Category: Opinion

by Ronald E. Neumann, President, American Academy of Diplomacy December 5, 2017 The article first appeared in National Interest and can also be accessed by clicking here. Permission to reprint courtesy of National Interest. For ten months the State Department has … Read more

by Hans N. Tuch Currently there is no  institutional functional or operational relationship between the  Department of State and the Voice of America, a relationship that  served  the successful conduct of U.S. public diplomacy for many years—from the early 1950s … Read more

The state of the State Department is concerning but not dire by William P. Kiehl First published in Lancaster LNP November 26, 2017. Every so often, a topic for commentary comes along that focuses the writer more intently than the … Read more

by William P. Kiehl First published in Lancaster LNP October 22, 2017. At a recent photo op with senior military officers and their wives, President Donald Trump was heard to remark that it was “the calm before the storm.” In … Read more

Why Diplomacy American Academy of Diplomacy by Ronald E. Neumann http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2017/jun/why-diplomacy Permission to reprint courtesy of Ms. Kristin McHugh, Executive Director and It’s essential to the successful pursuit of national security, foreign policy and economic goals. Why should Americans pay … Read more

by Amb. (ret.) William A. Rugh There is an unwritten code of conduct among American diplomats that says they should never say anything that is untrue or inaccurate. They are not required to say everything they know because they must … Read more

by Alison Hodgkins Amid all the controversy over North Korea, Russia, NAFTA, and the Paris Accords, one could argue that President Trump’s continued vacillation over the location of the US mission to Israel is the sole conventional aspect of his … Read more

by David T. Jones There seems to be a new truth that whoever starts a column about Afghanistan, adds the descriptive phrase, “Our longest war.” Or words to that effect. One is not exactly sure why the writers seek to … Read more

by Haviland Smith President Trump’s stated goal during his August 21 speech in Arlington, Virginia was “winning in Afghanistan.” The unfortunate fact is that between US and Middle East realities, “winning in Afghanistan” is highly unlikely—probably impossible. Part of the … Read more

by Dr. John R. Murnane The 2016 election of President Donald J. Trump has certainly heightened public interest in national politics, sparking debate about American values, social justice, and the role of the United States in world affairs. Arguments have … Read more

by Francis P. Sempa

And Why This One Will Be Like No Other by Michael W. Cotter The sub-title is not quite accurate, since each administration transfer happens a bit differently. But not this different. At least in living memory there has not been … Read more

by Peter Bridges One of America’s great evils is bureaucratization, at all levels of our national life including our conduct of foreign affairs. Maybe “bureaucratization” is too long a word; perhaps we might call it office obesity. In any case … Read more

by Tatiana ChristyRussian Hybrid War Reaches the UN The global community once again is searching for the best candidate for the post of UN Secretary General to replace the current head of the UN Ban Ki-Moon. At the end of … Read more

by Godfrey Garner The terror events of these past two serve as a stark proclamation which announces that the world is in need of a drastic change in policy and method of operation. We must today, as a human race, … Read more

by David Avital and Marc Engberg Russian President Vladimir Putin recently stated that the U.S. lacks a coherent Syria policy and is instead adopting a “wait and see” approach which will not help to resolve the Syrian civil war. His … Read more

by Dimitry ShlapentokhSimilar to that of other turbulent periods in world history, post-Soviet realities demonstrated an almost similar political narrative. In Georgia, the fate of Mikheil Saakashvili started out as one of the most bizarre. Charismatic and quite popular in … Read more

by Godfrey Garner The world today faces a refugee crisis, the magnitude of which we have not seen since WWII. Entire cultures are fleeing their homeland and the countries to which they are fleeing are facing a series of terribly … Read more

by Thomas R. Hutson, U.S. Consul General (ret.) Everyone who knows anything about it agrees.It is shameful.  No two ways about it.  On both sides of the Atlantic, Our vaunted, noble goal on the battlefield to LEAVE NONE BEHIND  does … Read more

by Edward Marks “A Glass Half Full“, as our colleague David Jones put it in the March issue of the FSJ in describing the contemporary American Foreign Service. As he noted, FS personnel are congenital pessimists but then he reproved … Read more