POLITICAL APPOINTEES HARD-WON WISDOM IN THEIR OWN WRITE

$3.50 / NOVEMBER 2006 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS

TO THE RESCUE? Helping Fragile and Failed States

CONTENTS November 2006 Volume 83, No. 11

F OCUS ON F RAGILE S TATES F EATURE

22 / SEEKING A PATIENT PATH TO NATIONBUILDING IN THEIR OWN WRITE: BOOKS BY U.N. post-conflict planning should take into FOREIGN SERVICE AUTHORS / 57 account the resources needed to sustain and Once again we are pleased to feature a compilation of stabilize countries long after elections. recently published books by Foreign Service-affiliated By Robert McMahon authors. In addition to a variety of memoirs, this year’s selection is highlighted by a strong policy studies and 30 / SOMALILAND: A DEMOCRACY UNDER THREAT issues section, a respectable offering of fiction and a Virtually on its own, this province of lively grouping of works on people and places. Somalia has established itself as a solid By Susan Maitra democracy in a very bad neighborhood. By Elizabeth Spiro Clark

39 / THE PACIFIC MICROSTATES AND U.S. SECURITY Though frequently overlooked, the many South Pacific island-states are uniquely relevant to U.S. national security. By Kevin D. Stringer C OLUMNS D EPARTMENTS

45 / HAITI’S NEW GOVERNMENT PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 LETTERS / 7 WRESTLES WITH ITS PAST Bad Faith and Business CYBERNOTES / 10 President Préval must use donors’ good will As Usual in FS Assignments MARKETPLACE / 12 for programs that improve conditions now while By J. Anthony Holmes BOOKS / 78 laying the groundwork for sustained progress. AFSA NEWS / 81 SPEAKING OUT / 14 INDEX TO By Robert M. Perito Political Appointees: ADVERTISERS / 98 51 / THE CASE AGAINST STATE’S NATIONBUILDING OFFICE A Cost-Benefit Analysis The argument that instability in itself represents a By William F. Davnie threat to America and that nationbuilding must FS KNOW-HOW / 17 be the cure is deeply flawed. What I Wish I Had Known By Justin Logan and Christopher Preble By Robin Holzhauer

REFLECTIONS / 100 Fortuneteller By Joyce Barrett

THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS OREIGN ERVICE Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published J O U R N A L F S monthly with a combined July/August issue by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profit Editorial Board Editor organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent STEVEN ALAN HONLEY TED WILKINSON, the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by Senior Editor CHAIRMAN e-mail. Journal subscription: AFSA Members - $13 included in annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, SUSAN B. MAITRA add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mail- Associate Editor KENT C. BROKENSHIRE SHAWN DORMAN ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign Service Journal, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. STEPHEN W. B UCK Ad & Circulation Manager 20037-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited ED MILTENBERGER ANTHONY S. CHAN manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein Business Manager JOSH GLAZEROFF does not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. ANDREW KIDD WILLIAM W. J ORDAN E-MAIL: [email protected]. WEB: www.afsa.org. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Art Director LAURIE KASSMAN CARYN SUKO SMITH Association, 2006. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., KAY WEBB MAYFIELD Editorial Intern Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste. CRYSTAL K. MERIWETHER LAMIYA RAHMAN Advertising Intern JOYCE NAMDE FLORIAN HEINHOLD CHRISTOPHER L. TEAL Cover and inside illustrations by Clemente Botelho

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3

PRESIDENT’S VIEWS Bad Faith and Business As Usual in FS Assignments BY J. ANTHONY HOLMES

You know the drill. It’s Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia. The requires an advance “Certificate of decades-old and occurs multiple department recently banned Need” to justify the assignment, times every year: Well-qualified, tour-of-duty extensions in Eur- something the department did not do. in-cone, at-grade bidders are ope in part, it said, to open up Not a single one of the policy impera- denied a plum job. Word quick- jobs for those who had answer- tives or personal qualifications that led ly spreads that it’s been “wired” ed the call to such service. But us to decide not to appeal the for some under-grade 7th-floor despite the lure of a high pro- Baghdad DCM case are present in staffer or they never found out file, cutting-edge position in a the Brussels PD mess. This assign- about it in the first place. Business as comfortable European capital, the de- ment is an affront to the Foreign usual in FS assignments. partment would have us believe that it Service and to AFSA. Numerous employees have told could not find a single qualified Over and above the striking breach AFSA recently that in their eyes the lit- Foreign Service officer for the job. of faith with the Foreign Service, what mus test of the department’s serious- Go figure. I find so incomprehensible about this ness about its newly re-engineered We had gotten wind of this unlikely assignment is that it directly under- assignments system and related calls for deal months earlier and urged both HR mines the message Secretary Rice and increased service discipline will be the and the under secretary’s office to Director General Staples have been so degree to which the rules are applied to desist. But instead of being deterred, determined to send about the need for 7th-floor staffers. Will HR and the the process played out in a way that service discipline and their call for sac- regional bureaus stand up to the most minimized the number of SFS mem- rifice. I wrote to Sec. Rice in October senior appointees, both political and bers aware of this job. Only the most on this issue and assured her the career, and resist the pressure for spe- cursory steps were taken to conform to Foreign Service is indeed answering cial treatment and preferred onward the assignment rules. Not a single one that call. But I also stressed that the FS assignments for their favorites? Based of the normal procedures to find suit- expects this same discipline on the part on the first case to come to our atten- able candidates for priority jobs was fol- of State management in terms of fol- tion in this new, “expeditionary” envi- lowed. To those familiar with “business lowing its own rules. This assignment is ronment, the answer is a disappointing as usual,” the entire process looked devastating for morale and creates a “no.” awfully familiar. cynicism that only certain employees AFSA recently learned that a mid- Amazingly, State made this assign- are subject to Service discipline while level Civil Service officer on Under ment a mere two months after we had others can thumb their noses at it — Secretary Karen Hughes’ staff had told it that AFSA would set aside its and at them. been given the Senior Foreign Service serious concerns and reluctantly refrain AFSA has long cooperated with the PD “hub” director position in Brussels, from appealing the naming of a civil department to develop and operate two a newly-created job that is part of the servant as DCM in Baghdad — despite open, transparent programs in which Secretary’s “global repositioning” exer- the fact that a number of qualified, at- qualified Civil Service employees can cise at the heart of her transformational grade FSOs had bid on the position. serve overseas. But as I have said diplomacy initiative. This position We reminded the department’s senior before in this space, personal loyalty is might have been a perfect fit for a vet- leaders that, per the Foreign Service not a qualification for any job in the eran FSO coming out of an unaccom- Act and department regulations, such entire Foreign Service. The assign- panied post like Iraq, Afghanistan, assignments should occur only when ment rules apply throughout the there is no one in the FS able to do department and must be followed –- J. Anthony Holmes is the president of the the job and the outsider has unparal- and our leaders must have the disci- American Foreign Service Association. leled qualifications. Such a rare case pline to stick to them.

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6 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 LETTERS

Diplomats in War Zones the risks associated with Secretary tion at State. This is unfortunate, as AFSA’s recent message regarding Rice’s proposed deployment of one- getting the Foreign Service-Civil its discussions with State manage- or two-person posts outside capitals Service relationship right facilitates ment on new assignment procedures to populous but secondary Third winning American diplomacy. makes clear that it sought a reason- World cities. In today’s world, that Such FS/CS matters have been able balance between employee initiative, irrespective of its substan- understood as important to U.S. diplo- interests (particularly the interests of tive merits (which I doubt), is likely macy for decades. Former Secretary FSOs’ children) and the State De- either to invite attacks on “sitting of State Dean Acheson recalled in his partment’s needs. duck” diplomats or to sink under the memoir, Present at the Creation, that But I think a deeper analysis and budgetary expense should we deploy the Hoover Commission recommend- engagement with State’s leadership platoons of security personnel to pro- ed in 1947 that “the personnel in the are warranted. Namely, to what tect each lone FSO. permanent State Department estab- extent will FSOs serve in combat The respective roles of the For- lishment in Washington and the per- zones in the 21st century? When the eign Service and the uniformed mili- sonnel of the Foreign Service above U.S. invades a country and proposes tary need to be re-examined as part of certain levels should be amalgamated to rebuild it in an environment over- a wider effort at institution-building to over a short period of years into a sin- whelmed by an armed insurgency — better equip America to administer the gle foreign affairs service obligated to e.g., Iraq — is there really a role for- many protectorates (i.e., occupied serve at home and overseas and con- ward in the field for the Foreign failed states) that are likely to come our stituting a safeguarded career group Service (or USAID’s cadre)? Or is way this century. Lacking anything administered separately from the that work better undertaken by polit- akin to the bygone British Colonial general Civil Service.” ically savvy military officers of the Office, we need to develop a modern- Acheson reported that this recom- type who effectively served the Brit- day equivalent, however cloaked in mendation was not enacted for a ish Empire in its frontier areas (such politically correct terminology. number of reasons, including a belief as the Indo/Afghan borderlands)? Marc E. Nicholson that “to maintain the morale of the They may be rare today, but the U.S. FSO, retired Foreign Service, the process of re- military has them. I have known Washington, D.C. cruitment required both time and some of them — warriors with politi- painstaking methods to ensure that cal smarts. Foreign Service and the quality of the recruits should be The diplomatic service recruits a Civil Service Civility high and that it should be recognized different sort of person than the mili- As a long-time Civil Service em- as being high.” tary. Our personnel are loyal and ployee, I appreciated AFSA State Nonetheless, in terms of recogniz- devoted and prepared to accept hard- Vice President Steve Kashkett’s forth- ing the contributions of department ship and some risks, but few are war- right insights into issues related to employees with different careers and riors by temperament or training. Foreign Service and Civil Service backgrounds, Acheson also observed Thus, they are not well-equipped to employees and cultures in the State that “not all the arts of diplomacy are operate in largely unprotected hinter- Department. His thoughtful piece in learned solely in its practice. There land environments where they are the September AFSA News provided are other exercise yards.” prime targets of a well-organized an interesting perspective on these I did take minor exception to Mr. insurgency. essential yet controversial issues, Kashkett’s terminology when he One could also note in this context which receive too little direct atten- referred to Civil Service employees

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7 L ETTERS

being assigned to overseas “excursion treasurer. (Other key members in and patience. He was a fine profes- tours.” My perspective is that the the early months were Bob Houdek, sional diplomat and a man of courage. term is subject to being miscon- John Reinhardt, Charlie Rushing, AFSA, the Foreign Service and every strued. Such Civil Service overseas Frank Wile and Larry Williamson.) other institution he touched owe him tours should be referred to by what Charlie Bray, in typical fashion, at the a huge debt of gratitude. they officially are, according to the outset eschewed an officer position Theodore “Ted” L. Eliot Jr. State Department’s Foreign Affairs but served as a board member. Ambassador, retired, and a Manual: “limited non-career appoint- Lannon and Charlie made a great former Young Turk ments to Foreign Service” tours, or team, recruiting the rest of us. Char- Sonoma, Calif. “LNA tours.” lie provided much of the intellectual After all, I don’t think anyone force for the group. He served on the The Greatest Statesman would call FS career employees’ “Committee on Career Principles.” As one who came to political con- assignments “serial excursions,” or call He oversaw the publication by AFSA sciousness in the time of Franklin FS employees “serial excursionists.” in early 1968 of “Toward a Modern Roosevelt, I was pleased to see the Calling Civil Service overseas assign- Diplomacy,” designed to focus the September article on the United ments “excursions” and CS employees new administration, taking office in Nations by Tad Daley and David “excursionists” seems similarly inap- January 1969, on some of the reforms Lionel (“Reinventing the United propriate. needed in the Foreign Service, inclu- Nations”) refer to FDR as “arguably Mr. Kashkett and I discussed my ding unifying the Foreign Services of the greatest statesman of the age.” concern, and he advised me that he USAID, USIA and State. (It turned out It is an apt description, but I only used the term because it is com- that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissin- would go further and drop the quali- mon jargon at State. He also stated ger had their own ideas about the orga- fier “arguably.” This is the man who that in the future, he would refer to nization of the foreign affairs agencies, led an isolationist and socially chaotic such assignments as LNA tours. That but “Toward a Modern Diplomacy” re- America through its deepest depres- is much appreciated. mained a platform for AFSA.) sion and its greatest war to widely Dan Sheerin Charlie and I testified in 1968, at accepted global pre-eminence and a Bureau of Information his initiative, before the Democratic greatly strengthened democracy at Resource Management and Republican Party platform com- home. It was undoubtedly the semi- U.S. Department of State mittees on Foreign Service reform. (I nal period of 20th-century America, no longer remember which party each as were the times of George Wash- Farewell to a Young Turk of us spoke to, but I do remember he ington in the 18th century and of Charles W. Bray — co-organizer got a plank added, whereas I did not.) Abraham Lincoln in the 19th. This with Lannon Walker of the 1967 Charlie also sparked a public forum on was recognized in a poll of American uprising that changed AFSA from a Foreign Service reform held in the historians late in the last century that rubber-stamp organization for the State Department. Finally, our board placed these three presidents in a State Department’s management to, committed AFSA to running the pantheon of their own. in due course, the recognized repre- Foreign Service Club. Some 30-plus years ago (good sentative of the Foreign Service to In 1970, Charlie became board Lord!), I had a pleasant chat one negotiate personnel policies with the chair and was the first person to take evening in Manila with then-Foreign management of all the foreign affairs a leave of absence from the Service to Minister Carlos Romulo. Among agencies — died on July 23. (See the work full-time for AFSA. He assisted other things I asked him who — in a October FSJ, p. 87, for his obituary.) the successor board which took the long, prominent and active life that The group was known as the Young new AFSA further into the roles it had brought him into contact with Turks, and they won election to the plays today. numerous political, military and new AFSA Governing Board in 1967. During his Foreign Service career, other world figures — was the great- Its mentors were two distinguished and subsequently as head of the est man he had ever met. Without a Foreign Service officers, Foy Kohler Wingspread Foundation and other moment’s hesitation he answered, and Philip Habib. nonprofit endeavors, Charlie exhibit- “Franklin Roosevelt.” Lannon Walker became chairman ed a remarkable ability to bring A final note: If there be a (now called president). I was vice diverse people together to chart a pos- Providence that looks out at least president, and Ted Curran secretary- itive course. He did this with humor occasionally for our earthly fortunes

8 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 L ETTERS

(with large and currently obvious gaps of inattention in between), then sure- ly, like the parallel lives and mutual passing on July 4, 1826, in the 50th year of our independence, of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the parallel tenures of the great 20th-cen- tury antagonists Hitler and Roosevelt (accession in 1933, death in 1945) — one the embodiment of tyranny, the other of freedom — was another such providential pairing in history. So, with apologies to the authors, I will drop the “arguably.” Gunther K. Rosinus SFSO, retired Potomac, Md.

Send your letters to: [email protected]. Note that all letters are subject to editing for style, format and length.

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9 CYBERNOTES

Making the Grade: Defining Failing States 50 Years Ago... Since the Sept. 11 attacks and the resulting war on terrorism, the inter- There are many pros and cons on the merits of the national arena is no longer a stage ‘conference’ approach to diplomacy as opposed to the for conflict among great powers. traditional, bilateral form of diplomatic relations, but it Prodded by the mounting concern over trans-state groups, such as al- seems reasonable for us to expect that the U.N. type of diplomacy will Qaida, the focus has shifted to the be an important feature of international relations for the rest of our problem of failed and failing states (the focus of this month’s Journal ). careers. These vulnerable states have stum- — Editorial, “Multilateral Diplomacy and the Foreign Service,” FSJ, bled into the spotlight as potential hotbeds for terrorist activity and re- November 1956 cruitment. The term “failing states” refers to regions suffering from extreme pover- countries under stress, or LICUS. fragile states has grown from 17 to 26. ty, weak governance and internal con- (The Bank changed the term “low- According to the IEG, eight of these flict, conditions with high risks of income countries under stress” to states have dropped from “marginal” global spillover effects, such as terror- “fragile states” this past January, after or “core” status to “severe,” indicating ism and pandemics. As the July/ the work for this report had been significant economic and social dete- August issue of Foreign Policy aptly done.) The list encompasses 26 states rioration. Only five nations — Cam- puts it, “World leaders once worried and territories, including Afghan- eroon, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, about who was amassing power; now istan, Somalia and Haiti (www.world Kyrgyzstan and Yemen — have man- they worry about the absence of it” bank.org/ieg/licus/download. aged to shed their failed-country sta- (www.foreignpolicy.com/story/ html). tus, while 14 new territories have cms.php?story_id=3098). Part of the World Bank’s broader joined the list. While the potential threat from initiative toward fragile states, the The IEG report also assesses the these countries is universally accepted, report categorizes failed states on the efforts made thus far by the World there is less agreement on what actu- basis of per capita income and Bank and the international communi- ally constitutes a failing state and how Country Policy and Institution Assess- ty to economically engage and stimu- the danger it poses can be mitigated. ment ratings. The CPIA is a diagnos- late these volatile regions. The report Several tests, reports and indices — tic tool consisting of 16 criteria attempts to identify the obstacles each utilizing different definitions and reflecting the extent to which a coun- faced in economic engagement, and indicators — have been created to try’s policy and institutional frame- seeks to provide possible solutions for identify fragile states and assess their work support sustainable growth. improved assistance. implications globally. The results so far look grim: pover- In 2005, the Fund for Peace, a The Independent Evaluation ty and conflict among these states research organization dedicated to Group, a division of the World Bank, seem to be worsening despite efforts war prevention, published a “Failed recently published a report listing by international organizations and States Index” in collaboration with the world’s fragile states, known in donor countries. Since the last report Foreign Policy (www.fundforpeace. Bretton Woods jargon as low-income was published in 2003, the number of org/programs/fsi/fsindex.php).

