WASHINGTON: The abrupt resignation of Britain’s ambassador to the United States over leaked cables critical of the Trump administration may have jolted official Washington, but it’s unlikely to have a lasting impact on the US-British relationship or diplomatic practice.
Current and former diplomats say the leak of Ambassador Kim Darroch’s sensitive reports is unfortunate and alarming, particularly given the apparent political motive behind it. Yet, they believe any complications will be temporary even as they create short-term turbulence in relations.
“It’s a problem, but I don’t know that it has a chilling affect over time because in the end people have jobs to do and they do their jobs,” said Ronald Neumann, a retired three-time US ambassador who is the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy. “It’s wrong and it’s too bad. Still, you move on because there’s work to be done.”
Darroch, a well-known figure in Washington, resigned on Wednesday amid an uproar over the candid cables, saying “the current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like.” The resignation followed President Donald Trump’s furious caustic response to the leaked cables in which Darroch offered candid negative views of his administration.
In the cables, Darroch called the administration’s policy toward Iran “incoherent,” said the president might be indebted to “dodgy Russians” and raised doubts about whether the White House “will ever look competent.”
Trump’s lambasting of Darroch on Twitter — he called the ambassador “a pompous fool” and “a very stupid guy” and criticized outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May — drew condemnation from both sides of the Atlantic.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is in the running to replace May, replied: “Allies need to treat each other with respect.”
Others suggested that Trump’s reaction proved Darroch’s point.
“Trump’s petty and vindictive overreaction not only reinforces the accuracy of Darroch’s portrait of him in his leaked cables, but further erodes an already complicated bilateral relationship,” said William Burns, a highly respected retired career diplomat who served as deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration and is president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The State Department downplayed the fracas, saying: “The United States and the United Kingdom share a bond that is bigger than any individual, and we look forward to continuing that partnership. We remain committed to the US-UK Special Relationship and our shared global agenda.”
But Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who chairs the House intelligence committee, said Trump’s comments make the work of American diplomats abroad harder than they already are.
“Diplomats the world over, including ours, are expected to provide candid assessments and advice to their home governments,” he said. “If a foreign leader treated an American ambassador as President Trump treated the British ambassador, we would be up in arms, and justifiably so. “
In fact, US diplomats have already felt the consequences of leaked cables that laid out unvarnished and often unflattering impressions of foreign leaders and governments.
The 2010 publication by WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified and sensitive documents had a direct impact on at least three US ambassadors, including one, Carlos Pascual, who resigned as envoy to Mexico over fallout from cables critical of then-Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Pascual was traveling Wednesday and not immediately available to comment on any similarities between his resignation and Darroch’s.
Carnegie’s Burns, who was serving as the third-ranking US diplomat at the time, recalled that the leaks had “negative practical implications” for the day-to-day conduct of embassies.
“The immediate impact was to make US diplomatic missions more careful, so there is, at least initially, a dampening effect,” he said. “But, we got over it in time.”
In the long run, though, few believe damage to the “special relationship” caused this week will be severe or lingering.
“The state-to-state relationship is much more than one person, particularly with Britain,” Neumann said. “This is probably one of the least ambassador-dependent relationships we have, which is why we are able to send whoever we want to London, including some who are not so able.”
Diplomats shaken for now after Britain’s US ambassador quits
Diplomats shaken for now after Britain’s US ambassador quits
- Darroch resigned on Wednesday, citing the environment at the moment made it “impossible” for him to work
- He said the US administration policy towards Iran is “incoherent” in one of the leaked cables
Moroccan man guilty of murdering man in UK in revenge for Gaza
After his arrest, he told detectives he had committed the acts because of the conflict in Gaza, and in revenge for Israel killing innocent children
LONDON: A Moroccan man who stabbed to death a passer-by in the street in northeast England in what he later told police was revenge for Israeli action in Gaza was found guilty of murder on Thursday.
Ahmed Alid, 45, who had sought asylum in Britain, killed his 70-year-old victim after approaching him from behind on a road in Hartlepool the early hours of Oct. 15 last year, having previously attacked his housemate with two knives, prosecutors said.
After his arrest, he told detectives he had committed the acts because of the conflict in Gaza, and in revenge for Israel killing innocent children, blaming Britain for creating Israel, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
Alid said if he had had a machine gun, and more weapons, he would have killed more people.
“By his own admission, Ahmed Alid would have killed more people on that day if he had been able to,” Nick Price, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said in a statement.
“Whatever his views were on the conflict in Gaza, this was a man who chose to attack two innocent people with a knife, and the consequences were devastating.”
Alid had first used two knives to attack his sleeping housemate, to whom he had become aggressive after learning of his conversion to Christianity, stabbing him six times while shouting “Allahu Akbar,” or “god is greatest,” the CPS said.
The 32-year-old housemate, one of five asylum seekers who shared the property, managed to fight him off and another occupant came to his aid. Alid left the house with one of the knives and walked toward the center of Hartlepool.
He passed Terence Carney on the opposite side of the road before circling back and attacking him from behind, stabbing him six times in the chest, abdomen and back. Carney died shortly after police arrived.
Following his interview with police, he attacked the two female detectives, with one suffering injuries to her shoulder and wrist.
He was found guilty at Teeside Crown Court of murder, attempted murder and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker. He will be sentenced on May 17, when the judge will decide if his actions were related to terrorism.
India dismisses US human rights report as ‘deeply biased’
- Report found “significant” abuses in India’s Manipur state and attacks on minorities, dissenters
- India’s foreign ministry spokesperson says New Delhi does not attach any “value” to the report
NEW DELHI: New Delhi said on Thursday it does not attach any value to a US State Department report critical of human rights in India, and called it deeply biased.
