Foreign Affairs: Diplomacy on the Brink

In this week’s Foreign Affairs retired U.S. diplomat David Hunter joins Rhett Palmer to break down a series of fast-moving international developments that could reshape global stability.

They begin in Lebanon, where newly appointed U.S. Ambassador Michael Issa—a Lebanese-born American—arrives amid renewed violence and Israeli attacks on U.N. peacekeepers. What can one diplomat do to stabilize a fragile ceasefire?

Next, David and Rhett examine rising tensions in Venezuela, as President Trump accuses Nicolás Maduro of running a narco-terrorist network and positions U.S. naval and Marine forces nearby. Is a new conflict brewing in South America?

The conversation then shifts to Israel’s controversial vote to annex the West Bank, defying Washington’s wishes and threatening to unravel Trump’s own Middle East peace plan. From there, they assess the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil giants—and India’s surprising compliance—and finally, they look ahead to the high-stakes Trump–Xi Summit in South Korea, where trade, energy, and rare earth politics collide. 

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