Language, Politics & Diplomacy

It has been a very long time since the US Diplomatic Corps had strong leadership that rose through the ranks and learned the true meaning of the word “diplomacy”. Like a politician, a professional diplomat understands that they are “always on” and is extremely careful to avoid making personal, unprofessional comments that might get out. Of course they have their own inner circle, but those are people like themselves that understand the imperative need to represent their government without calling attention to themselves.

The recent comments of Victoria Nuland, captured on tape and displayed to the world is one such example. In professional diplomatic circles she would have been recalled home and assigned to some position away from the press where she could do no more harm. She might earn another chance later in her career for a second chance, but frankly, those are few and far between. The damage done by her remark is playing itself out throughout the European Union (EU) with German Chancellor Angela Merkel leading the charge. Chancellor Merkel, having already been substantially embarrassed to learn that our NSA has been ease dropping on her personal phone calls, is very well motivated and the US’s attempts to smooth things over are piss poor, to say the least.

Diplomats have always had their own language, methods, and ways to convey highly sensitive and important information is ways that it is understood between them without getting out in the media is such a way that it can cause damage. Ms. Nuland’s was quoted as saying “F--- the EU” is not only very out of character for any diplomat to say, much less someone that is expected to be a lady or at the very least, not having her language from a gutter vocabulary. Granted, the captured conversation were between two parties that were in agreement but their lack of caution and open display of contempt simply identify them as rank armatures and not proper diplomatic representatives. Now that the conversation is public both Victoria Nuland and Geoff Pyatt (US ambassador to Kiev) need to be removed and a concentrated effort be made to rebuild relations between the US and EU.

This brings up a point that many may have missed. The current administration, across the board, has filled it’s ranks with politicians. Past successful presidents understood and filled the great majority of key positions with businessmen, educators, and other non-politicians. Politicians have their place in the American system, but unfortunately when too many get together, their personal and often hidden agenda’s tend to take precedence over the more important business of running the country. That imbalance seems to have driven many mistakes made by this administration, some which have had far reaching effects on the country. This particular error will work strongly in favor of the Russians and could drive the now divided Ukraine back under Russian control and domination. Just another brick in the wall of restoring the old style USSR at the price of democracy.

We hear words like “professionalism” and many more bantered about so often by those that like the image without having to do the work. The old adage of “it’s not what you know, but who you know” seems to be at work again and if the government doesn’t rein it in soon, we will have the image of being just another paper tiger; one that previously caused us to be involved in too many wars and disputes that true professionals would have avoided.