To the Secretary: Leaked Embassy Cables and America's Foreign Policy Disconnect

In 2010, WikiLeaks blew the lid off American diplomacy with Cablegate, its release of over 250,000 leaked embassy cables, at the time the largest such exposure of classified information. Former diplomat Thompson-Jones (global studies, Northeastern Univ.) here revisits the events and offers insight into the struggles of on-the-ground diplomats who did their job in the face of budget cuts, waning American influence owing to the Iraq War, and policy contradictions emulating from Washington. Thompson-Jones tells the story from a macroperspective in a narrative that doesn't get bogged down with heavy detail. Diplomatic work that receives the author's highest praise often involves the personal touch that goes beyond meeting with leaders in capital cities. Because the leaked cables cover two presidencies (the years 2006–10), the book provides contrasts between the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. This volume complements other works such as William A. Rugh's Front Line Public Diplomacy and Geoffrey Wiseman's Isolate or Engage.