US diplomats angry and afraid: Report
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PHOTO: By nationofchange
"Ukraine-Gate" scandal has exacerbated divisions between the US political appointees and career diplomats, many of whom say the Department of State is being politicized.
Iran Press/ America: US President Donald Trump's latest political scandal "Ukraine-Gate" is deepening anger and concern inside the State Department as Secretary Mike Pompeo's role in the dilemma comes under greater scrutiny.
A dozen current and former staff from different areas of the State Department and at different stages of their careers have said the Ukraine controversy has exacerbated divisions between political appointees and career diplomats, many of whom say the department is being politicized in ways that undermine US ties to other countries, CNN reported.
The US State Department staff also tell CNN that frustration is building as Pompeo tries to steer the currents created by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who has inserted himself into foreign policy, and the President's expectations of complete loyalty.
Pompeo seems to "lack the backbone" to push back on Trump, one veteran career official said, even as the President appears to use the department to meet his political aims.
Several officials told CNN there is also fear of retaliation from an administration that they say has consistently sidelined America's oldest Cabinet agency.
"There is most certainly a sense within the building that the potential for reprisal is present," one former State Department official said.
The State Department has not responded to requests for comment regarding criticism of Pompeo.
Deep anxiety
The administration has cut the department's staff, tried to slash its budget, left senior positions unfilled and handled important portfolios such as Mideast peace to Trump family members. Career staffers have reported abuse by political appointees. Dozens of officials have been pushed out. Dozens more have resigned.
The administration has also targeted former State officials who served in the Obama administration, retroactively classifying their emails, then informing them they have potentially violated the law; the Washington Post reported as many as 130 current and former senior State Department officials were affected.
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As the Ukraine saga unfolds, a third former career official who has spent decades in the department echoed others in describing a deep unease among staff about "having to do things that border on the political defense of the President, rather than executing American foreign policy consistent with their oath of office."
Despite the churn surrounding his agency, Pompeo kept to his schedule on a six-day trip to Europe that included a stop in his family's ancestral village in Italy. His aides refused to answer reporters' questions about the controversy or Pompeo's participation in the July 25 call between the US and Ukraine presidents. He did admit to being on the call on Wednesday.
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