This week, the parliament of Bahrain voted unanimously to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization. “It is time we join the world in outlawing this group, which has terrorized the region enough and has been instrumental in spreading evil among us,” said lawmaker Shaikh Jassim Al Saeedi, a sponsor of the …
Under President Obama’s leadership, U.S. influence among Middle East nations has waned, and in fact declined since President Bush left office. During last week’s visit to Ramallah, Palestine, Obama was the object of demonstrations by irate Palestinians. They are not alone in their anger over neglect and unfulfilled presidential promises, …
The Obama Administration’s story on the attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens has changed yet again. In advance of a hearing on diplomatic security in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, more details have leaked out—and the State Department is now saying it never thought that the attack …
Judging by President Obama’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly yesterday, U.S. public diplomacy messaging on the Middle East crisis is stuck perpetually on a setting of “apology.” It has been this way since the much-criticized September 11 statement from the U.S. embassy in Cairo, which apologized to the threatening …
Censorship of the Internet is one of the distinguishing features of autocratic governments from China to Cuba. Is this the direction the U.S. government might be moving? It’s too early to tell, but the Obama Administration’s unusual request to Google to “review” the offending “Innocence of Muslims” movie trailer is …
Diplomats abroad represent the government of the United States. They must, therefore, speak with tact, but also with honesty. After all, most of the people they’re speaking to have no firsthand experience with the U.S. Our diplomats are teaching foreigners about America. In fact, the “primary purpose of United States …
