Despite confusion surrounding the approaching President-elect Donald Trump government’s approach to international relations and the treatment of occupation officials, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken bid goodnight to the state division on Friday.
According to Blinken, the end of his term does not indicate the end of the organization’s effort to advance and improve the country’s security and political values worldwide. He reiterated his steadfast convictions as the agency’s chief since 2021, citing the need for assistance with allies and partners and the importance of US leadership and engagement on the global stage.
I think the US needs and needs US authority, and I think that’s it. We are aware that when we aren’t engaged or in charge, someone else is likely doing it, and perhaps not in a way that improvements our values and interests, or perhaps no one is. If so, you are more likely to have a pump that poor things have filled before great ones have filled it. I think working with others is necessary and important. Our relationships and alliances. Finding a frequent reason and purpose together and working together is so much better than it is for America… I no longer have the opportunity of leading this institution, but I want you to hear, I’ll be its hero. I’ll get our hero. Forever… ” he said.
During a briefing held on the state department office’s stairs, foreign company commander John Bass even praised Blinken for his dignity and handle.
Blinken, who will be remembered for his four-year efforts to bring about Middle East peace, urged his team to” have on” as” the stewards of the power and the guarantee of American politics.”
He also stressed the problems the planet eyes, saying,” I’ve not seen a greater multitude, difficulty, interconnection of problems than ever before, moving at warp speed or in a world that’s more explosive and more contested, a world of change. “
Trump has expressed doubts about the state department’s traditional role in shaping international policy and indicated he wants to sack senior officials who are deemed to be insufficiently loyal. Senator Marco Rubio, his choice, has praised the foreign service, but hasn’t given specifics about how he will lead the department.
Blinken praises staff
The pro-Palestinian protesters who accuse the incoming secretary of state of supporting Israel in the name of the detriment of civilians in Gaza have interrupted speeches during his final days in office. In his final address to employees, Blinken praised their work over the past four years in the face of challenges in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
” Without you in the picture, this world, our country would look so much different,” Blinken told a cheering crowd of several hundred staffers assembled at the department’s main entrance in Washington, which was adorned with the flags of all the countries with which the US maintains diplomatic relations.
” With you in the picture, both are so much better,” he added, stressing their daily efforts to promote peace and opportunity. “You’re working every day to make things just a little bit better, a little bit more peaceful, a little bit more full of hope, of opportunity. That’s your mission, and you do it so well,” Blinken said.
‘ This is a time of transition ‘
Blinken urged staff to remain resilient throughout the transition. ” This is a time of transition, and when we talk about transition, sometimes we talk about passing the baton. That’s what I’ll be doing,” he said. ” But that’s not what most of you will be doing. Most of you who come on Monday will keep going, and knowing that that’s what you’ll do is what gives me more confidence than anything else. “