10 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 CYBERNOTES

This index, which was updated in point: for the sake of all, in developed level of debate over how to best safe- 2006, uses 12 indicators to rank 146 and developing nations alike, the bet- guard international and domestic countries in terms of fragility. The terment of poor and conflict-ridden security despite partisan concerns. indicators include demographic pres- populations remains crucial to a more The National Security Network sures, movement of refugees, inequal- secure world. (www.nsnetwork.org), dedicated to ity and uneven development, econom- — Lamiya Rahman, promoting “pragmatic and principled ic decline, human rights violations Editorial Intern foreign policy and responsible global and delegitimization of the state, leadership that will make America among others. Putting the “Security” Back secure and prosperous,” was launched Though more extensive than the into “National Security” on Sept. 26 by former Secretary of World Bank’s list, the Failed States As skirmishing over policy for Iraq State Madeleine Albright; Represen- Index is more descriptive than pre- and the war on terror accelerates tative Jane Harman, D-Calif.; Rand scriptive. It does not attempt to going into the November elections, a Beers, a former special assistant to suggest what ought to be done to new think-tank hopes to raise the Presidents Clinton and George H.W. rectify the situation, but rather serves as an instrument to measure the capacities of state institutions and to predict trends regarding fail- Site of the Month: whatsonwhen.com ing states. As every globe-trotting Foreign Service employee knows, much of the A third list comprising 46 fra- charm in a new post lies in the chance to discover a country’s unique culture. gile states is published by Britain’s At www.whatsonwhen.com, exploring new cities is made quick and simple. Department for International Devel- This award-winning Web site “tells you more than a guidebook can. opment (www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/ Quite how Whatsonwhen manages to keep track of events all over the world files/fragilestates-paper.pdf# is hard to imagine, but they do it exceptionally well,” says The Guardian. search=%22DFID%20fragile% The site features upcoming events in 111 cities and 30 countries — from 20states%22). The DFID report film festivals in San Sebastian and canal tours in Amsterdam to opera on the evaluates states according to indica- Nile, and more. tive factors such as state authority for With its user-friendly format, you’re sure to find something of interest, security, effective political power, eco- whether you’re single or traveling with a family. Specified search options nomic management and administra- allow users to search by continent, country, city and date. In addition, the tive capacity to deliver services. It site includes a list of themes, ranging from “Clubs & Parties,” to “Performing attributes problems in these areas to a Arts,” to “Kids & Family.” lack of capacity and unwillingness to Whatsonwhen also offers a number of helpful travel services. Users can deliver within failing states. Like the browse through leisure-event guides, watch travel videos, book hotels and World Bank, the DFID also address- tickets and even submit their own photos and events. es the inefficiency of current systems Launched in 1999, Whatsonwhen started out with the aim to “let people of foreign aid and tries to put forth plan their leisure time according to their interests and to make sure they solutions to improve assistance to fail- did not miss an event they really wanted to see.” Though perfect for trav- ing regions. elers, the site also serves high-profile clients such as Thomas Cook and While the various lists on failing Reuters. states differ in methods and composi- — Lamiya Rahman, Editorial Intern tion, they all hit upon the same critical

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 11 C YBERNOTES

Bush; and Leslie H. Gelb, president- Religious Freedom Report emeritus of the Council on Foreign Draws Criticism Relations. Beers is president of the Despite a general trend toward new organization and Gelb is chair- religious freedom, in certain regions man of its advisory board. the past year has witnessed increased The Washington-based think-tank governmental efforts “to create sec- draws on the expertise of over 1,000 tarian violence and attack people of national security specialists on both other faiths,” said John V. Hanford III, sides of the partisan divide. It intends Ambassador at Large for International to extend the debate to the public Religious Freedom, at a Sept. 15 brief- through town hall meetings, citizen ing on the 2006 Annual Report on outreach and online exchanges. The International Religious Freedom (www. Security Framework Project, a com- state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2006/72303. munications hub sponsored by, and htm). maintained for, the progressive nation- The State Department report cov- al security community, is another key ers conditions in 197 nations and ter- project. ritories, noting significant abuses in “The National Security Network eight “countries of particular con- acts as a switchboard to connect cern.” The CPC list — China, Erit- media, political leaders and experts to rea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, ensure the best ideas are getting Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Vietnam — where they need to go,” Beers said at remains unchanged from 2005 but, the launch event at the National Press according to Hanford, an updated list Club. “NSN members are committed is forthcoming. to fostering an informed public dia- Among the CPCs, the report traces logue to ensure a secure and prosper- a decline of freedom in Iran, where ous future for the United States and “government actions and rhetoric cre- to restore America’s legitimacy as a ated a threatening atmosphere for global leader.” nearly all religious minorities.” Both One of the core missions of the recognized and unrecognized minori- Network is to strengthen citizen ties in Iran continue to suffer at the support for responsible foreign poli- hands of discriminatory government- cy throughout the country. Chap- sponsored media campaigns, the ters are currently active in three report states. states, and are being set up in five The report cites ongoing restric- more. tions in China, where Christians, “The National Security Network Muslims and Falun Gong practition- aims to put ‘security’ back into ers continue to be violently persecut- ‘national security’ and do it by restor- ed. It also expresses concern over ing bipartisanship,” said Network intensified restriction of religious Advisory Board Chairman Leslie H. activities — on the part of both Gelb. “No other national security Christian and Muslim groups — in organization integrates policymaking, Uzbekistan, which many speculate messaging and community outreach will be included in the new CPC list. within one enterprise. Network Criticism has been leveled at the members are the best of the next gen- report from both the domestic and eration. They are problem-solvers international arena. The U.S. Com- addressing real challenges.” mission on International Religious — Susan Maitra, Senior Editor Freedom stated that it was “shocked”

12 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 C YBERNOTES

by the State Department’s claims of Answering Expatriate improvement in Saudi Arabia, where ept. 11, 2001, has not had Booklovers’ SOS it says progress has been insignificant the same reverberations as Anyone who spends long periods and “freedom of religion does not SWorld Wars I and II, or the living overseas periodically entertains exist” (www.uscirf.gov/mediaroom/ the wish that there were some easy end of the Cold War. America press/2006/september/20060915 way to find favorite English-language StateDeptRpt.html). The USCIRF has not reshaped the world, and books abroad. Booksfree.com, an also denounced positive references to the world has not reshaped online, mail-order book and books-on- Vietnam’s progress in the report. America. But that does not mean tape rental service, goes a long way Not surprisingly, the report has that the challenges brought on toward making that wish come true drawn even angrier responses from by 9/11 are not momentous. (www.booksfree.com). the CPCs. Iranian Foreign Ministry Often described as “a Netflix for The challenge for the United spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini books,” Booksfree offers a selection of denounced it, claiming that it “pur- States is managing and over 79,800 paperback and 13,800 sues a U.S. foreign policy agenda and mitigating the turmoil in the audiobook titles. With access to a wide is of no value” (www.rferl.org/fea world, while taking steps to keep variety of genres, members can choose turesarticle/2006/09/0C3098FB- the American people safe. anything from classics to suspense CC24-49A5-8CAF-63CE752B thrillers to self-help guides. There is BBAF.html). — Lee Hamilton, “Five Years also a substantial Young Adults section. While expressing Vietnam’s good After 9/11,” Remarks at Here’s how it works. Simply log on will toward the United States, Foreign Pace University, Sept. 7 to create your own booklist, and Ministry spokesman Le Dung pro- www.wilsoncenter.org/docs/ Booksfree delivers your selections for tested his nation’s being singled out as free, with prepaid return postage staff/Hamilton_Pace.doc a country of particular concern. included. Once you return your books, According to Dung, “Vietnam has the next choices on your list will be made enormous progress on religious automatically sent out. The Web site is freedom” (www.nhandan.com.vn/ robust and user-friendly, and the many english/news/190906/domestic_ mun daily newspaper, citing U.S. cam- FAQs give clear answers to any ques- vn1.htm). However, the report states paigns in Afghanistan and Iraq (http:// tion that you may have. that despite improvements for Pro- today.reuters.com/news/home. As the site boasts, opting to rent testants, certain Buddhist factions are aspx). books can save up to 80 percent of a still repressed. Though not on the CPC list, typical book-loving individual or fami- In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokes- Russia, too, was critical. “We did not ly’s annual expenditure on books. For man Qin Gang dismissed the report as expect balanced, unbiased judgments a monthly fee, members are entitled to a “groundless” interference in China’s from this document,” states Russian an unlimited number of rentals. The internal affairs. Ye Xiaowen of the Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail service offers four different plans, State Administration for Religious Kamynin (www.interfax-religion. ranging from a two-book deal that lets Affairs remarked, “This subject has com/print.php?act=news&id=20 you borrow two choices at a time for become a major obstacle to construc- 62). “Just like in previous years, the $8.49 a month, to a 12-books-at-a-time tive cooperation between China and U.S. Department of State’s report is deal for $34.99. If you want to keep the United States” (http://today. abundant in inaccurate and often any of the books you borrow, Booksfree reuters.com/news/home.aspx). grossly erroneous wordings. It jug- offers a discounted rate. In Pyongyang, officials charged gles facts, outdated information, and Although Booksfree does not pro- that the United States should stop references to apparently unreliable vide international service, it does ship meddling in others states’ religious sources.” to APO/FPO addresses. Foreign Ser- policies. “The United States is not a For the full report, see www. vice employees can also receive books ‘religious judge’ but a chief culprit in state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/. abroad through pouch mail. the repression and extermination of — Lamiya Rahman, — Lamiya Rahman, religion,” declared the Rodong Sin- Editorial Intern Editorial Intern

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 13 SPEAKING OUT Political Appointees: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

BY WILLIAM F. D AVNIE

olitical-appointee ambassadors Understandably, this does not work. constitute a perennial source of Most political Yet political-appointee ambassadors Pamazement, frustration, anger appointees face tend to believe such talking points and sometimes even inspiration among are great, precisely because they career diplomats and observers of massive culture shock sound like speeches they have heard American diplomacy. A June 15 when they enter or given before back home. No mat- International Herald Tribune column government and ter how well they may understand by Thomas Raleigh called for an end arrive at an embassy. how to talk to Americans of their to, or sharp restriction of, the number own political party, they have trouble of “amateur (i.e., political appointee) with the need to switch mental gears ambassadors.” Raleigh focuses on once they arrive at post. the general failure of such appointees to meet the standards of the Foreign rate, that divide — that stress ‘you’re Culture and Other Shocks Service Act of 1980, both in terms of for us or against us’ — are most effec- Second, most political appointees the skills and experience necessary to tive. (Whether you like that style of face massive culture shock when they do the job, and the fact that they tend politics is a different matter.) enter government and arrive at an to be major political donors, not for- It doesn’t work that way overseas. embassy. Some insist this is the fault eign policy experts. A foreigner can like American music, of an entrenched career bureaucracy He’s correct, to be sure, as far as complain about our fast food (while fighting against reasonable policy he goes. But there are additional rea- eating at McDonald’s) and enjoy a guidance from the president’s repre- sons why many, perhaps most, non- winter vacation in Florida — and still sentatives. But I’ve read the business career ambassadors are profoundly oppose our presence in Iraq, our pages long enough to have seen many handicapped in fulfilling their new trade policy or, simply, our promi- an article on chief executive officers duties, regardless of how successful nence. Foreign populations don’t who failed because they couldn’t they may have been in other fields. It have to be with or against America. make the adjustment from one com- isn’t that the people nominated are They can ponder choices, offer alter- pany or sector’s business culture to incompetent. Rather, few people can natives, make distinctions. another’s. If that’s true within the pri- make the shifts needed to be effec- So when talking points arrive at vate sector, why shouldn’t it be true in tive in their new settings in the time post from the White House or the the world of diplomacy, an admitted- they have available. Bureau of Public Diplomacy in the ly quirky corner of government? First, most non-career appointees State Department, written by domes- Make no mistake: the public sector have rich political experience — but tic political experts and sounding like is different. In government, there’s no it’s in domestic politics, not interna- they were prepared for a campaign clear, numeric bottom line by which to tional affairs. Perhaps always, but speech, they don’t merely fall on deaf measure success. There’s constant certainly in the current political cli- ears — they tend to alienate their oversight by both Congress and the mate, such expertise focuses on ener- recipients. Instead of engaging the public, which has led to all sorts of gizing the base and boxing in the overseas public in order to explain regulations and procedures alien to opposition. The goal is to win the our position and the reasons for it, the private sector. Diplomacy has a next election, so slogans that sepa- they try to tell it what to think. special incentive to avoid unintended

14 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 S PEAKING O UT

offense, having learned how long and cases, have never lived outside the loudly a misstep can reverberate in U.S., and who may well not have bilateral relations. This can lead to a The temptation is to try moved for decades. cautious pace that people from the Among other problems, there’s an business world find somewhere to make the embassy obvious tendency to continue to rely between irritating and infuriating — on U.S. contacts — one ambassador but which they fundamentally can’t work like the private sent his speeches back to his office in change. This is not because their New York for formatting! — rather American staff is resistant to guid- sector, instead of than settle into the new place. And ance, but because by definition diplo- because the ambassadorial assign- macy operates outside America, and utilizing the staff’s skills ment is almost always an interlude in must take into account the culture and the appointee’s “real life” back in the customs of the host country and to advance U.S. policy. U.S., there is an inevitable tendency region. Though we represent a super- not to truly connect with either the power, we aren’t free actors. country of assignment or the new cul- Third, political appointees, who ture of the U.S. embassy. are often CEO-types, are shocked to As a consequence, perhaps, of all discover the limitations on their posi- always lose. The outside view of these points, many appointees don’t tion when they actually arrive at an bureaucratic rigidity isn’t entirely remain at post for the entire three- embassy. On the policy side, except wrong, to be sure. It frustrates those year tour they accepted. Family ties, in a few hot spots (where political of us inside the system as well. (The campaign schedules, homesickness appointees only rarely land, with Iraq difference is that most of us realize and frustration with the federal sys- and Afghanistan representing excep- that a single ambassador cannot tem all make an early exit attractive. tions that prove the rule), policy is change a system as complicated as our Yet many observers consider even the set, and news made, back in Washing- foreign affairs representation struc- standard three-year U.S. diplomatic ton. Ambassadors are essentially ture, especially from what amounts to assignment the minimum for anyone seen as messengers, and thus of little a branch office-manager position in a to learn a new position and be effec- interest unless they can truly build probably not terribly important coun- tive. And that’s for people who know credibility on certain issues — a wor- try.) But political appointees often the profession and the process of set- thy goal but one most appointees spend vast amounts of time and ener- tling in to a new position. What does can’t achieve, because they don’t have gy trying to make the embassy work that say for a one- or two-year assign- the background. like the individual’s last executive ment for those who know little or And far from running the mission, office in the private sector, instead of nothing about the new job? the new ambassador typically discov- utilizing the staff’s skills to advance Note, please, that I have not writ- ers that the entire staff is already U.S. policy. ten at all about the burden non-career tasked with a range of reports and ambassadors place on their staff to requirements from Washington, from Short-Timer’s Disease educate them to their work; the num- their home agency or department, Fourth, at a human level, moving ber of faux pas that have to be averted and various subdivisions thereof. overseas and taking on a new leader- (if possible) or smoothed over after This can be profoundly disillusioning ship position in what usually is a the fact; or the time spent explaining for a political-appointee ambassador, totally new place and field of work everything from basic procedures to who naturally assumes that his or her would challenge anyone’s adaptive the host country’s history to high poli- staff works only for the front office. capabilities. Career diplomats, who cy. I’m only looking at the inevitable, Financially, ambassadors can direct move frequently between home and normal, objective challenges that face only a modest portion of the funds abroad, from culture to culture, a non-career ambassador. spent at the embassy, and have tight know that each move is a challenge, Can these challenges be over- limits on their ability to deploy staff in with a substantial learning curve come? Sure, sometimes. But only different ways. concerning daily life as well as pro- with great personal commitment, and Political appointees generally fessional responsibilities. Naturally, at substantial cost to the coherence of spend substantial time struggling the process presents even greater our foreign policy execution and the against these constraints, and nearly challenges to those who, in many time and energy of the professional

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 15 S PEAKING O UT

embassy staff, who already have full- Need to time work to do. Sound the Alarm At a minimum, the White House needs to take the real challenges of About Something? diplomatic service into greater account when deciding which of the Why not write a “Speaking Out” column for the Foreign Service major donors will receive posts, and Journal? the Senate needs to exercise its role of advice and consent with greater “Speaking Out” is your forum to advocate policy, regulatory or statutory care. The issue at hand is not simply changes affecting the Foreign Service. These can be based on personal the background of the nominee, experience with an injustice or convey your hard-won insights into a which may be sterling, but the ability foreign affairs-related issue. of the nominee to meet the distinc- Writers are encouraged to take strong stands, but all factual claims tive challenges of diplomatic service must be supported and documented. in a new organizational environment in a new country. Submissions should be approximately 1,500 words in length and should be sent via e-mail to [email protected]. William Davnie, an FSO since 1981, has Please note that all submissions to the Journal must be approved by served in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Chiang the Editorial Board and are subject to editing for style, length and Mai, Moscow, Dushanbe, Vilnius and format. Washington, D.C. He is currently pub- lic affairs officer in Helsinki.

16 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 FS KNOW-HOW What I Wish I Had Known

BY ROBIN HOLZHAUER

he TM is signed, the house- Your happiness and success often hold effects sealed up, and As you head off depends on the connections you the visa — finally — deliv- make with your American colleagues T on your adventure, ered. No longer will people ask, and your Foreign Service National “Really, for which state?” when you keep these tips in staff. Of course, those connections tell them where you work — every- mind — things I lead to the second tip: one abroad knows what a U.S. Prepare for the personal. Both embassy is. The question is, do you wish I had known in your official and unofficial duties, know what you’ll find when you before my first people will either want to know arrive? assignments. about you or will know about you. Every job has its good and bad Professionally, people in your host aspects, its nuances and culture, its country may ask questions that geniuses and oddballs. The State would be considered rude in our cul- Department is no different. Being ture but are perfectly normal in prepared for the twists and turns your theirs. Be prepared for them so you life will take in our traveling show will extra copies to resubmit. You must don’t respond in an emotional man- help you weather the trying times and always double-check everything, save ner. If you do, you will be the one enjoy the good moments. So as you copies of everything, document every- who looks odd. After all, everyone head off on your adventure, keep thing. If you don’t, you’ll be the one asks those questions there. these tips in mind — things I wish I who loses out, and Foggy Bottom Topics may include: “How much had known before my first assign- won’t care. money do you make?” “Why don’t ments. The good news is that, in general, you have children?” “How can you The department will not take your co-workers do care. There are leave your elderly parents all alone?” care of you but, if you’re lucky, “kiss up, kick down” types in every And, if you’re female and over age your co-workers will. Do not — cone and bureau, but generally your 21: “Why aren’t you married?” Often never, ever — think the department co-workers want you to do well. In that one is followed by some local will be there for you. It will not. It is how many other jobs has someone version of “What’s wrong with you?” a bureaucracy meant to move slowly met you at the airport, bought gro- These can be emotional issues for and follow rules, no matter how ceries for you and made your bed for some people — imagine if you’ve unfair, archaic or silly those rules may your first night’s stay? How many been trying to have a baby for five seem to you. And if anything ever will take a Saturday morning to show years and someone at a reception goes wrong with the process, it’s your you how the Metro works or which asks you why you don’t have kids. So fault. Did an employee evaluation restaurant serves the best fare? Be prepare for the personal and have report not make it into your file? It’s good to them and, for the most part, ready an appropriate answer. not the fault of the person who didn’t they will be good to you. Then, when You also need to brace yourself for get it in, but your fault for not check- your time comes to be a sponsor, personal questions in the office. ing that your file was complete. Did remember how nice it was to have a Many embassies and consulates are someone lose a voucher you submit- full refrigerator and fluffed pillow on like small towns, where everybody ted? It’s your fault for not making your first day, and return the favor. knows your business. Sometimes

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 17 FS KNOW-HOW

Every job has its good and bad aspects, its nuances and culture, its geniuses and oddballs. The State Department is no different.

that’s a good thing. Other times it can feel a bit like “The Brady Bunch,” and you’ll want to follow Marsha’s lead and move into the attic. How your child did on the big test, who left with whom from the Marine House party, who drank too much at the last reception, which couple is having a fight — all this and more is revealed. So keep an eye on how you lead your personal life, and don’t be surprised if the person two cubicles down knows how you spent your weekend. Sometimes this effect is magnified at smaller posts, so it’s something to keep in mind when considering the third tip: Always research your post before you bid. This seems like a no-brainer, but many eager officers have gone off to nice-sounding places only to discover that the reali- ty does not live up to the vision. Ask questions that are relevant to you. If you’re single, is it a place that has activities you like, or does the embassy or city cater more to fami- lies? You’ll hate your tour if there is no social life for you outside of work. What kind of work do you want to do? If your passion is developing small business or micro-finance but

18 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 FS KNOW-HOW

you accept an assignment to Western Europe, don’t be surprised if you’re delivering demarches telling your contacts to allow genetically-modi- fied food into their country. Make sure the work is rewarding to you. An area newer officers sometimes overlook is researching who their bosses will be. You could live in the country of your dreams and have work you’ve always wanted to do, but if your boss is a lousy manager and leader, you may find yourself dread- ing going to work. See what the buzz is about the person. What do fellow officers think his strengths and weak- nesses are? Find out her manage- ment style and decide if it’s compati- ble with how you like to be super- vised. The relationship you have with your supervisor can make or break an assignment, so try and find out ahead of time if your styles will match. Another thing to keep in mind when you look at possible assign- ments is how it will affect your career. Therefore before you submit that bid, consider the next tip: Decide what’s most important to you. Do you hope to make ambas- sador or deputy assistant secretary in the shortest time possible, or would you rather pursue the work that inter- ests you most? Neither choice is a bad one, but the goal will affect your choice of assignments. While every rule has an exception, conventional wisdom (aka the Career Development Program) dictates there are certain steps to take to make it to the Senior Foreign Service, and you need to begin taking them fairly early in your career. It may require going to a post where dependents are not allowed, or tackling issues you don’t like, or working with people you’d rather not be around. You need to decide which tack you want to take, and discuss the implications with your family. You don’t want to put in 10 or

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 19 FS KNOW-HOW

No longer will people ask, “Really, for which state?” when you tell them where you work. The question is, do you know what you’ll find when you arrive?

