April 27, 2005

A Bush administration spokesman is defending the removal of at least four members from the U.S. delegation participating in this week's Inter-American Telecommunication Commission in Guatemala City, because they contributed to the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry.

The White House today did not return phone calls on spokesman Trent Duffy's comments in Time magazine saying the administration did not want anyone in the delegation "who wanted to kick this administration out of town last November."

The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission, also know as CITEL, is affiliated with the Organization of American States.

Kicked off the U.S. delegation, according to interviews and press reports, were telecom policy officials at Qualcomm Inc., Nokia Corp. and Ibiquity, a digital radio broadcasting firm in Columbia, Md. A well-regarded telecom consultant also got the boot, according to sources.

"I don't have anything to say about that," said a State Department spokeswoman. The State Department, the Commerce Department and the Federal Communications are involved in preparing for international telecom conferences.

Clyde Ensslin, a spokesman for the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said NTIA does not have a role in picking delegation members.

"It has not been our understanding that sending technical experts to support U.S. government negotiations on agreed-upon U.S. positions was a partisan issue," said William Plummer, vice president of communications in the United States for Nokia.

A former telecom policy-maker in the Clinton administration was critical of the Bush policy.

"The use of a political litmus test for serving on U.S. delegations to international telecom meetings suggests staggering ignorance, a willingness to damage the national interest for petty partisan interests, or both, " said Scott Harris, a communications lawyer and a former chief of the FCC's International Bureau.

"There are no partisan positions on spectrum rules or wireless standards. When private-sector members serve on U.S. delegations their expertise makes them effective at convincing others to accept U.S. views, which is good for our industry, our consumers and our economy.

Applying a political test is not only pointless, it suggests a meanness of spirit and weakens the U.S. internationally. I have no doubt this decision was made at a low level and hope those in the White House with a broader perspective will ensure it does not happen again."

Source: RCR News