Foreign Policy Guru Tapped to Aid Rice, a Former Employee

[kskiska]

Robert D. Blackwill is the new "grand pooh-bah" of U.S. foreign policy.

His official title is coordinator for strategic planning, a new post that makes him the in-house visionary at the National Security Council. It means he has free rein to think, track global trends and predict the unnoticed or unintended consequences of U.S. foreign policy decisions anywhere in the world, according to officials.

In his spare time, Blackwill also handles three of the trickiest foreign policy challenges facing the Bush White House -- Iraq's political transformation, Afghanistan and Iran.

The job was designed to provide cohesion and long-range planning for a White House foreign policy team under stress from breaking wars and ongoing crises. Blackwill has quickly become the alter ego to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

(snip)

He fits in well with this administration. Although a colorful and highly public figure in the past, Blackwill is now among the least accessible officials. In his heart, he tells colleagues, he's a 19th-century man who believes in the necessity of secrecy.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22763-2003Dec22.html

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Whoops! There she goes...

Is he being put in the NSC to watch Condi, or to replace her?

His penchant for secrecy certainly makes him an odds-on favorite for the job. Perhaps he's a better liar than her...