Controversial United States Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship today announced his intention to leave his post as Ambassador of the United States of America to The Commonwealth of The Bahamas this summer. Ambassador Blankenship tendered his resignation as to President Bush, effective July 18, 2003.
Mr. Blankenship becomes the first American Ambassador to ever resign since The Bahamas became independent.
Speculation is rife in official circles that he was forced out after many complaints were received by the U.S. State Department.
Recently Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mithcell met in Washington D.C. with the American National Security Advisor, Condelezza Rice to discuss matters of mutual interest. It is believed that Mr. Mitchell levied complaints about the Ambassador’s behaviour in The Bahamas.
Ambassador Blankenship who has incurred the wrath of many Bahamians, stated that he has been honored to serve as Ambassador in The Bahamas and that he is deeply gratified to have been able to work with the people and Government of the Bahamas over the past 2 years.
He was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador in the Fall of 2001 and expressed satisfaction that many important bilateral goals have been accomplished during his tenure. A statement from the U.S. Embassy said, “he led efforts to reinvigorate joint counter-narcotics cooperation and led the campaign to acquire and adopt new and sophisticated techniques to maximize joint Bahamian-U.S. drug interdiction efforts. In addition to new strategies and tactics, Ambassador Blankenship was able to secure vital additional resources for the war on drugs. Joint drug seizures are at an all-time high, as are arrests of suspected major drug dealers and pending extradition requests.”
In addition, Ambassador Blankenship also led the successful efforts to stem the flow of illegal migrants to both the United States and The Bahamas. Due to his personal interventions, there are increased U.S. resources being devoted to this effort in the Windward Passage and discussions are underway on how the U.S. government can help the Bahamian government with the burdensome costs of repatriation.
Ambassador Blankenship expressed pleasure at the opportunity to reach out to new segments of the Bahamian community in ways that will benefit all of The Bahamas in years to come. Two examples of that outreach are the U.S. Mission Mentoring Program, Bahamas’ Promise, which works with troubled youth at the Simpson Penn Center for Boys and the Willamae Pratt Center for Girls, and the spay and neuter program begun by his wife Dr. Kandra Jones to address the serious problem of stray dogs in The Bahamas.
In his letter to President Bush, Ambassador Blankenship expressed his thanks for having had the great honor of having been named U.S. Ambassador and for being part of the Presidentﾴs Team in successfully addressing the grave challenges to U.S. national security presented by the events of September 11 and international terrorism. He noted that he is leaving The Bahamas at a time when the bilateral relationship is on its solidest footing ever with the groundwork laid for even more intense, and productive, bilateral cooperation.
Ambassador Blankenship who recently denied rumours of his resignation informed his staff that he decided to return to the private sector and his business interests in Florida, where his family remained during his tour in the Bahamas. Noting that he has accomplished many of the things he came to The Bahamas to do, Ambassador Blankenship said that he can best continue to serve his country and the Administration as a private citizen. Ambassador Blankenship’s decision to return to the private sector will allow him to take advantage of current business opportunities as well as to more actively commit his energies towards President Bushﾴs re-election. The resignation of Mr. Blankenship comes some months after he and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell disagreed publicly on several matters involving Bahamian/American matters.
The view of many in the government is that Mr. Blankenship has been quite undiplomatic and unconventional in his conduct as Ambassador.
