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Article: Where `Fudging' Is in Flower; State Department's Spokesmen Adept at Saying Nothing
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 27, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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For people who don't understand why the State Department is
referred to as "the fudge factory" because of its ability to deal
with problems by trying to ignore them, a few excerpts from
yesterday's daily press briefing by department spokeswoman Phyllis
Oakley should prove instructive.
Oakley and all other department spokesmen operate from
"guidances" provided by the particular office of State with
responsibility for the problem under discussion, and they must stay
within the boundaries marked out by the guidance. Following are some
examples of what State Department officialdom thought the press and
public were entitled to know yesterday about the U.S. government's
position on various ...