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Ambassador James Larocco is former director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and a veteran diplomat. He served as Director General of the Multinational Force and Observers on the Sinai Peninsula, Principal Deputy Assistant Security of State for Near East Affairs, Ambassador to Kuwait, Deputy Chief of Mission in Israel, Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs in China, Director of the American Institute in Taipei, Taiwan, and Deputy Director of the Department of State Office of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh Affairs. He began his Foreign Service career as Commercial Attache in Saudi Arabia. Ambassador Larocco received the State Department Superior Honor Award and was presented the Distinguished Honor Award. He retired from the Foreign Service with the personal rank of Career Minister, equivalent to the military rank of Lieutenant General.
Tunisia is facing multiple pressures that, if not handled well by its current leaders, could undermine its stability as it continues to grapple with the post-Arab Spring era. The March 7 attack on Ben Gardane in Tunisia was a vivid reminder that the threat of ISIS and other extremist groups with safe haven in Libya is alive and well.
U.S.-Russian Cooperation on Syria: The Fear Factor
The announcement of a meeting between Vladimir Putin and John Kerry related to Syria, as well as the subsequent visit to Moscow of Daniel Rubinstein of the State Department’s Near East Bureau, may have stunned some pundits on the outside, but for those who have been following the evolution of leadership opinions on Syria in both countries, the surprise is that these official meetings have not come sooner.
