Our need for foreign partners has never been greater. Fortunately, the world's desire for partnership with America has not really gone away. Beneath the layers of resentment and animosity laid down by our recent behavior, there is still much goodwill toward the United States. This "fossil friendship" will not last forever. For now, however, it is a resource that American diplomacy can mine to rebuild the respect of allies and friends for our leadership and to unite them behind an American vision of a better world. A return to diplomacy, not threats and the use of force, is the surest path to the reassertion of American leadership. It is time to rediscover and explore that path.
Ambassador Chas Freeman, Jr. (Ret)
Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm
Why Not Try Diplomacy │ American Diplomacy, May 6, 2008
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