Over the next 18 months or so, the state of US diplomacy will likely be under a microscope, thanks to the presidential campaign of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But for all the headlines her role in foreign policy generated, there are hundreds of lesser-told stories of diplomacy at work.
A former US Ambassador to the Philippines is shedding some light on them in Milwaukee. Harry K. Thomas has been in the US Foreign Service for more than 30 years, serving also as US Ambassador to Bangladesh, and as Director General of the Foreign Service.
For those who are unaware, Thomas explains that the job of the Foreign Service "is to keep the peace, sell American products, bring tourists here and help the economy and protect protect America."
While Thomas himself entered late into the Foreign Services later then most of his colleagues, he is in the city to attract students to opportunity to "develop policy and protect the United States."
Thomas is speaking at the World Citizen Celebration sponsored by the International Institute of Wisconsin following talks on two Milwaukee college campuses. Currently, he serves as Diplomat-in-Residence at Arizona State University.
