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Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.

Traditional European diplomacy[link]

Ranks[link]

Until the early 19th century, each European nation had its own system of diplomatic rank. The relative ranks of diplomats from different nations had been a source of considerable dispute, made more so by the insistence of major nations to have their diplomats ranked higher than those of minor nations, to be reflected in such things as table seatings.

In an attempt to resolve the problem, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 formally established an international system of diplomatic ranks.^[1]

The four ranks within the system are:

1. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. An Ambassador is a head of mission, formally representing the head of state, with plenipotentiary powers (i.e. full authority to represent the government). An Ambassador representing the Holy See is known as the papal nuncio. Ambassadors are entitled to use the title "His/Her Excellency".
   • Among Commonwealth countries, the equivalent title that is normally used is High Commissioner, who represents the government rather than the head of state.
2. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. An Envoy is a head of mission, not considered a representative of the head of state, but nonetheless with plenipotentiary powers (i.e. full authority to represent the government). Envoys are also entitled to use the title "His/Her Excellency".
3. Minister Resident or Resident Minister. Introduced by the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), this is the lowest rank of full head of mission, above only chargé d'affaires (who are considered as substitutes or acting chiefs of mission).
   • Note that both the Envoy (Minister Plenipotentiary) and the Minister Resident are diplomatic ministers, which are not the same thing as government ministers or religious ministers.
4. Chargé d'affaires ("chargé")^[p]. As the title (meaning "charged with affairs" in French) suggests, a chargé d'affaires is in charge of the affairs of a diplomatic mission in the usually temporary absence of a more senior diplomat. A chargé d'affaires ad interim or simply "a.i." is generally serving as chief of mission during the temporary absence of the head of mission, while the chargé d'affaires e.p. or en pied maintains the same functions and duties as an ambassador.

As it turned out, this system of diplomatic rank created its own set of problems regarding the nations' precedence. The appropriate diplomatic ranks used would be determined by the precedence among the nations; thus the exchanges of ambassadors (the highest diplomatic rank) would be reserved among major nations, or close allies and related monarchies. In contrast, a major nation would probably send just an envoy to a minor nation, who in return would send an envoy to the major nation. As a result, the United States did not use the rank of ambassador until their emergence as a major world power at the end of the 19th century. Indeed, until the mid-20th century, the majority of diplomats in the world were of the rank of envoy.

After World War II, it was no longer considered acceptable to treat some nations as inferior to others given the United Nations doctrine of equality of sovereign states; therefore most legations were upgraded to embassies, and the use of the rank of Minister for diplomatic missions' highest-ranking officials gradually ceased. The last U.S. Legations, in Sofia, Bulgaria, and in Budapest, Hungary, were upgraded to an Embassy on November 28, 1966. Where those ranks still exist, their incumbents usually act as embassy section chiefs or Deputy Chief of mission.

Traditions[link]

In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, diplomats are not regarded as having officially taken up their duties until they receive diplomatic accreditation. This is done by means of a letter of credence (a formal letter from the head of state of the sending nation) which is presented by a new head of mission to the head of state of the receiving nation. (A chargé d'affaires is accredited not to the head of state, but to the foreign minister of the receiving state instead.)

A diplomatic mission headed by an Ambassador is known as an Embassy; those by a High Commissioner, High Commission; and those by an Envoy or a Minister Resident, Legation. The building which houses the diplomatic mission is formally known as a Chancery, and as such it is technically incorrect to refer to a building as an 'embassy'.

All the diplomats that are assigned to a nation are known collectively as the diplomatic corps (French: corps diplomatique). One of these diplomats is often recognized as the primus inter pares (first among equals). This diplomat is referred to as the dean of the diplomatic corps. Traditionally, this is the most senior diplomat in the country, as determined by date of arrival in the country or presentation of credentials, although in some Catholic nations it is ex officio the papal nuncio.