20 years, and then become embit- tered that you didn’t get a DCM slot because it went to the guy who served in two war zones while you went from Rome to Rio. You also don’t want the flip side of the coin: finding “Amb.” before your name, but bemoaning the fact that you missed so many school plays or never got around to learning the guitar or taking vacations at the beach. In each case you made a choice that affected your career and your family. Be sure you know what you’re aiming for and what sacrifices it will take to get it so you don’t regret what you did or didn’t do. The final tip is one passed along by a colleague: To be successful, you must know your country and you must know your country. That is, you must know the country you are posted to, but you must also know the United States. We usually do OK on the first part. We do what we can to internal- ize the culture, history and current events of where we’re going. But we often don’t think about the United States. Of course we know it, we think; it’s our country. Yet often we haven’t spent time really understand-

20 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 FS KNOW-HOW

ing our own culture. What are and-turkey-tradition knowledge. American values and how are those Above all, enjoy your time in the values seen overseas? What are the Service. It’s a unique, sometimes diffi- good things that have come from cult, often frustrating career you are those values? How has our history embarking upon. But it can also lead shaped our current attitudes and to a rewarding and insightful life. I’ve trends? You will need to explain these met many senior officers who said if things overseas and know how people they had it to do over again, they would in your country view them so you can join the Foreign Service. Again. best frame your ideas and message. Now go catch your airport taxi — People want to know about policy as and be sure to save the receipt. well as people, and you must explain both. Robin Holzhauer joined the Foreign There are a few topics people the Service in 1998 as part of the United world over seem to find especially States Information Agency and interesting. So learn all you can about moved to the State Department in the following: the Electoral College, 1999. In addition to postings in the U.S. Constitution, and the history Kosovo and Russia, she has worked at and current situation of Native Ameri- the Foreign Service Institute and cans/American Indians. Also, people attended the Naval War College. She always want to know about Thanks- is in language training for a summer giving, so brush up on your Pilgrim- 2007 assignment in Caracas.

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 21 F OCUS ON F RAGILE S TATES

SEEKING A PATIENT PATH TO NATIONBUILDING Clemente Botelho

U.N. POST-CONFLICT PLANNING SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO SUSTAIN AND STABILIZE COUNTRIES LONG AFTER ELECTIONS.

BY ROBERT MCMAHON

y the fourth anniversary of its statehood earlier this year, East Timor was com- monly referred to as one of the great successes of U.N. nationbuilding. When violence erupted after the country’s inde- pendence referendum in 1999, the U.N. Security Council handed Australia a robust mandate to restore peace. The presence of theB Australians — exemplifying a “U.N.-plus-one” approach — and strong initial financial and political sup- port from the international community created the conditions in which to build a new, democratic state.

22 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 F OCUS

The Security Council tasked the U.N. secretariat to hold elections and develop institutions to run the country. administer the small territory until it held elections, drew But after three years, with the level of international assis- up a constitution and created rule-of-law institutions. tance reaching hundreds of millions of dollars per year, With its admission as the U.N.’s 191st member state in and in the aftermath of free and fair elections, a number 2002, East Timor was anointed a U.N. success story. But of Security Council members were eager to wind down by the spring of 2006, the call had gone out again for UNTAET. U.S. envoy Richard Williamson, addressing Australian troops to help restore peace. A dispute involv- the Security Council late in 2002, echoed other diplomats ing the dismissal of army soldiers flared into gang warfare in citing the U.N.’s success in East Timor, saying it pro- that convulsed the capital, Dili, and caused more than vided “the training wheels to help the Timorese build one-tenth of the country’s one million residents to flee. their own functioning administration, civil service, police The unrest led to the collapse of East Timor’s govern- and security force.” ment and new plans for the United Nations to deploy a But some development experts argue the U.N. com- large security force and lend political support ahead of mitment should have lasted far longer. Ramesh Thakur national elections in 2007. of U.N. University in Tokyo and William Maley of The swiftness of the country’s decline into violence Australia National University wrote jointly in the Daily and instability caught United Nations officials off guard. Yomiuri in July 2006 that it was proper to establish a Both in New York and Dili, they acknowledged that the democracy in East Timor, but said it was wrong to use withdrawal of international support had happened pre- elections as an exit strategy when reforms were incom- maturely, before security forces had become established plete. “A ‘democratic’ society without justice is less and the country, Asia’s poorest, had gained its economic appealing than a just society in which elections have been footing. delayed until it is safe for them to be held,” they wrote. As a result, now the U.N.’s experience in East Timor is The U.N. Security Council gave the new nation a being criticized in some quarters as another case of passing grade on security-sector reform, even though nationbuilding on the fly, with major U.N. powers eager there were still serious institutional flaws in both the to declare victory after elections before institutions are national army and police. At the core of the dispute in truly stable. Its response to the East Timor setback will early 2006 were regional rivalries in the military. The be observed even more closely as other nationbuilding government tried to dismiss nearly 600 soldiers in the projects enter a critical phase and the just-formed U.N. national army, mostly from the west. They had been Peacebuilding Commission seeks to develop a new complaining of discrimination by members from the east. mechanism for sustainable post-conflict reconstruction. When their complaints spilled over into violence, the government was poorly equipped to respond. Police Starting from Scratch quickly melted away in the face of angry mobs. A U.N. East Timor separated violently from Indonesia in 1999 assessment mission later found a weak police force after its residents voted overwhelmingly for indepen- throughout the country. U.N. experts also faulted the dence in a U.N.-run referendum. After Australian troops defense ministry for provisioning the armed forces inad- had restored order, ousting Indonesian-backed militias, equately. “Legislation and internal procedures for the the U.N. assumed de facto sovereign powers to build a regulation of the force and the ministry itself are almost state virtually from scratch. Post-referendum violence entirely lacking, resulting in inadequate civilian oversight razed most of the country’s infrastructure nearly to the of the force. Allocated resources for the development of ground. There was essentially no police force, judiciary the ministry, including provision for professional posts to or coherently organized economy. In the parlance of be staffed by Timorese, have not been utilized,” the development experts, East Timor was at “ground zero,” report said. requiring extensive international aid and guidance to find Stable security institutions are especially important in its bearings. a country of such limited economic means as East Timor. The United Nations Transitional Administration in With an annual per capita income of about $550, its econ- East Timor set up health and education systems after its omy remains the poorest in Asia, according to the World arrival at the end of 1999 and trained East Timorese to Bank. Unemployment at the time of the spring 2006 vio-

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lence was at about 40 percent, Experts say nationbuilding enough,” Ramos-Horta said, and even higher among the “let’s get the Australians to stay young. missions can only be judged a indefinitely.” Oil and gas exports are seen as the country’s most promising success after about 10 years Works in Progress sector, but it will take years for As the United Nations pre- them to generate the jobs and from the time international pares to re-engage in East revenues the country desperate- Timor, it is nearing a critical ly needs. Most of those employ- forces withdraw. phase in several other high-pro- ed are engaged in agriculture, file nationbuilding missions of where wages and productivity much greater size and regional are low. An August 2006 U.N. report urged greater focus impact. Widely different circumstances brought the on boosting rural areas, where three-fourths of the labor United Nations into Kosovo, Afghanistan and Liberia, force reside. “This requires considerable investment in but the organization has assumed a lead role in guiding roads, power and water infrastructure, agriculture exten- those states toward a combination of security, political sion and information programs, and the fostering of rural reform and economic sustainability: credit programs,” the report said. Kosovo: The Timorese experience should be espe- Speedy economic revitalization in post-conflict zones cially meaningful for U.N. officials involved in moving remains a problem for international bodies, U.N. Kosovo to a “final status” that, as of this writing, is in- Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Marie Guéhenno told a creasingly looking like independence. Still technically a Council on Foreign Relations briefing in May. Once new province of Serbia, Kosovo has been a virtual U.N. pro- authorities have been elected, he said, “there’s a window tectorate since Serbian forces pulled out in 1999. that opens, but if in the next 24 months people do not see Although the number of NATO-led forces there is steadi- progress and do not have jobs, [the mission] will be in ly declining, Kosovo has had the advantage of larger than trouble.” normal international peacekeeping and police forces pro- Some of the country’s leaders say they need to share in portionate to the local population of two million. But the blame for both the poor functioning of their institu- even that hasn’t prevented some flare-ups of ethnic vio- tions and their eagerness to take the reins from the lence. In March 2004, thousands of rampaging ethnic United Nations. Then-Foreign Minister Jose Ramos- Albanians killed nearly 20 Serbs and destroyed dozens of Horta told the Washington Post this past May that Serbian Orthodox churches and other properties. Timorese were overconfident in believing they could take Martti Ahtisaari, the Finnish diplomat who has han- over their own affairs in 2002, and the U.N. itself wanted dled many tough missions for the U.N., is charged with to disengage as quickly as possible. “If we are not mature brokering a deal between the two sides. Serb officials insist they will not accept an independent Kosovo, but it Robert McMahon, deputy director of www.CFR.org, the is believed they will relent if sufficient security provisions Web site of the Council on Foreign Relations, has covered for ethnic Serbs in the province are in place. Of special foreign affairs since 1990 for The Associated Press and concern is the province’s economy, which has faltered in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Based in Washington, part because of Kosovo’s unsettled status. D.C., he helps shape editorial content for CFR.org, and Afghanistan. A virtual “ground zero” state, Afghan- contributes analysis, interviews and background report- istan is patrolled by about 8,000 NATO and 18,000 U.S.- ing, with an emphasis on U.S. foreign policy. A former led forces. It is coping with a resurgent Taliban, which U.N. correspondent for RFE/RL, McMahon has written has been staging the fiercest attacks, including suicide extensively on U.N. peacekeeping, human rights bodies bombings, since its ouster nearly five years ago. The and post-conflict reconstruction issues, for publications U.N. mission plays a central role in guiding reconstruc- and broadcasts including the Fletcher Forum of World tion, but the Afghan government’s control beyond Kabul Affairs, the Weekly Standard, MSNBC.com and Transi- is spotty. tions Online. NATO-supported provincial reconstruction teams

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with civilian and military compo- The swiftness of Peacemaking Models nents are the main vehicle for assist- Experts say nationbuilding mis- ing in regional security and recon- East Timor’s decline sions can only be judged a success struction, but their record has been about 10 years after the time inter- mixed. They have tended to func- into violence and national forces withdraw. Examin- tion better in the more peaceful ed from that distance, the U.N. northern regions than in the south, instability caught U.N. missions in El Salvador, Mozam- where Taliban activity is greatest. bique and Croatia’s region of East- The U.N. mission has helped the officials off guard. ern Slavonia in the 1990s serve as country hold successful presidential useful case studies of relative suc- and parliamentary elections and cesses. draw up a constitution. But Afghanistan’s police and mil- In El Salvador, the United Nations negotiated the set- itary remain too weak for the fledgling government to tlement ending a 12-year civil war, helped reform the exercise full control of the country. armed forces and reduce their size, created a new police The chief of the United Nations Assistance Mission force and reformed the judicial and electoral systems. A in Afghanistan, Thomas Koenigs, has appealed for decade after the 5,000-member United Nations Obser- more international support in training police and more ver Mission in El Salvador withdrew, the country has money for the government to pay them. Koenigs told made the transition to a peaceful democracy, although it the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel in August: continues to struggle economically and cope with a seri- “There are districts there with 45 police officers for ous urban crime problem. Despite the public safety con- every 100,000 residents. That wouldn’t even work in cerns, where common crime has replaced war as the Bavaria.” biggest security threat, there is little expectation the Liberia. In the aftermath of a vicious civil war that country can degenerate into civil conflict. destabilized a large area of West Africa, the United The success of the peace agreement is attributed in Nations Mission in Liberia late last year helped the coun- part to the nature of the country’s civil war, in which try hold successful elections in which a former World rebels and government forces fought to a virtual stand- Bank official, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, became Africa’s first still. But experts also cite UNOSAL’s steady presence as female head of state. She pressed for the seizure and an honest broker, and the role of regional parties in press- extradition of accused war criminal Charles Taylor to The ing the two sides to make compromises and follow Hague for trial, and has sought to put the country on a through with their pledges. more stable economic footing. Particularly important was the engagement of the UNMIL, backed by a 15,000-strong force, has car- United States, which had provided strong military back- ried out a disarmament, demobilization and reintegra- ing to the government during the war but switched to an tion program for the country’s warring factions. The emphasis on negotiations under President George H.W. United Nations also assists in police training, forming a Bush. U.S. military assistance to the Salvadoran govern- new military and human rights activities. As of this past ment dropped dramatically in the early 1990s and was summer, more than 520,000 refugees and displaced then withheld contingent upon independent reports cer- Liberians had returned to their homes, a significant tifying reforms and progress on human rights matters in sign of hope for the country of three million. But the military. Experts believe that was the first time in his- despite the return of some confidence in the country’s tory that a military in Latin America permitted such future, there remains a profound lack of expertise in external influence on its officer corps. many essential jobs, especially the civil service. An Mozambique’s transition out of civil war happened August report by the United Nations Development nearly in parallel with El Salvador’s. Rebels supported by Program said of the problem: “As it now stands, the South Africa and former Southern Rhodesia (now public service is not only ill-equipped to deliver essen- Zimbabwe) had battled the Marxist government for near- tial services to the people, but is also unable to steer ly 15 years until the United Nations brokered a peace much-needed reforms.” agreement in 1992. In a country awash in small arms and

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land mines, the U.N. placed em- One of the most successful the peaceful reintegration of the phasis on security matters ahead region within two years. of holding elections. U.N. nationbuilding efforts The peace agreement estab- Cautionary Tales lished the contours of a new army emerged from the arena For all of its success in the and a timeline for demobilizing 1990s, the decade also saw U.N. the former warring sides as well as of one its biggest peacekeeping debacles, from Bos- integrating them into the political nia to Rwanda. Those two coun- process. The disarmament, demo- peacekeeping failures — tries, though scarred by genocide, bilization and reintegration pro- are at least on the path to recovery. cess for both sides, monitored by the former Yugoslavia. But the period’s other high-profile the United Nations Operation in failure, Somalia, remains a failed Mozambique, eventually helped state and a source of instability in set the stage for successful elections. A nationbuilding East Africa 11 years after the last U.N. mission pulled study issued by the RAND Corporation in 2005 said a out. crucial feature of the peace process was “the willingness The international intervention in Somalia started out of neighboring states to withdraw their forces and cut off promisingly when the U.N. Security Council at the end support for their belligerent proxies.” of 1992 authorized a U.S.-led force to create a safe area Mozambique has remained peaceful and democratic to help Somalis threatened by famine and civil war. That for a decade. Nearly five million people have returned to effort is credited with saving hundreds of thousands of their homes (the largest repatriation in sub-Saharan lives, but it was unable to rein in Somali militias. Some Africa to that point), and the country has experienced analysts point to an overly ambitious U.N. mandate while healthy annual GDP growth since the war ended. But others note that the lead military force, the United States, the country’s economy remains feeble: Mozambique con- could not settle on a plan for disarming the Somali fac- tinues to rank near the bottom of the U.N. Development tions. Program’s human development index, which measures The results were calamitous. In one attack in June everything from poverty to life expectancy. 1993, Somali fighters killed 25 Pakistani peacekeepers. One of the most successful U.N. nationbuilding An ambush the following October killed 18 U.S. soldiers efforts emerged from the arena of one its biggest peace- and left nearly 1,000 Somalis dead. U.S. troops withdrew, keeping failures — the former Yugoslavia. Though not a and the U.N. mission followed two years later. full-fledged nationbuilding effort, the mission in Croatia’s Former U.S. diplomat Chester Crocker has observed Eastern Slavonia region was crucial to stabilizing that in Foreign Affairs that the failure was a result of “strate- country, as well as neighboring Bosnia, emerging from its gic confusion followed by a collapse of political will when own even more brutal civil war. the confusion led to combat casualties.” The experience With the consent of Belgrade and Zagreb, the east- set off a debate in U.S. policy circles about what human- ernmost province of Croatia was placed under U.N. itarian crises constitute a “national interest” and require administration in 1996 after the war between Serbs and the commitment of U.S. blood and treasure. Since then, Croats. The United Nations Transitional Administration events in Afghanistan have demonstrated the importance for Eastern Slavonia, armed with a strong mandate for its of repairing failed states. And now with Somalia’s capital, peacekeepers and the promised backing of NATO fire- Mogadishu, coming under the control of militia loyal to power, oversaw the successful integration of the majority Islamic courts in the summer of 2006, there are concerns Serb area into Croatia. UNTAES demilitarized Eastern that a new, Taliban-style government is poised to assert Slavonia, ensuring the safe return of thousands of control throughout the country. (See p. 30.) refugees to their homes as well as organizing elections. Haiti represents another peacebuilding environment Though many ethnic Serbs departed the province for in which both the United States and United Nations fal- good and the battered region continues to struggle eco- tered. Despite repeated intercessions, the country has nomically, the U.N. mission accomplished its core goal of been stuck in a cycle of poverty, authoritarianism, cor-

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ruption and conflict. A U.S.-led The Timorese experience countries emerging from conflict. multinational force entered the It aims to bring together sectors country under U.N. auspices in should be especially of the United Nations that work 1994, effectively ousting the on post-conflict reconstruction. leader of a military junta, Raoul meaningful for U.N. East Timor and Haiti would Cedras, and restoring democrati- appear to be priority clients for the cally elected Jean-Bertrand Aris- officials involved in moving commission. However, the first tide to the presidency. The next cases referred to it were Burundi year the United States turned Kosovo to a “final status” and Sierra Leone. Although they over peacekeeping duties to the need considerable help, the two U.N., which emphasized police that may be independence. African states are seen as having training and other democracy- made steady progress in moving building measures in successive missions that lasted until beyond their civil conflicts, and thus present two man- 2001. Washington also continued to provide an average ageable cases for the commission to start off with. The of $100 million per year in economic and security assis- concern is that the commission is an advisory body, as tance to Haiti over that period, according to the opposed to an operational one, and is dependent on vol- Congressional Research Service. But despite a brief untary contributions, meaning nationbuilding efforts will period of calm and economic reforms under President remain subject to the whims of a Security Council and René Préval from 1996 to 2000, Haiti’s political institu- major donors, who all have short attention spans. Yet tions remained dysfunctional. among its expected critical donors is the United States, Aristide returned to the presidency in 2001 under a which counts the creation of the commission as one of disputed vote, and the political and security situation the few concrete results of the U.N. reform process of worsened. He later fled into exile, facing armed rebellion the past year. and pressure to resign from Washington. In 2004, once again, U.S. forces took part in an international force that Lessons Learned (and Not) helped stablize the country. A new U.N. mission also The formation of the Peacebuilding Commission is an arrived to guide the country to elections, restore order important acknowledgment by the U.N.’s membership of and “foster democratic governance.” longstanding institutional gaps that have impaired post- Préval was re-elected president early in 2006, pledg- conflict efforts. The formal joining of development, ing to revive efforts at economic and political reform. A political and security experts in this body is considered a U.N. force of more than 8,000 is in the country, but it is prerequisite for developing sound nationbuilding strate- not yet clear whether it is more intent on peacekeeping gies. The U.N. peacekeeping experience of the last two or peacebuilding. (See p. 45.) decades, with its appalling failures as well as quieter suc- cesses, has produced this consensus and other lessons. The New U.N. Peacebuilding Commission The lessons start with the need for “clear, credible and Volumes have been written by various U.N. depart- achievable mandates” from the U.N. Security Council, in ments about the pitfalls of nationbuilding. But despite the words of a much-discussed 2000 report from a panel constant demand for its services, the organization until headed by veteran U.N. diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi. now has been forced to deal with each mission in a most- Among the many missteps in Somalia, for example, was a ly ad hoc manner. The creation of a new U.N. Peace- problem of mission creep on the part of both U.N. and building Commission earlier this year reflects the wide- U.S. forces. Having achieved a humanitarian success, spread belief among members that the organization must they ended up getting embroiled in a disastrous hunt for provide sustained support beyond the tours of the U.N. a warlord. Today’s many U.N. missions, whatever their blue helmets. failings, are rarely accused of overreaching. The 31-member commission, which held its inaugur- The organization has also clearly learned the impor- al session in June, is an advisory body intended to coordi- tance of getting combatants disarmed and reintegrated nate resources for patient, long-term development of back into society as soon as possible. The success of the

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U.N.’s disarmament, demobilization Speedy economic of the Security Council, whether in and reintegration process for the war- East Timor or in Haiti, where the ring sides in Mozambique and other revitalization in Council this year decided to shorten missions in the early 1990s has made the mandate of the U.N. peacebuild- “DDR” standard for nationbuilding post-conflict zones ing mission. In both cases, successful efforts from Liberia to Afghanistan. At elections seemed to put the countries the same time, the U.N.’s faulty efforts remains a problem for on the fast track toward a reduction in to reform Haiti’s security sector in the U.N. involvement. That both coun- 1990s impressed upon the organiza- international bodies. tries remain among the poorest in the tion the need for such reforms to be world, with recent violent pasts, more comprehensive, involving train- should be reason enough for more sus- ing and other strong hands-on guidance in policing and tained Security Council commitment. justice areas, as well as governance. This was further Elections and political reforms are rightly ingrained in emphasized in East Timor and Kosovo, with mixed results. U.N. post-conflict planning, but new thinking is still re- It has also become apparent that powerful regional quired about the resources needed to sustain and stabilize actors, whether Australia in East Timor, the United States even the smallest of countries long after the ballots are in El Salvador, or the European Union in the Balkans, can counted. As East Timor warily prepares for new elections have a positive impact when harnessed to the U.N.’s and the U.N. readies a new peacekeeping mission, it is skilled mediation and development teams. clearer than ever that the savings from the premature But hampering such efforts is impatience on the part pullout were inconsequential.

