John Brady Kiesling | |
---|---|
Born | 1957 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley Swarthmore College |
Occupation(s) | Diplomat Author Lecturer |
Notable work | Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower ToposText Greek Urban Warriors: Resistance and Terrorism 1967-2014 |
Notes | |
John Brady Kiesling is a former U.S. diplomat and the author of Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower (Potomac Books, 2006) and the ToposText classics/archaeology mobile application.
An archaeologist/ancient historian by training, Kiesling entered the foreign service in 1983. He supported the multilateralist foreign policy of former President George H. W. Bush and the limited purposes of the 1991 Gulf War. [2]
He served in Israel, Morocco, Greece, Washington, and Armenia, returning to Athens as chief of the political section of the U.S. Embassy in 2000.
He was the first of three U.S. foreign service officers to resign, on February 25, 2003, to protest against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. His letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell was posted by The New York Times and circulated widely. [3]
Mr. Kiesling's personal crisis began in October, at a diplomatic party in Athens. He ran into an old friend and source from a stint in Athens 15 years earlier, a Communist who had spent years in Greek prisons. The pair had always sparred politically, but a warm friendship endured. He holed up and read, but the cloud of despair wouldn't lift. Finally, in late February, when Mr. Bush made clear he wouldn't be defied, even by the U.N. Security Council, Mr. Kiesling drafted his resignation letter and quit. Suddenly, he felt "a certain lucidity, a strong, liberating feeling," he says. [4]
After his resignation, he spent a year as a visiting fellow/lecturer at Princeton University, and then returned to Athens. Until May 2009, he wrote a monthly column called "Diplomat in the Ruins" in the Athens News in Greece. [5]
Kiesling wrote Rediscovering Armenia (2003), an open-access guide to Armenia; Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower (Potomac Books, 2006); and Greek Urban Warriors: Resistance and Terrorism 1967-2014 (Lycabettus Press 2014). The latter is a "meticulous" history of Revolutionary Organization 17 November, the Greek terrorist group active from 1975 until 2002. [6] He and the Plaka neighborhood of Athens are described in pages 38–46 of Eric Weiner's The Geography of Genius. [7]
Kiesling lives in Athens, Greece, and "his happiest moments…are spent tramping over remote, thorn-covered hillsides or as an archaeological volunteer (Ancient Corinth 1980, Ancient Nemea 1981, Vorotan Armenia 2007, Aphrodisias 1982, Zagora 2014, Methone 2015). His current interests include ancient Greek religion and Greek topography." [8]
Kiesling is the father of the novelist and critic Lydia Kiesling. [9] [10]
Revolutionary Organization 17 November, also known as 17N or the 17 November Group, was a Greek Marxist–Leninist urban guerrilla organization. Formed in 1975 and led by Alexandros Giotopoulos, 17N conducted an extensive urban guerrilla campaign of left-wing violence against the Greek state, banks, and businesses. The organization committed 103 known armed robberies, assassinations, and bombing attacks, during which 23 people were killed.
Ijevan is a town and urban municipal community in the Ijevan Municipality of the Tavush Province of Armenia, also serving as the province's administrative centre. It is located at the center of the region, at the foot of Ijevan ridge of Gugark Mountains, on the shores of Aghstev River. Ijevan is the seat of the Diocese of Tavush of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Zvartnots Cathedral is a medieval Armenian cathedral near Vagharshapat (Ejmiatsin), Armenia. Built in the seventh century and now lying in ruins, Zvartnots was noted for its circular exterior structure, unique in medieval Armenian architecture, and a set of interior piers that upheld a multifloor structure crowned with a dome.
Armavir is a village in the Armavir Province of Armenia near the Armenia–Turkey border. Cuneiform inscriptions of Urartian King Sarduri II were found at Armavir.
Erebuni is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is situated southeast of the city centre where Erebuni Fortress is located. The name of Yerevan itself is derived from ancient Erebuni.
Sotk is a village in the Vardenis Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, well known for its gold mines.
Odzaberd is located upon a hill east of the town of Tsovinar and at the south-east corner of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. Odzaberd is situated at a height of 1,921 metres (6,302 ft).
Saint Sarkis Monastery is a large monastic complex, 45 by 54 metres just outside the village of Ushi in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. It sits at the far side of what was once a settlement site from the 3rd - 1st millennia BC. The monastery is a well known pilgrimage site, and was one of the centers of spiritual education in Armenia. Many fine examples of early Armenian architecture from various periods can be seen around the complex.
The Armenian Theater dates to before Roman times and is one of the oldest Eurasian theatrical traditions. Alongside Greek and Roman theatres, it stands as one of the world's most ancient theatres. The ancient and beloved form of theatrical art is lyrical (profound) drama, which exerted its influence on the folklore of the Near East, Balkan, and Apennine peoples. Within this cultural context, Armenian folk and mystical drama, characterized by its dance elements, also took shape. Although the ancient theatre system hasn't been preserved, it has left its linguistic marks.
In Greek mythology, Carius or Karios was the son of Zeus and Torrhebia. His mother's name is connected to Torrhebos, name of a city in Lydia. According to Hellanicus, there was a mountain named Karios (Carius) near this city, with the sanctuary of Carius situated on it. Nicolaus Damascenus related of him the following tale.
In Greek mythology, Sithon was a king of the Odomanti or Hadomanti in Thrace, and presumably the eponym of the peninsula Sithonia and the tribe Sithones.
In Greek mythology, the name Cydon may refer to:
In Greek mythology, Munichus may refer to:
Nikoghos Tahmizian was an Armenian musicologist, theorist and historian. His professional accomplishments were to decipher neumes (khaz) of Armenian church music, analyze the musical theory of old Armenia and research the life and works of Armenian composers from medieval times to modern era.
The May Uprising was a coup d'état attempt by the Armenian Bolsheviks that started in Alexandropol on May 10, 1920. It was eventually suppressed by the Armenian government on May 14 and its leaders executed. Although the revolt failed, Armenia was taken over by the soviets after the 11th Army of Soviet Russia invaded the country in November 1920 and the Turkish Nationalists occupied the western half of the country. The revolt and its executed leaders were praised during the Soviet period from 1920 until the late 1980s, when the Karabakh movement began and anti-Soviet sentiment rose in Armenia – The revolt remains a controversial topic in Armenia.
Arman Kirakossian was an Armenian diplomat and historian. From November 2014 until his death he served as Ambassador of Armenia to Austria as well as Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and International Organizations in Vienna.
Diplomatic capital refers to the trust, goodwill, and influence which a diplomat, or a state represented by its diplomats, has within international diplomacy. According to political scientist Rebecca Adler-Nissen, diplomatic capital is a kind of currency that can be traded in diplomatic negotiations and that is increased when positive ″social competences, reputation and personal authority" are portrayed.
In Greek mythology, Ameinias was a young man who fell in love with Narcissus, a handsome hunter from Thespiae in Boeotia, who had already spurned all his other suitors, according to the version of Narcissus's myth by Conon.
Tigran Balayan is an Armenian diplomat and historian. He served as the Ambassador of Armenia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the OPCW. As of September 2023, Balayan serves as the Head of the Mission of Armenia to the European Union and the ambassador of Armenia to Belgium.
The Vardenis District was a raion (district) of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1930 and later in 1991 of the Republic of Armenia until its disestablishment in 1995. The Vardenis District today constitutes a southeastern part of the Gegharkunik Province (marz). Its administrative centre was the town Vardenis.