Modern diplomats[link]

Bilateral diplomacy[link]

In modern diplomatic practice there are a number of diplomatic ranks below Ambassador. Since most missions are now headed by an ambassador, these ranks now rarely indicate a mission's (or its host nation's) relative importance, but rather reflect the diplomat's individual seniority within their own nation's diplomatic career path and in the diplomatic corps in the host nation:

• Ambassador (High Commissioner in Commonwealth missions); ambassador at large
• Minister
• Minister-Counselor
• Counselor
• First Secretary
• Second Secretary
• Third Secretary
• Attaché
• Assistant Attaché

Chargé d'affaires[link]

Chargé d'affaires^[p] and "chargé d'affaires, ad interim" (or simply a.i.) are separate titles used when an ambassador (or other head of mission) is not present, has not been appointed, or is otherwise not able to discharge duties in a specific location. Generally, the ad interim (temporary) "chargé" (as they are often known) is another staff member (usually the second-most senior officer) accredited in the host country for the head of mission's temporary absences. In such cases, the diplomatic mission advises the local government (usually the foreign ministry) by means of a diplomatic note that a specific individual has been appointed chargé for a specific or indefinite period of time. In contrast to an Ambassador, the specific agreement of the host government is not required.

Attaché[link]

The term "attaché"^[p2] is used for any diplomatic agent who does not fit in the standard diplomatic ranks, often because they are not (or were not traditionally) members of the sending country's diplomatic service or foreign ministry, and were therefore only "attached" to the diplomatic mission. The most frequent use is for military attachés, but the diplomatic title may be used for any specific individual or position as required. Since administrative and technical staff benefit from only limited diplomatic immunity, some countries may routinely appoint support staff as attachés. Attaché does not, therefore, denote any rank or position (except in Soviet and post-Soviet diplomatic services, where attaché is the lowest diplomatic rank of a career diplomat). Note that many traditional functionary roles, such as press attaché or cultural attaché, are not formal titles in diplomatic practice, although they may be used as a matter of custom.

Multilateral diplomacy[link]

Furthermore, outside this traditional pattern of bilateral diplomacy, as a rule on a permanent residency basis (though sometimes doubling elsewhere), certain ranks and positions were created specifically for multilateral diplomacy:

• An ambassador-at-large is equivalent of an ambassador and assigned specific tasks or region in which he is assigned various assignments aimed at multi track diplomacy.
• A permanent representative is the equivalent of an ambassador, normally of that rank, but accredited to an international body (mainly by member—and possibly observer states), not to a head of state.
• A resident representative (or sometimes simply representative) is also a member of the diplomatic corps, but is below the rank of ambassador. A representative is accredited by an international organization (generally a United Nations agency, or a Bretton Woods institution) to a country's government. The resident representative typically heads the country office of that international organization within that country.
• A special ambassador is a government's specialist diplomat in a particular field, not posted in residence, but often traveling around the globe.
• The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is an ambassador of Cabinet rank, in charge of U.S. delegations in multilateral trade negotiations (since 1962). The USTR's Special Agricultural Negotiator also typically holds an ambassadorial appointment.

Special envoys[link]

Special envoys have been created ad hoc by individual countries, regional powers and the United Nations. A few examples are provided below:

• Belgium: In 2005, former cabinet member, Pierre Chevalier served as Special Envoy of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe presidency to mediate in the Gazprom natural gas-pipeline crisis involving Russia, Ukraine and the EU.
• India: During the 2006 democracy movement in Nepal, India sent on April 18 Karan Singh, who is related to royalty in both predominantly Hindu countries, as Special Envoy to neighbouring Nepal where increasingly violent opposition started its successful challenge of the king's autocratic rule.Another instance was during the 2009 Copenhagen climate change summit, India appointed senior diplomat Shyam Saran as a special envoy to co-ordinate the negotiating position of the BASIC countries.^[2]
• The UK has appointed special envoys from time to time.^[3]
• The EU has appointed various special representatives (some regional, some thematic); e.g. in 2005—as a response to events in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan—the Council of the EU appointed Jan Kubis as its "Special Representative for Central Asia".

