Legendary US Diplomat Thomas Pickering Explains How the US Can Get Its Multilateral Groove Back

The United States Permanent Representative, Thomas R. Pickering, votes against permitting the observer for Palestine to participate in the Security Council discussion on the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Ambassador Thomas Pickering is a legendary retired US foreign service officer. He had a four decade career in diplomacy, including stints as United States ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, Nigeria, and El Salvador, among other key postings.

In 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed him United States Ambassador to the United Nations where he played a critical role in marshaling broad international support against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

The diplomacy that accompanied the international effort to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in the early 1990s is considered to be a high water mark for US multilateral engagement.This is why I was curious to learn from Ambassador Pickering about what opportunities may exist for the incoming Biden administration to re-est…