UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE October 1999 StateStateMagazine Panama City The Bridge Between Two Worlds Coming in November: Niamey Photo by Lelia Lamson Photo by State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) is published monthly, except bimonthly in July and August, by the U.S. Department of State, 2201 C St., N.W., Washington, DC. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC. POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to State Magazine, State PER/ER/SMG, SA-6, Room 433, Washington, DC 20522-0602. State Magazine Magazine is published to facilitate communication between manage- ment and employees at home and abroad and to acquaint employees Carl Goodman with developments that may affect operations or personnel. The EDITOR-IN-CHIEF magazine is also available to persons interested in working for the Donna Miles Department of State and to the general public. DEPUTY EDITOR State Magazine is available by subscription through the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Kathleen Goldynia Washington, DC 20402 (telephone [202] 512-1850). The magazine can DESIGNER be viewed online free at www.state.gov/www/publications/statemag. ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS The magazine welcomes State-related news and features. Informal articles work best, accompanied by photographs. Staff is unable to James Williams acknowledge every submission or make a commitment as to which CHAIRMAN issue it will appear in. Photographs will be returned upon request. Sally Light Articles should not exceed five typewritten, double-spaced EXECUTIVE SECRETARY pages. They should also be free of acronyms (with all office names, Janice Burke agencies and organizations spelled out). Photos should include Frank Coulter typed captions identifying persons from left to right with job titles. Cheryl Hess Material may be submitted on disks, emailed or faxed, in 14-point type, to (703) 812-2475. The mailing address is State Magazine, Stevenson McIlvaine PER/ER/SMG, SA-6, Room 433, Washington, DC 20522-0602. Wayne Oshima Contributions may also be left in Room 3811, Main State. The Michael Scanlin magazine’s main number is (703) 516-1667. Deadline for copy is the 15th of each month. StateState Magazine October 1999 Contents No. 429 Department of State • United States of America 8Post of the Month: Panama City COLUMNS This strategic capital serves as the bridge between two worlds. 2 From the Secretary 12 Building Partnerships 7 Direct From the D.G. Three consular facilities in New Hampshire demonstrate the advantages of public-private partnerships. DEPARTMENTS 17 The Bombings One Year Later 3 Letters to the Editor I Washington Remembers I Nairobi Honors the Fallen 4 In the News I Rebuilding in Nairobi I Dar Holds Three-Day Observance 35 Medical Report I Security Update 37 Library Report 28 Crisis Management Training 38 People Like You This course helps prepare posts for the unexpected. 40 Obituaries 12 31 Interpreting Is a Hands-On Affair 42 Personnel Actions Passports in progress. It’s National Disability Awareness Month, and State’s offi- cial sign language interpreter is busier than ever. 33 Smith Simpson on Diplomacy A veteran diplomat shares his lifelong fascination with foreign affairs. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE October 1999 Ambassador to Kenya Johnnie Carson unveils a memorial plaque. StateMagazine 17 Panama City The Bridge Between Two Worlds On the Cover The Panama Canal FROM THE SECRETARY SECRETARY MADELEINE ALBRIGHT To lead, our resources must keep pace with n his August speech to ties, installing a modern the Veterans of Foreign our responsibilities. and integrated communica- Wars, President Clinton tions network and making challenged our Con- sure we have the right peo- gress to fund an “arse- ple with the right skills in Inal for peace”—to provide the resources required for the right positions at the right time. American diplomatic leadership around the world. We also need to fund the assistance programs that are In the coming months, the President and I will be work- a vital part of our diplomatic efforts to secure peace in ing hard to make sure that the Congress—and the Northern Ireland, Southeast Europe and the Middle American people—understand the urgent need for such East and on the Korean Peninsula, and we need to make an arsenal. good on the President’s promise to do our part in reduc- To make our case, we will draw upon one of the most ing the burdens of the world’s most heavily indebted important lessons of this century, which is that no nation poor countries. can ensure the security or prosperity of its people by At the same time, it is essential that we pay our arrears going it alone or by relying solely on military might. to the United Nations and the other international organi- To safeguard our own interests, the United States must zations to which we belong. By so doing, we can leverage work with allies and friends