vice president of DynCorp, a recipient of contracts connected to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But he said that issue never came up when he did a recent strategic assessment on Iraq for Ryan C. Crocker, the departing ambassador, and Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American commander there.
General Zinni said he was more mystified than angry. “I don’t have a problem if they change their mind, but no one even bothered to call me. This is Leadership 101. To this day, no one has told me what happened.”
NYT
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