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SOMALILAND: A DEMOCRACY UNDER THREAT Clemente Botelho

VIRTUALLY ON ITS OWN, THIS PROVINCE OF SOMALIA HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A SOLID DEMOCRACY IN A VERY BAD NEIGHBORHOOD.

BY ELIZABETH SPIRO CLARK

ahir Rayale Kahin is the president of Somaliland, a de facto independent state in northwest Somalia (see map, p. 32). Though not internationally recognized, it has, with minimum help from the out- side world, established itself as a solid democracy in a very bad neighborhood. Somaliland formally presented its request for recognitionD to the African Union in 2004, but came away empty-handed. Stepping up its diplomatic offensive, this past August President Kahin made a pilgrimage to the British and

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German foreign ministries, but had claimed that five rapists would be no success. As Somaliland’s foreign Somaliland’s legal claim stoned to death, imposed rigid minister, Edna Adan Ismail, said in Shariah rules on women, shut down June, “Instead of encouraging us, we to recognition rests on local broadcasts of world soccer are being pushed towards Somalia, matches, denounced Western-style which continues to fall apart.” persuasive grounds, democracy and refused contact While Somaliland seeks recog- with U.S. officials. Yusuf has ties to nition, the situation in Somalia has backed by exceptional Ethiopia. Aweys, on the other radically changed. A chaotic and hand, is a decorated hero from the violent “state” with no functioning circumstances. war with Ethiopia over the Ogaden central government at all now has region back in the 1980s. a radical Islamic regime consoli- dating its hold on ever-wider areas of the south, follow- A Quick Course in Somalian History ing its takeover of the capital, Mogadishu, in June. The Both the ICU and TFG concur in one thing: their Islamic Courts Union — the armed wing of the Council determination to reincorporate Somaliland into Somal- of Islamic Somali Courts — defeated a coalition of war- ia. Though this was always their intent, the TFG was lords (the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and never in a position to do anything about it. Now, with Counterterrorism), then gained popular legitimacy the ICU’s ascendancy, the prospect of forcible reinte- when credible reports circulated that the warlords were gration has new momentum, especially now that leaders clandestinely supported by Washington. of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, The U.S. and the international community continue an organization of six African countries focused on to recognize the impotent and corrupt Transitional drought control and development initiatives, has called Federal Government, set up in 2004 via a Kenya-based for sending a peacekeeping mission to Somalia. IGAD process known as the Intergovernmental Authority on is also requesting that the U.N. lift its arms embargo on Development. They reiterated their support when the Somalia. ICU seemed poised to defeat the TFG, holed up in its In response, Somaliland has vowed to fight reunifi- inland headquarters in the town of Baidoa. At present cation and the lifting of the U.N. ban. there is a cease-fire between the two factions, but as an That reaction is not surprising given the history of indication of the latter’s fragility, on Sept. 18 a car bomb Somalia. On June 26, 1960, the “state of Somaliland” aimed at TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed went was given its independence from Great Britain, and off outside of Parliament, killing 18 people. The U.S. immediately recognized by 35 nations, including the is now part of a large contact group whose aim is to get United States. Five days later the area of Italian the ICU and the TFG to negotiate a power-sharing Somalia was given its independence. The two legisla- arrangement. tures met and decided to unify with the capital to be set This will be a Herculean task. TFG head Abdullahi in the south in Mogadishu. Yusuf Ahmed is an elderly leader; his regional power Following a year of missteps by the new government, base, Puntland, is in northeast Somalia. Puntland dissident northerners boycotted a referendum on unifi- claims an autonomous status but, unlike Somaliland, cation. The subsequent period of corruption and within a sovereign Somalia. His clan group, the Darod, clanism in Somalia was halted by a 1969 military coup have traditionally fought the Hawiye clan from which that brought General Mohamed Siad Barre to power in the ICU draws its main support. Although there are Mogadishu. Barre proclaimed a socialist Somalia as the moderates among its leadership, the head of the ICU, “Somali Democratic Republic,” and launched a period Hassan Dakir Aweys, is not just accused of harboring of increasingly autocratic rule. terrorists but is himself on the U.S. terrorist list as for- After Somalia’s defeat in the Ogaden War with mer vice chairman of an organization allegedly linked to Ethiopia, Abdullahi Yusuf, among other leaders, led a Osama bin Laden, Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya. failed coup against Barre. Isaaq clan leaders in what is After Aweys took power in June, he immediately pro- now Somaliland formed a guerrilla movement to con-

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tinue the fight against Barre and suffered heavy reprisals during the 1980s. With their help, southern opposition movements forced Barre out in January 1991. Somaliland Five months later the “Republic of Somaliland” de- clared its independence and proclaimed Mohamed Ibrahim Egal president. Somaliland has maintained its independence ever since, while Somalia entered a 15-year period of collapse and violence. The history of independent Somaliland since 1991 has been one of steady democratization. A process laid out in Puntland a national charter agreed to at a 1993 “Grand National Reconciliation Conference” survived a period of clan fighting to produce a national constitution, which was rat- ified in a 2001 referendum that was also a plebiscite on independence. The district elections that followed were judged free and fair by international observers. After Egal’s death, Dahir Rayale Kahin, the appointed interim president, won the 2003 presidential elections — whose results were so close they went to the Supreme Court for adjudication. The decision in Rayale’s favor was fully accepted by the electorate. The September 2005 legislative elections completed Somalia is strategically located on the Horn of Africa, Somaliland’s full transition to democracy. “In 14 years, we jutting out into the Indian Ocean south of the Arabian have created a free and stable country and held multipar- Peninsula. Somaliland, a self-contained democracy ty elections at the local and presidential levels, plus a ref- roughly encompassing the five northwestern districts, erendum on our constitution,” Pres. Kahin declared. seeks recognition as an independent nation. Puntland, “This parliamentary poll is the final step in the process, comprising the three northeastern districts, is also an and we have earned the right to recognition.” autonomous region, but does not seek independence. However, in a foretaste of what Somaliland might expect from an ascendant ICU, terrorists — allegedly dis- not only fought Ethiopia in the Ogaden War but are patched from Mogadishu to disrupt the elections — rumored to support dissident and rebel groups there. crossed into Somaliland just days before the election, Similarly, Eritrea’s regional policy is dictated by its though they were arrested. opposition to Ethiopia, from which it won its indepen- Neighboring states are a confusing jigsaw of pluses and dence and with whom it fought a war over a border dis- minuses for the Somaliland government. Ethiopia has pute in the late 1990s. Asmara does not favor a breakup opened a consulate in the capital of Hargeisa and accepts of Somalia and is reportedly supplying the TFG with mil- Somaliland passports, but has not formally recognized itary equipment. Somaliland’s independence. (According to VOA reports, it For its part, Djibouti has narrow concerns that an inde- is also providing military support to the TFG.) Addis pendent Somaliland would move to dominate commercial Ababa is implacably opposed to the ICU, whose leaders activity in the region through its port at Berbera, and so opposes its recognition. Elizabeth Spiro Clark, a longtime former member of the Journal’s Editorial Board, was a Foreign Service officer Wait and See? from 1980 to 2000. A former fellow at the National Washington and the rest of the international commu- Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for nity agree with Pres. Kahin’s declaration that Somaliland’s Democratic Studies, she is now an associate at the Institute democratic development has been exemplary, but they for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. have stopped well short of recognition. Their attention

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is focused not on the pros and In the absence of a situation for wait and see.” cons of recognizing Somaliland’s Presidential statements out of independence, but on the terri- functioning central the U.N. Security Council in ble situation in the south of the July and November 2005 focus- country. government, a radical Islamic ed exclusively on initiatives to In addition to offering a safe build bridges and plug holes in haven for terrorists, Somalia’s regime is consolidating its what seems an endless flood of extreme lawlessness has spawn- bad news out of the south. ed an epidemic of piracy off its hold on Somalia. A year later, following the coastline; all 47 incidents of pira- ICU victory over the warlords, cy reported for East Africa to the the international community is International Maritime Organization in its last five-year still focused on a changed but alarming situation in the report in 2005 have occurred off the Somalian coast. south. One bad situation is being traded for another, with Pirates captured front-page headlines with their the consolidation of an Islamic regime that will harbor November 2005 attack on the luxury cruiseliner and support al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations, is Seabourn Spirit and, earlier, on a World Food Program anti-Western and seeks to create an Islamic state that charter bound for Asian tsunami victims. Following the includes Somaliland. An August 2006 International attempted assassination of TFG Prime Minister Gedi Crisis Group report warned that without “urgently need- that same month, E.U. Commissioner for Humanitarian ed international mediation efforts,” the war in Somalia Affairs Louis Michel said of Somalia that it was “not a would spread across borders. Home Suite Home

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It is unclear that the urgent Washington and the rest Sea. It is a Muslim democracy in action called for will be any more an important region, with a pro- forthcoming in the future than it of the world agree that American, anti-terrorist govern- has been in the past. True, the ment. In sharp contrast, any hope U.S. supports regional efforts to Somaliland’s democratic that the TFG and ICU can reach a bring stability to the south. How- power-sharing agreement, or that ever the September decision of development has been the A.U. can impose one — much the African Union to support the less that any resulting Somalian Inter-Governmental Authority on exemplary, but have stopped government would work effectively Development’s request for 8,000 with the U.S. and international peacekeepers to be deployed to well short of recognition. community on anti-terrorism ob- Somalia and a lifting of the U.N. jectives — seems to be wishful arms embargo on Somalia is an thinking. unlikely path to peace and stability, given that the ICU has Meanwhile, Washington and its allies can take steps to vowed implacable resistance to the presence of foreign protect Somaliland now. It should beef up the interna- peacekeepers. tional presence there that has existed for years, despite The real reasons for the lack of muscle behind efforts the region’s isolation, and capitalize on the substantial on Somalia may have been best described by Center for investment in building up Somaliland’s political institu- Strategic and International Studies expert Stephen tions. For instance, the U.S. Agency for International Morrison, who told the International Relations and Development operates programs to help build stability Security Network’s Security Watch that “by contrast with in Somalia, generally focusing on civic education and Sudan, there is no strong domestic U.S. constituency for teacher training. Two-thirds of British assistance to serious engagement on Somalia ... I do not expect the “Somalia” has actually been spent in Somaliland. U.S. will realistically get very serious about a policy of On the multilateral front, the United Nations Devel- engagement in reconstructing Somalia versus the current opment Program and its Office of the Coordinator for strategy of containment.” Humanitarian Assistance are both active there as well, Whether doomed to failure or not — and even a strat- training residents to deal with their refugee situation and egy of containment may take more diplomatic energy providing other assistance. (Somaliland representatives than is available — the focus on the disastrous situation sit on bodies evaluating these programs.) One organiza- in the south has been an argument to put the situation in tion affiliated with the U.N., the International Peace- Somaliland on the back burner. In August, when Pres. building Alliance, is running programs to facilitate peace- Kahin was in London and scheduled to visit the U.S. in a building, economic and social rehabilitation in Somalia, subsequently-canceled trip, a U.S. official was quoted in Puntland and Somaliland. In Somaliland, its local part- the Aug. 24 Financial Times as saying that the U.S. views ners were invited by the official Electoral Commission to Somaliland as a “regional authority.” This sounds much take the lead in organizing the September 2005 elections like the longstanding U.S. position that the Somalis them- and to run civic education programs. selves should resolve the status question, whether through The congressionally-funded National Endowment for negotiations among the parties, a referendum, or a con- Democracy also operates in all three regions of Somalia, stitutional commission like the one called for in the TFG’s conducting 29 programs (15 in Somaliland) aimed at Transitional Charter. strengthening civil society. Although the Endowment does not take policy positions on recognition, NED The Peace and Democracy Advantage President Carl Gershman has made statements making it Even if the stars are not aligned for full recognition of clear that NED strongly supports Somaliland’s democra- Somaliland in the short run, there is a strong case for effec- cy. Significantly, NED’s internal procedures and docu- tive international protection and tangible support. It occu- ments treat Somaliland and Somalia on an equal basis as pies a strategic location, with its coastline on the trade separate countries. And all the Endowment’s local part- routes of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the Red ner organizations in Somaliland insist on its right to

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recognition as a sovereign country. weapons of mass destruction. That document also states Formally, however, nongovernmental organizations that “collectors, analysts and operators” within the 15 including NED operate, as do their governmental col- American intelligence agencies should seek to “forge leagues, in a framework of “parallel” democratic and con- relationships with new and incipient democracies” in flict resolution programs and initiatives, and do not take a order to help “strengthen the rule of law and ward off position on final status for Somaliland. Accord- threats to representative government.” ing to a 2003 UNDP document, “parallel developments If the case for effective international protection of could open the door to extended mediation [and] create Somaliland has strengthened, objections to recognition enduring solutions to the future relations of Somalia and on the grounds of “principles” have weakened. The Somaliland.” In practice, however, all this international African Union, with the international community follow- assistance, especially that supporting the 2005 elections, ing, has understandably expressed concern that recogniz- supports the Somalilanders’ desire to be a sovereign state. ing Somaliland will set a precedent, encouraging a raft of It should also be recalled that the Bush administration breakaway movements and claims for national self-deter- has made the spread of democracy one of its highest for- mination throughout the continent and possibly else- eign policy goals. It is one of two “pillars” of U.S. securi- where. Perhaps for that reason, the A.U. continues to ty policy in the March 2006 update of the National reject Somaliland’s 2004 application for recognition. Security Strategy. And the current U.S. National Intelligence Strategy, issued in October 2005, lists the Precedents and Analogies promotion of democracy as the number-three priority, However, Somaliland’s legal claim to recognition rests behind only combating terrorism and the spread of the on persuasive grounds, thanks to exceptional circum-

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stances. Not only did Somaliland The U.S. position has al union, the E.U. made a prece- have broad international recogni- dent-setting agreement to start tion (if only for five days) when long been that the Somalis negotiating entry with Montene- granted its independence from gro on a separate track from Great Britain in 1961, but its sub- themselves should resolve Serbia, anticipating that Montene- sequent union with the former gro would be able to satisfy E.U. Italian Somaliland was never the status question. requirements faster than Serbia. legitimated by a promised refer- Part of the explicit justification for endum. In addition, it is claiming a two-track policy was that Serbia- sovereignty within its former colonial boundaries — the Montenegro’s federal-level institutions were too weak to touchstone principle of A.U. policies regarding national be able to develop and enforce the necessary laws and reg- boundaries throughout the continent. (Unlike Puntland, ulations. which claims to encompass areas settled by the Darod Also changing is the idea that with enough interna- clan, the Somaliland “state” is not defined by its clan tional support and pressure, weak federal solutions to composition.) The A.U. took a step in the direction of fracturing states will eventually firm up into an endur- recognizing these factors as relevant when a 2005 fact- ing political order. Even the cheering for a Bosnia that finding mission stated that Somaliland had a “politically now, after 11 years of international tutelage, has just unique” claim to recognition, one that would not open begun to develop national institutions may be prema- the door to other secessionist claims. ture. Or, to take an even more obvious example, The fact that Somaliland has politically unique charac- developing strong federal-level institutions in the Iraqi teristics does not mean there are no relevant lessons to be federation looks to be the most problematic case of all. drawn from other cases of de facto, breakaway states, One would not want to push analogies between however. The main lesson to be drawn is that govern- Kosovo, in particular, and Somaliland too far, of course. ments of sovereign states who reject secessionist Kosovo is an international protectorate whose security demands can no longer take international support for is guaranteed by international military forces. There granted. Kosovo is a case in point, having taken a giant are U.N. resolutions that clearly admit an outcome of step toward independence on Oct. 24, 2005, when the international recognition of a sovereign Kosovo. The U.N. Security Council endorsed the start of talks on its incentive of European Union membership at the end “end status.” of the road is keeping negotiations on track and has As the province’s administrative authority, the U.N. trumped Serbian intransigence. Conversely, there is has organized and run elections that clearly only deep- no protection net for Somalia; no cavalry will come to ened the commitment of the Albanian-majority popula- its rescue. tion to becoming independent of Belgrade — as have, for all the differences of status, the internationally monitored A Model, Not a Road Map and assisted elections in Somaliland. By 2006, Kosovo’s The international community may exert pressure on drive for independence had progressed to the point that the new regime in Mogadishu to resolve its issues with a February report by the International Crisis Group Somaliland peacefully, but is unlikely to do much if the assessed as very unlikely prospects that any Serbian gov- ICU refuses — which it almost certainly will. Even ernment will “voluntarily acquiesce to the kind of inde- with a (weakly enforced) U.N. arms embargo in place pendence ... necessary for a stable, long-term solution.” — and the current one is not being enforced by the The ICG recommends that even without Serbian acqui- African Union — the central government retains the escence, the U.N. impose a “conditional independence means to instigate destabilizing acts in Somaliland. package” so long as Kosovo’s Albanians have made con- Furthermore, the parties in the south have not yet scientious efforts to offer minorities a range of protec- agreed to pursue a federal solution; only the ICU wants tions and guarantees. to reintegrate Somaliland into a unitary state. On the Montenegrin independence is another example. Far other side, the deepening of democracy in Somaliland from working to keep Serbia and Montenegro in a feder- is only likely to lead to a strengthening of its commit-

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ment to achieving sovereignty. Neighboring states University expert J. Peter Pham One could argue that the best recommends that the U.S. estab- time to recognize Somaliland — are a confusing jigsaw lish at least a minimal consular when there was truly nothing but presence in Hargeisa and pursue chaos in the south — has passed. of pluses and minuses some security cooperation with Now the issue is how to protect Somaliland, through the Com- Somaliland’s de facto indepen- for the Somaliland bined Joint Task Force-Horn of dence. The elements for a road Africa, based in Djibouti. This, he map to survival are in place, even government. notes, is in line with CJTF-HOA’s without immediate recognition. mandate of terrorism interdiction According to Somaliland expert — an urgent mandate vis-à-vis Anthony Carroll, international efforts should ratchet up Somaliland, with its 500-kilometer-long border with to tangible assistance, such as infrastructure projects. Somalia — and its mission to “win hearts and minds for The E.U. has already led the way with construction of a America.” At present, however, U.S. policy forbids task road to the commercially important port of Berbera. A force troops from even entering Somaliland. “parallel tracks” framework of assistance by the interna- Beyond Somaliland’s legal arguments for recogni- tional community should continue, as well, treating tion, which make the case for its exceptional circum- Somaliland as a de facto separate country with no stances, its successful democratic development should assumption of an eventual federation. carry independent weight on the scales of internation- Writing in World Defense Review, James Madison al legitimacy. There has been a buildup of precedent on

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the broad equation of democracy An August 2006 With all parties motivated to and international legitimacy. It is head off a spread of violence inconceivable that East Timor report warned the war in beyond Somalia’s borders, there is would have been admitted to the an opportunity to make clear that U.N. as a sovereign state without Somalia would spread a policy of containment must having cleared high democracy include the prevention of violent hurdles. The same will be the across borders without incursions into Somaliland or ter- case for Kosovo’s coming inde- rorist actions taken to subvert the pendence. “urgently needed Somaliland government. In terms of who should lead Given the evolution of interna- the efforts to protect Somali- international tional norms and standards, there land, the Aug. 10 International is an argument for democracy as a Crisis Group report recommends mediation efforts.” basis for according international that the U.N. is best situated to legitimacy to Somaliland. There take the lead. The ICG noted is no doubt that Somaliland has a that when the U.S. put together a contact group to work claim on the international community’s attention — in the issue, its initial meeting in New York in June drew the words of the U.S. National Intelligence Strategy — to representatives from 67 countries — but only one from “ward off threats to representative democracy.” Africa (Tanzania).

