Bush State Department Historian Dumped
The State Department has decided to replace its top historian, responsible for overseeing the publication of the U.S. government’s official history of American foreign policy, after an investigation turned up allegations that included a “lack of interest” in history.
Marc J. Susser was appointed to the historian job in 2001 by President George W. Bush, and proceeded to take over the task of producing the voluminous “Foreign Relations of the United States” series. Over the next several years, morale began to plummet within the Office of the Historian, and an investigation by the State Department’s inspector general found that 75% of employees interviewed were critical of how the office was being managed. Allegations were reported of favoritism, cronyism, a lack of transparency, and lack of interest in the “Foreign Relations” series.
The IG investigation followed a warning letter last December from the Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, which monitors the historian’s office and the foreign relations volumes, to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying, “The Historian’s Office has become an intolerable place to work; the exodus of experienced historians is significant; and the future of the Foreign Relations series is at risk.”
Read entire article at http://www.allgov.com
Marc J. Susser was appointed to the historian job in 2001 by President George W. Bush, and proceeded to take over the task of producing the voluminous “Foreign Relations of the United States” series. Over the next several years, morale began to plummet within the Office of the Historian, and an investigation by the State Department’s inspector general found that 75% of employees interviewed were critical of how the office was being managed. Allegations were reported of favoritism, cronyism, a lack of transparency, and lack of interest in the “Foreign Relations” series.
The IG investigation followed a warning letter last December from the Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, which monitors the historian’s office and the foreign relations volumes, to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying, “The Historian’s Office has become an intolerable place to work; the exodus of experienced historians is significant; and the future of the Foreign Relations series is at risk.”