The steps seem intended to strengthen the role of diplomacy after a long stretch, particularly under Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, during which the Pentagon, the Vice-President’s office and the intelligence agencies held considerable sway over American foreign policy. The Bush administration has made relatively little use of special envoys. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice personally handled most peacemaking initiatives, which has meant a punishing schedule of Middle East missions, often with meagre results.

“There’s no question that there is a reinvention of the wheel here,” said Aaron David Miller, a public policy analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “But it’s geared not so much as a reaction to Bush as to a fairly astute analysis of what’s going to work in foreign policy.” NYT