to defuse crises, repel dan- our resources and coordinate our efforts with other gers, promote more open economic and political systems nations on behalf of shared goals and common interests. and strengthen the rule of law. On every continent there The decisions that congressional appropriators must are trouble spots and key decision points, where conflicts make are complex. But this summer, the House and threaten or historic opportunities present themselves. Senate voted to slash President Clinton’s fiscal year 2000 More and more, the United States is looked to for leader- foreign affairs budget request by about 12 percent—or ship that is in our interests to provide. more than $2.3 billion. The result, if enacted, would pose To lead, our resources must keep pace with our respon- a clear and present danger to American interests. We sibilities. As President Clinton has warned, “We must can—and must—do better. pay attention not only to military readiness, but to diplo- The U.S. debate over adequate funding for foreign pol- matic readiness as well.” icy is an old one, dating from the Continental Congress Currently, only about one penny in every dollar of the dispatching Ben Franklin to Paris, to the proposals for United States’ federal budget is devoted to internation- Lend Lease and the Marshall Plan that bracketed World al operations and programs. But this penny pays for War II, to the start of Central European democracy and everything from supporting peace and promoting the more recent Nunn-Lugar threat reduction programs. American exports to fighting drug traffickers and con- In each case, history’s verdict has gone decisively to those trolling the spread of weapons of mass destruction. It who argued that America must meet its responsibilities. also covers the State Department’s consular workload, Now we face our own test. As President Clinton has which has increased more than 20 percent during the noted, “No nation in history has had the opportunity and past decade. the responsibility we now have to shape a world that is President Clinton and I are determined to give those who more peaceful, more secure, more free.” I am confident represent and protect U.S. interests abroad the resources that we can have the courage and vision required to ful- required to do the job. Our goals include building, repair- fill that responsibility. I will do all I can to see that we ing and maintaining safe and adequate diplomatic facili- have the resources as well. I 2 State Magazine LETTERS TO THE EDITOR News on Metro Subsidy? Until our budget increases to accom- I’m sure the Department means modate for inflation and new policy well in training employees to better A July 13 Department Notice requirements (especially overseas securi- serve citizens. But the idea that we announced that monthly parking ty), I regret that we cannot commit to a are “customers” of the government fees in the basement would increase Metro subsidy program. I am supportive is egregiously wrong, and I’m from $18 to $22—a rate well below of the program, however, and I will work amazed that nobody challenged that the area commercial rate of $150. The to obtain the necessary funding. skewed idea. The fundamental con- notice was another reminder that the cept of a democracy such as ours is Bonnie R. Cohen highest paid employees receive that we, the people, are the govern- Under Secretary for Management parking subsidies for pennies per ment—therefore the owners, not the day while lower paid employees customers. Big difference. who use public transportation pay Owners, Not Customers The article says, “The concept of $50 to $100 or more monthly to com- customer service within the U.S. gov- As a happy mute to work. ernment is relatively new.” Well, let’s Department re- Whatever happened to the hope it dies in infancy. Customers audiovisual equipment or videoconferencing support in tiree in the their bureaus or offices. As the discussion progresses, Department’s commitment to imple- Improving Customer Servicestudents realized that as State employees, they have “external today, subjects tomorrow? customers,” too—people out- side State requiring information Quality service or services from the Department quiet hills of iles or providing products and serv- aiser ices to the Department. For ment a Metro subsidy program for onna M is everyone’s Carmen Morton in the Bureau of By D Personnel’s Office of Photos by Bob K Recruitment, Examination and e’ve all been there, thrust business, State Employment, these external into contact with the rude customers include colleges and Pennsylva- Elizabeth Andros Gaston Wsales clerk, the inattentive er employees learn. employees who use public trans- waiter or the no-show repairman. Nobody wants to be on the potential recruits. For Getoria Berry in the Officeand of of course Civil the receiving end of poor custom Service Personnel, they’re people calling about job oppor- ing to the Department for a passport or visa, service.