America spends nearly $75 billion each year to advance our foreign policy. Through a vast network of diplomatic missions and consulates in practically every country represented in the United Nations, officials at every level wine, dine, back-slap, negotiate, and further our national security goals.
One of the best dealmakers America has ever had, someone former President Bill Clinton called a “masterful negotiator,” was Bill Richardson, a former UN ambassador, who died this week at 76. A two-term governor of New Mexico and a member of the House, Richardson brought exquisite skills and charm to the art of challenging negotiations.
Richardson was the ultimate diplomat, even as a private citizen, a fact that Clinton noted in a statement honoring his passing. “Bill worked tirelessly for the causes of freedom, fairness, and opportunity. Whether in an official or unofficial capacity, he was a masterful and persistent negotiator who helped make our world more secure and won the release of many individuals held unjustly abroad.”
It is a sad commentary on today’s Foggy Bottom crowd that continues to insist that the only tools available to the Department of State are blustering rhetoric and threats aided by harsh action such as sanctions and the deployment of military force.
President Biden’s foreign policy team – Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, erstwhile diplomat Victoria Nuland, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austen – has pushed America dangerously close to the edge of a direct conflict with Russia in the Ukraine war, a potential nuclear escalation, and a regional confrontation that could result in World War III.
Needlessly provoking an already-aggressive China by consistently promising weapons delivery and military support to Taiwan, the State Department appears clueless, as though it has forgotten the effectiveness of diplomacy, negotiation, and compromise.
Under Biden, America has excelled in its ability to strengthen relationships with countries that are practically subservient to it. Consider the majority of European countries dependent upon America’s financial and military support of NATO. Eager not to spend their military budgets to help defend themselves, these countries are happy to do America’s bidding in return for guarantees that America will protect them. Fox News said, in August, that Reuters and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that a clause pledging for Germany to spend at least 2% of its gross domestic product annually on defense was quietly removed from Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s draft of a new budget financing law.
Bribing a country to follow America’s foreign policy goals mindlessly is effective, but that still leaves dozens of countries where bribes will not do the trick. President Biden will be forever remembered as the leader who drove Saudi Arabia and Iran closer together under China’s umbrella of support; as someone who helped unite the Global South nations who were repulsed by America’s extraordinary threats to force a condemnation of Russia; and as a president who helplessly witnessed the development and expansion of a regional alliance called BRICS which has the potential to counterbalance American interests in international bodies, like the UN and the IMF.
Under President Biden’s watch, Ukraine has become a disaster the likes of which the world has not seen since the Second World War. 11 million Ukrainians displaced, over 500,000 dead, hundreds of thousands more wounded, and a country so horribly defaced that it will take generations for Ukraine to return to its pre-war state. It is OK to blame President Putin for this carnage, but the role of the American President, as the leader of the lone superpower, is to do everything to help prevent death and destruction.
Had Bill Richardson been America’s Secretary of State, the United States would have never offered unilateral security guarantees to Ukraine in November 2021. America’s promise to Ukraine was explicitly extended to protect it from Russia, the world’s largest holder of nuclear weapons. As a former Secretary of Energy, Richardson would have understood well that it is foolish to saber-rattle a nuclear power. He would have preferred diplomatically dealing with Russia, including enforcing the Minsk II treaty.
Richardson was no stranger to dealing with authoritarian regimes. He helped US basketball star Brittney Griner released from a Russian prison in December after she was convicted of a drug offense – and after Russia’s war in Ukraine had been going on for nearly nine months.
The Richardson Center, the non-profit that he created, has documented numerous cases wherein Richardson was actively involved in multiple prisoner and hostage releases from around the world.
Laura Ling, held by North Korea; Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas; three Americans held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia; journalist Paul Salopek and two of his colleagues held by the government of Sudan; the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War from North Korea; John Early, a pilot for the International Red Cross, his co-pilot, an Australian nurse and five rebel soldiers taken hostage by a rebel group in Sudan; a young American man who swam across the Yalu River from China to North Korea; an American woman who was imprisoned in Bangladesh; three jailed dissidents in Cuba; two American defense contractors arrested by Saddam Hussein in Iraq; release from house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma; and the crew of the downed chopper in North Korea.
It is little wonder that Richardson was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize many times. He, however, never had the honor of winning the prestigious award.
Richardson’s approach was simple and elegant but required much hard work. He was a quintessential believer in global peace through dialogue and in working on areas of opportunity for engagement.
Farewell and Rest in Peace, Ambassador Richardson! You will be sorely missed.
Labor Day Sale! First Year 50% Off. Support our independent journalism to keep our mission going.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics And Geoeconomics
1. Russia Deploys ‘Satan 2’ Missiles: What We Know About Nuclear-Capable Weapon – Newsweek
Russia has upped its nuclear rhetoric after it said it had put into service an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Putin once said would make Moscow’s enemies “think twice.”
The head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, said that Sarmat missiles had “assumed combat duty,” according to the Russian state news agency Tass. It comes as the threat of Russia’s nuclear capabilities has hung over the war in Ukraine started by Putin.
