Conduct of the new diplomacy

Our concern in this book is with the way the Executive Branch is organized and staffed to carry out its part in deciding and executing foreign policy. The way the Executive Branch works is more important than most Presidents and Congressmen would appear to think. Some students of administration believe the nation can be threatened by flaws in the machinery of government; it can neglect, fumble, and muddle its way into second place.

In government no situation is ever perfect; there is always room for improvement. Since 1836 the State Department has been growing more unmanageable; or, some would say, less competent. In that long-ago year Secretary John Forsyth reorganized the Department to put all similar jobs together in as few units as made sense. By this simple rule he tried to have as few subordinates as possible reporting to the Secretary. His was the last neat chart, the last proximity to what his successors today would call a streamlined department, as if the whole institution were hurtling against the wind.