There has been much talk in recent weeks of how the likely U.N. General Assembly recognition of a Palestinian State in September is forcing the Israelis and the Americans, who oppose the recognition, to come up with preemptive …
Diplomacy
The Martyrdom of St. Douglas, Pt. 2
Amb. Douglas Kmiec has submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Kmiec was criticized in a State IG report (pdf) for spending too much time and embassy resources on private writing and outside events. Now, the AP reports, Kmiec will step down in August.
Bahrain Tests Obama’s Principles
Shortly after President Obama announced bombing runs over Libya, he gave the following explanation for his actions: “The core principle that has to be upheld here is that when the entire international community almost unanimously …
Huntsman, China and 2012
Yesterday in Shanghai, the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to China, Jon Hunstman–who also happens to be a potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate–made news by criticizing the Chinese government’s human rights record in a kind of valedictory speech. His remarks called attention to something I hadn’t been aware of: an unusually …
What Bill Burns’ Ascension at State Says About Obama’s Foreign Policy
James Steinberg announced last week that he is stepping down as Hillary Clinton’s deputy at the State Department to run the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Taking over for him is Bill Burns, a career diplomat.
The shift is natural enough on the surface. Steinberg had made it clear he wanted …
