The thing about an Ambassador is they should be a sort of interface between one country and the other. They should appear friendly to the natives, while pushing their own country’s interests. All the while sending home clear intelligent evaluations of the situation.
If any of those missives home became public then it is a disaster. The ambassador would instantly lose the ability to seem friendly to the natives. Unable to do their job they should either be recalled or, for preference, resign in embarrassment. Kim has had the honour to do that.
Superficial reporting on the missives home indicate that they weren’t the clear intelligent evaluation one might hope for from the Ambassador to one of our strongest allies. One wonders why Kim wasn’t recalled when it became obvious that he was cutting and pasting from the mainstream media for his “insights”?
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Why wasn't he sent home for cutting and pasting from the mainstream media for his “insights”?
Because he was delivering a message that the recipients wanted to hear.
Which is, after all, the job of today's Foreign Office.
More years ago than I like to remember I was told to never forget that whilst the FCO was a constant No. 10's occupants were only temporary. This was delivered, as if it was a sermon, by a senior FCO civil servant.
The FCO may be civil but they certainly don't see themselves as servants.
Once again, simple air post subscriptions to the New York Times and the Washington Post could have cheaply furnished the exact same information and insight that the Ambassador delivered.