The American Academy of Diplomacy

This year, the State Department has broken the US passport processing records by issuing approximately 24.5 million passport books and cards to American citizens. While abroad, Americans represent our nation, thus serving as citizen ambassadors. People-to-people encounters help facilitate meaningful, mutually beneficial cultural dialogue that strengthens the US position in the world.

AAD member Philip Kosnett (U.S. Ambassador, Ret.) discusses NATO defense spending as a percentage of GDP, saying the system "is a useful shorthand" but "more of a diplomatic construct than a military planning tool." Its limitations include the reality that "Not all NATO forces are funded and postured for the defense of Europe."

On the "major global crises requiring immediate attention" President Trump will have to grapple with, AAD member Ambassador Tibor Nagy writes that "some will have been left unresolved from the previous administration or will have recently erupted with little or no advance warning," such as in Ukraine, Syria and Sudan.

AAD member Robin Wright discusses Syria's pivotal moment after Assad’s sudden fall. She writes, "Now the scramble is on to define the future of Syria, quickly, to prevent ethnic, political, and sectarian rivalries from triggering a war even more divisive than the conflict that has riven the nation for thirteen years." https://lnkd.in/eBttHbQu

AAD member Ambassador Patrick Nickolas Theros discusses the international forces vying to shape post-Assad Syria. He writes on American interests, "The downfall of the House of Assad should be cause for celebration; instead, we seem paralyzed by the jihadist credentials of the new leadership in Syria."

Today, the Academy welcomed students from @ucriversideofficial for a week long seminar where they will hear from over 15 of our members about their careers. We are so excited for how this program will go!

In a podcast hosted by AAD member Dr. J. Stephen Morrison, Sheryl Gay Stolberg discusses RFK Jr.'s nomination for HHS Secretary and how "anger and alienation against the health sector and science are surging." Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gGPQui5M

AAD member Ambassador William Roebuck writes on the current political situation in Syria and the roles Turkey and the U.S. are playing in the region. He discusses the military offensive against the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane and how U.S.-Kurdish cooperation against ISIS may not withstand the fall of Kobani.

Did you know about the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) which is responsible for overseeing the construction, management, and operations of U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world? OBO not only provides secure and functional facilities, but strengthens US foreign policy through building technologies, sustainability, and culture. OBO teams plant and preserve trees on US diplomatic properties to support ecology and pay tribute to host countries. For instance, protection of a century-old Guanacaste tree in the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is an important act of public diplomacy.

AAD member Ambassador William Roebuck & Hussein Ibish write on the fall of Damascus and the "geostrategic map of control, contestation, and military outcome" in Syria. They write that Washington is not well positioned to help shape the transition to a Syria under HST. https://lnkd.in/exTUrV3c