Here's the bad news. The Washington Post reports that the State Department will be cutting 10 percent of diplomatic posts next year. Veteran diplomatic correspondent Karen DeYoung reports: "Nearly one-quarter of all diplomatic posts are vacant after hundreds of Foreign Service officers were sent to embassies in Baghdad and Kabul, and Congress has not provided […]
On Tuesday, an American Embassy vehicle was the target of a bombing in Beirut. The explosion left two US Embassy officials with light injures. An American citizen, not affiliated with the US Embassy, was also injured. At least three people died and more than twenty were wounded. The attack was the first on American interests […]
President Bush recently nominated a new Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy, to replace the outgoing Karen Hughes. His pick, James Glassman, is currently chairman of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, the government agency that oversees U.S. international broadcasters, and a a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank. […]
President Bush continued his Middle East trip in Saudi Arabia where he spoke of "unity" in order to reify his containment strategy against Iran: "Mr. Bush focused not only on what the United States believes are Iran's nuclear ambitions but also its suspected support for Islamic militants in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian […]
Tzipi Livni, negotiating on behalf the Israeli government, and Ahmed Qurie, negotiating on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, began talks on core issues today. It's fair to acknowledge the both sides are nowhere near agreement on any of the major issues. However, keep in mind the slow, yet significant progress made on lesser issues in […]
The United States faces numerous challenges abroad looking ahead into 2008. On the diplomatic front few loom larger then Israeli-Palestinian relations. In December, the Annapolis Conference opened the door for direct negotiations, with the United States and the international community urging for progress on the sidelines. President Bush landed in Israel earlier this week in […]