by Reg Green (July 2026)
As the Iranian negotiators strung out peace talks with endless hairsplitting l was reminded again how glad I was never to have been tempted to try a career in diplomacy. I dreaded the thought of spending my life haggling over how many drones can balance on the point of a needle. More than that, think of becoming the chargé d’affaires at an embassy and being put in charge of the affairs of an Eric Swalwell or Graham Platner. Ugh!
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Even journalists, who at their best are the least diplomatic of creatures, are nowadays often pulled into the mealy-mouthed talk that comes with balancing the demands of competing interest groups. Once, when I was still an active member of the National Press Club, a visiting feminist speaker complained, “The list you sent me doesn’t show your members broken down by sex and age, as I’d asked.”
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Happily, reporters then took pride in their independence and our spokesman replied courteously, “I’m so sorry, ma’am, but many of them are broken down by drink too.”
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PS At the other end of the age range I just sent an email to a friend I have not contacted for a year or two about the birth of a child to a mutual acquaintance. It has come back ‘undeliverable.’ I wonder what the Airforwarders Association policy is about an undeliverable baby.
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Reg Green is an economics journalist who was born in England and worked for the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times of London. He emigrated to the US in 1970. His books include The Nicholas Effect and his website is nicholasgreen.org.
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