The Trump administration is recalling at least 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and senior embassy posts as part of a broader effort to reshape U.S. diplomacy in line with President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy agenda, according to the Associated Press. The reaction, however, is mixed, with the US State Department being described as “besieged,” “battered,” and “paralyzed.” But officially we are being told this is perfectly normal. It isn’t.

The purge, the paralysis, and the price of “America First”

The move, while beingworldwide, most greatly affects U.S. embassies across Europe and Eurasia, including postings in Montenegro, Armenia, North Macedonia, and Slovakia—many of these posts are currently held by diplomats who were appointed during the Biden administration. Current and former US officials are claiming the recalls reflect a shift toward ensuring senior overseas personnel are aligned with White House and State Department priorities.

That could be argued, however, perhaps another agenda is in place. As one reader who cannot get a tourist visa for his Russian wife, recently shared with me, ‘On a positive note, at least Judy Rising Reinke, the US Ambassador to Montenegro, is being recalled. I’m going to call the embassy in Podgorica today to see whether they can rustle up some sort of visa for my wife, given the changed circumstances.

He has two school age children, his children’s ages (11 and 9). Both have US passports, butt heir mother cannot even obtain a tourist visa to the US for the holidays. The US Embassy insists the she only wants to immigrate without applying for an immigrant visa.

More intrigue surrounds Armenia, where Ambassador Christina Quinn’s end-of-year departure coincides with sweeping US-backed reforms under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. With American guidance, Pashinyan has overhauled the military, law enforcement, judiciary, energy sector, and digital infrastructure, while cracking down on opposition and the Armenian Church to consolidate power in his hands and pivot away from Russia, which bears a suspicious similarity to the so called reforms instituted in Ukraine after the 2014 Maidan  coup.

Quinn, formerly US ambassador to Ukraine until 2022, oversaw these changes amid a controversial peace push with Azerbaijan. A Washington-brokered treaty.  initialled on August 8. facilitates the Zangezur corridor through Armenia’s Syunik region, ostensibly for regional connectivity but granting the US a........

© New Eastern Outlook