Victoria Nuland, State Department’s No. 3, resigns after years of unsuccessful advancement
The Rise and Fall of Victoria Nuland: A Case Study in Washington Bureaucracy
The State Department announced on Tuesday that Victoria Nuland, the third highest-ranking U.S. diplomat, would step down. Her career in U.S. diplomacy is a case study in Beltway bureaucrats failing upward over their decades in Washington.
Nuland’s “tenure caps three and a half decades of remarkable public service under six Presidents and ten Secretaries of State,” the department said in a press release. “These experiences have armed Toria with an encyclopedic knowledge of a wide range of issues and regions, and an unmatched capacity to wield the full toolkit of American diplomacy to advance our interests and values.”
But Nuland’s tenure also puts her at the center of foreign policy failures for decades. After a brief hiatus from the State Department under President Donald Trump, Nuland returned to the agency when President Joe Biden nominated her as Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s under-secretary of state for political affairs.
After working under Vice President Dick Cheney as a principal deputy foreign policy adviser, Nuland was U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) under President George W. Bush until 2008. She went on to join the Obama administration first as a spokeswoman for the State Department and then as assistant secretary of state of European and Eurasian Affairs until 2017. It was under President Barack Obama that Nuland spearheaded efforts to overthrow the democratically elected government of Ukraine and install a pro-EU regime, which prompted Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Independent Substack journalist Jordan Schachtel outlined “The Real Victoria Nuland” following the announcement of her resignation.
“From 2013 to 2015 Nuland’s portfolio was dominated by Eastern Europe and Russia,” Schachtel wrote. “She was the American point person for the infamous ‘Maidan uprising’ in Ukraine, which resulted in the ouster of the country’s elected president. Critics of the Nuland-led campaign have labeled her activities in Ukraine as a successful coup effort in a foreign country.”
Under President Biden, “Nuland appeared to telegraph the future bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline, declaring that it will ‘not move forward’ if Russia invades Ukraine,” Schachtel added.
The Nord Stream pipeline transported natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. In September 2022, a series of explosions disrupted the flow of Russian gas into central Europe months after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Swedish and Danish authorities closed their investigations into the pipeline explosions last month, concluding the disruptions were an act of deliberate “sabotage.” The New York Times reported last month that “intelligence agencies came to a general agreement” that the attack was conducted by “pro-Ukraine forces.” In his recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
[READ:[READ:It’s Not Crazy To Think Biden Sabotaged Nord Stream To Deepen US Involvement In The Ukraine War]
“Nuland has since acted to disrupt peace talks and advance the maximalist position of fighting the Ukraine-Russia war to the very last Ukrainian, ensuring that there is more reasons for Congress to allocate untold billions to the war effort,” Schachtel reported.
Suffice it to say the world is far more dangerous than when Victoria Nuland entered the scene. Russia has forged closer relationships with China, Iran, and North Korea, threatening an outbreak of a third global conflict while the American dollar inches closer to losing its hegemony.
If fomenting World War III is a metric of success (and in Washington, it is), then Nuland will be on her way to a high-paid professorship at an American university, if not a fellowship at a Beltway think tank. Nuland’s career is a testament to career officials failing upward in the elite class of D.C. bureaucrats.
Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.
What role does conformity and groupthink play in the flawed approach to policymaking within the bureaucratic system?
/the-nord-stream-2-sanctions-fiasco-is-a-case-study-in-diplomatic-incompetence/”>The Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Fiasco Is A Case Study In Diplomatic Incompetence]
Despite Nuland’s track record of controversial foreign policy decisions, she continued to rise through the ranks of the Washington bureaucracy. This pattern of failing upward is not uncommon in the Beltway, where bureaucratic elites seem to be insulated from the consequences of their actions.
One reason for this phenomenon is the revolving door between government and think tanks or lobbying firms, which allows former government officials to cash in on their connections and expertise. Nuland herself has taken advantage of this revolving door, joining the Center for a New American Security after leaving the State Department in 2017.
Another factor that contributes to the rise of individuals like Nuland is the lack of accountability within the bureaucracy. Despite the failures and controversies surrounding her career, Nuland has faced little consequence for her actions. Instead, she has been rewarded with prestigious positions and accolades.
Furthermore, the bureaucratic system itself encourages conformity and groupthink, making it difficult for dissenting voices or alternative perspectives to be heard. This results in a narrow and often flawed approach to policymaking, as demonstrated by Nuland’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis and the Nord Stream pipeline debacle.
The rise and fall of Victoria Nuland serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of an unchecked and unaccountable bureaucracy. It highlights the need for greater transparency, accountability, and diversity of thought in Washington. Without these reforms, the cycle of bureaucratic failure is likely to continue, with little regard for the consequences for U.S. foreign policy and national security.
In conclusion, Victoria Nuland’s career in U.S. diplomacy exemplifies the phenomenon of failing upward within the Washington bureaucracy. Despite her involvement in foreign policy failures and controversies, she continued to rise through the ranks and was rewarded with prestigious positions. This pattern underscores the need for reforms to promote transparency, accountability, and diversity of thought within the bureaucracy. Failure to address these issues will only perpetuate the cycle of bureaucratic failure and undermine U.S. interests and values in the long run.
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