Just as the brand new US Embassy in Iraq has finally been cleared to open for business, bad news from HR. “The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats they may be forced to serve in Iraq next year and says it will soon start identifying prime candidates for jobs at the Baghdad embassy and outlying […]
Last week American Abroad Media the American University, and WAMU (the Washington, DC NPR radio affiliate) arranged a match-up between the three US Presidential campaigns’ foreign policy advisors. Up for debate: The United States’ standing in the world. More specifically, how would each advisor's boss raise the US image out of the doldrums if he […]
The Kojo Nnamdi show, an NPR station based in Washington, DC, hosted a group of foreign policy experts and practitioners in a discussion about the future of the US Foreign Service (FS). (Listen to the show). All of Kojo's guests pointed out that the central barrier to a bright future for the FS was the […]
Former Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering tells the Independent the United States and Iran have been holding back channel talks over its nuclear program for several years. Last month Pickering, along with William Leurs and James Walsh, authored an editorial in the International Herald Tribune regarding stagnation in the United States' policy towards Iran. They […]
The Financial Times reports the United States has reached a compromise with North Korea over declaration of its nuclear activities. The United States has agreed Pyongyang does not need to publicly state a complete declaration of its nuclear activities. The compromise would allow for a "secret side-agreement" in which North Korea would acknowledge concerns over […]
I stumbled upon a website called “The World Wants Obama,” dedicated to documenting evidence of Senator Obama's support abroad (the group is also extensively on Facebook and YouTube). The group's manifesto is worth reading: “Although Americans have done many positive things around the world, the US government – once the champion of anti-colonialism and self-determination – […]
If you are at all interested in the field of journalism you might enjoy reading this interview with David Marash in the Columbia Journalism Review. But his story is one that appeals to us followers of US foreign policy as well. Marash, formerly a “Nightline” correspondent, took a job in 2006 with Al Jazera English, the English-language version […]
San Franciscans know that their politics are far from the ordinary, and most residents accept and defend their city's reputation for pushing the limits as an extension of free speech. Yesterday, however, the city had occasion not only to be liberal-minded but also smart. In one of his better decisions (and he's made several bad […]
FP Passport's editor, Blake Hounshell, strongly criticizes President Bush for failing diplomacy 101, "a game of give-and-take in which trading away concessions allows you to get what you want on your top priorities." Blake's post articulates a number of policies the United States is pursuing and Russia stands against (of which we've mentioned on this […]
If you were President of Iran, who would you most like in the Oval Office? There is, clearly, much up for discussion: Iraq, nuclear proliferation, economic sanctions, peace in the Middle East, the list goes on. Last month Iranian President gave us a glimpse of his preferences when he officially retracted his “alleged” support for […]
After five years of conflict, 4,000 U.S. military deaths, $800 billion in military spending, and tattered relations within what once was called the “coalition of the willing,” General David Petraeus told Congress today that the results of the “surge” in Iraq were “fragile and reversible.” His statement, replete with charts, was as candid and direct […]
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in today's Wall Street Journal on the free trade proposal with Columbia: "It is not every day that our government, with one bold stroke, could strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. workers; support a democratic ally on the cusp of achieving lasting national success; weaken those who would sow instability […]
FPA's Public Diplomacy blog published today a post about an author who was quite critical of the Bush administration's conduct of foreign policy. Fred Kaplan gave the next US president advice on how to “undo the damage” done by the Bush administration. This post reviews another article critical of President Bush's diplomatic practices. Timothy Garton […]
Last week the online magazine Slate published a series called “Fixing It“‚ ten articles offering detailed policy prescriptions for the next US president on how to undo what they identify as damage caused by the Bush administration. Slate asked their international affairs columnist, Fred Kaplan, a former Congressional foreign policy adviser, to give the next […]
As many readers know, when a President makes a foreign trip, a battalion of security, logistics, protocol and media personnel precede and accompany Air Force One. Having witnessed and participated in many such visits in my former career as a State Department diplomat, I can attest to the fact that preparations can be overwhelming, especially […]