38 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 F OCUS ON F RAGILE S TATES

THE PACIFIC MICROSTATES AND U.S. SECURITY Clemente Botelho

THOUGH FREQUENTLY OVERLOOKED, THE MANY SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND-STATES ARE UNIQUELY RELEVANT TO U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY.

BY KEVIN D. STRINGER

he Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest geographical feature, covering approximately one- third of the Earth’s exterior. By its all-inclusive definition, the Pacific Basin accounts for approximately two-fifths of the world’s surface and nearly half of the world’s population. Not surprisingly, then, the nations that comprise the Pacific Rim are dissimilarT in many fundamental respects — from culture to political systems to economic orders — and range from global powers like rich and stable Japan to microstates like bankrupt Nauru and volatile Fiji.

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This latter category of small, Since 1991, America was also scheduled for closure, but Pacific island nations in what is gen- was kept open after congressional erally referred to as Oceania — in has steadily dismantled intervention.) In 1994, Washington particular, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, closed its regional aid office in Fiji Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, its diplomatic due to budgetary constraints. Tuvalu, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, This retrenchment contrasts with Niue, the Federated States of infrastructure across the activity of the PRC in the region. Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Since 1975, when it established diplo- Palau — are uniquely relevant to the Oceania region. matic relations with Samoa, Beijing Pacific security issues. These forgot- has steadily built a comprehensive ten places are characterized by limit- network of diplomatic posts in ed natural and human resources, lack of infrastructure Oceania. While the United States has been closing diplo- and geographical isolation, making their political, eco- matic posts, China has opened embassies in Samoa, the nomic and military significance seem minimal. But these Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati and characteristics also make them vulnerable to terrorist Vanuatu. The Cook Islands has established diplomatic activity and great-power influence. relations with China; Niue would like to follow, but has Although they are frequently overlooked diplomatical- been blocked by New Zealand. China now has more ly in the international system, these island-states are diplomats (although not more diplomatic posts) in the important for the security of the United States. For exam- region than any other country. This shift has long-term ple, they play a role in its global “war on terror” and the strategic repercussions for the future of the Pacific Rim. looming strategic rivalry with the People’s Republic of Because the Foreign Service is often described as China over the Pacific region. The U.S. must engage America’s first line of defense, this retrenchment of the these microstates diplomatically if it wishes to secure this diplomatic network is discouraging, to say the least. A lack region. of diplomatic outposts, with the ability to influence local island leaders and identify threats at an early stage, Diplomatic Retrenchment increases the potential for the growth of security risks to With the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago, the the U.S. perceived external threat to Oceania vanished, and there was a loss of interest in the region, particularly on the part The Threat of Terrorism of the United States and the United Kingdom. (The ter- In a paper prepared for the National Intelligence rorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon Council in November 2001 (“The Pacific Islands at the and the subsequent focus on the Middle East, with wars Beginning of the 21st Century”), Robert Kiste, an adjunct in both Afghanistan and Iraq, only intensified the trend.) senior fellow at the East-West Center, observed that the Since 1991, America has steadily dismantled its diplo- Solomon Islands is a failed state, and warned that other matic infrastructure across the Oceania region. Current- microstates in the region are fragile and could easily fol- ly, the U.S. has diplomatic missions only in Fiji, Samoa, low the Solomons into chaos. Fiji and Vanuatu are prime the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands candidates for this fate. In response, the Pacific Islands and Palau. In 1993, the Department of State closed its Forum commissioned a report in 2001 on security issues embassy in the Solomon Islands. (The embassy in Samoa in four Melanesian states, and over half a dozen areas of common concern were identified. In particular, crime in From 1994 to 1997, Kevin D. Stringer was a Foreign the form of drug trafficking, gun running, smuggling of Service officer, serving in London and Washington, D.C. goods and people, money laundering and the illegal sale During the summer of 2005 he was a research visitor at of passports were found to be on the rise. Further, the the East-West Center in Honolulu, and has been an report indentified a decline in the general security envi- adjunct professor in international political economy at ronment, with small, ineffective police forces sapping con- Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International fidence in law enforcement. These conditions apply in Management. varying degrees to all the other Pacific microstates.

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The collapse or weakening of any microstate would companies use flags of convenience to avoid heavy taxes create a political vacuum, opening a large area to undesir- and stringent inspections that would condemn their ves- able and potentially harmful external forces — from sels to the wrecker yards. While the vessels’ real owners exploitative corporations in natural resource extraction to can hide behind a wall of secrecy created by dubious own- criminal and terrorist elements. Terrorist elements, in ership structures, the crews are cheap foreign labor, with particular, would welcome a Pacific without borders, no rights. As a result, the ships and the crews are vulner- where the open seas allow for easy smuggling of goods able, easy targets for clever terrorists. and people. The islands are increasingly used for the A few examples from Tonga illustrate this danger. On transshipment of narcotics, and airport security measures Jan. 3, 2002, the Israeli Navy seized the Tongan-flagged are less sophisticated than elsewhere. KarineA, which was carrying 50 tons of weapons and The precarious nature of the Pacific island-states’ munitions that Israel claimed were destined for the economies also creates a strong need for revenue, leading Palestinian Authority in Gaza. In 2003, three vessels fly- to income-generating activities of a dubious nature: ing the Tongan flag were caught in the Mediterranean unregulated ship registrations; the development of poorly moving weapons, explosives and men for al-Qaida. In the supervised offshore financial centers with their inherently same year, U.S. officials investigated a shipping company unregulated transactions; and the selling of passports. named Nova, incorporated in Delaware and Romania, These activities can provide would-be terrorists with the after two of its Tongan-flagged vessels were used to smug- necessary infrastructure for moving arms and people gle suspected al-Qaida operatives. around the globe. The establishment of offshore banking facilities within These concerns are not just hypothetical. Shipping the microstates is another area of concern. Notwith-

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standing the arguments in favor of The collapse or weakening ing influence in Oceania has gone bank secrecy, the overwhelming real- almost unremarked in Washington. ity is that tax havens largely serve an of any microstate would This is partly because most Pacific unsavory clientele of tax evaders, island states have viewed China’s criminals and money launderers. create a political vacuum, growing role in Oceania with favor The proliferation of tax-haven banks rather than fear. Their leaders and and the growing sums of money they opening a large area to diplomats have not tried to focus receive hardly permit any other con- American attention on what they clusion. The tiny island-state of undesirable and potentially deem to be non-threatening. Faced Nauru alone operated about 400 off- with increased political instability shore banks, all registered to one harmful external forces. and a precarious economic future, government mailbox. Other coun- even the relatively small involve- tries, like the Marshall Islands, Niue, ment of a large power can have a Vanuatu, the Cook Islands and Samoa, have dabbled in major impact on domestic developments in many this area as well. In general, according to a February 2005 Pacific states. Moreover, the generous assistance they IMF report concerning offshore centers, most of these get from benefactors such as China and Taiwan — countries do not meet the international regulatory stan- which (unlike their Western counterparts) do not set dards necessary to safeguard against terrorist-related preconditions of “good” (that is, democratic) gover- transactions. nance for receiving development aid — is particularly The sale of passports for revenue is another risk for the welcome. U.S. In April 2003, U.S. authorities reported that six The trend in recent years has therefore been for alleged terrorists, including two alleged al-Qaida opera- Pacific island-states to “look north,” and China has tives, had been arrested in Southeast Asia carrying encouraged this process. Over the past two years, the Nauruan passports. Under U.S. pressure, Nauru has PRC has hosted the leaders of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, agreed to end its passport sales and shell banks in return Vanuatu, Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, for U.S. assistance. Several other Pacific microstates have Tonga, Kiribati and East Timor. It is now routine for the also sold passports as a means of attracting investment, first official overseas visit by a new head of government most notably the Marshall Islands and the Federated from the region to be made to Beijing, not to Canberra, States of Micronesia. In 1996 alone, the Marshall Islands Wellington or Washington. The extensive range of these earned $15 million from the sale of so-called investment visits means that most Pacific-island leaders have had passports. These documents could easily have ended up much closer personal contact with the Chinese leader- in malevolent hands. Although these programs have been ship, and thus have a greater knowledge of them than they ended, the likelihood of recurrence is high, given revenue do of senior politicians and officials in the United States. pressures and tendencies toward corruption in some For Beijing, such personal “visit diplomacy” provides a locales. lucrative return on a modest investment. While China’s interests in Oceania appear mainly polit- The Developing Chinese ical and diplomatic, there is also an important military Sphere of Influence dimension. Beijing is steadily gaining a military foothold Overall, whether the issue is political instability, offer- in the region through defense cooperation agreements ing flags of convenience or passport sales, a lack of resi- with countries such as Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. This mil- dent U.S. diplomatic missions in these islands and the lack itary assistance is noteworthy as it focuses on the few of interest from Washington it reflects naturally limit the Pacific countries that maintain forces. Even without a ability of the U.S. to influence governments and events in blue-water navy, China may be able to develop these Oceania. In essence, the early-intervention mechanism cooperative agreements into control over large parts of provided by diplomatic missions is turned off. the South Pacific in the future. For example, two deputy The other prospect is these states’ integration into an chiefs of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have visit- extended Chinese sphere of influence. Beijing’s expand- ed Tonga in recent years. That country may be tiny — no

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more than 100,000 people live on 700 square kilometers outside China. Defense experts long suspected that of land — but it is strategically located in the middle of the China’s Tarawa station also monitored American missile Pacific Ocean. tests at nearby Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Another target is Vanuatu. Here the Chinese agreed in When Kiribati recognized Taiwan in 2003, the station was August 2005 to finance various police projects worth more dismantled. It was a significant loss for the PRC, accord- than $300,000. The deals include uniforms and equip- ing to Professor Des Ball, an expert on signals intelligence ment for the Vanuatu Mobile Force, a 28-seat Toyota bus from Australian National University. It deprived Beijing to transport VMF members to their external activities, of a land base in the Pacific, where the movements and three double-cabin Hilux vehicles for police patrols and a activities of the Chinese Yuan Wang space tracking ships sedan for the police traffic control section. China is com- could be coordinated. China is now believed to be look- mitted to assisting Vanuatu with military and defense ing for a new base near the equator: of the Pacific coun- training in response to its request. Further, Beijing will tries, only Nauru has an equally favorable location. provide two boats, as requested by the Ministry of Police, Beijing has two major interests in the Pacific, accord- to be used for coastal surveillance operations that the only ing to Mohan Malik, a China analyst at the Asia-Pacific national patrol boat, RVS Tukoro, cannot undertake Center for Security Studies in Honolulu: “In the short because of the high cost of its operation. term it wants to isolate Taiwan in the international com- A third example is Kiribati, which straddles the equa- munity. But in the medium and longer term, the goal is tor, making it an ideal place for satellite surveillance. to challenge and eventually displace the U.S. as the There, in 1997, the PRC built a civilian space launch guardian and protector of the Pacific. Under the cover of tracking facility on Tarawa Island, the only one of its kind a China-Taiwan contest for diplomatic recognition,

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Beijing is laying the groundwork for The trend of recent years The advantage of this arrangement a future contest between the United is that at lower costs it still gives the States and China for supremacy in has been for Pacific island U.S. a local presence to monitor the the Pacific Ocean.” For small and political environment, promptly nearly bankrupt countries like the states to “look north,” and report unfavorable developments Marshall Islands, offers of aid may and cultivate influence among be the key factor determining China has encouraged senior government officials. As whether they should recognize Tai- Beijing clearly appreciates, the pei or Beijing. But they may soon this process. symbolic significance of a resident find themselves pawns in a much great-power presence should not bigger game. be underestimated in the Pacific island cultures. Similarly, the U.S. should increase the fre- Prescriptions quency of high-level visits to the microstates to offset PRC The United States does not exhibit concern about the gains with island leaders, and increase aid to the region influence of other foreign governments in the Pacific beyond current levels. islands today, nor does it appear to realize the need for Use of the diplomatic component of national power measured diplomatic engagement with these microstates. will have a number of benefits. First, the U.S. would exer- The Government Accountability Office goes so far as to cise area denial for terrorists and Chinese influence. This state that from a broader defense and security perspec- would be in line with statements by some policymakers tive, island-nations like the Federated States of that indicate the United States has an obligation to deny Micronesia and the Marshall Islands currently play no role military access to the vast area of the Pacific Ocean. in U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. The Second, the U.S. would be better positioned for early Department of Defense even describes the islands as U.S. warning, monitoring and the ability to influence these defense obligations, not assets. (See “Kwajalein Atoll Is states through local diplomatic interaction. Third, com- the Key U.S. Defense Interest in Two Micronesian prehensive diplomatic coverage of these microstates Nations,” GAO-02-119, January 2002.) This is a mistaken would enable alignment of their interests with the U.S. view. and, hopefully, secure voting support in the United The strategic vacuum slowly developing in the South Nations. Despite their small area and population, all of Pacific can be halted by renewing U.S. diplomatic engage- these states are recognized as sovereign entities, with all ment in the region through physical presence, personal the diplomatic rights and privileges this status implies. diplomacy and aid. In the old days, diplomatic and con- Further, all except Niue and the Cook Islands are mem- sular posts were scattered like pearls throughout numer- bers of the United Nations, giving each voting rights in the ous countries. Now, with modern technology and fiscal U.N. General Assembly, other U.N. organs and a number austerity, centralization of services in regional embassies of international organizations, where they could be valued seems to be the norm. Yet certain geographic environ- allies on various global issues. ments may require the very important symbolic and phys- In J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings trilogy, ical presence of a resident U.S. diplomatic mission. Given the Dark Lord focuses so much on the conventional the potential terrorist-basing threat and the competition armies of his opponents that he overlooks the covert from China, the Pacific microstates should be made journey of the Ringbearer, who enters unnoticed exceptions to the centralizing trend. through a back door, and ultimately destroys his realm. In line with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s This analogy may be relevant for the United States, transformational diplomacy initiative, the prescription is whose all-consuming focus on the Middle East has cre- not necessarily to establish full-blown embassies in these ated a declining engagement toward other areas of the locations — hardly feasible from a budgetary or staffing world such as Oceania. For a negligible investment, standpoint, in any case — but rather representative offices the U.S. could strengthen diplomatic ties with the of one to two Foreign Service officers and an assistant, Pacific island microstates, thus limiting the potential along the lines of the American Presence Post concept. for terrorist activity and PRC inroads.

44 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 F OCUS ON F RAGILE S TATES

HAITI’S NEW GOVERNMENT WRESTLES WITH THE PAST Clemente Botelho

PRESIDENT RENÉ PRÉVAL MUST USE DONORS’ GOOD WILL FOR PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVE CONDITIONS NOW WHILE LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR SUSTAINED PROGRESS.

BY ROBERT M. PERITO

resident René Préval and a new legislature were swept into office in Port-au-Prince this past spring on a wave of international good will and pledges of new support. The U.N. Security Council extended the man- date of the U.N. peacekeeping mission there, while Argentina, Brazil and Chile, the leaders of that force, offered to pro- vide a jointP development strategy. The Caribbean Community readmitted Haiti. At a July 25 conference, international donors pledged $750 million in aid, including $210 million from the U.S. The Organization of American States promised

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to remain to help Haiti build stronger government insti- to reinstate the old plantation system and a return to tutions, after helping to organize the presidential and par- forced labor, instead of protecting emancipation by allow- liamentary elections. ing small, inefficient land holdings. This positive international attitude spurred a new sense Despite ending slavery, the Haitian Revolution created of optimism in Haiti, but it did not alter conditions on the a tradition of imperious leadership and a hierarchical ground. Frequently cited as an example of a failed and social structure based on stark class and racial divides. possibly ungovernable state, Haiti remains the poorest The polarization of Haitian society excluded the vast country in the Western Hemisphere and among the poor- majority of citizens from meaningful participation in the est in the world. Two-thirds of its eight million citizens country’s political and economic life. Haiti’s serial consti- live in abject poverty, while half of the adult population is tutions enshrined the tradition of a single, all-powerful illiterate. Haitian society is deeply divided between a leader who monopolized power, and a predatory state that small, well-educated, affluent and French-speaking elite exploited rather than served the people. Social tensions and a large, uneducated, Creole-speaking, peasant popu- have reinforced a history of violent change in national lation. The country ranks 153rd of 177 in the latest edi- leadership; only two of Haiti’s 44 presidents completed tion of the U.N. Human Development Report, which com- their terms and left office voluntarily. Fortunately, one of bines measures of income, life expectancy, school enroll- these was President Préval, who previously served from ment and literacy. 1996 to 2001. The challenge facing President Préval is to translate Préval’s predecessor, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was re- good wishes and pledges of support into constructive gov- elected president in 2000 in elections marred by allega- ernment programs that improve the livelihood of the tions of irregularities and low voter turnout. Less than 10 Haitian people while laying the groundwork for sustained percent of the electorate voted, as opposition parties led a political and economic progress. His task will be made boycott to protest disputed parliamentary elections held more difficult by a historical legacy that has overwhelmed earlier. In an atmosphere of worsening political crisis, earlier efforts to reform the country’s social, political and Aristide’s second term was marked by increased criminal economic institutions. activity, allegations of public corruption and government failure to deliver services and invigorate the economy. A Troubled Past In February 2004, armed rebels led by former soldiers After an auspicious beginning as a French colony, Haiti seized Gonaives, Haiti’s fourth-largest city. As the rebels suffered two centuries of insurrection, dictatorship and marched south toward Port-au-Prince, Aristide reportedly economic decline. In 1790, exports of sugar and coffee requested U.S. assistance in leaving the country. Yet upon made it the richest French colony in the New World. arriving safely in the Central African Republic, Aristide Haitian society was composed of 30,000 Europeans, an claimed that he was “kidnapped,” a charge the U.S. strong- equal number of free “gens de couleur,” and a half-million ly denies. African slaves. In 1804, a successful slave revolt spawned To deal with the chaos that followed Aristide’s depar- a new republic that was seen as a threat to the existing ture, the U.N. authorized a peacekeeping force composed world order. European nations and the United States initially of U.S. Marines and French and Canadian forces reacted by isolating Haiti, for fear its example would incite to restore order. In accordance with the Haitian Consti- slave revolts elsewhere. International exclusion and eco- tution, the Supreme Court chief justice was sworn in as nomic disruption at home forced Haiti’s founding fathers president on Feb. 29, 2004. A government of technocrats with no party affiliations led by Prime Minister Gerard la Robert M. Perito is a senior program officer and director Tortue was installed, but failed to gain traction. On June of the Haiti Working Group at the United States Institute 1, 2004, the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti assumed of Peace. This article draws on views expressed by par- responsibility for security, although it took over a year for ticipants during the group’s meetings, which are held on the full compliment of 8,000 troops and police to arrive. a not-for-attribution basis. It does not necessarily reflect Under the interim government, Haiti continued to be the position of the United States Institute of Peace, which plagued by gang violence, drug trafficking, social unrest does not advocate specific policies. and economic calamity.