• The United States has appointed numerous special envoys including a Special Envoy for Northern Ireland with the diplomatic rank of ambassador to help with the Northern Ireland peace process. As of 2008, the position was occupied by Paula Dobriansky. Special Envoys have been appointed for Sudan, Middle East Peace, Eurasian Energy, Climate Change, and Human Rights in North Korea. Other posts include Special Representative, Special Advisor, and Special Coordinator.^[4]

• The Secretary-General of the United Nations personally mandates special envoys for a particular field. Examples include:
  • United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa (who deals with HIV/AIDS in Africa)
  • United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change (who deals with climate change)
  • United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo (Special Envoy for the Future Status Process for Kosovo)
  • United Nations Special Envoy for Darfur

• The Director-General of UNESCO appoints special envoys who can use their talents and renown to further the organization’s ideals and action. Envoys include:^[5]
  • Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education: HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned
  • Special Envoy for Haiti: The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, former Governor General of Canada
  • Special Envoy for Water: HRH Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz
  • Special Envoy on Literacy for Development: HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands

• A case sui generis is the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Usage worldwide[link]

Most countries worldwide have some form of internal rank, roughly parallel to the diplomatic ranks, which are used in their foreign service or civil service in general. The correspondence is not exact, however, for various reasons, including the fact that according to diplomatic usage, all Ambassadors are of equal rank, but clearly Ambassadors of more senior rank are sent to more important postings. Some countries may make specific links or comparisons to military ranks.

In the United States Foreign Service[link]

In the United States Foreign Service, the personnel system under which most U.S. diplomatic personnel are assigned, a system of personal ranks is applied which roughly corresponds to these diplomatic ranks. Personal ranks are differentiated as "Senior Foreign Service" (SFS) or "Member of the Foreign Service".^[6]

The SFS ranks, in descending order, are:

1. Career Ambassador, awarded to career diplomats with extensive and distinguished service;
2. Career Minister, the highest regular senior rank;
3. Minister-Counselor; and
4. Counselor.

In U.S. terms, these correspond to four-, three-, two- and one-star general and flag officers in the military, respectively. Officers at these ranks may serve as ambassadors and occupy the most senior positions in diplomatic missions.

Members of the Foreign Service consist of two groups, Foreign Service Officers and Foreign Service Specialists. Ranks descend from the highest, FS-1, equivalent to a full Colonel in the military, to FS-9, the lowest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service personnel system.^[7] (Most entry-level Foreign Service members begin at the FS-5 or FS-6 level.) Personal rank is distinct from and should not be confused with the diplomatic or consular rank assigned at the time of appointment to a particular diplomatic or consular mission.

In a large mission, several Senior Foreign Service Officers may serve under the Ambassador as Minister-Counselors, Counselors, and First Secretaries; in a small mission, an FS-2 may serve as the lone Counselor of Embassy.

British Diplomatic Service[link]

As in the U.S. Foreign Service, Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service differentiates between officers in the "Senior Management Structure" (SMS; equivalent to the Senior Civil Service grades of the Home Civil Service) and those in the "delegated grades". SMS officers are classified into three pay-bands, and will serve in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London as (in descending order of seniority) Permanent Under-Secretary, Directors-General, Directors, or Heads of Department; overseas they will be Ambassadors (High Commissioners in Commonwealth countries), or Consuls-General, Deputy Heads of Mission or Counsellors for larger posts. (Deputy Heads of Mission at the historically most significant Embassies, for example those in Washington and Paris, are known as Ministers.)

