Since the departure of Robert P. Jackson some eight months ago, Cameroon has been without a U.S. Ambassador and United States Secretary of State John Kerry blames the situation which he says is hampering regional cooperation on his country’s Senate.
Kerry explained in an op-ed last week titled “Why Is the Senate Hobbling American Diplomacy?” that Boko Haram’s horrifying abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria ignited universal calls for help to ‘bring back our girls.’
“President Barack Obama responded with urgency, but lost in the story is that one tool the United States would like to have at our disposal is hampered by the absence of U.S. ambassadors in neighboring Cameroon and Niger,” he lamented.
Both embassies, Kerry said, have been without ambassadors for more than eight months.
“That means we lost eight months when we would have had full-strength, highest-level capacity to build greater regional cooperation and trust to combat the rising threat from this brutal extremist group. Eight months when U.S. advice and training could have helped equip these critical countries to better help themselves. Eight months when we could have provided better assistance to respond to a moral outrage,” he bemoaned.
The US Secretary of State disclosed that nominees for these Ambassadorial jobs, including Niger and Cameroon, are victims of a confirmation backlog that grows with each passing day.
“It leaves too many of our best and brightest - particularly career Foreign Service officers - languishing on the sidelines instead of being on the ground fighting to protect and promote our interests,” Kerry explained.
He disclosed that 53 State Department nominees are pending before the US Senate and 37 of them have been approved by the Foreign Relations Committee and could be confirmed immediately with a simple vote.
He stressed the majority of the nominees, 35 in all, are apolitical career diplomats, and none of them are controversial.
This vacancy which is not only in Cameroon but also in many world capitals sends a dangerous message to allies and adversaries alike about America’s engagement, Kerry said.
Ambassadors, he added, are the front line of the country’s global push on behalf of U.S. businesses large and small. He said last year, high-level State Department advocacy was responsible for more than $5.5 billion worth of contracts awarded to U.S. companies by foreign governments.
“These contracts translated directly into thousands of jobs for Americans here at home,” he disclosed.
He said America’s leading companies recognize that U.S. ambassadors are vital to their success overseas.
Already this year, U.S. businesses have sought embassy assistance in pursuing $119 billion worth of contracts in countries where a nominee is pending.
Kerry fears “these opportunities will go to our global competitors if we don’t have ambassadors to lead our advocacy. We simply cannot lead if we are not represented.”
