James Morrison
Articles by James Morrison
Embassy Row: Lockerbie friend
The killing of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks shocked the relatives of the victims of a terrorist attack against Americans more than 20 years ago. Published September 18, 2012
Embassy Row: Warning to China
Oregon is defying Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui, who created an international diplomatic dispute over a mural on the side of a building in a small city in the Beaver State, named after a rodent that fiercely defends its territory. Published September 16, 2012
Embassy Row: Newt, the professor
Addressing Iranian dissidents this week, Newt Gingrich, the fiery former House speaker who led a conservative revolt in Congress a generation ago, assumed the role of thoughtful professor — a historian of measured words — even as he accused the State Department of appeasement. Published September 11, 2012
Embassy Row: Diplomatic discord
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exploded in frustration over President Obama's policies toward Iran in a private meeting with the congressman and the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Published September 9, 2012
Embassy Row: Israel and Democrats
israel and democratsIsraeli Ambassador Michael Oren found himself thrust into Democratic Party politics this week when he denied that he had ever told the party chairwoman that Republican policies are "dangerous for Israel." Published September 6, 2012
Embassy Row: U.S. ambassador to Israel dismisses ‘silly story’
The U.S. ambassador to Israel is denying reports that he received a private tongue lashing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over President Obama's policy toward Iran and that he, in return, lectured the Israeli leader about the need for more diplomacy to prevent the extremist Islamic regime from building a nuclear bomb. Published September 4, 2012
Embassy Row: Fireworks over Iran
The head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is demanding that President Obama vigorously enforce sanctions on Iran, as the Israeli prime minister is seething privately over the failure of White House diplomacy to stop Iran's nuclear program. Published September 2, 2012
Embassy Row: Divorce counseling
Talk of a diplomatic divorce has U.S. and Pakistani officials trying to patch things up, and maybe get a little counseling. Published August 30, 2012
Embassy Row: Purveyors of hate
The chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has denounced the so-called Non-Aligned Movement, with Iran as it current secretary-general, as an "alliance of extremists, flagrant human-rights abuses and purveyors of hate." Published August 28, 2012
EMBASSY ROW: Bad marriage
U.S.-Pakistan relations are so bad that the two countries should get a diplomatic divorce, but they could still date each other once in a while. Published August 23, 2012
Embassy Row: Abuse in Ukraine
The United States this week denounced a prison sentence imposed on a former Ukrainian interior minister in the latest complaint about politically tainted trials and authoritarian trends under a pro-Russia president in the former Soviet republic. Published August 21, 2012
Embassy Row: No collapse in Nigeria
Nigeria, a key U.S. oil supplier, is under severe threat from Islamic terrorists, but the democratic West African nation "is not going to collapse, implode or go away," said a top American diplomat who has served as ambassador to three African countries. Published August 19, 2012
Embassy Row: ‘Rock on,’ ladies
The prosecution of three members of an all-female punk-rock band in Moscow is making a former Hungarian ambassador recall his teenage years behind the Iron Curtain when rock 'n' roll was the forbidden music of freedom. Published August 16, 2012
Embassy Row: Gay pride in Prague
Pro-traditional family groups from 11 countries are outraged because the U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic endorsed a homosexual celebration this week that will culminate with a gay pride parade Saturday in Prague. Published August 14, 2012
Embassy Row: Envoy dishonored
Scott Gration invoked the Gospel of John, declaring that the "truth shall set me free," when he defended himself against charges of gross mismanagement as U.S. ambassador to Kenya. Published August 12, 2012
Embassy Row: Berating Bahrain
The ambassador from Bahrain is defending her country against allegations that the Persian Gulf kingdom is still abusing its citizens, more than a year after the government crushed an uprising led by majority Shiite protesters against the minority Sunni royal family. Published August 9, 2012
Embassy Row: Diplomatic fallout
The attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin sent diplomatic shockwaves from Washington to New Delhi, with U.S. officials expressing anguish and condolences and Indian officials demanding protection for Indian-Americans, especially Sikh men who wear turbans and full beards and are sometimes mistaken for Muslims. Published August 7, 2012
Embassy Row: ‘Hour is late’
Warning the White House that the "hour is late," more than 200 members of Congress are urging President Obama to extend sanctions on Iran to cover two key companies that act as "proxies" for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the stormtroopers for Iran's theocratic regime. Published August 5, 2012
Embassy Row: Ex-envoys for Romney
Six former U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican are accusing President Obama of violating religious freedom, as they call on Catholic voters to support Republican Mitt Romney for president. Published August 2, 2012
Embassy Row: Defeating Al Qaeda
President Obama's nominee for ambassador to Pakistan predicted Tuesday that the United States will soon crush al Qaeda, nearly 11 years after its attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon pushed Washington into the war on terrorism. Published July 31, 2012
