Once upon a time the role of the ambassador was, more often than not, that of a splendid figure who would help shape European diplomacy or even lay down the law in remote territories. But in the past century, the position's importance began steadily to diminish. And in recent decades the decline has continued: there is no contemporary Anatoly Dobrynin, who commanded a special entrance into the State Department, at least until the Reagan administration rescinded it, in Washington, DC. Nevertheless, it is possible to add insult to injury, and that is what the Obama administration is apparently doing.
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