re: #253 Brian J.

(Ambassador April) Glaspie had her first meeting with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, on July 25, 1990.

The transcript has Glaspie saying:

“We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960s, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America.”

The language of diplomacy is difficult, but international relationships are fraught with potential misunderstanding. Staffing foreign policy with people who don’t even know how to convey messages that will be understood is bad. REAL bad.

Topping all off with a President who is ignorant, arrogant in that ignorance, and almost completely unteachable is worse. MUCH worse.