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James Morrison

James Morrison

jmorrison@washingtontimes.com

James Morrison joined the The Washington Times in 1983 as a local reporter covering Alexandria, Va. A year later, he was assigned to open a Times bureau in Canada. From 1987 to 1989, Mr. Morrison was The Washington Times reporter in London, covering Britain, Western Europe and NATO issues. After returning to Washington, he served as an assistant foreign editor until his transfer to the Metro desk as the Virginia editor. Mr. Morrison returned to the Foreign Desk in 1993 to launch the Embassy Row column, a diplomatic news column primarily focusing on foreign ambassadors in the United States and U.S. ambassadors abroad. The column is the only one of its kind in U.S. journalism.
Mr. Morrison was born on Nov. 27, 1950, in Charleston, W.Va. His father worked as a printer for the Charleston Gazette and later relocated to Washington to work as a photo engraver at The Washington Post until his retirement. Before joining The Washington Times, James Morrison was a reporter for the Springfield, Va., Times, the Northern Virginia Sun and the Alexandria Gazette. He attended American University.

Articles by James Morrison

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. The Defenders of the Fatherland Day, celebrated in Russia on Feb. 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Embassy Row: Russia reset again

The U.S. ambassador to Russia insists that Washington and Moscow are actually quite close, despite the news media's focus on their bitter disputes.

March 5, 2013

Embassy Row: Iran buying time

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren accused Iran of deceiving the West by opening new talks about its suspected nuclear weapons program, as he addressed a major Jewish conference in Washington on Sunday.

March 3, 2013
Ray Flynn

Embassy Row: ‘Half-true’ stories

Raymond Flynn, a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, is blasting the mainstream media for "sensational half-true stories" about the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the conclave of cardinals that will pick the Roman Catholic Church's new pontiff.

February 28, 2013
Ken Taylor, Canada’s ambassador to Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis, is pleased that Ben Affleck mentioned Canada in his Oscar speech. (Associated Press)

Embassy row: Thank you, Canada

Ben Affleck finally thanked Canada, and the Canadian ambassador portrayed in the Oscar-winning movie "Argo" is satisfied.

February 26, 2013
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets with Secretary of State John F. Kerry this week, a discussion that could be dominated by the issue of Americans adopting Russian children. (Associated Press)

Embassy Row: Kerry to meet with Russian FM as adoption issue looms

The first meeting between John F. Kerry as the new secretary of state and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov could be dominated this week by the emotional issue of Americans adopting Russian children, after an explosive exchange between Russian lawmakers and the U.S. ambassador in Moscow.

February 25, 2013
Patterson

Embassy Row: Make peace with the past

The U.S. ambassador to Egypt was alarmed as she watched Egyptians mark the second anniversary of the ouster of an autocratic leader with riots in the streets against the new Islamist-led government.

February 14, 2013
Pakistani Ambassador Sherry Rehman insists that her government has never approved of drone strikes, not even with a private "wink and nod." (Associated Press)

Embassy Row: Bad marriage?

The former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, who resigned abruptly last year, is calling for Washington and Islamabad to break the "tyranny of negative narratives" and wage a stronger fight against terrorism and corruption in the strategic but unstable South Asian nation.

February 12, 2013
Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, seen here addressing a convention of 1,500 Iranian-Americans from 37 states on Saturday in Washington, called the weekend rocket attack that killed six and wounded 50 other unarmed Iranian dissidents in a camp near Baghdad’s airport “cold-blooded murder.” (FOCUSED IMAGES Visual Solutions)

Embassy Row: Cold-blooded murder

Former top U.S. officials denounced the State Department, the United Nations and Iraq for failing to protect unarmed Iranian dissidents in a camp near Baghdad and blamed Iran for a weekend rocket attack that killed six refugees and wounded 50.

February 10, 2013
Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore’s new ambassador to the U.S., was introduced to Washington’s A-listers by Esther Coopersmith.

Embassy Row: Dinner with Esther Coopersmith

Diplomats, with the exalted titles of "excellency and plenipotentiary," do not really learn the ways of Washington until they have dinner with Esther Coppersmith.

February 7, 2013

Embassy Row: Worried in Zimbabwe

The U.S. ambassador in Zimbabwe fears the troubled southern African nation will face another stolen election this year because the ruling party appears to have no desire to allow a free and fair vote.

February 3, 2013

Embassy Row: Mission accomplished

The deputy prime minister of Hungary, Tibor Navracsics, left Washington this week confident that he made progress is dispelling charges that his country hates minorities, represses journalists and manipulates the judicial system.

January 31, 2013
Pakistani ambassador Husain Haqqani (The Washington Times)

Embassy Row: Ideological ‘maniacs’

The embattled former ambassador from Pakistan cited threats from "ideologically driven maniacs" as he defied his country's highest court this week by refusing to return home for a hearing into a complex case involving accusations of treason and a shadowy figure who claims the ex-envoy was part of a political conspiracy.

January 29, 2013
A U.S. Predator drone (Associated Press)

Embassy Row: ‘Perpetual war’

Pakistan complained this week to U.S. Ambassador Richard Olson about reports that President Obama plans to increase drone strikes against terrorist targets, which the foreign minister condemned as "counterproductive" and other lawmakers denounced as a violation of national sovereignty.

January 24, 2013
**FILE** Michael McFaul testifies on Oct. 12, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination as U.S. ambassador to Moscow. (Associated Press)

Embassy Row: Lost opportunity

The U.S. ambassador in Moscow, Michael A. McFaul, warned Tuesday that the ban on Americans adopting Russian children will cripple the Kremlin's ability to track the progress of tens of thousands of youngsters already placed with U.S. families.

January 22, 2013
**FILE** Members of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq organization chant slogans and hold banners during a tour organized by the Iraqi government for foreign diplomats in Baghdad on Sept. 11, 2012. (Associated Press)

Embassy Row: Threat to Iran

An Iranian dissident group long accused of terrorism by the United States remains the most serious threat to Iran's brutal, theocratic regime, a U.S. report says — even though the group's armed wing surrendered its weapons 10 years ago and now is confined to a refugee camp in Iraq.

January 17, 2013
Lothian

Embassy Row: ‘Sovereignty lost’

Michael Lothian, a Conservative party member of Britain's House of Lords, sees a fundamental contradiction in the European Union's demand for more power, which is always masked under the benign-sounding rubric of "shared sovereignty" among the 27 member nations.

January 15, 2013
"Braveheart"

Embassy Row: ‘Better together’

Seven hundred years after a vastly outnumbered Scottish army under legendary King Robert the Bruce defeated the English in a battle for Scottish independence, Scotland next year will again tackle the issue of separating from England.

January 13, 2013