Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2008-09-15 Mark Kimmit/NewVersions

Abuse of Subordinates
On Aug. 15, 2008, during Kimmitt's confirmation proceedings, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee received an anonymous letter alleging that Kimmitt abused his subordinates.[10] The Committee asked the Inspector General of the Department of Defense to investigate the allegations.[10] The Congressional Quarterly reported: "Pentagon employees say Mark Kimmitt ... was 'often physically intimidating' and created 'a miserable office environment' that led five of them to get jobs elsewhere, according to a report from the Pentagon's inspector general. Employees told the inspector general that Kimmitt occasionally displayed 'anger that demeaned subordinates and caused them to minimize their interaction with him.' They described 'walking on eggshells' and 'sort of a permanent fear' in the office. Several said he threatened their jobs."[10] The inspector general also found that:


 * Kimmitt accused an employee of being "a traitor" after the employee accidentally received an important document intended for Kimmitt.[11]
 * Kimmitt "made acetate templates to measure document formats," and he required that documents be reworked if they were a quarter or a tenth of an inch off his specifications.[11]
 * Kimmitt established an office rule that no one could speak with someone outside their pay grade.[11]
 * A witness reported finding one employee "in tears not less than five times after meeting with" Kimmitt; another said she preferred to have her supervisor present when meeting with Kimmitt.[11]
 * Kimmitt "yelled at subordinates for minor grooming matters."[11]

The inspector general's report concluded that Kimmitt "warrant[s] monitoring," noting that his "leadership style was occasionally inconsistent with the standards expected for senior government leaders."[11] [9] Congressional Quarterly used FOIA request to secure a heavily redacted version of the IG report.[10]

The IG sent its initial report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 8, 2008.[10] After the inspector general issued the report the committee received another anonymous letter on Jan. 30, 2008, resulting in further investigation.[10]The Committee nonetheless voted, 12-7, in favor of Kimmitt's nomination.[10] Most Democrats on the committee voted against him.[10] Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who opposed Kimmitt's nomination, said, "There was a significant body of evidence that the way he interacted with employees was, in my judgment, based on what I read, not professional. I think how you treat people in an employer-employee situation is relevant. I don't think it's just get the job done and don't worry about how you treat people." At the April 22 committee meeting, Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., noted he was very close to Kimmitt's father, who had been secretary of the Senate years ago, and said he therefore would be willing to give Kimmitt the benefit of the doubt, saying, "I'm going to let my hope triumph over my worries. . . . I hope Mr. Kimmitt . . . understands with the delay his misconduct has caused . . . that he will be chastened." [12] [10] Kimmitt was confirmed by the full Senate on June 27, 2008.

Failure to Safegard Classified Information
The Department of Defense Inspector General's office, in a separate letter to the committee, also disclosed "a substantiated allegation that Mr. Kimmitt . . . failed to properly safeguard information, in violation of Army regulations," but it did not elaborate.[10] The exact nature of this violation has not yet been disclosed.

Accusations of Lying During Press Conferences
While serving as Deputy Director for Operations/Chief Military Spokesman for Coalition Forces in Iraq, Kimmitt has been accused of lying during press conferences. For instance, after the coalition inadvertently bombed an Iraqi wedding procession, Kimmitt said, “There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration,” all of which ended up being false.[13] [14] [15] He also said that no children were killed in the attack, which also turned out to be false.[16] [14]

Controversial Use of Term "Ali Baba"
In press conferences, Kimmitt has used the term "Ali Baba," which some have taken to be a racially loaded term for Arabs.[13] [16] For instance, Kimmmitt said, "out in the desert you need to have a rifle to protect yourself against Ali Baba, but the necessity for rocket-propelled launchers, rocket launchers in the bottom, special machine guns may be a little much for Ali Baba out there." [17] [18]

What I am willing to accept
Kimmitt's nomination for Assistant Secretary of State was delayed because of investigations into anonymous letters sent to the Foreign Relations Committee.[9] [10] [11] Upon receipt of each letter, Sen. Joseph Biden requested that the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG) investigate the allegations.[9] [10]

The IG concluded that "BG Kimmitt's leadership style was occasionally inconsistent with the standards expected for senior Government leaders" and that "cognizant management officials should continue to monitor his leadership style."[7] "[W]itnesses described him as a demanding, confrontalional manager, occasionally displaying anger that demeaned subordinates and caused them to minimize their interaction with him. Some witnesses further indicated that BG Kimmitt resorted to threats of job loss or career harm as a 'motivational' tactic and made demeaning comments when criticizing individual work products." [7] "[T]estimony indicated that morale In BG Kimmitt's organization was negatively affected by BG Kimmitt's leadership style, combined with the heavy workload and long hours. Finally, we found that BG Kimmitt's leadership style discouraged subordinates from free and open communication with him.... While some witnesses, to include his supervisors and several detractors, viewed BG Kimmitt as 'effective,' we also found credible witnesses who told us that they obtained other employment to escape the unpleasant work environment." [7]

At Kimmitt's request, the IG also "obtained testimonial evidence that tended to mitigate the adverse impact of BG Kimmitt's leadership lapses. In that regard several witnesses, primarily BG Kimmitt's superiors, emphasized that BG Kimmitt brings superb qualifications and intellect to his position; that he has strengthened the overall performance of his office; and that he operates in a stressful, demanding environment, which could trigger confrontation."[7]

The Department of Defense Inspector General's office, in a separate letter to the committee, also disclosed "a substantiated allegation that Mr. Kimmitt . . . failed to properly safeguard information, in violation of Army regulations," but it did not elaborate.[9] [7] The exact nature of this violation has not been disclosed.

