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John Feeley, US Ambassador to Panama, Resigns

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Yet another example of the brain drain occurring from the State Department under President Trump.
Imagine you spend almost 30 years climbing the ladder in the foreign service, working in the administrations of four separate presidents, Democrat and Republican, serving as a deputy to two secretaries of state, advancing American policy in much of the Western Hemisphere, until you finally reach the pinnacle of being named the ambassador to the nation of Panama.
Then, Donald Trump becomes president, and in less than a year, he blows up so much of the image of America that you have worked your whole career to build up abroad. And your conscience demands you resign your position.
That is what happened to John Feeley, a former Marine helicopter pilot who joined the State Department in 1990 and is now retiring in protest of the current administration.
From the Guardian, citing Reuters:
In his letter of resignation, John Feeley, a career diplomat and former marine helicopter pilot said: “As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies.”
“My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.”
Feeley reportedly handed in his resignation before Trump kicked off an international firestorm by reportedly referring to Africa as being full of “s**thole countries,” and it is simply a coincidence that the news broke the day after.
Feeley’s resignation comes at the tail end of a year of downsizing at the State Department under Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The massive cutbacks to the department have reportedly led to low morale and an exodus of career employees who are not being replaced.
That is a lot of foreign policy experience that is not easily replaced going out the door because of inattention or ignorance by the president of the United States. Now, you can add an actual ambassador to the list. He will likely not be the last.

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