"Withdrawing an ambassador"

is not something which should be done lightly. Yes, occasionally there is a small spat and one country will say to another "I'm not playing with you anymore." It is when there is a much more serious breach in  affairs that we need to be concerned.

We have not yet withdrawn the current Ambassador from Moscow but perhaps we should. If the Russians are murdering prisoners of war them they are committing a very, very grave offence indeed. It is a matter for the International Criminal Court and those responsible should be locked away for life. Murder is never right. 

The problem with withdrawing an ambassador from anywhere is that lines of communication are lost - often when you need them the most. From my own observations of diplomats at work I suspect those lines of communication are vital. If you want to do your job you need to know people, the relevant people best of all. They won't necessarily be other diplomats or high ranking people. They will be "smaller" people as well. 

I remember being invited to dinner one evening at the home of the Senior Cat's cousin. Among the guests was a very new, very young member of the staff of the South African embassy.  I was asked to take special care of him during the evening. It was a very difficult evening to begin with because this was some years before 1994 and Mandela becoming president and this young man was one of the "blacks". Even in our largely very tolerant nation's capital there could be issues. In the end we had a very pleasant time. We found we knew people in common from a university there and from their time and mine in London. 

Eventually he decided a diplomatic career was not for him and a career in politics would not be right either. He went on to teach at a university there and we corresponded spasmodically until his death. He worried about the diplomatic world and the manner in which people are expected to serve it. I remember him writing, "I am withdrawing my service before I am asked to do so. There will be things lost to me but I hope to gain others with my return to teaching."

Yes, he lost all his lines of communication from his previous position and that was inside the system and with no wrong doing on his part. He commented later on how much harder it must be for people and countries when ambassadors are withdrawn or, worse, sent home because they are no longer welcome. 

It is not something to be done lightly. It affects many people. Doing business and helping those in trouble is so much more difficult but it needs to be done if murder has taken place.