Over the last several days, State Department witnesses acquitted themselves with both seriousness and thoughtfulness befitting the important constitutional process underway. In tone and testimony, they demonstrated themselves to be true professionals of diplomacy – U.S. officials charged with putting the national interest first. Over decades, these career ambassadors have conducted the crucial business of representing complex U.S. national security priorities in difficult and sometimes dangerous locations.
One of us writes as a former State Department official with firsthand knowledge of the degree to which diplomats have been on the frontlines since Sept. 11, 2001, alongside more traditional settings around the world.