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A Bitter Legacy Even after the U.S.-led This “golden age” was short- The deterioration of Haiti’s econ- lived, however, and failed to foster omy is rooted in the rapacious poli- intervention in 1994, sustained economic growth and cies of past governments and the commercial development. By 1984, misguided efforts of foreign donors Haiti’s economy it was evident that the Haitian and the international financial insti- assembly industry — established tutions to ameliorate their effects. actually shrank. according to the international com- Under the dictatorial regimes of munity’s development strategy — “Baby Doc” Jean Claude Duvalier provided no long-term benefits to and his successors in the 1970s and early 1980s, the the country. Materials were imported for assembly, Haitian economy was starved of resources for sustained while finished products were exported and consumed growth and development. To attract outside capital, suc- abroad. Reliance on cheap, unskilled labor did little to cessive Haitian regimes offered foreign investors gener- enhance the skills of Haiti’s labor force, encourage train- ous incentives, including tax exemptions on income, ing or stimulate technology transfer. The dominance of profits and raw materials. Investors flocked to take the American market meant Haiti was at the mercy of advantage of the abundance of cheap, unskilled labor U.S. import quotas and consumer preferences. and the absence of foreign exchange controls and gov- Moreover, the Haitian government failed to benefit ernment interference. With an infusion of foreign because commercial profits were tax-exempt and public investment, Haiti experienced rapid growth in its assem- services were subsidized. Thus, the system not only had bly, construction and public utilities sectors. a largely neutral effect on income distribution in Haiti

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but prevented other industrial sectors from leveraging its ments from international donors. However, Préval has success. not dealt effectively with the challenge from heavily- Despite the negative consequences for Haiti, the armed gangs that remain a major threat to security in donor community and the international financial institu- Port-au-Prince and other important cities. In the near tions continued to advocate export assembly for Haiti term, he will need to address the major issues facing Haiti, until the country could expand its infrastructure, educate including poverty, drug trafficking, corruption, the role of its labor force and diversify its industry. Yet these same former soldiers and the gang problem. governments and institutions were aware that Haiti’s rul- Haiti’s new leader will also have to establish local gov- ing elite and dictatorial governments were unlikely to ernments that are capable of providing services to the implement policies that would achieve broader economic majority of the population that lives in rural areas. and social development. Decentralizing the responsibilities of the government to Even after the U.S.-led intervention in 1994, Haiti’s localities will shift the burden from the executive branch economy actually shrank, while its transportation and by locating authority and resources closer to the people. communication infrastructure and natural environment The new government should harness Haitian civil society deteriorated. In part, this was the result of ruinous agri- and encourage it to fill the gaps in government capacity. cultural trade policies that destroyed Haiti’s successful Over the course of the last two decades, almost all civic small farmers who produced exports of rice, pork and associations — community, peasant, youth and business chicken. Haiti became a net importer of agricultural organizations — have been adversely affected. Winning products, creating food insecurity and malnutrition for the back the confidence and restoring the vitality of civil soci- majority of its people. At the same time, ownership of ety will be critical to the nation’s political future. To wealth became concentrated in a smaller percentage of encourage public trust, Préval must ensure that his actions the population. In 2002, the top 4 percent of the popula- are as transparent as possible. tion controlled 66 percent of the country’s assets. Reforming Haiti’s political traditions and institutions will not be easy, for the political situation remains tenuous. Institutions Need Strengthening Préval’s Lespwa Party holds only 11 of 30 Senate seats and To end the tradition of presidential succession by seri- 21 out of 97 deputy seats, far from a majority in either al coups, Pres. Préval will have to strengthen the parlia- chamber of parliament. Progress on a range of sensitive ment, government ministries and civil society so these issues will require a spirit of compromise, which has not institutions can both complement and balance the power been the tradition in Haitian politics. Former President of the presidency. Parliament will require technical assis- Aristide could become a destabilizing factor if he attempts tance and training from donor countries, both because to return to Haiti from exile in South Africa before condi- many of its new members are entering public service for tions warrant. Fortunately, there has been little public the first time and because the institution needs physical manifestation of support for Aristide’s return beyond refurbishing after years of neglect and damage. small street demonstrations that were held this spring to Préval also needs to reinforce the role of political par- mark the anniversary of his 2004 departure from Haiti. ties and cultivate a culture of compromise by fostering an Politics could become more fractious in the near term, open debate on the future of the country. This will particularly as popular expectations are frustrated by the require a formal political dialogue conducted through the government’s inevitable inability to quickly satisfy a broad media and in institutional channels, without resorting to range of demands. strong-arm tactics. Préval has appointed representatives from a broad spectrum of political groups and appears The Challenge of Stabilization ready to reach beyond his own party for support. So far, Assuring stability will also be a challenge. The 8,700 however, he has been characteristically cautious in his soldiers and police of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in approach to governance. He has postponed decisions and Haiti are the only coherent security forces in the coun- not acted in a manner that would create winners and try. MINUSTAH has demonstrated the ability to main- losers. His government’s five-year proposal for interna- tain order in Port-au-Prince and the willingness to use tional support resulted in larger than requested commit- armed force against disruptive elements. Already 12

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U.N. soldiers and three U.N. Winning back the A Dialogue on police officers have been killed Assistance Levels in the line of duty. However, confidence and restoring In pursuing its political and those forces are insufficient to security objectives, the Préval provide security in the many the vitality of civil society government will be helped by the parts of the country outside gov- fact that the international finan- ernment control. Nor have the will be critical to the cial institutions and the major peacekeepers implemented an donor countries appear to have effective disarmament, demobi- nation’s political future. learned from previous experi- lization and reintegration pro- ence, and intend to engage the gram to remove the threat posed Haitians in a discussion of priori- by former soldiers, or dealt effectively with the armed ties for development assistance. The international com- gangs that control urban slums and the isolated ports munity also appears determined to stay for the long term that are used for the transshipment of narcotics from and not to repeat the mistake of withdrawing before South America. reforms take root and the Haitians can sustain innovations The U.N. has also failed to reform and reconstitute on their own. Emphasis in most programs will be on the Haitian National Police, the country’s only security capacity-building, to overcome the critical lack of physi- force, or improve the judicial and penal systems, which cal infrastructure and human capital. Below a thin are essential for the rule of law. U.N. police have veneer of world-class professionals, most Haitian institu- determined that only 4,600 of the 8,000 Haitian offi- tions lack the appropriately educated and technically cers on the police rolls are currently serving, and many skilled manpower to operate modern systems for man- of those are guilty of criminal offenses and abuse of agement and administration of government programs. human rights. Political manipulation, corruption and The Préval administration has requested international involvement in narcotics trafficking have tarnished the assistance for quick-impact public works projects to pro- image of the HNP and limited its effectiveness. The vide employment and suppress violence in Haiti’s poorest U.N. is working on a comprehensive plan for police slums and depressed rural areas. It has also indicated an development, but effective implementation will interest in pursuing development in tourism, light indus- require buy-in from the Préval government and gener- try and agriculture. As a result, USAID is concentrating ous support from the donor community. Making mat- on dual priorities: stability and growth. It will support ters worse, the Haitian justice system remains corrupt Préval’s request for funding to create 200,000 short-term, and dysfunctional; the penal system is notorious for public works jobs in slums and other underserved areas, abuse and the indefinite incarceration of prisoners and to rebuild towns and villages that were devastated by without trial. Tropical Storm Jeanne in September 2004. USAID will Increased U.S. assistance will be focused on strength- also work to improve the government’s ability at both the ening Haiti’s security sector through vetting, retraining national and local level to plan, manage and deliver basic and reforming the police. More is needed, however. In services over the long term. 1994, the U.S. teamed up with Canada and France to In administering aid, it will be challenging for USAID train and equip a 5,000-member Haitian police force in and other donors to alter the habit of working through just one year. This needs to be done again. New U.S. nongovernmental organizations, a practice developed to assistance will also focus on improving the effectiveness avoid inept or corrupt Haitian government agencies. of Haitian courts and reducing pre-trial detention. Working through the Haitian government will be more However, the U.S. needs to develop a comprehensive difficult, costly and time-consuming than going it alone, program for police and judicial training and reform — but doing so will be essential to insure sustainability. including international mentoring — over an extended Haiti’s new government may also profit from the term. Without such a comprehensive and sustained energy and talents of the Haitian diaspora, if it engages effort, the Préval government will not be able to estab- this diverse community in a common effort to move the lish the rule of law. country forward. Last year, remittances from Haitians

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living abroad totaled more than one billion dollars, or a ly, the current International Civilian Support Mission quarter of Haiti’s GDP. Haitian-Americans form a dis- in Haiti. With each new mission, the U.N. peace- tinctive and increasingly active political force in many keeping force actually became smaller and its influ- U.S. communities, particularly in Florida and New York. ence waned. This community represents a ready reserve of needed The last U.N. mission in this series, the International skills and financial resources that has never been fully Civilian Support Mission in Haiti, was authorized by the tapped. General Assembly (not the Security Council) in March Successful Haitians such as businessman Dumas 2000 to avoid Russian and Chinese vetoes. MICAH’s Simeus, CEO of Simeus Foods International, are involved mandate was to “consolidate progress” already made in in their homeland through charity organizations, medical developing the Haitian National Police and in promoting missions and village improvement projects. Such efforts respect for human rights. It was authorized to field 36 do little, however, to raise national living standards, create U.N. police officers; but five months into the mission, permanent jobs or improve the economy. Currently, legal only three had arrived. At the time, Haiti was at the red tape and bureaucratic inefficiency discourage invest- beginning of the power struggle over the results of the ments by expatriates. Haiti’s newly-convened Parliament May 2000 parliamentary and local elections that would should make it a priority to update and streamline laws eventually doom Pres. Aristide’s second term. As the governing foreign involvement and the creation of new country headed toward political crisis, the U.N. mission businesses. For his part, Pres. Préval should encourage was reduced to irrelevancy. overseas Haitians to return home by simplifying adminis- With the installation of Haiti’s new government, a turn- trative procedures for travel and investment. ing point has been reached which the U.S. and the inter- national community cannot afford to ignore. The lessons Moment of Opportunity learned during previous episodes of international inter- The success of Haiti’s new government is of vital vention should be recalled and applied. importance to the United States. Given its location, Haiti • Above all, international assistance should be coher- remains a potential source of mass, unregulated migra- ent, consistent and implemented through the Haitian gov- tion. A repeat of the “boat people” crisis of the 1970s is ernment. Circumventing it by channeling international possible if conditions deteriorate. In addition, Haiti re- assistance through nongovernmental organizations will be mains an important conduit for the flow of narcotics into counterproductive. Haitian ministries must be engaged the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administra- and held accountable. There is no other way to create sus- tion estimates that 10 to 15 percent of cocaine entering tainable administrative capacity. the U.S. transits Haiti. Finally, Haiti is a potential source • International assistance must be provided for the of public health problems, as demonstrated by the previ- long term. Another attempt to execute an “exit strategy” ous experience with HIV/AIDS. of quick fixes to chronic problems will be self-defeating. Haiti is also important to the United Nations. The Toward this end, Canada has proposed an assistance pack- country has become a poster child for the failure of age extending over five years. Other donors have similar- international interventions in crisis states. This is due ly indicated an intention to remain engaged for the fore- largely to the revolving-door nature of U.N. missions seeable future. and the fecklessness of multilateral involvement in the • Finally, as the largest donor, the U.S. must take the past decade. In March 1996, the U.S.-led Multinational lead in improving the capacity of the Haitian government Force handed off to the first U.N. Mission in Haiti; it to provide effective governance and ensure the rule of was an extremely well-prepared and seamless transition law. Such programs must result in the creation of a civil that should have been the model for subsequent U.N. service that can plan, budget and implement effective involvement. Instead, UNMIH (1994-1996) handed programs. The U.S. must also help create a police force, off to a “revolving door” of follow-on peacekeeping mis- courts and prisons that perform in a manner consistent sions: the U.N. Support Mission in Haiti (1996-1997); with internationally recognized human rights and judi- the U.N. Transition Mission in Haiti (1997); the U.N. cial standards. Nothing is more important than finally Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (1997-2000); and, final- providing justice to Haiti.

50 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 F OCUS ON F RAGILE S TATES

THE CASE AGAINST STATE’S NATIONBUILDING OFFICE Clemente Botelho

THE ARGUMENT THAT INSTABILITY IN ITSELF REPRESENTS A THREAT TO AMERICA AND THAT NATIONBUILDING MUST BE THE CURE IS DEEPLY FLAWED.

BY JUSTIN LOGAN AND CHRISTOPHER PREBLE

n July 2004, the State Department opened the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. The creation of the office, known as S/CRS, was inspired by a congressional resolution spearheaded by Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The resolution sought to “provideI for the development, as a core mission of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development, of an effective expert civilian response capability to carry out stabilization and reconstruc-

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tion activities in a country or region This entire approach policy challenges facing the coun- that is in, or is in transition from, try, and fits neatly into Secretary conflict or strife.” to security policy is a Rice’s call for “transformational The reasoning behind the diplomacy.” Therefore, while the office’s creation was put succinctly recipe for squandering office may remain on shaky fiscal by Carlos Pascual, the first coordi- ground, the logic behind its cre- nator for reconstruction and stabi- American power, American ation shows no sign of having lost lization, and Steven D. Krasner, favor. That said, the arguments in director of the State Department’s money and, potentially, favor of the office — namely, that policy planning staff: “Weak and instability in itself represents a failed states pose an acute risk to American lives. threat to America and that nation- U.S. and global security.” building must be the cure — are Although the idea of a nation- deeply flawed. Most nationbuild- building office has broad bipartisan support, Congress ing missions are far removed from U.S. national security refused to grant any funding for it in the foreign appro- interests. Such operations threaten to embroil Americans priations bill for Fiscal Year 2006. Undeterred, the Bush in an array of conflicts abroad for indefinite periods of administration sought creative ways to keep the office time, with vague or ambiguous public mandates, and with open, re-routing funds from other departments and agen- little likelihood of success. In short, this entire approach cies. The administration similarly plowed ahead with two to security policy is a recipe for squandering American new policy initiatives in support of the S/CRS mandate. power, American money and, potentially, American lives. In November 2005, the Department of Defense released a directive establishing that nationbuilding missions were Here a Threat, There a Threat … a core function of the U.S. military; and in December, The 2000 presidential election took place in the shad- National Security Presidential Directive 44 placed the ow of the nationbuilding adventures of the 1990s. ultimate responsibility for stabilization and reconstruction Candidate George W. Bush seemed skeptical about the missions with the State Department, specifically S/CRS. utility and necessity of nationbuilding. During the second Although Pascual departed S/CRS in January 2006, his presidential debate, Bush took a shot at the intervention- replacement, John Herbst, was not announced until ism of the 1990s, stating, “I’m not so sure the role of the March, and did not take office until late May. Whether United States is to go around the world and say, ‘This is the time lapse reflects a lack of bureaucratic support or a the way it’s got to be.’” Bush pointed to the high costs and search for the best person for the job is unclear. dubious outcomes, stating, “I don’t think our troops ought According to Pascual, S/CRS had requested roughly $100 to be used for what’s called nationbuilding. ... I mean, million for FY 2007. As of this writing, it appears that we’re going to have some kind of nationbuilding corps State’s failure to provide — as directed by Congress — “a from America? Absolutely not.” comprehensive strategy, detailing how the [office] will uti- After Sept. 11, 2001, however, the Bush administration lize these funds to respond to international crises and changed course dramatically. The U.S. National Security post-conflict contingencies” may jeopardize the office’s Strategy, released in September 2002, made “expand[ing] funding in FY 2007, much as the funding was refused for the circle of development by opening societies and build- 2006. Congress has historically been reluctant to issue ing the infrastructure of democracy” a central plank of blank checks to executive agencies, seeing such requests America’s response to the 9/11 attacks. Part of the admin- as encroachments on its spending power. istration’s new security policy would be to “help build Still, S/CRS makes regular appearances in President police forces, court systems and legal codes, local and Bush’s speeches about tools needed to address the foreign provincial government institutions, and electoral sys- tems.” The overarching goal was to “make the world not Justin Logan is a foreign policy analyst and Christopher just safer but better.” Clearly, the president had changed Preble is director of foreign policy studies at the Cato his mind about the wisdom of attempting to build nations. Institute. The failed-states-as-security-threat fallacy now perme-

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ates all aspects of strategic planning. Indeed, it has be- mean for the United States would be to examine coun- come practically an article of faith. Even the administra- tries, failed or otherwise, on the basis of discrete measures tion’s October 2005 National Intelligence Strategy claims of threat assessment: to what extent does a government — (without support) that “the lack of freedom in one state or nonstate actors operating within a state — intend and endangers the peace and freedom of others, and ... failed have the means to attack America? states are a refuge and breeding ground of extremism.” To the extent that any state does represent a threat, a massive nationbuilding mission targeted at the condition Failed States and Failed Reasoning of state failure — rather than the threat itself — is not the In fact, the overwhelming majority of failed states have most appropriate response. Attacking a threat rarely posed no security threat to the United States. The blan- entails paving roads or establishing new judicial standards. ket characterization that failed states represent anything Afghanistan serves as a stark reminder that we must not monolithic is misleading. The dangers that can arise from overlook failed states, but it does not justify moving “state failed states are not the product of state failure itself; the failure” in the abstract to the top of the list of security con- threats are the result of other conditions, such as the pres- cerns. ence of terrorist cells or other malign actors within a failed state. It is not the “failure” that threatens. An Unbounded Mandate In 2000, the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate Supporters of S/CRS believe that the advancement of of Intelligence sought to quantify and examine episodes of political and economic reforms — in particular, the spread state failure. Adopting a loose definition of state failure, of democracy — constitutes part of its mandate. How- the authors found 114 cases between 1955 and 1998. A ever, that way of thinking carries with it serious risks: look at the list compiled by the CIA calls into question the poorly executed or misguided nationbuilding operations methodology used. The report’s highly subjective stan- might actually compound the problem of terrorism direct- dard for state failure produced a data set that character- ed against the United States. During the transition from ized China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Israel, the autocracy to democracy, states are vulnerable to the col- Philippines, Sierra Leone and Turkey as failed states as of lapse of civil order, widespread violence and counter-rev- December 1998. Surely it discredits any discussion of olutionary coups. failed states if Israel and Sierra Leone fall under the same It is not only internal unrest that can follow in the wake general heading. of regime transformation. The risk of full-blown war actu- Other lists confirm that state failure in itself does not ally tends to increase in countries where political change constitute a security threat. A list compiled by the British has recently occurred. Professors Edward D. Mansfield Department for International Development included of the University of Pennsylvania and Jack Snyder of such countries as Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, East Columbia University point out that new democracies typ- Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, ically “go through a rocky transitional period, where Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, São Tomé and Principe, democratic control over foreign policy is partial, where Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. mass politics mixes in a volatile way with authoritarian It is difficult to understand how many of the above coun- elite politics, and where democratization suffers reversals. tries could present security threats to the United States in In this transitional phase of democratization, countries any foreseeable scenario. become more aggressive and war-prone, not less, and they The Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine do fight wars with democratic states.” jointly published a “failed states index” recently that Thus, if U.S. foreign policy seeks to minimize the risk included some obvious cases such as Iraq and of war, it may wish to eschew ambitious projects of Afghanistan, but also prototypical failed states such as “democratization,” or else be willing and able to occupy Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Chad and Guinea. Simply target countries indefinitely in the hope that a fully- put, these states do not warrant significant attention from formed democracy will eventually emerge. If nothing the U.S. national security apparatus. else, we should be confident that any intervention will What would be more helpful, and more prudent, than produce outcomes beneficial to U.S. interests at an issuing categorical statements about what failed states acceptable cost. Unfortunately, nationbuilding has an

