Diplomat Jim Patterson Looks at the World Situation

Diplomat Jim Patterson Looks at World Situations 

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad “succeeded in bringing Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) to Damascus and having her parrot [his] propaganda on her return,” writes the Washington Post. WaPo questioned funding for the trip and suggested Syrian sources facilitated it.

Gabbard visited President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at Trump Tower before Trump’s Inauguration. Washington tongues are wagging Gabbard was on a Trump-supported mission to gather intelligence. The congresswoman received criticism from Democratic leaders for her outreach to Trump.

When Gabbard’s group returned, she claimed the United States is arming al Qaeda and ISIS which the Post said was Assad’s “talking points.” The Post: “Principled opposition to US intervention in Syria is one thing. Becoming a tool of a mass murderer’s propaganda and influence campaign is another.”  

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At the United Nations, Ambassador Nikki Haley, in her first address to the Security Council, admonished Russia for recent shelling in Ukraine. Harsh winter, with temps -20 Celsius and disruptions of water and electricity, make the situation dire.

Email on Ukraine to Senator Dianne Feinstein:

My friends in the Bay Area’s Ukrainian community are concerned about recent Russian shelling in Ukraine which has killed 20 people and left thousands without food, water and electricity in -20 Celsius weather.

In remarks to the UN Security Council, Ambassador Nikki Haley said the situation is worsening. The only option for the security of Ukrainians is full implementation of the Minsk Protocol negotiated two years ago between the warring parties with the European Union assisting in negotiations. EU leaders have not stepped forward to respond to the renewed crisis.

Please inform me what the current US policy is on Russian aggression in Ukraine. I was disappointed former President Obama ignored Russia’s violation of international law when it invaded Ukraine. Please ask Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to commence serious action to seek a diplomatic solution to this serious problem before it destabilizes a broader region. 

Thank you for the courtesy of an email reply to JEPDiplomat@gmail.com Thank you for all you are doing to help prevent further Russian aggression in Ukraine

Sincerely,

James E. Patterson

Member California State Society

Life Member American Foreign Service Association

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February 2 Highlights of American Foreign Relations History

On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the war between the United States and Mexico.

  

On Feb. 2, 1942, a Los Angeles Times column by W.H. Anderson urged security measures against Japanese-Americans, arguing that a Japanese-American "almost inevitably ... grows up to be a Japanese, not an American."

On Feb 2, 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa's black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.

Birthdays of Note:

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing is 91.

Ponderable:

"Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great." - Bussy-Rabutin, French author.


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James E. Patterson is a Life Member of the American Foreign Service Association, Alumni Fraternity of Alpha Zeta, Life Member Auburn University Alumni Association, Member Indiana State Society, Former elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner 2A04 Washington DC (during 9/11 attacks) and my district included the State Department, The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the George Washington University.