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In a divided Washington, British ambassador was a bridge

44 Comments
By JULIE PACE

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44 Comments

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Good riddance!

-11 ( +4 / -15 )

Trump is right to tell the ambassador to take a hike. I mean, what else is he supposed to do? Say yeah, that's OK, this dude was bad-mouthing me in these embarrassing leaks, I'm not going to do anything about it, it's OK if he remains the ambassador to the U.S., even if he hates my guts and calls me names behind my back after shaking my hand, it's OK, who cares, I'm not going to do anything about it, who cares about decorum, lol.

The British are not known for this sort of thing, the fact that this happened must be really embarrassing for them.

-10 ( +4 / -14 )

I wish we could see a flood of leaks from other allied embassies. It's hard to imagine anyone says anything different.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

The Brits should be embarrassed for the truthful messages being leaked? Ok. That’s fair.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

My goodness, punished for telling the truth, what a fine example to set for future generations

This is a tough one. What was leaked about this travesty in the White House has been heard before from members of Trump’s inner circle, and it is on display with his gibberish and grandstanding in rallies and semi-literate trash on Twitter. Then again, there is practicality of doing business with the US which is currently being led by a slighted man child.

Overall, I think he had to go.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Serrano: what else is he supposed to do? Say yeah, that's OK, this dude was bad-mouthing me in these embarrassing leaks, I'm not going to do anything about it

He turned into a wet noodle in front of Putin with election meddling. I guess the ambassador’s crime was much worse?

4 ( +8 / -4 )

When some of those cables were leaked to a British newspaper, it initially appeared that Darroch's strong ties to the Trump administration would inoculate him.

It was a stunning end to Darroch's storied career as a diplomat and civil servant, and a reminder of how quickly fortunes can rise and fall in Trump's Washington.

Although much of Washington expected Trump to lose to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, Darroch spent that summer and fall building relationships with the billionaire businessman's friends and advisers.

When Trump stunningly defeated Clinton,

It appears that Kim Darroch's job was primarily to suck up to Trump associates, and to Trump. And then report back to London. All of that changed when...

Somebody LEAKED private British government dispatches. WHO leaked these British government dispatches? WHAT was their motive? WHY aren't the news media outlets demanding to know who, and how, these government dispatches were leaked?

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Let's see,

A diplomat from the US's closest ally calls Trump "inept, incompetent, and insecure" in a confidential memo. For that, Trump calls him a "pompous fool" and "wacky". He also calls the British Prime Minister "foolish".

Vladimir Putin launches an attack on our democracy, which is still ongoing, and Trump at the recent G20 Summit says; "it's a great honor to be with President Putin," We have a very, very good relationship and we look forward to spending some very good time together,"

And some people still think we don't have a Russian asset in the White House...

5 ( +9 / -4 )

Trump is right to tell the ambassador to take a hike.

I think it's a little bit more complex than that tbh. By all accounts Darroch's a committed europhile & many brexiteers (incl boris) wanted him out the door asap. Asap meant now as soon as his comments were leaked & his position became untenable.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Ambassador Darroch was spot on in his assessment of the current occupant of the White House.

The damage perpetrated by the current administration is massive and the United States of America will take years to repair it.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

The British are not known for this sort of thing, the fact that this happened must be really embarrassing for them.

LOL. You've never been to the UK or met a British person, have you? His comments were mild, to say the least.

The ambassador was merely doing his job by reporting frankly and honestly on the chaos in the Trump administration.

What do you think of Trump's favorite, Johnson, when he made negative comments about him?

“I think Donald Trump is clearly out of his mind,” Johnson, who was at the time the mayor of London, said of then-candidate Trump’s 2015 call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. In response to the Republican hopeful’s early criticisms of London, which Trump erroneously described as having “no-go areas” teeming with Islamic extremism, Johnson said Trump betrayed “a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him, frankly, unfit to hold the office of president of the United States.” On the prospect of a Trump visit to London, Johnson said he would welcome the president, “except that I wouldn’t want to expose Londoners to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump.” In some ways, Johnson’s thoughts about Trump when he served as London mayor were similar to those of his successor to that position, Sadiq Khan.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/06/boris-johnson-trump/592192/

9 ( +9 / -0 )

I think we know well that Trump, who started his term with a lie, doesn't like truth all that much.

