Many concerned citizens of the world have been wringing their hands with anxiety over how President Trump’s administration would handle a true international crisis.

What if another Ebola-like catastrophe happens? What if Russia continues to up the ante? What if nuclear powers begin testing each other’s patience?

As Washington Post writer David Rothkopf pointed out this week, “an extraordinary constellation of complex global crises is boiling over right now in real time”.

Six months into the administration, the State Department is a slow-moving hot mess, operating without the budget and necessary personnel to actually make America’s foreign policy work.

Let’s take a quick trip around the world, to foreign policy crises that have escalated in the last week alone:

Russia

Vladimir Putin just ordered US diplomatic missions to slash 755 Embassy staff from their ranks, a retaliatory move in response to the US imposition of sanctions, which Trump (reluctantly) signed into law this week. The move represents the largest forced reduction of US Embassy staff in 100 years. Also this week, Putin prepared to dispatch up to 100,000 troops to a massive military exercise, which would be the largest display of Russian military power since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Venezuela

The political situation has gone from bad to worse, with a sham election, violent protests and widespread hunger. The US slapped the Maduro regime with sanctions this week.

Pakistan

The nuclear-armed nation just kicked out its prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, after his family’s corruption was outed in the Panama Papers.

The Persian Gulf States

The United Arab Emirates stepped up its information offensive against Qatar, producing a documentary accusing it of having links to 9/11.

North Korea

Another week, another intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

Yikes. Trump finally announced his nominee for ambassador to Russia on July 18. But that’s a rare bit of good news for a State Department that has been described as a “ghost ship,” rudderless under the anaemic leadership of former ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson.

Cue the images of tumbleweeds rolling through the dust; the United States is still lacking ambassadors to key countries such as Syria, Venezuela, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, France, Germany and South Korea (not a great empty spot to have while North Korea continues its aggression).

Dozens more undersecretary and assistant secretary positions remain vacant. Low morale is rampant among State Department personnel, while officials are also leaving key posts.

My colleague Josh Rogin recently reported on the resignation of Bill Miller, the acting head for diplomatic security. And as Rogin has reported this week, Tillerson is considering axing democracy promotion from the department’s mission.

Long story short, a sleepwalking State Department isn’t calculated to “Make America Great Again” any time soon. The reality is that we are asking for disaster if the US doesn’t get its act together in a hurry.

•Karen Attiah is The Washington Post’s Global Opinions Editor