http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/02/04/the_kerry_era_begins
Secretary of State John Kerry started work Monday morning at the State Department with a few jokes and a call to arms for the State Department employees he now commands.
Susan Johnson, president of the American Foreign Service Association, introduced Kerry on the mezzanine of the C Street entrance to the State Department's Foggy Bottom headquarters, the same spot where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her farewell remarks last Friday. Kerry was actually sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan last Friday afternoon in a private ceremony in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing room.
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Standing alongside Kerry was a host of State Department senior officials, some of whom are set to depart the administration in the coming days. Deputy Secretary Tom Nides will step down. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, Under Secretary for Management Patrick Kennedy, USAID Administrator Raj Shah, and several other top officials could stay on for a while.
Kerry has brought several senior staffers with him to State, such as former Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff director Bill Danvers and his own Staff Director David Wade, but their final positions have not yet been determined.
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Secretary Kerry's schedule for the remainder of the week has not yet been determined, but he spent the weekend making phone calls to foreign leaders, including: Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung Hwan, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, and Mexican Foreign Secretary Antonio Meade.
On Saturday, Kerry had lunch with former Secretary of State George Shultz.
"Secretary Kerry has now met with or spoken by phone with each living secretary of state, Democrat and Republican, since being announced as President Obama's nominee," said State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland.
I liked Dana Milbank's column. Except for the first line, I thought it was very good. This said, I hated Al Kamen's.
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