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extremely poor track record in this regard, and it is far control treaty-making powers. ... There would be no from clear that S/CRS can reverse the lessons of history. assumption of a withdrawal in the short or medium term.” The scholarly work on nationbuilding illuminates both This hearkens back to Woodrow Wilson’s advocacy of the costs and the true nature of a broad policy of “fixing” trusteeships in the wake of World War I in order to “build failed states. In 2003, retired diplomats James R. Hooper up in as short a time as possible ... a political unit that can and Paul R. Williams argued for what they called “earned take charge of its own affairs” — without, however, the sovereignty,” the idea being that target states would need pretense of “as short a time as possible.” to climb back into the good graces of the intervening Although most Americans support sovereignty and power to regain their sovereignty. In some cases, that reject the logic of neocolonialism, avowed advocates of would take the form of “shared sovereignty,” in which empire have not hidden their pleasure at the creation of domestic governments would perform whatever functions S/CRS. In advancing the case for an American colonial were allowed by the intervener, but other duties would be office, Max Boot, author and senior fellow for national retained by the outside actor. The duration of shared sov- security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, ereignty varies. “In some instances,” Hooper and noted that “of course, [a colonial office] cannot be called Williams explain, “it may be indefinite and subject to the that. It needs an anodyne euphemism such as ‘Office of fulfillment of certain conditions as opposed to specified Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance.’ ” Boot timelines.” The premise seems to be that countries will later elaborated: “The United States needs its own ver- be returned to the control of their indigenous populations sion of the British Colonial Office for the post-imperial when the intervener decides it is appropriate. age,” and the decision to establish S/CRS is “a good start.” Neocolonial Logic If the costs of successfully administering foreign coun- Stanford political scientists James D. Fearon and tries were low and the prospects for success high, it might David D. Laitin dispense with rhetorical niceties, calling make sense to try. However, a look at what it takes to “get explicitly for “postmodern imperialism.” Under a straight- nationbuilding right” demonstrates that the costs of mak- forwardly neocolonial model, “the search for an exit strat- ing it a core object of U.S. foreign policy — as envisioned egy is delusional,” they explain, particularly with respect to by the advocates of S/CRS — would greatly outweigh any returning “control of domestic security to local authorities benefits. by a certain date in the near future.” To the contrary, in some cases a complete exit by the interveners may never The Costs of Nationbuilding be possible; rather, the endgame is “to make the national Security is a paramount concern in every stabilization level of government irrelevant for people in comparison to and reconstruction mission. By definition, the target state the local and supranational levels.” Thus, in Fearon and will be emerging from conflict or collapse, and adminis- Laitin’s model, nationbuilding may not be an appropriate trators will need to be protected from violence and intim- term: a better label would perhaps be nation-ending, idation as they initiate and implement S&R programs. In replacing national governments with a supranational gov- nearly all instances, the U.S. military would have to per- erning order. Evidently the nation-state then withers form these security functions. But how many troops does away and dies. it take to support an S&R mission? What types of troops? For his part, Krasner believes that the “rules of con- And how long will they have to stay? ventional sovereignty ... no longer work.” Writing in 2004, The answers based on the historical record are not he called instead for an approach to failed states that heartening. One of the best estimates regarding the mili- would involve “alternative institutional arrangements sup- tary requirements of post-conflict missions comes from ported by external actors, such as de facto trusteeships the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board. A DSB study and shared sovereignty.” The implications of those poli- from December 2004 that assessed nationbuilding opera- cies are clear. As Krasner states: “In a trusteeship, inter- tions over the past two millennia highlights some sobering national actors would assume control over local functions facts: “Stabilization operations can be very labor-inten- for an indefinite period of time. They might also elimi- sive. ... The United States will sometimes have ambitious nate the international legal sovereignty of the entity or goals for transforming a society in a conflicted environ-

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ment. Those goals may well demand 20 troops per 1,000 If we intend to seriously embark on a plan to build inhabitants ... working for five to eight years.” nations, we must be prepared to bear heavy costs in time, Extrapolating from the DSB’s numbers to particular money, and even in American lives — or we must be pre- countries paints an even darker picture. Achieving “ambi- pared to fail. As Johns Hopkins University’s Francis tious goals” in Iraq, for example, under the DSB frame- Fukuyama concedes, nationbuilding “has been most suc- work would have required roughly 500,000 troops in Iraq cessful ... where U.S. forces have remained for genera- for five to eight years. Less populous countries such as tions. We should not get involved to begin with if we are Haiti, by this rule of thumb, would call for roughly not willing to pay those high costs.” 162,000 American troops. The problem, however, is actually twofold: the United And what of the efficacy of nationbuilding operations? States in recent years has been overly prone to interven- The historical record is hardly encouraging. The DSB tion, but without a proper appreciation of the costs ahead concluded that “[t]he pattern suggests a less than impres- of time. S/CRS exacerbates the former problem without sive record — one that has not improved with time and addressing the latter. Sec. Rice confirmed during a town historical experience.” hall meeting at the State Department in June 2005 that Other advocates of nationbuilding agree. In 2003 S/CRS is “working, right now, on a plan for Sudan, Krasner admitted, “The simple fact is that we do not know because it is our hope that at some point, we’ll be in a how to do democracy-building.” Unless our knowledge post-conflict stabilization phase [there]. We know that has grown dramatically in three years, that is not exactly we’re going to face this in Liberia. We’re doing it in inspiring language coming from one of the top U.S. offi- Haiti.” She has never explained how to pay for these cials in charge of democracy-building. interventions.

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Aiming for the Capillaries in 1994. The numbers of “partly free” and “not free” A standing nationbuilding office with dedicated fund- countries have declined. ing and institutional support would likely become a vocal Similarly, economic liberalization continues to advance. advocate of that approach. Bureaucracies are remarkably According to Economic Freedom of the World: 2006 inventive in finding ways to justify their own existence. In Annual Report, average economic freedom has advanced the case of S/CRS, this would involve agitating for a cost- even during the very recent past. Between 1995 and 2004 ly, dangerous course of foreign policy that would generate the mean economic freedom of countries around the reconstruction and stabilization missions to work on. world advanced from 6.1 to 6.5 on a scale of 0 to 10. When Moreover, S/CRS is simply not needed. President trends are moving in a positive direction, the wisest course Bush has correctly argued that “over time, free nations is usually to stay out of the way. grow stronger and dictatorships grow weaker.” But while In an age in which international terrorism could just this is true, direct American intervention has rarely been as plausibly come from Marseille as from Tashkent, a factor. Obviously, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc at the America cannot afford to lose its focus and sap its end of the Cold War caused a precipitous advance in free- strength by attempting to build nations. Terrorism is a dom — both political and economic — without U.S. offi- challenging threat that requires intelligence, discrimi- cials on the ground attempting to direct the change. But nation and determination. To take on nationbuilding apart from the end of the Cold War, between 1994 and missions that aim for the capillaries of the internation- 2004 the global freedom prognosis continued to improve. al system is a dangerous juggling of priorities. It could According to Freedom House, 46 percent of the world’s well create new security challenges where none existed countries are politically “free,” compared with 40 percent before.

56 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 IN THEIR OWN WRITE

WE ARE PLEASED TO FEATURE OUR ANNUAL COMPILATION OF RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS BY FOREIGN SERVICE-AFFILIATED AUTHORS.

he Foreign Service Journal is Service community, and to give our readers the oppor- pleased to present our annual tunity to support colleagues by sampling their wares. Foreign Service authors round- Each entry contains full publication data along with a up in plenty of time for holiday short commentary. orders. Here is an annotated list As has become our custom, we also include a listing of some of the volumes written of books “of related interest” that were not written by or edited by Foreign Service Foreign Service authors. personnel and family members, past and present, in While many of these books are available from T2005 and 2006. bookstores and other sources, we encourage our read- This year’s selection contains a substantial policy ers to use the AFSA Web site’s Marketplace to place studies and issues section, a strong history selection, your orders (see p. 71). We have created a bookstore eight novels, a diverse array of works concerning peo- there with links to Amazon.com. For the few books ple and places, and a set of memoirs that vary widely that cannot be ordered through Amazon.com, we have in terms of scope and focus. As in past editions, a sig- provided alternate links and, when the book is not nificant portion of our titles are self-published. available online, the necessary contact information. Our primary purpose in compiling this list is to cel- But enough crass commercialism. On to the books! ebrate the wealth of literary talent within the Foreign — Susan Maitra, Senior Editor

POLICY STUDIES AND ISSUES but by the end of the year we were back at war,” the author writes in the introduction to this hard-hitting A World Less Safe: Essays on book. “How we got that way is a striking tale of Ameri- Conflict in the 21st Century can leadership, its motives and its reactions to the Terrell E. Arnold, BookSurge challenges facing the United States.” Publishing, 2005, $19.95, After the 9/11 attacks, Arnold argues, Washington paperback, 380 pages. began a series of global interventions, which included “It is an appalling truth that the invasion of Afghanistan, the pre-emptive military we entered the 21st century attack and occupation of Iraq, torture and other abus- with global conditions as es of prisoners of war, and unequivocal siding with peaceful as they had been at Israel on Palestine issues. In his view, these decisions any time in the 20th century, have “made the world less safe.”

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 57 A retired senior FSO, Terrell Arnold has had diplo- tural change to promote these values in the Third matic postings to Egypt, India, the Philippines, Brazil World? In this provocative and controversial book, and Washington. He has also chaired the National War Lawrence E. Harrison provides the answers. College’s Department of International Studies. He is Drawing on a three-year research project that the author, co-author or editor of four previous books explored the cultural values of dozens of nations, on terrorism and related issues. Harrison argues that it is cultural values that determine whether countries are democratic and rich or authori- The Third Try: tarian and poor. To prove his point, he presents 25 val- Can the U.N. Work? ues that operate very differently around the globe, Alison Broinowski and James including one’s influence over destiny, the importance Wilkinson, Scribe, 2005, attached to education, the extent to which people iden- $35.00, paperback, 320 pages. tify with and trust others, and the role of women in In its 60th year, the United society. He also offers a series of practical guidelines Nations is up to its neck in con- for developing nations and lagging minority groups. troversy. Launched with great Lawrence E. Harrison is a senior research fellow hopes, it has helped keep the and adjunct lecturer at the Fletcher School of peace, sheltered refugees and Diplomacy. He is the author of many books, among improved world health, but has them Underdevelopment Is a State of Mind (Madison fallen short on protecting human rights, preventing Books, 2000), Who Prospers? (Basic Books, 1993) and genocide and overcoming poverty. In The Third Try, The Pan-American Dream (Westview Press, 1998); and Alison Broinowski and James Wilkinson consider the co-editor, with Samuel Huntington, of Culture vision that inspired the founders, and ask how the Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress (Basic world body can best move forward. Books, 2001). Between 1965 and 1981, he directed “This book, bringing to bear the views and experi- USAID missions in the Dominican Republic, Costa ence of two seasoned diplomats from the U.S. and Rica, Guatemala, Haiti and Nicaragua. Australia, is a valuable contribution to a more informed and realistic debate about what kind of U.N. Mission to Algiers: will best serve the public interest,” writes Ambassador Diplomacy by Engagement Morton Abramowitz in the book’s foreword. Cameron R. Hume, Lexington Alison Broinowski, a former Australian diplomat, is Books, 2006, $24.95, a visiting fellow on the faculty of Asian Studies at the paperback, 186 pages. Australian National University. James Wilkinson, a Ambassador Cameron Hume retired Foreign Service officer, has served as deputy has written an important case U.S. representative on the U.N. Security Council with study of U.S.-Algerian relations the rank of ambassador, and as deputy assistant secre- from 1997 to 2000. Drawing tary of State for European and Canadian affairs. His from his personal records, he diplomatic postings included Moscow, East Berlin, describes the Algerian govern- Bangkok and Canberra. ment’s near-bankruptcy in the 1990s, the Islamist insurgency that killed 100,000 people and threatened The Central Liberal Truth: the country’s stability and the slow push toward How Politics Can Change A democracy. Culture and Save It from Itself “At a time when the United States is encouraging Lawrence E. Harrison, Oxford democratic development in the Middle East, the University Press, 2006, $28.00, Algerian case of partially successful transition to hardcover, 272 pages. democracy should be better known,” declares William Which cultural values, B. Quandt of the University of Virginia in his review of beliefs and attitudes best pro- the book (FSJ, September). “This is a well-written, mote democracy, social justice firsthand account of recent history.” and prosperity? How can we An FSO since 1970, Cameron Hume is currently use the forces that shape cul- chargé d’affaires in Khartoum. He was ambassador to

58 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 the Republic of South Africa from 2001 to 2004, and ferences but their “legacy of earlier in his career served three tours of duty at the mutual distrust and antagonism, U.S. mission to the U.N. He has published two previ- despite occasional periods of ous books, The United Nations, Iran and Iraq: How détente.” Kux argues that both Peacemaking Changed (Indiana University Press, countries need to “exert robust, 1994) and Ending Mozambique’s War (U.S. Institute creative and enduring leader- for Peace Press, 1994). This book is the 26th volume ship to achieve concrete, broad- in the Association for Diplomatic Studies and based improvement in their Training’s Diplomats and Diplomacy series. bilateral relations and, ultimate- ly, South Asian regional securi- Diplomacy Lessons: ty.” All students and diplomats Realism for an Unloved interested in the unique India-Pakistan relationship Superpower will find India-Pakistan Negotiations: Is Past Still John Brady Kiesling, Prologue? a compelling introduction. Potomac Books, Inc., 2006, Dennis Kux, a retired ambassador and South Asia $19.11, hardcover, 320 pages. specialist, is a senior policy scholar at the Woodrow In February 2003, FSO John Wilson Center. He is the author of histories of U.S. Brady Kiesling publicly re- relations with Pakistan and India, and has written signed his position as political extensively on South Asia. Kux served three tours in counselor in Athens to protest India and Pakistan, and was country director for India the Bush administration’s impending invasion of Iraq. during the 1970s. He served as ambassador to Cote His belief that the security, economic and moral costs d’Ivoire from 1986 to 1989. of the war would outweigh any benefit to the American people was coupled with concern over the America On Notice: fact that diplomacy had lost out as the primary defend- Stemming the Tide of er of U.S. interests overseas. Anti-Americanism Appearing three years after his resignation, Glenn E. Schweitzer and Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Super- Carole D. Schweitzer, power is a lively and incisive exploration of what U.S. Prometheus Books, 2006, power can realistically accomplish and, as he writes in $18.48, hardcover, 326 pages. the introduction, “a plea for the profession of diplo- Here is a well-researched, high- macy.” As Harvard professor Stanley Hoffman ly readable analysis of America’s declares in The New York Review of Books, Kiesling’s predicament as the unloved superpower — how we book is an insider’s account that “should be required got here and, more importantly, how to move forward reading by all students and practitioners of foreign to rebuild the bridges critical to an international effort policy.” to contain terrorism while promoting better lives for John Brady Kiesling was an FSO for 20 years, serv- all. Reflecting on decades of experience in interna- ing in Israel, Morocco, Armenia, Washington, D.C., tional relations, the authors advocate a new emphasis and Greece. Since resigning, he has been a visiting in foreign assistance on job creation and sustainable lecturer at Princeton University and a columnist and solutions. They also emphasize the importance of lis- speaker on international political affairs. He lives in tening to and considering the views of leaders of other Athens. societies, rather than simply “proclaiming” U.S. poli- cies and intentions. India-Pakistan Negotiations: Glenn E. Schweitzer, a retired FSO, is currently the Is Past Still Prologue? director of Central European and Eurasian affairs at Dennix Kux, United States Institute of Peace, 2006, the National Academy of Sciences. Carole D. Schweit- $12.50, paperback, 104 pages. zer is executive editor of Association Management Examining six India-Pakistan negotiations since magazine. They have written or co-authored a number independence in 1947, Dennis Kux shows that the of books, including: Techno-Diplomacy: U.S. Soviet root of the two countries’ problems is not cultural dif- Confrontations in Science and Technology (Plenum

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 59 Publishing, 1989), Swords into Market Shares (Joseph been explored and debated for Henry Press, 2000), A Faceless Enemy: The Origins of more than 2,000 years, and by no Modern Terrorism (Perseus Books, 2002) and Scien- means just among science fiction tists, Engineers and Two-Track Diplomacy (National writers. This comprehensive Academies Press, 2004). review of the subject, is meticu- lously documented. It contains a Weasel Words: The Dictionary history of speculations about con- of American Doublespeak tact with extraterrestrial intelli- Paul Wasserman and gence, descriptions of the scien- Don Hausrath, Capital Books, tific searches for extraterrestrial 2005, $20.00, paperback, life and alien signals, and consideration of the argu- 220 pages. ments concerning the probability of finding other From “abdominal protec- technological societies. Also included are the major tor” to “zippies,” this little dic- models of contact. The second half of the book is tionary is a delightful take on devoted to an evaluation of the main predictions that modern American culture — have been offered about contact, and some conclu- in the authors’ words, “a read- sions about the search and its consequences. er’s and listener’s companion to our 21st century.” Retired FSO Michael Michaud served as director With a sharp political eye and ample wit, Wasserman of the State Department’s Office of Advanced and Hausrath zero in on the misnomers, euphem- Technology and as counselor for science, technology isms, evasions and simple flim-flam that litter con- and environment in Paris and Tokyo. As chairperson temporary political and professional discourse. of International Academy of Astronautics working Terms and phrases are arranged alphabetically, but groups that considered this subject, he coordinated an index grouped by category (e.g., business, health, the drafting of the Declaration of Principles Following media, social behavior, military affairs and intelli- the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence. He has gence) at the back of the book facilitates quick look- published numerous articles and papers, and is the ups. author of Reaching for the High Frontier: The As the inspiration for this work, the authors cite American Pro-Space Movement, 1972-1984 (Praeger, long experience in government and academic bureau- 1986). Mr. Michaud lives in Europe. cracies as well as lengthy periods living abroad — “where one naturally studies our American language National Interest and International Aviation from an alien perspective, which is helpful in learning Erwin von den Steinen, Luwer Law International BV, our home country’s use of indirection and evasions.” 2006, $122.00, hardcover, 230 pages. According to the authors, the book evolved “as a sort How should the national interest in aviation be of crib sheet, translating evasions, distortions, circum- defined as we move into the 21st century? Should ventions, obfuscations and misleading terms back into national regulatory controls progressively give way to English.” multinational controls? Is this an either/or equation? Don Hausrath, a retired senior FSO, and Paul These are some of the questions addressed in this rig- Wasserman, professor emeritus at the University of orous and thoughtful study of international aviation, a Maryland College of Information Studies, are co- cornerstone of the social and economic process of glob- authors of Washington, D.C., from A to Z (Capital alization. A functioning aviation system (not necessari- Books, Inc., 2003). ly the fate of particular airlines) is a vital national inter- est, the author explains, but its safeguarding requires Contact with Alien Civilizations: international cooperation. The subject of national rela- Our Hopes and Fears about Encountering tionships and international regulation is examined here. Extraterrestrials The national interest is explored from a producer per- Michael A.G. Michaud, Springer, 2006, $27.50, spective, from a consumer perspective, from a regional hardcover, 448 pages. perspective and in the context of the North Atlantic Whether intelligent beings exist beyond the Earth market. — and the implications of contact with them — has Though thorough, this work is not an academic

