John Brady Kiesling is a former
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
diplomat and the author of ''Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower'' (Potomac Books, 2006) and the
ToposText classics/archaeology mobile application.
Diplomat
An archaeologist/ancient historian by training, Kiesling entered the foreign service in 1983. He supported the multilateralist foreign policy of former President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
and the limited purposes of the 1991 Gulf War.
He served in Israel, Morocco, Greece, Washington, and Armenia, returning to Athens as chief of the political section of the U.S. Embassy in 2000.
He was the first of three U.S. foreign service officers to resign, on February 25, 2003, to protest against the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. His letter of resignation to Secretary of State
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
was posted by ''The New York Times'' and circulated widely.
Writing
After his resignation, he spent a year as a visiting fellow/lecturer at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, and then returned to Athens. Until May 2009, he wrote a monthly column called "Diplomat in the Ruins" in the "
Athens News
''Athens News'' was an English-language newspaper published in Greece. The paper had regular sections covering aspects of Greek news such as politics, social issues, business, arts & entertainment and sports, as well as international news. Featur ...
" in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
Kiesling wrote ''Rediscovering Armenia'' (2003), an open-access guide to Armenia; ''Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower'' (Potomac Books, 2006); and ''Greek Urban Warriors: Resistance and Terrorism 1967-2014'' (Lycabettus Press 2014). The latter is a "meticulous" history of
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November ( el, Επαναστατική Οργάνωση 17 Νοέμβρη, ''Epanastatiki Organosi dekaefta Noemvri''), also known as 17N or the 17 November Group, was a Greek far-left Marxist–Leninist urban g ...
, the Greek terrorist group active from 1975 until 2002. He and the
Plaka
Pláka ( el, Πλάκα) is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Plaka is built on top of the residentia ...
neighborhood of Athens are described in pages 38–46 of Eric Weiner's ''The Geography of Genius''
Personal life
Kiesling lives in Athens, Greece, and "his happiest moments…are spent tramping over remote, thorn-covered hillsides or as an archaeological volunteer (Ancient Corinth 1980, Ancient Nemea 1981, Vorotan Armenia 2007, Aphrodisias 1982, Zagora 2014, Methone 2015). His current interests include ancient Greek religion and Greek topography."
Kiesling is the father of the novelist and critic
Lydia Kiesling.
Publications
*''Rediscovering Armenia: An Archaeological/Touristic Gazetteer and Map Set for the Historical Monuments of Armenia.'' Yerevan: Tigran Mets, 2001. . () 2nd ed. Matit, 2005. .
*''Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower.'' Washington, DC: Potomac, 2006. .
*''Greek Urban Warriors: Resistance and Terrorism 1967–2014.'' Athens: Lycabettus, 2014. .
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiesling, Brady
1957 births
Living people
American diplomats
People from Houston
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Swarthmore College alumni
United States Foreign Service personnel
American expatriates in Greece