You Will Be Missed

I'll just throw this out there:

Don't Go!

Apparently Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman is planning to retire.

I have never gotten to work for him, but in the interactions I have had with him, I have come to like him a lot.

When I first joined the State Department, he went to dinner with all of us who had been assigned to NEA. He had been Consul General in Jerusalem, so I was particularly interested in hearing what he had to say.

When I ran into him in the Department for the first YEARS later, he REMEMBERED MY NAME. From one meeting.

That really impressed me.

Then, as the Special Assistant in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, I had to brief him occassionally on things we would get in. He was always unfailingly nice. Once, after he had been named Assistant Secretary, I did a blog post on how I was happy for him. The next time I went to his office, he thanked me for the kind words in my blog.

I said, "Sir, what blog? Blogs are against Department policy."

And he said, "Oh, well if you had a blog, I would thank you for the kind words."

And I said, "If I had a blog, you would be welcome."

I would have loved to have worked for him. Everyone I know who has speaks very highly of him.

I am disappointed I won't get the chance. But I wish him all the best in whatever the future holds for him.