I'm John Batchew with my good colleague, Mary Kissel, Executive Vice President Stevens,

Incorporated, and a veteran of the State Department's many warrants and intricate, extremely intricate,

mazes. And the question is, does the State Department have the capacity

after all these years of being ignored by the war fighters over at the White House and the

Pentagon to assert its role as maintaining the peace? Gaza is one example. Another would be

Afghanistan. In these last hours, there is attention to the

fact that the Secretary of State Mr. Rubio has won the release of one of many American citizens

being held hostage by the Kabul government of the Taliban. And there's more indication all the time that the State Department

wants to maintain communication lines with Kabul, not to return to Bagram the way some have talked,

but to actually lend a hand, especially for the people who were left behind, who helped America

and its allies all those decades,

and are now feeling vulnerable to the Taliban's cruelty and abandoned by the United States.

I credit Marco Rubio with the release of the hostage.

I'm sure there's more to come, Mary.

But Marco Rubio's leadership has been a great joy to celebrate in these early months of the Trump administration.

In fact, I can't recall the contempt headlines that are routine in the Washington Post and the New York Times for Mr. Trump.

I can't recall any of them being directed at Mr. Rubio. Has he won the quiet affection of even his adversaries?

I think Marco Rubio is very well light across the aisle for several reasons. First, because he

had a distinguished career in the Senate,

he was seen as someone who was a reasonable person, very grounded, clear principles,

but who could cooperate with Democrats when they could find common ground. And secondly,

I think in the administration, he has also

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