Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower

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John Brady Kiesling, a twenty-year veteran of the foreign service, publicly resigned his position as political counselor of the U.S. Embassy in Athens in February 2003 to protest the Bush administration's impending invasion of Iraq. He believed that the security, economic, and moral costs of this war, including the blackening of America's image abroad, would far outweigh any benefit to the American people. In Diplomacy Lessons, Kiesling reminds readers that U.S. power does not rest on military might alone and that anger at America has real consequences for U.S. national interests. The security and prosperity of the American people depend on efficient cooperation with foreigners on a range of issues, not only terrorism and nuclear nonproliferation but also trade policy, environmental protection, and even public health. The policy decisions of America's foreign partners are driven by domestic politics, just as they are in the United States, and effective U.S. diplomacy requires understanding these political realities. An unloved superpower faces significant costs, both economic and strategic, in the pursuit of its interests. Kiesling calls for a return to realist policy making that recognizes the limits of U.S. power and uses thoughtful diplomacy to legitimize our security requirements in the eyes of our international partners. This book is, at heart, an argument for how to best achieve America's goals abroad. Kiesling's passionate critique of current U.S. foreign policy and his prescriptions for restoring American influence and legitimacy will interest anyone concerned about the future of U.S. and world affairs.

John Brady Kiesling was a U.S. Foreign Service officer for twenty years. His 2003 resignation letter, first published by the New York Times, was widely praised as the manifesto of a more principled, better-informed U.S. foreign policy. He lives in Athens, Greece.

-This book, written by an exceptionally courageous foreign service officer who resigned in protest against the war in Iraq, should be required reading by all students and practitioners of foreign policy. With a wealth of examples, in a clear and pungent style, Kiesling not only shows the damage done to America's standing in the world by George W. Bush's administration, but suggests sound and enlightened policies that would blend American idealism with what has been so grievously missing in recent years: lucid awareness of the realities and obstacles in the rest of the world.---Stanley Hoffmann, Buttenwieser University Professor, Harvard University--Stanley Hoffmann