August 2017 Homepage

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August 2017 Homepage

Cover Story

Veteran Envoy Carlos Gianelli:
Uruguay Way Ahead of Its Time

a5.cover.uruguay.gianelli.homeTiny Uruguay, wedged between relative giants Brazil and Argentina, has been punching way above its weight for years. The small country took on big tobacco — and won — while at the same time legalizing marijuana use, same-sex marriage and abortion, firmly establishing itself as a beacon of liberalism on a continent where some countries only recently allowed divorce. Read More


People of World Influence

James Dobbins Recalls Life of Foreign
Service, from Afghanistan to Vietnam

a1.powi.dobbins.main.homeWhen James Dobbins joined the Foreign Service in 1967, the Vietnam War was in full swing. When he retired in 2014, U.S. troops were bogged down in Afghanistan. In between those two conflicts, Dobbins played a leading if behind-the-scenes role in some of the world’s nastiest trouble spots, from Haiti to Bosnia to Somalia. Read More


NAFTA 2.0

Prodded by Trump, Canada, Mexico,
U.S. Prepare to Renegotiate Trade Deal

a2.nafta.trump.canada.homeThis month, the U.S., Canada and Mexico can formally begin to renegotiate NAFTA, the landmark trade pact that President Trump has called a disaster. Despite Trump’s disdain for NAFTA, negotiators are likely to modernize, rather than abandon, a deal that has integrated the North American market. Read More


Shoring Up Walls

Foreigners Wonder How Extreme
Trump’s Extreme Vetting Will Be

a3.vetting.counter.homeAs a candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly pledged to implement more “extreme vetting” of foreigners coming to the United States but was vague about what exactly that would entail. In a series of measures over the last several months, however, the president has made real his promise to increase government scrutiny of travelers to the U.S. Read More


East Africa Votes

Ethnic Fault Lines Simmer Below
Surface of Rwanda, Kenya Elections

a4.africa.rwanda.kagame.homeThere are two elections in August that will decide the next presidents of two critical East African countries — Rwanda and Kenya, whose politics have long been plagued by ethnic rivalry and division. Read More


Defining Crazy

Old Rule Keeps Psychiatrists from
Diagnosing Trump’s Mental Fitness

a6.mental.health.trump.g20.homeIf nearly one in five persons in the U.S. experiences mental illness, then more than 100 members of our federally elected government suffer from a clinical mental condition at any given time. So why aren’t psychiatrists allowed to speculate widely in the media on the mental stability of President Donald Trump? Read More


Global Vantage Point

Op-Ed: America’s Waterways Would
Become Less Great Under Trump

a7.waterways.lake.michigan.rocks.homeThere’s water, water everywhere in the U.S., but environmentalists say Republicans are washing away years of progress with bad policies. America’s waterways are under threat from funding cuts, deregulation and science-deniers, including President Donald Trump. Read More


AIS: Ethiopia Today

Ambassador Girma Birru Talks About
State of Ethiopia and U.S. Ties

a8.ais.ethiopia1.homeEthiopia, once synonymous with poverty and famine, is still desperately poor. Yet it also boasts one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. Ambassador Girma Birru, speaking at his embassy on June 27 for The Washington Diplomat’s latest Ambassador Insider Series (AIS), discusses the country’s struggles with social and political unrest. Read More