In the "delegated grades", officers are graded by number from 1 to 7; the grades are grouped into bands lettered A–D (grades 1 and 2 are in Band A; 3 in B; 4 and 5 in C; and 6 and 7 in D). Overseas, A2 grade officers hold the title of Attache, B3-grade officers are Third Secretaries; C4s are Second Secretaries; and C5s and D6s are First Secretaries. D7 officers are usually Deputy Heads of Mission in medium-sized posts or Heads of Mission in small posts.

In the British Civil Service grades rank from 7 up to 1, with grade 1 being Permanent Secretary. Grade 7 was formerly known as Principal Officer, grade 6 as Senior Principal Officer. Equally pay band A is the most senior, with B, C and D following. The 1 to 7 grading system in the UK is the reverse to that of the US where higher numbers denote higher seniority.

If Head of Mission and Deputy Head of Mission is senior to First Secretary followed by Second and Third Secretary then these ranks should logically follow the seniority of grades in the Home Civil Service.

In the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade[link]

Officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are graded into four broadbands (BB1 to BB4), with the Senior Executive Service (SES Band 1 to SES Band 3) following above.

Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Consuls-General usually come from the Senior Executive Service, although in smaller posts the head of mission may be a BB4 officer. Generally speaking (and there are variation in ranking and nomenclature between posts and positions), Counsellors are represented by BB4 officers; Consuls and First and Second Secretaries are BB3 officers and Third Secretaries and Vice Consuls are BB2 officers. DFAT only posts a limited number of low level BB1 staff abroad. In large missions an SES officer who is not the head of mission could be posted with the rank of Minister.

French Diplomatic Service[link]

There are four ranks in the French Diplomatic Service, in ascending order :

• Secrétaire des affaires étrangères or Secretaries
• Conseiller des affaires étrangères or Counsellors
• Ministre plénipotentiaire, which is the rank of most heads of mission, but also of ministers-counsellors in important ambassies.
• Ambassadeur de France, which is more of an honourary dignity.

Consular counterpart[link]

Formally the consular career (ranking in descending order: consul-general, consul, vice-consul, consular agent; equivalents with consular immunity limited to official acts only include honorary consul-general, honorary consul, and honorary vice-consul) forms a separate hierarchy. Many countries do not internally have a separate consular path or stream, and the meaning of "consular" responsibilities and functions will differ from country to country. Other titles, including "vice consul-general", have existed in the past. Consular titles may be used concurrently with diplomatic titles if the individual is assigned to an embassy. Diplomatic immunity is more limited for consular officials without other diplomatic accreditation, and broadly limited to immunity with respect to their official duties.

At a separate consular post, the official will have only a consular title. Officials at consular posts may therefore have consular titles, but not be involved in traditional consular activities, and actually be responsible for trade, cultural, or other matters.

Consular officers, being nominally more distant from the politically sensitive aspects of diplomacy, can more easily render a wide range of services to private citizens, enterprises, et cetera. They may be more numerous since diplomatic missions are posted only in a nation's capital, while consular officials are stationed in various other cities as well. However, it is not uncommon for individuals to be transferred from one hierarchy to the other, and for consular officials to serve in a capital carrying out strictly consular duties within the 'consular section' of a diplomatic post, e.g. within an embassy. Some countries routinely provide their embassy officials with consular commissions, including those without formal consular responsibilities, since a consular commission allows the individual to legalize documents, sign certain documents, and undertake certain other necessary functions.

Depending on the practice of the individual country, "consular services" may be limited to services provided for citizens or residents of the sending country, or extended to include, for example, visa services for nationals of the host country.

Sending nations may also designate incumbents of certain positions as holding consulary authority by virtue of their office, while lacking individual accreditation, immunity and inviolability. For example, 10 U.S.C. §§ 936 and 1044a identify various U.S. military officers (and authorize the service secretaries to identify others) who hold general authority as a notary and consul of the United States for, respectively, purposes of military administration and those entitled to military legal assistance. A nation may also declare that its senior merchant sea captain in a given foreign port—or its merchant sea captains generally—has consulary authority for merchant seamen.

