Bill Burns on the Practice and Strategic Value of American Diplomacy

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with William Burns, career diplomat, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and current president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Burns shares concerns about a decades-long drift in American diplomacy, which he says began after the Cold War, intensified in the years following 9/11, and has been accelerated during the Trump administration. He tells Morell why American engagement abroad remains crucial and how it could make a meaningful difference in confronting geopolitical challenges from the likes of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Burns also shares anecdotes from his new book, The Back Channel, about engaging directly with Vladimir Putin during his time as U.S. Ambassador to Russia and about the backroom meetings that preceded the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.