Customer Reviews

Mission to Algiers: Diplomacy by Engagement (Adst-Dacor Diplomats and Diplomacy Book)

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Overall a good read of an Ambassador's challenges during a pivotal time in Algeria's recent history. A consumate diplomat, Hume's writing is non-controversial as he does not delve into some of the more thorny issues of Algerian politics. His ego is apparent when he comments on all of the State Department luminaries that are his personal friends and agree with his decisions. Unfortunately, Hume's book dismisses his female replacement with only one line. Anyone familiar with Algeria will note that the Ambassador that replaced him was more effective in promoting US-Algerian relations.

This is a fascinating account with three important themes. First, it relates a pivotal chapter in Algeria's history, a country that had been devastated by one of the great post WWII colonial wars (1954-62). After 1985, Algeria was on the brink of anarchy and had to come to grips with failed economic and social policies that prompted an alienated youthful population to seek recourse in Islamic fundmentalism as its only means of opposition. The period of Ambassador Hume's tour of duty (1997-2000) coincided with new political leadership and fresh policy initiatives to chart a new course for Algeria.

Secondly, this is a story of American foreign policy during a period of transition--from the rigid cold war world to the more complex multipolar world we must deal with today, and from traditional diplomacy to public diplomacy, replete with satellite communications, the internet and an expanded role for the press.

Lastly, it highlights the unsung service of our much maligned and underappreciated foreign service, which often faces acute danger in inhospitable corners of the world at considerable personal sacrifice.

We should have learned by now from our costly misteps in Southeast Asia in the 1960's and more recently in the Middle East that we will only have an effective foreign policy if we attract and retain diplomats of the caliber of Ambassador Hume, who brought a lifetime of experience and regional expertise to the service of his country and who stands in the tradition of George Kennan. Because of Kennan's profund knowledge of Russia, he was able to design America's Cold War strategy that defeated Communism without firing a shot. Despite recent technological advances, we still need diplomatic boots on the ground and Ambassadors who can discern what is in the back of the minds of closed, complex societies like Algeria's and who are sufficiently savvy to promote our intersts and values effectively. We were fortunate to have had Ambassador Hume in Algiers during this period.