12 MARCH 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Ambassadors are one of the most important positions. ... Wherever there’s conflict we need good, capable ambassadors there. —Former Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.), in a Dec. 7, 2024, Politico article titled “The most significant ambassador jobs in Trump’s second term.” I believe it’s in our national security interest to have our embassies fully staffed and to confirm career ambassadors with the requisite expertise. —Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), during Marco Rubio’s Secretary of State confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jan. 15. We cannot do more with less given the challenges of the global moment. We need more investment in U.S. diplomacy and development as instruments of national power. —Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), during Marco Rubio’s Secretary of State confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jan. 15. Instead of being the Department of Diplomacy, which I think it’s supposed to be, [the State Department] becomes just an extension of the Department of War and muscle. ... But really, when bellicose statements come from other parts of the government, I see the State Department as the one that shows up and tries to still have a conversation. ... With regard to the concept of diplomacy and how we make things better ... diplomacy is about engagement, hearing the other side, and understanding their position—not accepting it but knowing what it is. —Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), during Marco Rubio’s Secretary of State confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jan. 15. The backbone of our diplomacy is that diplomats abroad, from the Secretary of State on down, ensure that we prioritize and emphasize the right engagements for the future. —Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), during Marco Rubio’s Secretary of State confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jan. 15. We should afford young men and women in the State Department and our civilians within the Department of Defense the same type of developmental opportunities that we give our uniformed officers—postgraduate schools and service colleges. —Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Brian Mast (R-Fla.), during a USIP conference titled “Passing the Baton 2025: Securing America’s Future in an Era of Strategic Competition,” Jan. 14. with more than 24 million people facing acute hunger and 11 million displaced. Tom Perriello, U.S. special envoy for Sudan, described the crisis as a “manmade famine” driven by the RSF’s deliberate destruction of crops, warehouses, and farming infrastructure. The U.S. has provided extensive humanitarian aid, leading efforts to establish corridors for food and medicine, but the situation remains dire. The Biden administration’s declaration makes Sudan only the eighth instance of U.S.-recognized genocide since the Cold War. Previous cases include Rwanda, Darfur, Myanmar, and actions by the Islamic State. The sanctions targeted RSF-affiliated companies, many based in the UAE, which house Hemedti’s vast wealth. The U.S. accused Russia of fueling the conflict, citing its reliance on Sudanese gold to evade sanctions. JOSH Heard on the Hill The Kids Are All Right 50 Years Ago I think our State Department should tell Ambassadors to lay off teenagers. They shouldn’t be tied in with their parents’ official behavior. A father’s efficiency rating should not depend on the way his child dresses. For a kid to be clobbered with the role of the Ugly American and the fear that he may hurt his father’s job if he doesn’t cut his hair is disastrous. It’s too much at that age to carry the United States on his back. —“Over Here & Back There” by Professor of Psychiatry Sidney L. Werkman, in the March 1975 edition of The Foreign Service Journal.
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