THE END OF U.S. DIPLOMACY?

First Rummy determined to "transform" the military -- and he's SOOOO successful at managing our armed forces, isn't he? They're stronger, bigger and better than ever before. Not. Now Condi wants to "transform" American diplomacy. Between the two of them, and on behalf of their boss, they're going to destroy every institution our nation depends upon to secure our position in the world.

Condi is upholding a grand old Bush Cabinet tradition: put someone in place who will dismantle the very agency he/she is supposed to be running.

Indeed, Rice's "transformed" diplomats are not diplomats at all, but program managers, servants of the military, Internet operators, and "missionaries for the democratic Gospel" (in the words of the British newspaper The Observer ).

Condi the diplomat-terminator may be the ideal secretary of state for a bellicose, "bring' em on" White House that can't understand "what these dips are doing out there" (doubtless because Bush officials seldom listen to them). But, as the disastrous failures of the president's mindless military crusades overseas have demonstrated, we need more diplomacy, not less, if only to properly inform Washington of what's going on in the world before it goes about blowing it up.

Tags: Condi Rice, U.S. diplomacy