I dream for peace

Foreign Service Officer at Embassy Tripoli (and Wonkistani-in-spirit) hannah draper remembers her boss, Ambassador Chris Stevens, and his goofy smile:

Libyans loved him.  I don’t know how to state it any more clearly, but everyone loved him.  Small kids, young politicians, journalists, and little old ladies would swarm him for photos.  He knew everyone in the country - if he hadn’t met them in his first period in Tripoli, from 2006-2009, he knew them from the time he spent on the ground in Benghazi during the revolution.  He lost friends during the revolution, as did almost every Libyan, and he respected their losses.  He supported the revolution, but his real passion was rebuilding free Libya.

Our diplomats are often much less visible and recognized than our soldiers. But we would argue that their work is as crucial and indispensable, if not more so.