Aljazeera.Net - Rice begins US diplomatic shift

(WASHINGTON via Aljazeera)"Condoleezza Rice made the announcement in a speech on Wednesday that outlined her hopes to transform the posture of US diplomacy to focus more on promoting democratic and economic change.

'It is clear today that America must begin to reposition our diplomatic forces around the world,' the secretary told students at Washington's prestigious Georgetown University.

'So, over the next few years, the United States will begin to shift several hundred of our diplomatic positions to new, critical posts for the 21st century,' she said.

'We will begin this year with a down payment of moving 100 positions from Europe and, yes, from here in Washington, DC, to countries like China and India and Nigeria and Lebanon, where additional staffing will make an essential difference.'

The State Department, which Rice took over a year ago, counts some 7440 diplomats and other employees abroad, according to official figures. " More... (Aljezeera)

It is always interesting to read the Aljazeera take on American strategy statements. There is a tendency to be far more objective in their English editions. This repositioning of diplomatic personnel seems to make sense given the change in world politics over the last 50 years. I would suspect that Iran will soon find itself surrounded by neighbors with a more robust U.S. diplomatic presence. Including those neighbors from the former Soviet Union.