The State Department has secretly financed Syrian political opposition groups and related projects, including a satellite TV channel that beams anti-government programming into the country, according to previously undisclosed diplomatic cables.

Elements with the State Department are trying to silence an American diplomat who believes that he was personally charged by the White House with promoting President Obama’s interfaith initiatives.

U.S. Under Secretary of State Judith McHale has traveled to Tunisia in a bid to expand America's public diplomacy effort in the North African country, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith A. McHale will travel to Tunis and Sfax, Tunisia through April 17th, 2011. The Under Secretary arrived in Tunis on April 14th.

The decision to cut Voice of America (VOA) Broadcasting to China has attracted a good deal of congressional attention, as well it should. While China has launched a worldwide public diplomacy and media offensive, the United States is looking at a greatly reduced international media presence if the projected cuts go through.

The US administration has decided to overcome strained relations with Pakistan after episode of Raymond Davis and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be visiting Pakistan next month.

Study abroad is one thing, a degree abroad another. The movement is nascent, but it is possible to earn a degree from an American university without setting foot in the United States, or by flitting among campuses.

The world is a perilous place. Just look at Northeastern University’s study-abroad record this past year: starting last April, the university was forced to suspend programs and evacuate students after State Department travel advisories in Thailand...