“First Line of Defense: Ambassadors, Embassies and American Interests Abroad”

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What do Ambassadors and Their Embassies Actually Do?

Many Americans are not well informed about the role of diplomacy in our relations with the rest of the world. With that thought in mind, the American Academy of Diplomacy prepared this collection of personal accounts by senior American ambassadors. The relevance of their work to the interests of the United States and to the welfare of individual American citizens emerges unmistakably. An introduction highlights the changes in international relations brought about by dramatic advances in information technology and transportation. A conclusion discusses the infrastructure of American diplomacy needed to cope with an increasingly complex, disorderly and dangerous post-Cold War world.

Among the ambassadors who relate their experiences in this volume are: Robert Strauss in the Soviet Union, Walter Mondale in Japan, Raymond Seitz in the UK, Frank Carlucci in Portugal, Elinor Constable in Kenya, Richard Gardner in Spain, James Jones in Mexico, James Blanchard in Canada, Frank Wisner in India, Michael Armacost in the Philippines, Harry Shlaudeman in Venezuela, Robert Oakley in Pakistan, and Thomas Pickering at the United Nations.