OPINION:
“Biden leaves key seats empty at U.S. embassies” (Page 1, Jan. 21) just goes to show that many embassy functions are no longer needed. These days ambassadorships are largely sinecures for contributors to elections. All U.S. foreign policies are a White House product, aided and abetted by established policy kibitzers, largely in foundations and universities.
Technology has made face-to-face communications and meetings largely obsolete. Biden’s recent tete-a-tete with Putin was conducted online. Some face-to-face meetings add quality to exchanges, and that justifies a travel budget for the State Department.
True, intelligence operations overseas are useful; cocktail chatter can be revealing. However, deep-seated secrets are sourced more from an agent deeply embedded in a country’s political/administrative establishment. They are also gleaned from the mining of internet traffic by organizations such as the National Security Agency. Support services still needed by U.S. citizens and businesses can actually be better provided by contracts with well-established and well-connected national individuals or organizations. Nowadays, embassies simply present a target for in-country demonstrations and attacks.
JAIME L. MANZANO
Ardsley, N.Y.
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