Trump, the State Department, and foreign policy

A retired “Diplomad” has some interesting thoughts about the State Department and US foreign relations in the Trump administration.  Here’s an excerpt. Even with “deep cuts” the budget for State/AID remains in the $40 billion ballpark, which is a pretty big ballpark. The U.S. Foreign Service consists of over 8,000 diplomats, another over 7,500 “specialists,”… Continue reading Trump, the State Department, and foreign policy

The (very) tangled web in Syria

The convoluted, twisted strands of who’s fighting who, who’s supporting who, and who’s trying to stay relevant in Syria (and with whom) are almost nightmarish in their complexity.  Strategy Page does its best to describe the mess. Iran, Russia, Turkey, the United States and Israel are all present in Syria along with the Assad government… Continue reading The (very) tangled web in Syria