La semaine derni\u00e8re, les ambassadeurs am\u00e9ricains du monde entier ont \u00e9t\u00e9 convoqu\u00e9s \u00e0 une r\u00e9union extraordinaire \u00e0 Washington. Cette r\u00e9union est bien s\u00fbr sans pr\u00e9c\u00e9dent. Elle a largement \u00e9t\u00e9 pass\u00e9e sous silence, seuls le Huffington Post et un site officiel iranien reprenant l’info.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\tL’article est magnifique en ce qu’il reprend toutes les crises \u00e9voqu\u00e9es par dedefensa.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n \tIn the midst of the Egypt crisis, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with almost every U.S. ambassador Wednesday at the State Department and told them their jobs will be getting more difficult as the events in the Arab world unfold.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00ab\u00a0It goes without saying but I will say it anyway that this is a critical time for America’s global leadership,\u00a0\u00bb Clinton told the ambassadors. \u00ab\u00a0From the theft of confidential cables to 21st-century protest movements to development breakthroughs that have the potential to change millions of lives, we are all in uncharted territory, and that requires us to be more nimble, more innovative, and more accountable than ever before.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tOver 200 ambassadors are in Washington this week for the first-ever global chiefs of mission conference, which was scheduled long before the recent string of revolts in the Arab world. \u00ab\u00a0We figured early February would be quiet, not much going on. What better time to pull you from your posts and responsibilities?\u00a0\u00bb Clinton joked.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tShe spoke about the difficult budget environment for diplomacy and development this year, the role of civilian personnel in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tBut the political crisis in the Arab world, which has consequences for America’s relationships with so many countries, was a repeated focus of Clinton’s remarks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00ab\u00a0And as we see with what’s going on today, recent events in Egypt and certainly in that broader region remind us all how crucial it is to have top-notch leadership on the ground and how quickly that ground can shift under our feet,\u00a0\u00bb Clinton said, noting that U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey could not attend.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tState Department Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills also addressed the ambassadors, who were scheduled on Wednesday to also hear from Joints Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, and Special Representative for Global Partnerships Kris Balderston. Special Advisor Alec Ross and Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Judith McHale will meet with the group later this week.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tClinton said the State Department will release a fiscal 2012 budget request next month that represents \u00ab\u00a0a lean budget for lean times.\u00a0\u00bb State doesn’t even know yet what its fiscal 2011 funding will be and the House is looking to cut diplomacy and development funding just as the civilian missions in Afghanistan and Iraq are expanding, she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \tClinton asked all the ambassadors to find ways to save money and to use their meetings with lawmakers to advocate for robust funding for diplomacy and development next year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t\u00ab\u00a0We know that there are those in the Congress who have even advocated eliminating all foreign aid, eliminating AID, and it’s going to take some outreach and education to discuss with them and lead them through our rationale,\u00a0\u00bb Clinton told the ambassadors. \u00ab\u00a0But I and we need to be in a position where we can say, ‘Look, we hear you.'\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/p>\nClinton to ambassadors: We are all in uncharted territory<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n