See also[link]

• Apocrisiary
• Consul
• Diplomacy
• Internuncio, Nuncio
• Legate

References[link]

• Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961
• Belgium Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Archives and Library (mainly in French)
• Pauly-Wissowa (encyclopaedia in German, on Antiquity)

Ryan C. Crocker
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
Incumbent
Assumed office July 25, 2011
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Karl Eikenberry
United States Ambassador to Iraq
In office March 26, 2007 – February 13, 2009
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Zalmay Khalilzad
Succeeded by	Christopher R. Hill
United States Ambassador to Pakistan
In office November 25, 2004 – March 28, 2007
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Nancy Jo Powell
Succeeded by	Anne W. Patterson
United States Ambassador to Syria
In office 1998–2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Christopher W.S. Ross
Succeeded by	Theodore H. Kattouf
United States Ambassador to Kuwait
In office 1994–1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Edward Gnehm
Succeeded by	James A. Larocco
United States Ambassador to Lebanon
In office 1990–1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	John Thomas McCarthy
Succeeded by	Mark Gregory Hambley
Personal details
Born	(1949-06-19) June 19, 1949 (age 63) Spokane, Washington
Spouse(s)	Christine Barnes[1]
Profession	Diplomat, Career Ambassador
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom Awards of the United States Department of State

Ryan Clark Crocker (born June 19, 1949) is a Career Ambassador within the United States Foreign Service and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He currently is the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan. He was the United States Ambassador to Iraq until 2009; he previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan from 2004 to 2007, to Syria from 1998 to 2001, to Kuwait from 1994 to 1997, and to Lebanon from 1990 to 1993. In January 2010 he became Dean of Texas A&M University's George Bush School of Government and Public Service.^[2] He was nominated by President Barack Obama in April 2011^[3] to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan and was confirmed to the post by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on June 30, 2011.^[4] In May 2012 he announced he will step down in mid-summer due to unspecified health reasons.^[5]

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell called Crocker "one of our very best foreign service officers";^[6] President George W. Bush called him America's Lawrence of Arabia and noted that General David Petraeus had said that "it was a great honor for me to be his military wingman."^[1]

Early life and career[link]

Crocker was born in Spokane, Washington.^[7] Growing up, Crocker had family members in the U.S. Air Force and in Turkey. He lived in Morocco, Canada and Turkey.^[6] Crocker attended University College Dublin and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where he received a B.A. in English literature in 1971 and was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

After Persian language training, he was assigned to the American Consulate in Khorramshahr, Iran in 1972. His subsequent assignment was to the newly-established embassy in Doha, Qatar in 1974 as an economic-commercial officer, and in 1976 Crocker returned to Washington, DC for long-term Arabic training. He completed the 20-month program at the Foreign Service Institutes Arabic School in Tunis in June 1978. Crocker was then assigned as chief of the economic-commercial section at the U.S. Interests Section in Baghdad, Iraq. Crocker served in Beirut, Lebanon as chief of the political section from 1981 to 1984. On September 18, 1982, he reported back to the Department of State about the Sabra and Shatila massacre.^[8] He also survived the 1983 United States Embassy bombing.^[1]

He spent the 1984-85 academic year at Princeton University under State Department auspices pursuing course work in Near Eastern studies. He served as deputy director of the Office of Israel and Arab-Israeli affairs from 1985 to 1987 and was political counselor at the American Embassy in Cairo from 1987 to 1990. Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, Crocker became the Director of the Iraq-Kuwait Task Force.

In 1998, as the Ambassador to Syria, his residence was plundered by an angry mob.^[1]

In January 2002, he was appointed interim chargé d'affaires to the new government of Afghanistan, and was confirmed as Ambassador to Pakistan in October 2004. In September 2004, President Bush conferred on him the diplomatic rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the Foreign Service, equivalent to a four-star officer in the military.^[9] On January 8, 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that the Bush administration would nominate Crocker as the new American Ambassador to Iraq, replacing Zalmay Khalilzad, once the latter's confirmation to the post of Ambassador to the UN was complete. On December 4, 2009, The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, in College Station, Texas, announced the appointment of Ambassador Crocker as its next Dean, effective January 25, 2010.