Thats why his team is full of liars and sycophants whose only skill is that they say what their master likes, no matter how detached from reality it is.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Well, he’s gone, another problem eliminated. Good riddance.

Trump is right to tell the ambassador to take a hike. I mean, what else is he supposed to do? Say yeah, that's OK, this dude was bad-mouthing me in these embarrassing leaks, I'm not going to do anything about it, it's OK if he remains the ambassador to the U.S., even if he hates my guts and calls me names behind my back after shaking my hand, it's OK, who cares, I'm not going to do anything about it, who cares about decorum, lol.

The British are not known for this sort of thing, the fact that this happened must be really embarrassing for them.

Excellent point.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

Well, at least nobody is questioning the Ambassador’s analytical prowess.

it would be interesting to know if his comments were betrayed by someone in his government or ours.

But it seems to me that the core duty of an Ambassador is to speak truth to her or his government, through appropriate channels. That the integrity of those channels seems to have gone out the window is another question.

Hope Darroch’s integrity is rewarded by his government. I certainly appreciate his honesty.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Well it's going to be difficult to find anyone outside of US borders who respects Trump. Finding a replacement won't be easy.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

it would be interesting to know if his comments were betrayed by someone in his government or ours.

Or the Chinese, or Russians, or Iran,...

2 ( +3 / -1 )

To be honest, I think he was doing his best to sour the relations between the British Government and Trump.

Most of the civil service is anti-Brexit. So, when they see Trump being pro-Brexit and offering to do a trade deal with the UK when it leaves the EU, they worry. If they can damage Trump's positive feeling's towards the UK, he might withdraw his support. That way, they can turn round and say "Look, the UK doesn't have any friends outside of the EU. We have to stay."

It is important to note however, that they don't intend to damage the relationship between the US and UK, just Trump.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Say yeah, that's OK, this dude was bad-mouthing me in these embarrassing leaks, I'm not going to do anything about it, it's OK if he remains the ambassador to the U.S., even if he hates my guts and calls me names behind my back after shaking my hand, it's OK, who cares, I'm not going to do anything about it, who cares about decorum, lol.

Hahaha, Trumpets getting all up in arms about "decorum" now.

This was a failure of Boris Johnson, world-class bigot and the likely next PM of the UK, desperate to take orders from a braindead fascist-sympathising President.

Johnson campaigned for Brexit promising the Brits independence. Instead they get to be lapdogs. Well done to the 52%, you've let your great country go even further down the tubes.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

But it seems to me that the core duty of an Ambassador is to speak truth

That was his personal opinion.

 

Hope Darroch’s integrity is rewarded by his government. I certainly appreciate his honesty.

I appreciate the Presidents, he also doesn’t hold back.

-10 ( +0 / -10 )

That was his personal opinion.

It's the truth.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

It's the truth.

To some, could be, to others, not. Same may agree with Darroch and some may agree with Trump.

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

SerranoToday  09:47 am JST

The British are not known for this sort of thing, the fact that this happened must be really embarrassing for them.

It would be more embarrassing if he'd behaved anything like Boris Johnson.

Tangerine2000Today  12:18 pm JST

To be honest, I think he was doing his best to sour the relations between the British Government and Trump.

His comments just corroborate other views that have been expressed about the Trump administration.

Most of the civil service is anti-Brexit. So, when they see Trump being pro-Brexit and offering to do a trade deal with the UK when it leaves the EU, they worry. If they can damage Trump's positive feeling's towards the UK, he might withdraw his support. 

How could he hope to damage Trump's "positive feelings towards the UK" in a cable that Trump was never supposed to know about?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

But it seems to me that the core duty of an Ambassador is to speak truth

That was his personal opinion.

