Thursday, March 25, 2004
Is there a code of conduct for Western diplomats? A list of things they can and can't do? I ask only because the American ambassador to Britain has been busy recently. The week before last he basically slandered the people coming back from Guantanamo Bay in the Sun as terrorists (yet several years of interegation by US and UK intelligence couldn't find a case to answer) from behind the privilidge of diplomatic immunity. Today he's writing an article for the Independent about Richard Clarke. Now, I thought the job of an ambassador is to relay the opinions of the US Government to the Government of the country they are in and to act as a link between US citizens in the UK and their Government. Now, this isn't based on what he's said in this case, but it does seem a teeny bit questionable for an Ambassador to talk to the citizens of the country they are Ambassador to. But I suppose Tony Blair appears on The Simpsons and Dubya sometimes escapes out of his cage long enough to be interviewed by people on telly so I suppose there aren't rules against it.
