Iraq Hits a Flashing Red Light

Beato was later nominated to replace Slater, but that move foundered a year ago amid allegations of résumé embellishment by Beato.

PACing It In at Enron

Let's have a Loop Toast to one of our favorite PACs, the Enron Corp. Political Action Committee Inc., which closed its doors a while back and has just filed its last report on disbursements.

But there was no wining and dining lawmakers and government officials and no "educational" trips to fine places.

No, the last disclosure report shows $348,000 in six large contributions ranging from $41,000 to $100,000 to health and cultural and arts institutions in Houston and a final gift of $3,579.36 to a Houston food bank.

As for the former shareholders and employees . . .

Executive Officers Seep Into State

Speaking of the State Department, Jendayi Frazer , now ambassador to South Africa and formerly head of African affairs at the department, is part of the exodus of White House types to Foggy Bottom. She's been tapped to be assistant secretary for Africa.

As long anticipated, former Washington Times managing editor Josette Sheeran Shiner , more recently deputy U.S. trade representative, has been named to be undersecretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs.

John Hillen , an Army Bronze Star recipient from Desert Storm action, former think-tanker on international matters and now president of an information technology company, is to be nominated to be assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.

And Kristen Silverberg , a rising star in the administration who is an adviser to White Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. , has been nominated to be assistant secretary for international organization affairs. (This, according to some, would mean she would be John R. Bolton 's boss should he become ambassador to the United Nations.) Silverberg, a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas , had been on the White House domestic policy staff and worked for a while as a senior adviser to Viceroy L. Paul Bremer in Baghdad.

Her foreign policy credentials seemed to some a bit slim for this job. Not at all. One source, responding via e-mail to our query on this, noted that "Silverberg was one of the young lawyers on [Office of Management and Budget Director] Josh Bolte n 's policy staff in the 2000 campaign, and she was dispatched to Florida" for the Battle of the Chads.

"What else do you need to know?" he said.