Wrong. It was his professional opinion as a career diplomat. And having experience with these type of cables, this isn't his assessment alone - this was a comprehensive assessment put together with input from the various sections of the Embassy; Pol-Mil, Economic, etc.

Hope Darroch’s integrity is rewarded by his government. I certainly appreciate his honesty.

I appreciate the Presidents, he also doesn’t hold back.

We know - he already admitted that in the Access Hollywood tape. E Jean Carroll and 17 other women know firsthand he doesn't hold back...

4 ( +5 / -1 )

To some, could be, to others, not. Same may agree with Darroch and some may agree with Trump.

No, it's the objective truth.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Diplomacy is a 2 sided sword.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Interesting twist on an "Who said what?" and "Who did what?" situation.

The important thing is, an Ambassador or any foregin government official is not a "mediator" or "moderator" or "coordinator" for any local and domestic politics or personalities. (*That in essense is "lobbying" or "intrusion" or "interference". Included in that ishiould he/she do get involved in disseminating information concerning the President or the country, is in fact "espionage" type of activity for one and second it is presenting political bias, which may be considered foreign involvement in US domectic politics.)

The problem is not just US and UK or political and personality bias here. If this was to be taken seriously, this report indicates UK involvement in influencing US politics.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

If the U.S. refuses to deal with him, he effectively has no purpose being here, so they might as well call him home. There was no need to expel him when him could just be cut out of any loop; effectively leaving him with no job to do.

An ambassador is supposed to possess the (cough, cough) skills to not insult the executive head of any government of the country where he/she is posted. Any bets that the Queen ordered his canning

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

An ambassador is supposed to possess the (cough, cough) skills to not insult the executive head of any government of the country where he/she is posted. 

Anyone with basic intelligence who's followed this story understands that the Ambassador's views were for internal use only. The fact that it got leaked is not his fault.

However Donny boy went ahead and called May 'foolish'. I think we can agree that Trump possesses no skills whatsoever, except for losing money. He was better than most Americans at that particular skill.

Any bets that the Queen ordered his canning.

Well, well , well! A bit more reading on British politics would help, you would not lose too many bets.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Texas A&M AggieToday  02:16 pm JST

Any bets that the Queen ordered his canning

The Queen doesn't issue orders to the British Government. Didn't you know that?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

That was his personal opinion.

When this many people who spend time at the white house paint the administration as inept, there comes a point where you have to accept that it's fact.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The Brits should be embarrassed for the truthful messages being leaked? Ok. That’s fair.

They weren't truthful messages, they were just, like, his twisted opinion.

*"....... describing the Trump White House as unpredictable, clumsy and inept ....."*

That's what he said! And he can' be all wrong.

True! The Trump White House is indeed unpredictable. America's adversaries hate that.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

To be honest, I think he was doing his best to sour the relations between the British Government and Trump.

He was giving his viewpoint on a terrible administration. His private viewpoint from over 40 years of political experience.

Whoever leaked the private cables was doing their best to sour relations.

Personally, it doesn't bother me - I think the so-called special relationships is a load of pony and only benefits big corporations and the arms industry in the long run.

And seeing as the UK (some of it, at any rate) wants to steer clear of foreign influence and un-elected bosses, it would make sense to avoid the US under it's current guise.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The Queen doesn't issue orders to the British Government. Didn't you know that?

Knowledge is not one of the Trumpists stronger virtues. Which is why we find ourselves in another fine mess.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

True! The Trump White House is indeed unpredictable. America's adversaries hate that.

Make your mind up, old chap. Either the UK is an ally or an adversary.

America's actual adversaries are in the White House and the Kremlin. The rest of us treat the Trump administration with the disdain it deserves.

But let's remember, Trump isn't America (no matter how hard he tries). So, it's fine and positively healthy to speak out against his administration who have put the US in such a terrible place over the last few years.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

SerranoToday  04:31 pm JST

They weren't truthful messages, they were just, like, his twisted opinion.

Given that he spent two to three years cultivating acquaintances in the higher circles of the current administration I'd say his opinions were probably less twisted and more grounded in truth and fact than those of the average Trump supporter.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

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