Statement by the Board of American Diplomacy
In the span of a few weeks, the United States has experienced unprecedented shifts in its foreign policy on topics long considered broadly bipartisan and uncontentious. The United States has broken with its European allies over support for Ukraine, a democratic country invaded by Russia. Free trade with neighboring Canada and Mexico, our two top trading partners, is gone. The U.S. Agency for International Development — set up over 60 years ago to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance and help people recover from humanitarian crises — is also gone, with lethal consequences. Public service, long saluted, is denigrated, and the U.S. Department of State is preparing for dramatic staffing cuts.
These changes will impact not only American diplomacy and diplomats but will affect the American people directly. The world economy has grown by a factor of 12 since 1950, a rate not seen before in human history. Creating such a system was an American idea, but it was successful because so many countries joined in and profited as we profited. Just last year, the United States and its trading partners around the world represented almost two-thirds of the world’s economy, and the United States is ranked as the world’s largest creative economy. The deliberate switch from a highly successful cooperative world economic system to an imperial system risks great harm to the quality of life for millions of Americans.
Think business and U.S. exports. American diplomacy has smoothed the way for American products to be sold overseas and negotiated international agreements on processes to settle trade disputes. Think of the $40 billion dollars foreign students annually inject into the U.S. economy. American diplomacy encourages them to pursue higher education here. Think of epidemics. American diplomacy supports NGOs and foreign governments to assist the afflicted and to contain diseases so they don’t spread, including into the United States. Think of business and tourism travelers to the United States. American diplomacy ensures visa applicants are vetted and that their purpose of travel is legitimate. Think how political instability, crime, and economic hardship overseas can spiral into crises that drive waves of people to seek new lives elsewhere. American diplomacy has long prioritized cooperation with likeminded nations and NGO partners to address the root problems that can drive destabilizing mass migration.
As in personal life, relationships and reputations matter; they develop over time and must be cared for. Should trust be broken, relationships fracture. The United States is now becoming an unreliable ally, straining mutually beneficial relationships it has nurtured for generations, and it is jeopardizing its singular recognition as the galvanizing global leader. America’s professional diplomats have a dual responsibility; they carry out the policies of the country’s elected officials and provide their experienced counsel to those officials. They do so for one purpose only: to protect and enhance the interests of our country by making Americans safer, healthier and more prosperous.
Just as the American public has been positively impacted by American diplomacy, dramatic changes to it will have repercussions for our economy, society, security, and health. It is for the American people to consider whether those policies, and those elected to make them, serve or damage our national interests.
The Cost to America and the World
The American Diplomacy journal has focused its mission on presenting the voices of practitioners: commentaries and stories from people who “have been there.” With this section of the journal, we aim to do the same. What is at stake in the current diplomacy crisis can best be explained by those same voices, which we proudly share here with our readers.
Pamela White. The Portland Press Herald
Opinion: Close down USAID and we are all a lot less safe
David B. Shear, Times Union
Commentary: USAID is more than a handout. It’s a tool of international diplomacy.
Craig Cloud, The Charlotte Observer
Former ambassador: Destroying USAID will be a disaster for NC and national security | Opinion
Todd Larson, CapTimes
USAID essential for U.S. interests abroad | Guest Columns | captimes.com
Lt Gen. (ret) Mark Hertling, The Bulwark
How USAID Helped Us Defeat the Iraqi Insurgency (The Bulwark)
John Dickson, Berkshire Eagle
Pushing Back Against Letter-Writer’s Attack on USAID (Berkshire Eagle)