HAVING US FOR LUNCH – AT 8:58 A.M. ET:  If Americans are getting the impression that the Russians are running rings around us diplomatically, they're right.  And it isn't just the Russians.  We are losing virtually everywhere – Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, South America...even Canada.  One reason is that this administration really doesn't take American foreign interests that seriously.  How do they compare to Eric Holder's hurt feelings? 

At The Politico, former American diplomat James Bruno explains part of our problem, made worse in this administration by crass politics:   

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is fairly typical. A graduate of the prestigious Moscow Institute for International Relations (known by its Russian acronym, MGIMO) and 42-year Foreign Ministry veteran, Lavrov speaks fluent English as well as Sinhalese, Dhiveli and French. A former U.S. ambassador who had dealt with Lavrov at the United Nations described him to me as disciplined, witty and charming, a diplomat so skilled “he runs rings around us in the multilateral sphere.”

Russia has always taken diplomacy and its diplomats seriously. America, on the other hand, does not. Of this country’s 28 diplomatic missions in NATO capitals (of which 26 are either currently filled by an ambassador or have nominees waiting to be confirmed), 16 are, or will be, headed by political appointees; only one ambassador to a major NATO ally, Turkey, is a career diplomat. Fourteen ambassadors got their jobs in return for raising big money for President Obama’s election campaigns, or worked as his aides. A conservative estimate of personal and bundled donations by these fundraisers is $20 million (based on figures from the New York Times, Federal Election Commission and AllGov). The U.S. ambassador to Belgium, a former Microsoft executive, bundled more than $4.3 million.

By contrast, all but two of Moscow’s ambassadors to NATO capitals are career diplomats. And the two Russian equivalents of political appointees (in Latvia and Slovakia) have 6 and 17 years of diplomatic experience respectively. The total number of years of diplomatic experience of Russia’s 28 ambassadors to NATO nations is 960 years, averaging 34 years per incumbent. The cumulative years of relevant experience of America’s ambassadors are 331, averaging 12 years per individual. Russia has 26 NATO ambassadors with 20-plus years of diplomatic service; the United States has 10. Furthermore, 16 American envoys have five years, or fewer, of diplomatic service. The figure for Russia: zero. Five U.S. NATO posts currently have no ambassador. None of Russia’s is vacant. With Michael McFaul’s departure in February, there is no U.S. ambassador in Moscow at the moment.

COMMENT:   You don't put an amateur in a ring with a professional, and that's what we've done by putting Barack (come to save us) Obama in the White House.

The Ukraine situation is the worst crisis we've had with Russia since the end of the Cold War, and Moscow is winning hands down.  Obama warns of "serious" consequences, and gets laughed at.  He then cuts the defense budget even more. 

The next generation is gonna love us.

April 17, 2014