Doin' the Dubya Shuffle

Unlike the 'Curly Shuffle' of 'Three Stooges' fame, however, this one ain't funny.

Administration Critics Chafe at State Dept. Shuffle

A State Department reorganization of analysts involved in preventing the spread of deadly weapons has spawned internal turmoil, with more than half a dozen career employees alleging in interviews that political appointees sought to punish long-term employees whose views they considered suspect.

Senior State Department officials deny that and say an investigation has found that the proper personnel practices were followed. But three officials involved in the reorganization, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, acknowledge that a merger of two bureaus reduced the influence of employees who were viewed by some political appointees as disloyal to the administration's policies.

Purge the heretics; reward the faithful. Purge the former no matter how competent; reward the latter no matter how inept. It doesn't matter how critical the job is to national security; all that matters is ensuring that no critical words profane the ears of Dear Leader.

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