State Department scours for new top talent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the resignation of her key non-proliferation expert this week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has yet another post to fill in a department where at least five top positions are vacant or soon will be.

The latest resignation comes amid growing criticism by some analysts over how long it is taking to fill key posts, possibly weakening efforts to tackle foreign policy crises from North Korea to the Middle East.

But State Department spokesman Sean McCormack strongly rejected such criticism and said he was confident "good, strong" people would soon be appointed.

"In the meantime, we have some very good people who are filling in," McCormack told reporters on Thursday.

It took six months to find a replacement for Rice's deputy, Robert Zoellick, whose successor John Negroponte faces confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill next week.

Foreign policy expert Jon Alterman said of the delays in filling posts: "It raises the question over how much of this is purposeful to not have the State Department the strong player in the interagency process."

Alterman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it was also "curious" how many people appeared to have turned down top jobs.

"That is not a vote of confidence in the secretary's leadership or in the policies that the government is pursuing," added Alterman.

But McCormack said many of those who had quit were in their jobs for the past six years of the Bush administration, adding that such posts were grueling physically and psychologically.

"You are starting to see some people move on. We absolutely appreciate their service and their dedication to the secretary and the president's policies," said McCormack.

In a scathing column on January 11 under the headline "The Mess at State," syndicated conservative commentator Robert Novak was particularly critical over how long it had taken to replace Zoellick, who took the lead on China and Sudan.

Asked about Novak's criticism, McCormack called it "just ridiculous."

UnderSecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph gave his resignation letter to President George W. Bush on Wednesday.

Counterterrorism coordinator Henry Crumpton's last day at the department is next week and John Hillen, assistant secretary for political-military affairs, has also resigned.

Another senior official, Josette Sheeran, undersecretary for energy, economic and agricultural affairs, is set to leave soon to head the World Food Program.

State Department counselor Philip Zelikow, a key adviser to Rice on Iraq and Israeli-Palestinian issues, has also quit to go back to academia but it is unclear if he will be replaced.

Aside from Negroponte's post, replacements for the other jobs have not been announced and McCormack said he hoped this would happen in the coming days and weeks.