I am not a diplomat. I am an engineer. Engineers probably have personalities suited better for being anti-diplomats. I am sure that dealing with difficult social and political issues is not easy, and therefore diplomacy is not easy.
However, the recent interaction in Egypt between Secretary of State Rice and Iran's Foreign Minister Mottaki struck even me as odd. Engineers are not known for social graces, but it does not appear this State Department has any social grace either. The State Department's official response to an "incident" at this Egypt meeting really made me wonder if they take diplomacy seriously:
"I don't know which woman he was afraid of, the woman in the red dress or the secretary of state," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday, regarding the actions of Iran's Manouchehr Mottaki.
Seriously? Is this how one responds in an uncomfortable diplomatic situation? I could have done that. Not that engineers are good at snark, but even I could have thrown out that kind of pithy, insulting statement.
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