Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum

Today I attended a panel of the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum. The topic was focused on the Obama administrations’ future plans for the three D’s: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development. The Panel consisted of three former ambassadors and one Washington Post Associate Editor.
The panelists agreed that while the Bush administration was mainly focused on Defense, Obama has made it clear with his public statements and visits to the State Department that he will refocus the government on diplomacy.
Development seemed to be the unknown variable in this equation. Obama will need to find a new role for USAID, which was heavily downscaled under Bush. Will it remain under the umbrella of the State Department? Will it become an independent agency with its own cabinet position?
Although I agree that USAID needs to have a greater role than it did under Bush, I don’t believe it should be made an independent agency. It already seems that for every issue taken up by the government there are at least three agencies that have jurisdiction, all of which must follow their own rules and procedures. This twisted system of red tape and bureaucracy slows down necessary action. Since the Department of State, Department of Defense, and NCS already haggle over the same issues, why add yet another institution into the mix? I think Obama has to find a middle ground for USAID, somewhere in between an independent agency and a weak adoptee of the State Department.