2. Explainer: What’s At Stake In The Upcoming Erdogan-Putin Meeting? – Al-Jazeera
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin on Monday, hoping to persuade the Russian leader to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow broke off from in July.
The Sochi summit follows talks between the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers on Thursday, during which Russia handed over a list of actions the West would have to take for Ukraine’s Black Sea exports to resume.
3. Russia’s Urals Crude Rises Well Above The $60 Price Cap – Oilprice.com
The price of Russia’s flagship crude grade, Urals, averaged $74 per barrel in August, slightly down from August 2022 but way above the G7 price cap of $60 and higher than the July average of $64.37 a barrel.
At the end of July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law amendments in the tax code in the energy sector, which will narrow the discount of Urals crude to Brent to $20 per barrel from September from a $25 discount at the time.
4. German MP Blasts ‘Kamikaze’ Leadership Over ‘Failed’ Russian Sanctions – WION
Sevim Dagdelen, a German MP from the Left Party (Die Linke), recently penned an op-ed for the Berliner Zeitung, in which she came down heavily on the German government for taking actions against Russia that were now “backfiring.”
“In order to ruin Russia, it was hoped that the punitive measures that violate international law will have a long-lasting effect. But the reality is different. Even the Russian auto industry is recovering. Chinese companies are stepping in for the German manufacturers who leave Russia,” Dagdelen wrote in her op-ed.
5. Threats, Insults, And Kremlin ‘Robots’: How Russian Diplomacy Died Under Putin – BBC
Russia’s diplomats were once a key part of President Putin’s foreign policy strategy. But that has all changed.
In the years leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, diplomats lost their authority, and their role was reduced to echoing the Kremlin’s aggressive rhetoric. BBC Russian asks former Western diplomats and ex-Kremlin and White House insiders how Russian diplomacy broke down.
6. Ukraine Tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky Taken Into Custody Over Fraud Allegations – Al-Jazeera
Court places billionaire businessman under arrest for two months over fraud and money laundering charges.
In an oblique reference to legal proceedings against the business magnate, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked law enforcement bodies on Saturday for bringing long-running cases to justice.
7. Nobel Foundation Disinvites Russian Ambassador From Stockholm Prize Ceremony – UPI
The Nobel Foundation on Saturday reversed course and decided to withdraw invitations for the Russian, Belarusian, and Iranian ambassadors to attend December’s prize ceremony in Stockholm.
Earlier this week, the foundation issued a statement indicating it would extend the invitation to all parties. However, following a backlash from Ukraine and elsewhere, it announced on Saturday that it had rescinded the move.
8. Ukraine War Casts Long Shadow Over India’s Hopes For G20 Summit In New Delhi – Rfi
As India prepares to host a G20 summit this September, experts say its success could depend on finding consensus on the war in Ukraine, trade, and climate action.
Sergei Lavrov would represent Russia instead of Putin, and reports say that Chinese President Xi Jinping could also pull out. The summit is attended by 19 of the world’s richest nations – plus the European Union – representing 85 percent of the global economy and one-third of the world population.
9. Italy Says China Trade Deal Not Meeting Expectations – AFP
A controversial investment deal with China has failed to meet Italy’s expectations, Rome’s top diplomat said Saturday before a visit to Beijing, as speculation mounts that Italy will withdraw.
In 2019, the highly indebted economy became the only nation from the G7 club of industrialized countries to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
10. Macron’s Controversial Pension Reform Takes Its Place In French Law – RFI
Key aspects of Emmanuel Macron’s bitterly contested pension reforms came into force on Friday, including the gradual raising of the retirement age and the end to an array of special deals for certain employees in the banking, energy, and transport sectors.
The statutory retirement age will be increased by three months each year, from 62 to 64, by 2030. To obtain a full-rate pension – without a discount – the length of contributions required will also rise from 42 years or 168 quarters to 172 by 2027 at one quarter per year.
11. Paris Says “Au Revoir” To Rental E-Scooters – tippinsights
Parisians have voted to ban rental electric scooters from their city streets – a triumph for road safety campaigners tired of rising fatalities linked to battery-powered devices.
12. Australia To Extend Security Mission In Solomon Islands Until June With Additional Police – ABC
Australia said on Sunday it would send additional police to the Solomon Islands to boost security for the Pacific Games in November, keeping them there until June to assist with a general election.
The extended Australian police presence comes after the Solomon Islands upgraded ties with China, signing a policing agreement in July. Australia, New Zealand, and the United States are concerned that Chinese police could dislodge Canberra’s long-standing security arrangement with the Pacific Islands nation.
13. Malaysia’s Forest City Teeters Over China Property Giant Woes – AFP
On the approach to Malaysia’s $100-billion island megaproject backed by Chinese investment, a collapsed bridge forces drivers to detour before they reach an artificial city emerging from palm oil trees where condos, roads, and shops lay empty.
Launched under China’s Belt and Road Initiative with a company partly owned by a powerful Malaysian sultan, Forest City houses around 9,000 people, way below its 700,000 target.
Labor Day Sale! First Year 50% Off. Support our independent journalism to keep our mission going.
Please email [email protected]
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
