Quickie: On State/USAID - There Will Be No Merger

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Spencer Ackerman did a lengthy post last week on the Department’s QDDR process (see State Dept Project Signals Foreign Policy Shift | Washington Independent | October 22). The piece also delineates the composition of the five Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review working groups with senior officials from across both State and USAID.

Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of State for East Asia, and Karen Turner, director of USAID’s office of development partners, head the group responsible for “Building a Global Architecture of Cooperation.”

Maria Otero, the undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs, and Gloria Steele, USAID’s global-health chief, work on whole-of-government solutions.

Johnnie Carson, State’s top African-affairs official, and George Laudato, USAID’s Mideast chief, handle “Investing in the Building Blocks of Stronger Societies.”

Conflict prevention and response is under Eric Schwartz, State’s assistant secretary for population, migration and refugees; Susan Reichle, USAID’s senior democracy and humanitarian assistance official.

Ruth Whiteside of State’s Foreign Service Institute and Jean Marie Smith, Jack Lew’s special assistant, are in charge of “Building Operational and Resource Platforms for Success.”

The piece includes something that would help our USAID folks let out a sigh of relief. It said that “only one policy option has been ruled out: dissolving USAID and moving development work to the State Department.” Anne-Marie Slaughter, the director of policy planning is quoted as saying, “There will be no merger. Secretary Clinton has made clear she wants a strong AID, a well-resourced AID, [and] wants diplomacy and development well-integrated.”

There she said "no" to the "M" word. Read the whole thing here.