It’s a truism that diplomacy is war by other means. Diplomacy is also politics on a grand stage. Read more »
A Hillary Clinton Report Card
Now is the time to praise, deride or simply to try to assess Hillary Clinton’s contributions to American diplomacy as Secretary of State. Did she improve our standing in the world? Did she deepen Americans’ understanding of what diplomacy is, which would make it easier to judge her fairly and competently? Did she make us better respected and more likely to be followed? Did she evolve a distinctive doctrine to guide us in these troubled times? Was her energetic globe-circling an anachronistic self-indulgence in a world networked by twitter, Facebook and e-messaging of all sorts or is person-to-person diplomacy still essential? Did she made any progress in steering us away from the over militarization of American foreign policy? Read more »
US Foreign Policy, Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood
The Obama administration, though they would not characterize it as such nor have much desire to acknowledge it at all, have attempted a strategic detente with the “moderate” elements of political Islam. This policy has not been entirely consistent; Syria, for example, is a quagmire the administration has wisely refrained from wading directly into despite [...] Read more »
Benghazi and State: Where do the bucks stop?
It’s too late for Hillary to houseclean as she should have four years ago. Calling her up to the Hill to confess guilt – or deflect blame – won’t make a difference in the next encounter between American diplomats and militant Islamic terrorists. But John Kerry, her likely successor, should make tending State’s garden, investigating its Byzantine byways as well as focusing on its financial and human resources – a top priority. Benghazi needn’t have happened. There needn't be a reprise. Read more »
Phony Name, Real Time: Anti-Islam Filmmaker Gets Year in Prison for False ID
The White House is no longer blaming him and his inflammatory video for sparking an attack that killed the American ambassador to Libya. But in the eyes of the U.S. government, Mark Basseley Youssef is still a criminal -- and a potentially dangerous one at that. And so today, after Youssef admitted to four counts of violating his probation, a federal judge sentenced the man behind the notorious anti-Islam movie "Innocence of Muslims" to a year in prison. Read more »
The Missing Narrative on al-Qaeda
by Karina Sandhu Beginning September 11, 2001 and ending on May 2, 2011, in the eyes of many Americans, the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, was born, raised, lived, and died. Despite the fact that al-Qaeda was founded in 1989 and continues to exist today, many American citizens seem to have forgotten about the organization. And why wouldn’t they? As recently as September 11, 2012 we were told by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that currently “al-Qaeda is a [...] Read more »
Benghazi: So Many Questions, So Few Answers
As the tragic news trickled – then flooded – out of Benghazi last week in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the US Mission in Benghazi (it has yet to receive Consulate status), circumstances surrounding the burning of that building and the deaths of the four American employees including US Ambassador Chris Stevens raise multiple questions in need answers. Read more »
The Future of the US-Moroccan Alliance
Morocco, the United States’ oldest ally, was not immune to the fervor that swept the Islamic world last week. Protests broke out in front of the US consulate in Casablanca over the film The Innocence of Muslims, which ignited popular uproar in almost every country in the region. While these protests were highly organized and largely peaceful, they indicate a deepening resentment toward the US just as the two countries begin negotiating a closer partnership. Read more »
Weekly Wrap Up: Honoring the Fallen Diplomats in Benghazi, Libya
Here's a quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov: Fallen Diplomats in Benghazi, Libya: On Tuesday, four Americans lost their lives after an attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya. Today, Presiden... Read more »
President Obama Discusses the Attack in Benghazi, Libya
President Barack Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, delivers a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House, Sept. 12, 2012, regarding the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Official White House Photo ... Read more »