“It should have been obvious to U.S. officials all along that there is no way to guarantee Mr. Chen’s safety so long as he is within reach of the Chinese police state,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican and chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
SAFE CHOICE
President Obama settled on a career diplomat with sterling qualifications to replace a controversial college professor who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Malta last year in a public dispute with the State Department.
Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley this week presented her diplomatic credentials to Maltese President George Abela.
Mrs. Abercrombie-Winstanley joined the Foreign Service in 1985 and has served in top diplomatic positions throughout the Middle East.
She replaced Ambassador Douglas W. Kmiec, who resigned in April 2011 after the State Department accused him of spending too much time writing about religious issues and too little time on diplomatic duties.
Mr. Kmiec, in a resignation letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, complained of “flawed and narrow” bureaucrats who silenced “my voice” and “my pen.”
Mr. Kmiec, Republican and devout Catholic, endorsed Mr. Obama during the 2008 campaign and defended him to Catholics who complained about Mr. Obama’s support for abortion.
• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297 or email jmorrison@washingtontimes.com. The column is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
James Morrison joined the The Washington Times in 1983 as a local reporter covering Alexandria, Va. A year later, he was assigned to open a Times bureau in Canada. From 1987 to 1989, Mr. Morrison was The Washington Times reporter in London, covering Britain, Western Europe and NATO issues. After returning to Washington, he served as an assistant foreign editor ...
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