Foreign Ambassadors Wanted: Experience Not Required

President Obama has found a new way to hamstring U.S. foreign policy.

After embarrassment created by U.S. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Ms. Victoria Nuland’s less-than-diplomatic gaffe – she used the “F” word against the EU – we now have Obama’s latest diplomatic appointees.

In the most recent hearings for the ambassador positions, it was revealed that Colleen Bell, a TV producer for a soap opera who was picked for the U.S. envoy to Hungary, was completely unable to answer basic questions in her confirmation hearing. In fact, she was unable to adequately describe our strategic interests in Hungary, but rather relied on trite remarks regarding collaboration and security.

Meanwhile, George Tsunis managed to insult a large part of Norway before he even stepped in the country, by calling the Progress Party – part of Norway’s ruling coalition – a hate-spewing “fringe element.”
And finally, Noah Bryson Mamet – the nominee for the Argentina ambassadorship – admitted that he’d never actually been to Argentina and couldn’t speak Spanish.

But then having an ambassador who’s visited the country or is aware of their political structure is so passé. Why should we worry about how our ambassador is going to handle the worsening attitude toward Jews and other minorities in Hungary? Ms. Bell’s experience producing a soap opera will certainly see her through.

Sure, we’ve got plenty of people who’ve accumulated a deep knowledge of a country’s language, history, customs, goals, and even our interests in the country. They just failed to make the appropriate campaign contributions.

The U.S. is the only industrial country that takes such a lackadaisical approach to assigning ambassadors, creating the potential for embarrassment and damage to our future interests abroad. While the government has become sadly out of touch with the rest of the world, we at the Sovereign Society realize that a wealth of opportunities lie overseas and we are prepared with the knowledge needed to guide you forward.

Regards,
Jocelynn Smith
Managing Editor
The Sovereign Investor