Historians support outside review of State Department's FRUS series
I. The SHAFR Council believes that the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series is crucial to transparency in democratic governance and to informed citizenship. In light of recent problems in the State Department's Office of the Historian (HO) that may affect the future of the FRUS series, SHAFR expresses its strong support for the Secretary of State's decision to name an outside Review Team to assess the situation in the HO. SHAFR looks forward to a public report and to the HO's maintaining its mission of producing accurate, reliable FRUS volumes in a timely manner. Given the concerns expressed by the Historical Advisory Committee (HAC), SHAFR Council will continue to monitor this situation.
II. We affirm our support for the work of the Historical Advisory Committee (HAC), its independence, and its integrity. We express concern over the recent resignations of two members of HAC and the abrupt non-renewal of a third member. External oversight is fundamental to the successful operation of the Historian's Office and part of its Congressional mandate. We look forward to the Department's continuing attention to this matter.
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