KIESLING AIN'T NO CRONKITE:

Tony Blair in the Doghouse (Mary McGrory, March 13, 2003, Washington Post)

Europe has thrown up its hands. Americans abroad say they give "Canadian" as their nationality to avert ugly scenes, and two classy career U.S. diplomats have resigned from the Foreign Service in protest of a policy they say generates hatred and fear. John Brady Kiesling, whose most recent posting was in Athens, wrote an eloquent letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell. A classics scholar, he quoted his reason in Latin, further infuriating the know-nothings who have gone to war against french fries.

The letter was seen by a brother officer, John H. Brown, a diplomat's son with a doctorate from Princeton on assignment at Georgetown's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. He had just about made up his mind to send in his resignation. "I was inspired by it," says Brown.

As LBJ said, if you've lost the State Department classics scholars...oops, never mind. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 13, 2003 9:54 PM