Diplomacy Under Fire Former Canadian Ambassador to Iran Ken Taylor says that making diplomats accessible is a risk, but it's a risk that you have to take. Ken Taylor was Canada's ambassador to Iran in November 1979, when the U.S. embassy in Tehran was seized and more than 50 American diplomats were taken hostage. Six other Americans managed to avoid capture and were sheltered by Taylor, who helped them get out of Iran. Today, Taylor reflects on the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and the dangerous demonstrations outside other U.S. embassies in the region. What went through your mind this past week while you were hearing about the U.S. embassy sieges all over the Middle East and North Africa? Diplomacy has always been a delicate and risky business. The stereotype of diplomacy suggests a sort of social game: polite conversations, even-handed negotiations, cocktail parties at night. That reflects one side of diplomacy, because you need to meet, and give and take, and get to know somebody. But the other reality that's particularly true today is that, given the revolutionary character in many countries, a diplomat's life could be in jeopardy at any time of the day. I think this particularly applies to U.S. diplomats abroad, and to diplomats from other countries that have top-tier status in terms of population and influence. At the moment, it's the U.S. embassy that some people feel stands for something they don't adhere to, and the diplomats take the brunt of their distaste