About this Blog

The mission of the U.S. Department of State is to create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community. Through its websites and other online resources, the Department offers broad public access to a wide range of information.  Blogs.state.gov offers the public an alternative source to mainstream media for U.S. foreign policy information.  This blog offers the opportunity for participants to discuss important foreign policy issues with senior Department officials.

General Disclaimer

The State Department provides external links solely for our readers’ information and convenience. When readers select a link to an external website, they are leaving the state.gov site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the external website.

The State Department:

• Does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
• Does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites or the views they express or the products/services they offer.
• Cannot and does not authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website. NOTE: state.gov uses many copyrighted photos so users must check captions/ALT tags to determine source of photos. Only State Department photos are in the public domain.
• Is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
• Does not guarantee that external websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

Blog Comment Policy:

This is a moderated blog. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our Department and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain vulgar or abusive language; personal attacks of any kind; or offensive terms that target specific ethnic or racial groups. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly “off topic” or that promote services or products. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted.

Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other nongovernmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this blog. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of U.S. Department of State, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying U.S. Department of State endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

• Only comments that comply with this blog use policy will be approved for posting.
• The use of vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language is prohibited.
• Blog public comments should be limited to comments related to the posted topic. The blog is not the proper place to express opinions or beliefs not directly related to that topic.
• The blog is not open to comments promoting or opposing any person campaigning for election to a political office or promoting or opposing any ballot proposition.
• The blog is not open to the promotion or advertisement of a business or commercial transaction.
• Communications made through the blog’s e-mail and messaging system will in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the U.S. Department of State or any official or employee of the U.S. Department of State for any purpose.
• This blog use policy is subject to amendment or modification at any time to ensure its continued use is consistent with its intended purpose as a limited forum.

Security

For website security and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, deny service, otherwise cause damage or access non-public information. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the United States criminal code (18 U.S.C. 1030). Information regarding possible violations of law may be provided to law enforcement officials.

Copyright Information

Links to State Department blogs are welcomed. Unless a copyright is indicated, information on the State Department’s blogs are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed without permission. Citation of the U.S. State Department as source of the information is appreciated.

If a copyright is indicated on a video, photo, graphic, or other material, permission to copy these materials must be obtained from the original source. For photos without captions or with only partial captions, hold your cursor over the photo to view the “alt tag” for any copyright information. Please note that many photos used on this website are copyrighted.

Privacy Notice

For blog management, usage information is collected for statistical purposes. The State Department blogs use software programs to create summary statistics for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest or identifying system performance or problem areas. The following is the type of information collected about your visit to the blogs: the name of the Internet domain from which you access State Department blogs and the date and time that you access the blog. If you choose to provide us with personal information in an email message, we use it only to respond to your email.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the State Department uses software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and Title 18 U.S.C. Sec.1001 and 1030. Information also may be used for authorized law enforcement investigations.

Except for the above purposes, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

External Linking Policy

blogs.state.gov contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. Such links should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

State Department officers continually review the external links for their ongoing value to the issues and topics presented within State Department blogs. The process for adding an external link is the same as for clearing information for public dissemination, as described in the State Department’s Information Quality Guidelines:

“Clearances on information for dissemination generally are obtained from any office within the Department or any other agency within the U.S. Government that has a substantive interest in the information.“

Information Quality Guidelines

Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information. However, we cannot guarantee that there will be no errors. Please read the State Department’s guidelines pursuant to the Data Quality Information Act before submitting inquiries under this Act.

If you would like verification or a hard copy of information released on State Department blogs or if you have any questions or comments about the information presented here, please contact the public information staff in the Bureau of Public Affairs.

This blog does not represent official U.S. Department of State communications. The Digital Communications Center, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this blog as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.