Daniel Goure, a vice president at the think tank Lexington Institute, has called on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to view the Defense Department as a model in his efforts to reform the State Department.Goure wrote in a commentary posted Thursday on Defense News that Tillerson should consider a reorientation or possible culture change at the State Department in line with DoD to build support for U.S. national security and international interests.
The former ExxonMobil CEO must restructure the State Department so that it can more effectively organize and utilize national power across various functions such as trade, law enforcement, intelligence and public information, the guest piece stated.
Goure, a member of the 2001 DoD transition team, added that Tillerson should also organize a command structure composed of representatives per region so that national assets may also be deployed on a regional basis, as well as centralize the State Department’s policy and strategic planning operations.
Tillerson was sworn in as the secretary of state in February after the Senate pushed his confirmation to a final vote.
