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Critics Blast Obama's Zinni Flip-Flop

They call yanking of Iraq ambassador post sign of transition chaos

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Feb 6, 2009 10:45 AM CST

(Newser) – Remember those fat times, back in December, when competence and seamless coordination were back in town? Oh well. Joining the parade of minor appointment-related slip-ups is the apparent bait-and-switch pulled on retired Gen. Anthony Zinni, reports Politico. Zinni was told he had the job of Iraq ambassador—then the rug got pulled out; critics say this is typical of the Obama administration’s chaotic foreign policy transition.

Zinni even got a call of congratulations from Joe Biden, before the job was inexplicably yanked away, and he was offered the Saudi Arabia ambassadorship instead. “They handled this in an extremely amateurish way,” says a former Clinton official. Observers worry that the apparent disarray points to an ambiguous chain of command—no good for a foreign policy apparatus.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton listens during her joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

In this photo provided by CBS News, General Anthony Zinni speaks to reporters after his appearance on the CBS talk show "Face the Nation", Sunday Nov. 25, 2007 in Washington. (AP Photo/CBS News, Karin Cooper)

President Barack Obama arrives on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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There are a lot of people who were under the impression that they would hear things and didn't—and it's almost impossible to pursue a job, to even talk about a job. - Steve Clemons, senior fellow at the New America Foundation

There's a lot of chiefs and not a whole lot of Indians. You've just got to make sure that when chiefs interact, the casualty of this interaction isn't an effectively and seamlessly organized American policy. - Aaron David Miller, scholar

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Critics Blast Obama's Zinni Flip-Flop