Rewrite based on mediator suggested version
Kimmitt's nomination for Assistant Secretary of State was delayed because of two investigations into anonymous letters sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[1] [2] [3] Upon receipt of each letter, Sen. Joseph Biden requested that the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG) investigate the allegations.[1] [2]

The IG concluded after the first investigation that "BG Kimmitt's leadership style was occasionally inconsistent with the standards expected for senior Government leaders" and that "cognizant management officials should continue to monitor his leadership style."[4] "[W]itnesses described him as a demanding, confrontalional manager, occasionally displaying anger that demeaned subordinates and caused them to minimize their interaction with him." [7] "[T]estimony indicated that morale In BG Kimmitt's organization was negatively affected by BG Kimmitt's leadership style, combined with the heavy workload and long hours. Finally, we found that BG Kimmitt's leadership style discouraged subordinates from free and open communication with him."[7] "We also found credible witnesses who told us that they obtained other employment to escape the unpleasant work environment."[7]

At Kimmitt's request, the IG also "obtained testimonial evidence that tended to mitigate the adverse impact of BG Kimmitt's leadership lapses. In that regard several witnesses, primarily BG Kimmitt's superiors, emphasized that BG Kimmitt brings superb qualifications and intellect to his position; that he has strengthened the overall performance of his office; and that he operates in a stressful, demanding environment, which could trigger confrontation."[7]

The IG reported that the allegations in the second investigation were not substantiated and warranted no further investigation.[4]

The Department of Defense Inspector General's office, in a separate letter to the committee, also disclosed "a substantiated allegation that Mr. Kimmitt . . . failed to properly safeguard information, in violation of Army regulations," but it did not elaborate.[9] [7] The exact nature of this violation has not been disclosed.

Rewrite based on RaineyBT's version

 * RaineyBT hasn't really changed his section at all, but nonetheless, we're getting close here, which is great! I have rewritten my section so that everything I want is an addition to RaineyBT's section. All of my additions are in bold below. Now the only task is to figure out which of the additions to include. I obviously would prefer that all of the additions remain. Prince, can you help us?

Nomination Delay and Investigation
Kimmitt's nomination for Assistant Secretary of State was delayed because of two investigations into anonymous letters sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[2] [1] [3] Upon receipt of each letter, Sen. Joseph Biden requested that the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG) investigate the allegations.[2] [1]

After a four month investigation, the IG concluded after the first investigation that "BG Kimmitt's leadership style was occasionally inconsistent with the standards expected for senior Government leaders" and that "cognizant management officials should continue to monitor his leadership style."[4]. '''"[W]itnesses described him as a demanding, confrontalional manager, occasionally displaying anger that demeaned subordinates and caused them to minimize their interaction with him." [7] "[T]estimony indicated that morale In BG Kimmitt's organization was negatively affected by BG Kimmitt's leadership style, combined with the heavy workload and long hours. Finally, we found that BG Kimmitt's leadership style discouraged subordinates from free and open communication with him."[7] "We also found credible witnesses who told us that they obtained other employment to escape the unpleasant work environment."[7]'''

The report also stated that at Kimmitt's request the IG "obtained testimonial evidence that tended to mitigate the adverse impact of BG Kimmitt's leadership lapses. In that regard several witnesses, primarily BG Kimmitt's superiors, emphasized that BG Kimmitt brings superb qualifications and intellect to his position; that he has strengthened the overall performance of his office; and that he operates in a stressful, demanding environment, which could trigger confrontation."[7]

The IG reported that the allegations in the second investigation were not substantiated and warranted no further investigation.[4]

The Department of Defense Inspector General's office, in a separate letter to the committee, also disclosed "a substantiated allegation that Mr. Kimmitt . . . failed to properly safeguard information, in violation of Army regulations," but it did not elaborate.[9] [7] The exact nature of this violation has not been disclosed.

raineybt's new version
What I would like

No timeline section

Nomination for Assistant Secretary
In response allegations in anonymous letters sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, an investigation was requested. The letters made allegations about Kimmitt's management style in his capacity as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Affairs. The report did not find evidence that General Kimmitt had violated personnel regulations, engaged in physical intimidation, or used disparaging remarks to his subordinates. The report did find that General Kimmitt's aggressive leadership style, at times, had been intimidating to employees and inconsistent with standards expected for senior government leaders. The report also noted mitigating testimony of superiors, who maintain that General Kimmitt had strengthened the overall performance of his office.

All statements from the talk page which are violations of WP:BLP are removed

What I am willing to accept

Timeline section is maintained

Nomination Delay
Kimmitt's nomination for Assistant Secretary of State was delayed because of two investigations into anonymous letters sent to the Foreign Relations Committee. Upon receipt of each letter, Sen. Joseph Biden requested that the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG) investigate the allegations.

The IG concluded after the first investigation that "BG Kimmitt's leadership style was occasionally inconsistent with the standards expected for senior Government leaders", that "several witnesses...emphasized...that he has strengthened the overall performance of his office", and that "cognizant management officials should continue to monitor his leadership style." The IG reported that the allegations in the second investigation were not substantiated and warranted no further investigation.

All statements from the talk page which are violations of WP:BLP are removed

Nomination for Assistant Secretary
Kimmitt's nomination for Assistant Secretary of State was delayed because of two investigations into anonymous letters sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Upon receipt of each letter, Sen. Joseph Biden requested that the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG) investigate the allegations.

After a four month investigation, the IG concluded after the first investigation that "BG Kimmitt's leadership style was occasionally inconsistent with the standards expected for senior Government leaders" and that "cognizant management officials should continue to monitor his leadership style." The report also stated that "several witnesses...emphasized...that he has strengthened the overall performance of his office". The IG reported that the allegations in the second investigation were not substantiated and warranted no further investigation.

I would still like the WP:BLP violations removed from the talk page