The annual human rights assessment released earlier this week found “significant” abuses in India’s northeastern Manipur state last year and attacks on minorities, journalists and dissenting voices in the rest of the country.
Asked about it, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jasiwal told journalists on Thursday that the report “as per our understanding, is deeply biased and reflects a very poor understanding of India.”
“We attach no value to it and urge you to also do the same,” Jaiswal said.
Responding to a question about the growing protests on US university campuses against Israel’s offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 33,000 people, Jaiswal said that “there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order.”
He added that “democracies in particular should display this understanding in regard to other fellow democracies, after all we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad.”
While India and the US have a tight partnership, and Washington wants New Delhi to be a strategic counterweight to China, the relationship has encountered some minor bumps recently.
In March New Delhi dismissed US concerns over the implementation of a contentious Indian citizenship law, calling them “misplaced” and “unwarranted,” and objected to a US State Department official’s remarks over the arrest of a key opposition leader.
Last year Washington accused Indian agents of being involved in a failed assassination plot against a Sikh separatist leader in the US, and warned New Delhi about it.
India has said it has launched an investigation into Washington’s accusations but there has not been any update about the investigation’s status or findings.
Sweden to send NATO troops to Latvia next year: PM
- The Swedish troop contribution was the first to be announced since the Scandinavian country joined NATO in March
- The battalion would be comprised of around 400 to 500 troops
STOCKHOLM: Sweden will next year contribute a reduced battalion to NATO forces in Latvia to help support the Baltic state following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday.
The Swedish troop contribution was the first to be announced since the Scandinavian country joined NATO in March.
Kristersson had in January announced that Sweden would likely send a battalion to take part in NATO’s permanent multinational mission in Latvia, dubbed the Enhanced Forward Presence, aimed at boosting defense capacity in the region.
“The government this morning gave Sweden’s armed forces the formal task of planning and preparing for the Swedish contribution of a reduced mechanized battalion to NATO’s forward land forces in Latvia,” Kristersson told reporters during a press conference with his Latvian counterpart Evika Silina.
He said the battalion, which will be in Latvia for six months, would be comprised of around 400 to 500 troops.
“Our aim is a force contribution, including CV 90s armored vehicles and Leopard 2 main battle tanks.”
“We’re planning for the deployment early next year after a parliament decision,” he said.
UK police make fourth arrest after migrant deaths off France
- NCA said it arrested an 18-year-old from Sudan late Wednesday on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally
- The latest arrest took place at Manston in Kent, southeast England, and the suspect was taken into custody for questioning
LONDON: UK police said Thursday that they had arrested another man after five migrants, including a child, died this week trying to cross the Channel from France.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said it arrested an 18-year-old from Sudan late Wednesday on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
The arrest came as part of an investigation into the Channel small boat crossing which resulted in the deaths of five people on a French beach on Tuesday.
The NCA detained two Sudanese nationals aged 19 and 22, and a South Sudan national, also 22, on Tuesday and Wednesday, also on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally.
The 19-year-old has been released without charge, and is now being dealt with by immigration authorities, said the NCA.
The latest arrest took place at Manston in Kent, southeast England, and the suspect was taken into custody for questioning.
Three men, a woman and a seven-year-old girl lost their lives in the early hours of Tuesday in the sea near the northern French town of Wimereux.
They had been in a packed boat that set off before dawn but whose engine stopped a few hundred meters from the beach.
Several people then fell into the water. About 50 people were rescued and brought ashore but emergency services were unable to resuscitate the five.
Fifteen people have died this year trying to cross the busy shipping lane from northern France to southern England, according to an AFP tally.
That is already more than the 12 who died in the whole of last year.
Belgium summons Israeli ambassador over aid worker’s death
- Abdallah Nabhan, 33, along with his seven-year-old son, 65-year-old father, 35-year-old brother and six-year-old niece, were killed in Israel strike
- The airstrike hit the family home where 25 people were sheltering
BRUSSELS: Belgium said Thursday that it would summon Israel’s ambassador to explain the death in a Gaza airstrike of an aid worker with its Enabel development agency, as well as members of his family.
“Bombing civilian areas and populations is contrary to international law. I will summon the Israeli ambassador to condemn this unacceptable act and demand an explanation,” Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said on X.
Enabel said in a statement that Abdallah Nabhan, 33, along with his seven-year-old son, 65-year-old father, 35-year-old brother and six-year-old niece, were killed “after an Israeli airstrike in the eastern part of the city of Rafah.”
An Enabel employee & his family have been killed in Gaza. We express our solidarity with his family & colleagues.
— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) April 25, 2024
Bombing civilian areas & populations is contrary to international law. I will summon the Israeli ambassador to condemn this unacceptable act & demand an explanation.
The airstrike hit the family home where 25 people were sheltering, including people displaced by the Israeli military operation in Gaza, Enabel said.
It said that Nabhan, who had worked on a Belgian development project helping young people find jobs, and his family were on a list Israel had of people eligible to exit Gaza, but that they were killed before being granted permission to leave.
Enabel’s chief, Jean Van Wetter, called their deaths “yet another flagrant violation by Israel of international humanitarian law.”
The health ministry in Gaza, run by the Hamas militant group, says more than 34,000 people have died in the war being waged in the Palestinian territory, most of them women and children.
Israel is conducting airstrikes and ground operations there in retaliation for a Hamas attack on October 7 that killed around 1,170 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures.
Belgium, which currently holds the EU presidency, is among the European countries most vocal in condemning Israel’s operation as disproportionately deadly for Palestinian civilians.
