Denver Post: Chris Hill – In Defense of Diplomacy

Vince Carroll’s interview of ambassador and now dean, Chris Hill, demonstrated why Hill is a

Dean Hill

regular on cable news. He not only served in most of the world’s hotspots, but he has a rare diplomatic trait – saying what he thinks. Candor from diplomats, even when retired, is rare.

If you want to really know what a professional diplomat thinks about Iraq, read this interview.

• The collapse of the Iraqi army. “The Shia weren’t going to fight for Sunni land.”
• The surge. “Oversold.”
• Leaving troops in Iraq after 2011. “But the Iraqis didn’t want it and Obama eventually said ‘ok, it’s your country.’”
• Wolfowitz, Bolton. “Neocons.” “One of the most disgraceful performances by a foreign policy class in America.”
• Negotiating with North Korea. Proud of changing U.S. reputation in Asia “as a result of our Six-Party process.”
• Bombing in the Balkans. “I thought it was a bad idea whose time had come.”