In the episode of Yes Prime Minister The Bishop’s Gambit: there was the following following exchange concerning a Nurse arrested in an Arab country for having of whiskey.
PM Jim Hacker: A British National is facing a barbaric punishment for a trivial offense committed in a foreign country. The Foreign Office is there to protect British nationals.
Sir Humphrey: The Foreign Office is there to protect British interests
PM Hacker: Well it’s not in her interest to be flogged
Sir Humphrey: It’s not in our interest to prevent it.
PM Hacker: Yes it is, this could hurt the government very badly.
Sir Humphrey: Well I understand that tomorrow the foreign secretary will deliver a strongly worded note of protest to the Kumranis.
PM Jim Hacker: Why can’t they do it now?
Sir Humphrey: Well we haven’t got their agreement yet! They’re seeing the Ambassador privately now, once they’ve approved the wording we’ll hand it over, then we’ll have done all we can.
This came instantly to mind when I saw this concerning our response to people being slaughtered in Afghanistan since Biden ran away.
“We are hearing from people in Afghanistan that they are getting threats from the Taliban, and we have expressed in no uncertain terms, here at the United Nations, through a very strongly-worded press statement from the Security Council, that we expect the Taliban to respect human rights including the rights of women and girls.”
Perhaps someone should explain to the Biden administration that this Yes Prime Minister segment was not a “how to” guide.
How fitting that the Yes Prime Minister segment came with a laugh track and the Biden Administration is a joke.