From left to right: Michel Issa, Thomas Barrack and Bill Bazzi. (Photo circulating on social media, Brendan Smialowski/AFP, Instagram/BillBazzi)
And that makes three. Following the appointment of Michel Issa as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon and Thomas Barrack to Turkey, Bill Bazzi joins the list of American ambassadors of Lebanese descent by taking up the diplomatic representation in Tunisia. These three names, like those of other diplomats announced in recent days by the White House, will need to be reviewed and approved by a Senate committee. How should these choices be interpreted?A fourth ambassador from the Middle EastWhen asked to comment on these three appointments, Massaad Boulos, Donald Trump's Lebanese-American adviser for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, hastened to point out that a fourth ambassador from the Middle East was also appointed to the position of ambassador to Kuwait. It is Amer Ghalib, an American born in Yemen. "It's unprecedented and shows how...
And that makes three. Following the appointment of Michel Issa as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon and Thomas Barrack to Turkey, Bill Bazzi joins the list of American ambassadors of Lebanese descent by taking up the diplomatic representation in Tunisia. These three names, like those of other diplomats announced in recent days by the White House, will need to be reviewed and approved by a Senate committee. How should these choices be interpreted?A fourth ambassador from the Middle EastWhen asked to comment on these three appointments, Massaad Boulos, Donald Trump's Lebanese-American adviser for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, hastened to point out that a fourth ambassador from the Middle East was also appointed to the position of ambassador to Kuwait. It is Amer Ghalib, an American born in Yemen. "It's unprecedented and shows...