WHERE DOES THIS GUY GET OFF? – AT 7:45 P.M. ET:  Well, President Obama seems to have started a trend – bashing the United States while abroad.  Now, an American ambassadors shows that he can follow the leader.  This is disgraceful:

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield spoke out against the controversial Arizona law that makes failure to carry immigration documents into a crime., El Espectador reports on Monday.

According to reports, Brownfield said that it is illogical to reject the presence of immigrants because "the United States is a country of immigrants."

Look, pal, the United States is a nation of legal immigrants.  You get that?

Brownfield's comments came during an independence day celebration at his residence in Bogota on July 4. Attending the event, which was capped off with a fireworks show, were top U.S. political officials in Colombia, military officers, and other special guests, such as former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, in addition to the three U.S. contractors who were also held in FARC captivity and rescued in the 2008 "Operation Checkmate."

Brownfield's rejection of the Arizona immigration law echoes the calls from many Colombian individuals and institutions which have spoken out against it, including the Senate, Foreign Ministry, and pop stars Juanes and Shakira.

The law, introduced in April by Arizona governor Jan Brewer, is expected to take effect in late July or early August, and is the first in the U.S. to criminalize immigrants who fail to carry documentation. Under the law, police officers will be required to question people regarding their immigration status if there is suspicion that they may be illegal.

I'm not sure that description of the law is accurate.  Actually, police may question the immigration status of those stopped on suspicion of committing other offenses.

The idea of a United States ambassador criticizing the laws of an American state while abroad is repulsive.  I'm reminded of an incident early in the tenure of the great George Shultz, one of our finest secretaries of state, who served under President Reagan.   Shultz invited a group of new ambassadors into his office, walked them to a large world map and asked the first ambassador, "Which is your country?"  The ambassador approached the map and pointed to a nation in Africa.  "No," Secretary Shultz told him, pointing to the United States, "this is your country."

Secretary Shultz was teaching the ambassadors a powerful lesson.  They represent the United States, not the interests of the country they're assigned to.  Apparently, that lesson needs to be taught again.

July 5, 2010