I am a risk analyst and risk assessment expert, certainly not a diplomat. In fact, my friends might say I am probably really un-diplomatic most of the time. I like the direct approach.
But watching the U.S. State Department and the Obama administration playing footsie with the Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan is worse than enduring waterboarding. What a waste of American dollars — paying off these criminals to finance construction projects that Americans are doing to build up Afghani infrastructure.
I have watched for years as the U.S. State Department props up brutal dictators, only to see them toppled overnight. Of course, Mubarak and Quaddfi come to mind right away.
But to try and win a WAR, while paying off criminals and murderers who are launching attacks on our embassy, letting them run our relationship with Pakistan, is just wrong.
What has this got to do with risk assessment? PLENTY – because the problem here is large amounts of unaccountable cash. Cash passed out by the State Department, USAID and the intelligence services, theoretically, to ‘grease’ the skids and get something done, but instead, these wholesale PAYOFFS just finance and empower our enemies, while ruining the U.S. reputation and maddening the citizens who provide this money in the first place.
I would vote for anyone who could put REAL ACCOUNTABILITY back into the U.S. spending abroad. As the Arab spring proved — this kind of diplomacy never works!