Successful public diplomacy is based on providing foreign publics what they need, be it information, a vaccination program, or help in securing economic well-being. A good example of working toward the latter can be found in a speech delivered by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Anne Patterson in Jordan on February 25, during which she outlined some of the steps the United States is taking to "enhance regional trade and investment that will spur growth and jobs."

The U.S. won't send a presidential delegation to the Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, the White House announced Monday in response to Russia's military advances in Ukraine. President Obama is still in full support of the U.S. athletes and wishes them success, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly told Barack Obama on Monday that Israelis expected their leader not to compromise on their security even as the U.S. president sought to reassure him on Iran diplomacy and pressure him on Middle East peace talks.

In his first public comments since stepping down as US ambassador to Syria on Friday, Robert Ford addressed the failure to contain Syria's bloody civil war, laying most of the blame at the feet of President Bashar al-Assad and his government's international backers. Speaking at a conference at Tufts University last night, his outlook was bleak, warning that a fractured rebellion, the presence of Al Qaeda inspired fighters on the battlefield, and the fears of the country's minorities are a recipe for prolonged conflict. 

President Obama's diplomatic effort to head off a violent breakup of Ukraine ran aground Saturday as a top U.N. envoy was blocked from a peace mission to the disputed region of Crimea and Russia's parliament, or Duma, approved a request by Russian President Vladimir Putin to send military forces to Ukraine in support of pro-Russian Ukrainians.

“The Americans,” a Cold War drama portraying a married couple working in their travel agency, but in reality are KGB spies working for Russia’s Committee of State Security, is returning for a second season on FX Network, at a time when tensions between the U.S. and Russia are on the rise. The first season of the series set in the 80s, launched earlier in 2013, saw an average of 1.85 million viewers, according The Holly Reporter.

Stunned by Russia's swift move into the autonomous province of Crimea and the Russian parliament's endorsement of that brazen action, the United States called on Moscow to withdraw its forces from the region and "refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine." Speaking by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since this crisis escalated, President Obama expressed concern over "Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to a White House statement.

Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Rick Stengel, is responsible for leading the country’s public diplomacy outreach, and he joins Morning Joe to discuss his new role as well as the latest developments in the Ukraine.