The diplomat should be fired. She brought shame upon her country by being spied upon. Americans are supposed to spy on Europeans and not the other way around. This would be like Americans using planes to destroy buildings with Muslim civ... Wait - no its fine, she can stay.

The USA has not appointed a current ambassador to the EU.
While Merkel is most offended & had a spokeswoman say so publicly, the top drawer French press is vitriollic. Nuland should not be in charge of State's European theater. No way. Lost all cred. Whither Kerry?

Why should you have a diplomat who said in public, not really in public, but everybody knows, that the biggest trading partner for the USA should be fucked? The leaders of European countries will think twice about what they say in a conversation with her. The situation is too awkward then, it's impossible for her to keep her job.

She said "fuck the EU" with regards to their diplomatic efforts in Ukraine, because the US think the EU is pretty shit at getting stuff done.

And expects Russia to destroy any deal they attempt.

Real world international diplomacy aside (and the crux of her & Kerry's dilemma is that she is his immediate deputy to direct & manage policy in 'Eurasian' affairs [pardon the "Affairs", no sex pls, we're Anglophiliac, but which Nato ally will she screw around with next in a slip of the tongue and/or open mike? ] - that aside, HAVE YOU EVER muted or ignored messages within Vdip or other Classic Dip games, as 1 player to another for reasons of Tone, Vulgarity or bullying? I ignore here those players who may have some slight trouble with the English of the Internet - some of the "bullying" that invovles Leaning on You from a Tactical Position of strength for Strategic purposes. Do you turn them off if they turn U off?

To be fair though, the EU has done jack all with Ukraine. They were gonna let Russia walk away with basically buying and blackmailing the Ukrainian government when there is a chance to form a more open democracy there.

Also, it was Russia who spied on the US comms, not the EU. The video was leaked by a deputy to the Russian foreign minister, I believe?

@goldf ... Giving you the Golden Finger award for PC correctness with all that that may imply. BUT, the Ukrainian opposition's demonstrated for months and months .
I don't say that Nuland was overly indelicate but that in today's 24/7 'net and CNN on all the time type of world,[&I we watched Soviet Union collapse in realtime on CNN] just that she was unrealistic enuf to use an open Line. BTW USA agents heard Ezra Pound rant on Italian radio about the French antisemite Celine; the Americans heard Celine as "Stalin." NFW is Military Intelligence not an oxymoron.

Its not like she was just calling him on a cell phone though. These were secure embassy communications, I would assume. Encrypted. US diplomats must be able to speak to each other frankly in order to do their job, and the phone is probably a safer means to do it than in text online.

This wasn't frank speech. If she'd said something like, "The EU has about as much chance of getting a deal on Ukraine as Benyamin Netenyahu has of being next chairman of the Arab League", that says something about her assessment of the EU's credibility.

If she says "Fuck the EU", that doesn't say anything, unless she's a nymphomaniac.

It's not about the wording, it is the BAD ATTITUDE. Cut the EU out of the deal, do an end run around the European Union, is that what the shorthand "eFyou-EU" stands for? IS THAT THE POLICY or bad temper? A bas Bruxelles, or Cathy Asherton get on the stick? The unveiled speaker is an embarrasment. Anyway, if she thinks Life's a Game, Diplomacy - is it serious? Or is she serially disloyal and an opportunist much like our great mentor, Talleyrand?