In April 2011, he was nominated to be United States Ambassador to Afghanistan following a personal request from Obama.^[10][11] On May 22, 2012, Crocker informed that he will step down due to unspecified health reasons in mid-summer, following the Kabul and Tokyo conferences.^[5]

Quote on the duties of a diplomat[link]

Wikinews has related news: American diplomats unwilling to go to Iraq may be forced, says State Department

Upon being asked about how changing administrations and changes within administrations impact the job of a diplomat by Whitman College magazine, Crocker gave the following reply:^[7]

"Each administration has its own priorities and style. The job of the career foreign service officer is to offer his best advice as policy is formulated and then to implement that policy. Our elected leaders need to have confidence that we will carry out policies to the best of our ability."

2002 memo concerning Iraq[link]

According to the book, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell by Washington Post reporter Karen DeYoung, as the Bush administration was preparing for war with Iraq in late 2002, then Secretary of State, Colin Powell ordered Crocker and then Special Assistant to the Secretary of State, William Burns to prepare a secret memo examining the risks associated with a U.S. invasion of Iraq.^[12] The six-page memo, titled "The Perfect Storm", stated that toppling Saddam Hussein could unleash long-repressed sectarian and ethnic tensions, that the Sunni minority would not easily relinquish power, and that powerful neighbors such as Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia would try to move in to influence events. It also cautioned that the United States would have to start from scratch building a political and economic system because Iraq's infrastructure was in tatters.^[12]

Testimony before U.S. Congress[link]

On September 10, 2007 Crocker and Commander of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq David H. Petraeus testified before the U.S. House of Representatives about the status of the Iraq war. Similar testimony was given on the following day to the U.S. Senate. In their "Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq", Crocker stated that "It is no exaggeration to say that Iraq is — and will remain for some time — a traumatized society."

Regarding the politics of Iraq, he said, "In many respects, the debates currently occurring in Iraq are akin to those surrounding our civil rights movement or struggle over states rights." He also said, "I do believe that Iraq's leaders have the will to tackle the country's pressing problems, although it will take longer than we originally anticipated because of the environment and the gravity of the issues before them." Crocker argued that "a secure, stable democratic Iraq at peace with its neighbors is attainable."^[13]

Honors[link]

Crocker (right) is presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom; (from left: President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Crocker)

Crocker has received a Presidential Distinguished Service Award in 1994,^[9] the State Department Secretary's Distinguished Service Award^[14] in 2008, and the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 1997 ^[9] and 2008. He also holds the State Department Distinguished Honor Award, Award for Valor, three Superior Honor Awards and the American Foreign Service Association Rivkin Award.

Crocker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on January 15, 2009; the citation read:^[1]

For nearly four decades, Ryan Crocker has advanced our nation's interests and ideals around the world. Embodying the highest principles of the United States Foreign Service, he has cultivated and enhanced our relations with pivotal nations. Following the attacks of September 11th, 2001, he worked to build a worldwide coalition to combat terrorism and help millions of oppressed people travel the path to liberty and democracy. The United States honors Ryan C. Crocker for his courage, his integrity, and his unwavering commitment to strengthening our nation and building a freer and more peaceful world.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ryan Crocker

• Profile at the United States Department of State
• Profile at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University (on leave)
• Ryan Crocker at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Ryan Crocker at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Ryan Crocker in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Ryan Crocker collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Ryan Crocker at the Notable Names Database
• 'Failed' American envoy to leave Iraq, The Independent, November 7, 2006
• Special Guest: Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Stanford Review, November 7, 2010