The United States order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order,or relative preeminence,for domestic and foreign government officials at diplomatic,ceremonial,and social events within the United States and abroad. The list is used to mitigate miscommunication and embarrassment in diplomacy,and offer a distinct and concrete spectrum of preeminence for ceremonies. Often the document is used to advise diplomatic and ceremonial event planners on seating charts and order of introduction. Former presidents,vice presidents,first ladies,second ladies,and secretaries of state and retired Supreme Court justices are also included in the list.
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is the oldest civilian element of the U.S. Intelligence Community and among the smallest,with roughly 300 personnel. Though lacking the resources and technology of other U.S. intelligence agencies,it is "one of the most highly regarded" for the quality of its work.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security,commonly known as Diplomatic Security (DS),is the security branch of the United States Department of State. It conducts international investigations,threat analysis,cyber security,counterterrorism,and protection of people,property,and information. Its mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for officials to execute the foreign policy of the United States.
The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is the principal law enforcement and security agency of the United States Department of State (DOS). As the operational division of DOS Bureau of Diplomatic Security,its primary mission is to provide security to protect diplomatic assets,personnel,and information,and combat transnational crimes connected to visa and passport fraud. DSS also conducts counterterrorism,counterintelligence,cybersecurity and criminal investigations domestically and abroad.
Patrick Francis Kennedy is a former career Foreign Service Officer who served as the U.S. State Department's Under Secretary of State for Management. He was Director of the Office of Management Policy,Rightsizing and Innovation. He has been Deputy Director for Management at the cabinet level Office of the Director of National Intelligence;he returned to the Department of State on May 7,2007. Kennedy was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform and previously served as Chief of Staff for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He was the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration for the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 2001. In 2014,Kennedy was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State,ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs manage diplomatic missions within their designated geographic regions,plus one assistant secretary dealing with international organizations and one equivalent as the coordinator/ambassador at large for counterterrorism. Assistant secretaries usually manage individual bureaus of the Department of State. When the manager of a bureau or another agency holds a title other than assistant secretary,such as "director",it can be said to be of "assistant secretary equivalent rank". Assistant secretaries typically have a set of deputies,referred to as deputy assistant secretaries (DAS).
Eric Steven Edelman is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005–2009),U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003–2005),U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998–2001),and Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001–2003). A career Foreign Service Officer,Edelman entered the Senior Foreign Service in 1992. He is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense's award for Distinguished Civilian Service (1993) and the State Department's Superior Honor Award.
The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State and USAID. Similar versions of the same award existed for the former U.S. Information Agency and Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. It is presented in recognition of exceptionally outstanding service or achievements of marked national or international significance.
Burton Lynn Pascoe served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations at the UN Department of Political Affairs from 2007 to June 2012,where he oversaw the UN's diplomatic efforts to prevent and mitigate conflict around the globe.
Hillary Clinton served as the 67th United States Secretary of State,under President Barack Obama,from 2009 to 2013,overseeing the department that conducted the foreign policy of Barack Obama. She was preceded in office by Condoleezza Rice,and succeeded by John Kerry. She is also the only former First Lady of the United States to become a member of the United States Cabinet. As secretary of state she traveled widely and initiated many diplomatic efforts on behalf of the Obama administration.
The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) is a study by the United States Department of State,conducted beginning in 2009 and intended to be done every four years,that analyzes the short-,medium-,and long-term blueprint for the United States' diplomatic and development efforts abroad. It seeks to plan on a longer-term basis than the usual year-to-year,appropriations-based practice,and to integrate diplomacy and development missions. It similarly seeks to correlate the department’s missions with its capacities and identify shortfalls in resourcing. Finally,it is a precursor to core institutional reforms and corrective changes. The first review was completed by the end of 2010. A second review began during 2014 and was released in April 2015. No further reviews have taken place.
Francis Xavier Taylor was the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS),nominated by President Obama in 2014. In that role,he provided the Secretary,DHS senior leadership,the DHS components,and state,local,tribal and private sector partners with homeland security intelligence and information they need to keep the country safe,secure and resilient. DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis is a member of,and the Department’s liaison to,the U.S. Intelligence Community.
The 2012 Benghazi attack was a coordinated attack against two United States government facilities in Benghazi,Libya,by members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia. On September 11,2012,at 9:40 p.m. local time,members of Ansar al-Sharia attacked the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi resulting in the deaths of both United States Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith. At around 4:00 a.m. on September 12,the group launched a mortar attack against a CIA annex approximately one mile (1.6 km) away,killing two CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty and wounding ten others. Initial analysis by the CIA,repeated by top government officials,indicated that the attack spontaneously arose from a protest. Subsequent investigations showed that the attack was premeditated—although rioters and looters not originally part of the group may have joined in after the attacks began.
Following the 2012 diplomatic missions attacks that began on September 11,2012,many nations and public officials released statements. Widespread early news coverage said that the protests were a spontaneous response to an online preview of Innocence of Muslims, a movie considered offensive to Muslims. Later consideration of the Libya attack's complexity,of statements made by some Libyan officials,and of the potentially symbolic date fueled speculation of preplanned efforts. U.S. missions in Cairo,Egypt,and Benghazi,Libya,were attacked during the first day of the protest.
The timeline below details the ongoing investigation into the September 11,2012 attack upon the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi,in Libya. The attack and the investigation are the subject of much controversy in the American political sphere.
Glyn Townsend Davies is a senior advisor at ASG,a strategy and commercial diplomacy firm. A career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service,he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna from 2009 to 2011,as Special Representative for North Korea Policy from 2011 to 2014,and as Ambassador to Thailand from 2015 to 2018.
The United States House Select Committee on Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi was created after Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner,on May 2,2014,proposed that a House select committee would be formed to further investigate the Benghazi attack on September 11,2012. During the attack,the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi,Libya,was attacked,resulting in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador to that country,J. Christopher Stevens,and three other Americans.
Four Americans died in the 2012 Benghazi attack:Ambassador Chris Stevens,Information Officer Sean Smith,and two CIA operatives,Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods,both former Navy SEALs. Stevens is the first U.S. ambassador killed in an attack since Adolph Dubs was killed in 1979. Senior intelligence officials later acknowledged that Woods and Doherty were contracted by the Central Intelligence Agency,not the State Department as previously identified,and were part of Global Response Staff (GRS),a team that provides security to CIA case officers and countersurveillance and surveillance protection.
Ten investigations were conducted into the 2012 Benghazi attack,six of these by Republican-controlled House committees. Problems were identified with security measures at the Benghazi facilities,due to poor decisions made by employees of the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security,and specifically its director Eric Boswell,who resigned under pressure in December 2012. Despite numerous allegations against Obama administration officials of scandal,cover-up and lying regarding the Benghazi attack and its aftermath,none of the ten investigations found any evidence to support those allegations. The last of the investigation committees issued its final report and shut down in December 2016,one month after the 2016 presidential election.
Joan A. Polaschik is a diplomat who has served as Director of the Foreign Service Institute since 2022. She previously served as the United States Ambassador to Algeria from 2014 to 2017.
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