Hi Ayden,

You raise good points. At first thought, the simplest way to answer that is
by stressing how the NTIA is still *involved *in the policy judgments via
the GAC as well as by contributing to the PDP when appropriate even if it
is not *overseeing *it. Simply by being present and actively following the
proceedings may suffice as oversight. Yet another idea is that by
constantly being present, even if NTIA officials are silent or in the
background, it serves as a reminder to other governments or to the
community at large -- a soft power of sorts.

Then again, I could be wrong. Thoughts?

Best,
-Michael
__________________

Michael J. Oghia
Istanbul, Turkey
Journalist & editor
2015 ISOC IGF Ambassador
Skype: mikeoghia
Twitter <https://www.twitter.com/MikeOghia> *|* LinkedIn
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoghia>

On Thu, May 26, 2016 at 12:06 PM, Ayden Férdeline <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Thanks for sharing this, James.
>
> I'm a little surprised that Strickling would note on the record, even if
> true, that “we don’t provide any oversight of the policy judgments that
> ICANN and the multistakeholder community make”. If I was on the Senate
> Committee, I might wonder just what the NTIA had been doing and why they
> were traveling around the world on the taxpayers' dime if they have no
> sway?
>
> That being said, Strickling did offer a brilliant and succinct explanation
> of why the transition not proceeding would harm Internet freedom. Good to
> be reminded of why the transition matters.
>
> Ayden
>
>
> On Thu, May 26, 2016 8:23 AM, William Drake [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
>> A memorable performance
>>
>> On May 26, 2016, at 09:05, James Gannon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Just came across this again this morning, a poignant reminder of why we
>> are all here and what we have been working for over the past 2 years. And
>> why we shouldn’t stumble at the finish line.
>> In defence of the IANA Stewardship Transition…
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIrs8n5Q7Yo
>>
>> -James
>>
>>
>>
>
>