60 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 study but rather “a set of observations and findings” examples and insights drawn from real-world experi- based on a general education and extensive experi- ence. ence, the author says. The text is designed to enable the student to pass Erwin von den Steinen is a leading analyst in the the series of five certification exams showing profi- field of international aviation policy and regulation. ciency with those systems, and comes with leading- He was director of the Office of Aviation Policy and edge exam preparation software that includes a test- Programs when he retired from the Foreign Service in ing engine and electronic flashcards. 1988. Von den Steinen is the author of many articles; Eric Quinn is an information management spe- this is his first book. He lives and works in Bonn. cialist currently assigned to Manila. He has a back- ground in network infrastructure and information CCSP Complete Study Guide security, and spent several years teaching those top- Eric Quinn et al., SYBEX, ics to professionals. He has written five books on Inc., 2005, $56.69, hardcover, networking and security topics, and edited several 1213 pages. others. A book for the IT specialist, this is a comprehensive intro- Eating for Lower Cholesterol: A Balanced Approach duction to the Cisco Certified to Heart Health with Recipes Everyone Will Love Security Professional certifica- Catherine Jones and Elaine B. Trujillo, Marlowe & tion track. CCSP Complete is a Company, 2005, $16.95, paperback, 300 pages. collaborative effort that was “Welcome to the world of cholesterol!” With this designed for students wishing to learn security topics opening, readers will immediately realize that Cather- and their implementation on equipment manufac- ine Jones’ book is not just another recipe book. Co- tured by Cisco Systems. The book contains practical author Elaine B. Trujillo is one of the nation’s leading

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 61 nutritionists working at the would have affected the international political land- National Institutes of Health. scape. Brecher also provides summaries of Living- After Jones’ mother suffered a ston’s Louisiana memorandum, two Talleyrand- heart attack, Jones combined Napoleon memoranda and an analysis of Marbois’ her love of cooking with her book on Louisiana. Readers will find this book an new passion for healthy eating interesting and thorough account of one of the most to educate Americans about important transactions in U.S. history. the cause of coronary disease. Frank W. Brecher, a retired Foreign Service offi- This book provides all the cer, resides in New York. This is the final volume of nutritional information you the author’s trilogy on early Franco-American rela- need, with a no-fuss layout and casual writing style. So tions. before packing your consumables for your next hard- ship post, or rushing off to the nearest McDonald’s Gaming Regulation when the embassy store runs out of your favorite sta- in Nevada: The Second ples, buy this book. Sawyer Administration Catherine Jones is a Foreign Service spouse and Guy W. Farmer, University the author of Eating for Pregnancy: An Essential of Nevada Oral History Guide to Nutrition with Recipes for the Whole Family Program, 2006, $12.95, (Marlowe & Co., 2003) and A Year of Russian Feasts paperback, 54 pages. (Jellyroll Press, 2002), for which she received critical This booklet contains an acclaim. She has also written articles for Fit Preg- insider’s view of a fascinating nancy and Saveur, and has a column in Moms and slice of American history: Babies and Health Today magazines. She and her Nevada’s effort to get orga- family are currently posted in the Philippines. nized crime out of the casinos during the 1960s, an effort that established the state as a gaming control model for many other states and foreign jurisdictions. HISTORY The insider is retired FSO Guy Farmer, who was the public information officer for the Nevada Gaming Negotiating the Commission and Gaming Control Board from 1963 to Louisiana Purchase: 1967. In this publication, one of a series by the Uni- Robert Livingstone’s versity of Nevada Oral History Program’s Gaming Mission to France, Regulation Project, he recalls the Frank Sinatra gam- 1801-1804 ing license revocation case that created nationwide Frank W. Brecher, media interest at the time, details the dubious role of McFarland & Company, the Kennedy administration, and draws portraits of 2006, $35.00, paperback, the many colorful characters and events of the time. 200 pages. Guy Farmer joined the U.S. Information Agency in In Negotiating the Louis- 1967. During a 28-year Foreign Service career, he iana Purchase, Frank W. Bre- served in Colombia, Grenada, Mexico and Spain. For cher details the political maneuvering that took place the last 11 years of his career, he served as public between the United States and France during negoti- affairs officer in Lima, Caracas and Canberra. Upon ations over the Louisiana territory from 1801 to 1804. retirement, he returned to his adopted hometown of Studying letters and memoranda from the time, Carson City, Nev. To order this book, go to http:// Brecher examines the role Robert Livingstone, the www.unr.edu/oralhistory/catalog.htm. U.S. minister to France, and other politicians played in bringing the issue to a successful conclusion for the My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to United States. He discusses the economic and military Build a Future of Hope ramifications that would have resulted from a French Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III and Malcolm return to North America, the threat of domestic dis- McConnell, Simon and Schuster, 2006, $27.00, sension and the ways in which a French Louisiana hardcover, 417 pages.

62 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 Here is the first insider ment, he became managing director of Kissinger account from a senior figure on Associates, and also served as chairman of the biparti- the scene in Iraq after the fall of san National Commission on Terrorism (1999-2000). Baghdad. Ambassador L. Paul Malcolm McConnell is a former Foreign Service offi- “Jerry” Bremer was named presi- cer and the author of numerous books; he most dential envoy to Iraq on May 6, recently collaborated with General Tommy Franks on 2003. As the administrator of the his memoir, American Soldier (HarperCollins, 2005). Coalition Provisional Authority, he led reconstruction and stabi- The Last Battle of the Cold lization efforts until June 28, War: An Inside Account of 2004, when he handed over power to the new interim Negotiating the INF Treaty Iraqi government. “This book is an important compo- Maynard W. Glitman, nent of the history of this war, though critics will find Palgrave MacMillan, 2006, it self-serving,” writes retired FSO Dave Dunford in $69.95, hardcover, 272 pages. his review of the book for the April 2006 issue of the This volume is an important FSJ. “But there should be no doubt that Jerry contribution to our under- Bremer took on one of the toughest tasks ever given standing of the causes and to a U.S. diplomat and handled it with skill, discipline implications of the end of the and grace.” Cold War by a key actor in the Amb. Bremer had a 23-year career in the Foreign drama. The Soviet effort to intimidate Europe with Service. During the 1980s he served as ambassador to modern intermediate nuclear forces required a the Netherlands and ambassador at large for counter- sophisticated alliance response. Negotiating a treaty terrorism, among other positions. Following retire- eliminating these systems and securing its ratification

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 63 in the U.S. Senate was a decade-long process in Sisters in Arms: which the author played a critical role as the chief British & American Women negotiator for the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Pilots during World War II Forces Treaty. Here he analyzes the complex strug- Helena Page Schrader, Pen gles over U.S. INF deployments and allied negotiat- & Sword Books Ltd., 2006, ing strategies, as well as handling confrontations with $25.16, hardcover, 240 pages. the Soviets, that ultimately produced a treaty widely During World War II, a small recognized as a turning point in post-World War II number of carefully selected history (see David Jones’ review, FSJ, June 2006). women were given the unprece- Maynard W. Glitman is a former ambassador to dented opportunity to fly mili- Belgium and deputy assistant secretary of Defense for tary aircraft in both the U.S. and Britain. That story, Europe and NATO. Of the four ambassadorial posts he by itself, is fascinating. But Sisters in Arms: British & held, three were in arms-control activities. Following American Women Pilots during World War II also retirement from the Foreign Service, he has written on explores what happened next on each side of the U.S. foreign policy and arms control and taught politi- Atlantic: while the women of the British Air Transport cal science as an adjunct professor at the University of Auxiliary steadily won nearly all the privileges and sta- Vermont. tus enjoyed by their male colleagues, their American counterparts of the Women Airforce Service Pilots At the Borderline were denied the same status, rank, pay and benefits as of Armageddon: their male colleagues. Furthermore, the female pilots How American Presidents of the ATA — no less than their male colleagues — Managed the Atom Bomb were praised for their contribution to the war effort, James E. Goodby, Rowman whereas the WASP was disbanded and the women & Littlefield Publishers, 2006, sent home early, their contribution to the war publicly $24.95, paperback, 224 pages. ignored and soon forgotten. “At the Borderline of Arma- What accounts for this dramatic difference? geddon recalls the fascinating Helena Schrader analyzes the cultural context and and terrifying history of the military traditions, and traces the organizational devel- nuclear age. James Goodby opment and accomplishments of both the ATA and has written an extraordinary and engaging book that the WASP. To the extent possible, she lets the women has much to teach leaders and ordinary citizens alike,” speak for themselves. says former Rep. Lee Hamilton, president of the Helena Schrader joined the Foreign Service in Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars 2005. A historian specializing in ancient Sparta and and vice chair of the 9/11 Commission. Goodby the medieval age, she has published two novels set in zeroes in on the issues that American presidents have Ancient Sparta, The Olympic Charioteer (iUniverse, faced and how they dealt with them. He adds details 2005) and Are They Singing in Sparta? (iUniverse, that are not generally known or not available else- 2006), as well as a novel based on the experience of the where in cases where he was directly involved — and pilots, The Lady in the Spitfire, published earlier this that is a majority, because for 60 years from the Trinity year (see p. 76). test at Alamogordo, N.M., and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the author was closely in Aristocrat and Proletarian: touch with nuclear policy at the national level. The Extraordinary Life of Retired Ambassador James Goodby is a non-resi- Paxton Pattison Hibben dent senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Stuart G. Hibben, Llumina Press, research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of 2006, $29.95, hardcover, 252 Technology. Over the course of a long and distin- pages. guished Foreign Service career he held several senior This is the story of Paxton positions dedicated to arms control and nonprolifera- Hibben, an American (and dis- tion. He served as ambassador to Finland from 1980 tant relative of the author) who, to 1981. despite the cold relations between

64 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 his country and the Soviet Union, organized a César Chávez, the Catholic humanitarian effort to rescue starving children in the Bishops, and the Farmworkers’ terrible Russian famine of 1921-1923. Hibben, the Struggle for Social Justice son of a well-to-do Midwestern family and a distin- Marco G. Prouty, University guished graduate of Princeton and Harvard, was an of Arizona Press, 2006, $40.00, “astonishing American” to the Russians. In honor of hardcover, 185 pages. his courage and selflessness, he was given a hero’s César Chávez and the farm- burial in Moscow alongside the Russian masters of workers’ struggle for justice arts, letters and sciences. polarized the Catholic commu- This inspiring biography is a tribute to Hibben’s nity in California’s Central achievements — the “sheer scope and drama of his Valley during the 1965-1970 adventures” and the magnitude of his humanitarian Delano Grape Strike. Because most farmworkers and efforts. landowners were Roman Catholic, the American Stuart G. Hibben is a retired civil servant, Navy Roman Catholic Church was placed in the challenging veteran of World War II, and a Princeton graduate. position of choosing sides in an intrafaith conflict. In spite of frequent travels abroad as the spouse of a Twice Chávez petitioned the Church for help. Finally, career American diplomat, he finished this account in 1969, the American Catholic hierarchy responded for publication in 15 years. by creating the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Farm Labor, a committee of five bishops and two priests. Divide and Perish: Chávez later declared the committee’s intervention The Geopolitics of over the next decade on behalf of the United the Middle East Farmworkers “the single most important thing that has Curtis F. Jones, helped us.” AuthorHouse, 2006, Former Foreign Service officer Marco Prouty has $20.49, paperback, drawn on rich, untapped archival sources at the U.S. 512 pages. Conference of Catholic Bishops to provide a valuable The product of 60 years addition to the fields of labor history, social justice, eth- of specialization in Arabic nic studies and religious history. and the Middle East, this book is a timely and all- embracing background guide PEOPLE AND PLACES to a little-understood part of the world now domi- nating the headlines. From a historical analysis of Twilight in the Kingdom: the curse of communalism, to a review of the five Understanding the Saudis types of autocracies in the region (tribal, military, Mark A. Caudill, Praeger partisan, ethnocracy and theocracy) and the rise of Security International, 2006, the “American-Israeli Diarchy,” the author presents $44.95, hardcover, 176 pages. the many factors that have shaped this area for cen- Active-duty FSO Mark turies — not the least of which is its unique geogra- Caudill bases Twilight in the phy. Kingdom: Understanding the Curtis Jones joined the Foreign Service in 1946 Saudis on his own dispatches after service in the Army during World War II. from Consulate General Jed- Having studied Arabic in the military, he was one of dah, where he served as a polit- the first participants in the Arabic program at the ical officer from 1999 to 2002 — in the crucial period Foreign Service Institute, and went on to devote most before and after the 9/11 attacks. “Caudill’s book is an of his 30-year Foreign Service career to service in the important and unique look into Saudi Arabia that is not Middle East. Since retirement he has worked as a gov- available in all the previously published material on the ernment consultant, writer and speaker. He is a regu- country,” says Saudi journalist Faiza Saleh Ambah of lar contributor to the electronic journal American the book. Diplomacy at www.americandiplomacy.org. A converted Muslim who could pass for Syrian,

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 65 Caudill lived outside the embassy compound, trav- longtime residents. Supplemented with a variety of eled widely and participated in the local life and cul- excellent maps and photographs, the narrative captures ture. He was rewarded with important insights into the everyday life in the community from the 1930s through reality of Saudi Arabia behind the mask of official clich- the 1980s — their shops, workplaces, schools, modes of es maintained by the ruling family. History will show, transportation and special events. “The 168 pages of he believes, that American leaders should have paid oral histories, photos and maps document the passage more attention to these realities. of Braddock, and the surrounding county, from an out- Mark Caudill joined the Foreign Service in 1991. back of dairy farms and sawmills to a mega-suburb. He is currently vice consul in Istanbul. Even longtime residents are likely to learn something,” says The Washington Post review of June 22. Carrizo: Portrait of a Retired FSO Gilbert Donahue served as digital New Mexican Family archivist, contributing the graphic design, pho- Victor A. Abeyta, BookSurge tographs, captions and cover design for the history pro- Publishing, 2005, $15.99, ject, which began in 2004 when Braddock District paperback, 310 pages. Supervisor Sharon Bulova organized the first of a series In this reminiscence and of town meetings on the topic “A Look Back at tribute to his parents, Victor Braddock.” The book is available at the Fairfax County Abeyta brings to light a slice of Government Center Maps and Publications Sales New Mexican history and a way Office, (703) 324-2974. of life that has vanished. The authors’ mother and father are Unknown Sands: Journeys the central characters whose lives, along with other Around the World’s Most major figures of the homestead, are traced against the Isolated Country social and political background of the 20th century. John W. Kropf, Dusty Spark Two wars, the Great Depression, changes in land-use Publishing, 2006, $26.00, laws and the advance of technology all left their marks hardcover, 224 pages. on the family. The narrative is crisp and very well-writ- For centuries, Turkmen- ten, making this book of genuine interest to the gener- istan was the world’s most al reader as well as a valuable contribution to regional feared territory, the fierce and social history. nomadic tribes of its vast Victory Alejandro (Alex) Abeyta is a retired senior desert wastes deemed ungov- FSO who served from 1969 to 2002 in Mexico, Por- ernable. Today the country is independent, sits atop tugal, Uruguay, Spain, Canada, El Salvador, Colombia one of the planet’s largest natural gas reserves, and is and Washington, D.C. He wrote this book while in strategically located between the hot spots of Moscow, where his wife, a Foreign Service officer, was Afghanistan and Iran — but is still virtually un- on assignment. known. This book begins to bring this remote country to Braddock’s True Gold: life in a most engaging way. The author skillfully 20th Century Life blends his own two-year adventure there with the in the Heart of history of Turkmenistan to present an insightful and Fairfax County accessible profile of the country and its people — Marion Meany and from the bazaars to the ancient Silk Road and Oxus Mary Lipsey, with River, the country’s unique brand of Islam and the Gilbert Donahue and post-9/11 confrontation with the Taliban. John Browne, Fairfax FS spouse John W. Kropf served in Turkmenistan County Board of Supervisors, 2006, $25.00, as country director for USAID from 2000 to 2002. A paperback, 168 pages. government attorney specializing in international This is a beautiful and unusual coffee-table book law, he had worked at the State Department for eight that looks at the history of Fairfax County’s Brad- years prior to his wife’s posting to Ashgabat. He is dock District through the eyes of more than 60 of its currently director of international privacy programs

66 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 at the Department of Homeland Security. His cre- and the traveling-writing world. Using examples ative nonfiction and humor articles have appeared in from real travel accounts, she offers both her per- the Foreign Service Journal, Washington Post and sonal perspective and advice from a wide range of South Florida Sun-Sentinel. industry experts. “O’Neil’s writing exercises ... are helpful and Travel Writing encouraging and her instruction is presented in a L. Peat O’Neil, Writer’s clear, conversational, and interesting manner,” a Digest Books, 2nd edition, Writers Digest review comments. “The book is trav- 2006, $14.99, paperback, el-sized for convenience — pack it in your suitcase or 311 pages. carry it along on a day trip close to home ... This is In this newly revised sec- the best-selling travel writing how-to book on the ond edition of Travel Writ- market.” ing — See the World, Sell L. Peat O’Neil joined the Foreign Service as an the Story, L. Peat O’Neil, office management specialist in 2004. In addition to a travel writer who worked writing this book, she is a co-author of Making Waves for the Washington Post — 50 Greatest Women in Radio and Television for nearly two decades, (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001). After com- offers a second round of pleting a two-year assignment at Embassy Mexico invaluable advice to aspir- City, O’Neil will study Mandarin at FSI and move to ing travel writers on writing engagingly, effectively Shanghai in June 2007. She currently teaches writ- marketing articles and getting published. This ing for UCLA Extension in the journalism program time, Ms. O’Neil addresses the ways the Inter- online, and writes for many periodicals, Web sites net and new technology have affected both travel and newspapers. Executive Lodging Alternatives Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE” [email protected] Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 67 MEMOIRS government and Americans generally were repaid manifold by the contributions later made to society by Architect of Democracy: the great increase in formally educated veterans who Building a Mosaic of Peace became doctors, lawyers, educators and, yes, Foreign James Robert Huntley, New Service officers as well. Those who became “G.I. stu- Academia Publishing, 2006, dents” will identify their own experiences with those $30.00, paperback, 716 pages. of the author, and those born later will find this book “James Huntley shares with to be a lively view of a different and distant world. us his incomparable experi- Allen C. Hansen retired from the Foreign Service ence of diplomacy and the in 1987 after 32 years with USIA. Since retirement he organization of civil society in a has written four books, including a second edition of book rich with his wise in- USIA: Public Diplomacy in the Computer Age sights,” says the Rt. Hon. Lord (Praeger, 1989). To purchase the book, contact the Chris Patten, former European commissioner for author at (703) 893-2756. external relations and governor of Hong Kong, about Architect of Democracy: Building a Mosaic of Peace. The Heydays of Embassies, A Foreign Service officer with USIA during the 1950s, Foreign Adventures and a Dog Mr. Huntley was involved in postwar rehabilitation in Jeanne JieAhn, Studio Europe. His memoir provides a detailed and insight- Publishing and Design, 2006, ful background to the history of the U.S. occupation of $16.00, paperback, 256 pages. Germany, the early days of NATO, the European This memoir describes Union, the Council of Europe and other important Foreign Service officer Jeanne international institutions that have shaped the postwar JieAhn’s “16 years of foreign world. This sixth volume in ADST’s Memoirs and adventures” with her dog, Nip- Occasional Papers Series includes a foreword by Brent per, from 1985 to 2000. Jie- Scowcroft. Ahn began her diplomatic Following retirement from the Foreign Service, career as a “middle-aged, highly naïve, single mom James Huntley spurred creation of the Atlantic with empty-nest syndrome.” Nipper was a “young, Institute of Paris, was a program executive at the Ford enchanting sage in a mini-Schnauzer disguise.” Foundation, a fellow of the Batelle Research Institute Together, this dynamic duo traveled the globe and and president and CEO of the Atlantic Council of the navigated through the unique diplomatic lifestyle: for- United States. He is a founder and current vice pres- eign culture shock, the “darker side of embassy life,” ident of the Council for a Community of Democra- homesickness and the difficulties of being uprooted cies. His previous writings include Uniting the Demo- and transplanted to unfamiliar societies. JieAhn writes cracies (New York University Press, 1980) and Pax candidly about her challenges abroad, but whether she Democratica (Palgrave Macmillan, 2001). describes being placed under house arrest in Paris, taking a Finnish-style sauna bath in Helsinki or being Campus Capers: stalked by an old ex-Nazi in Santiago, she always main- The Life and Times of tains a lively and humorous nature. a G.I. College Student Jeanne JieAhn served as an office management Allen C. Hansen, 2006, specialist at Khartoum, Bonn, Santiago, Paris, Helsinki $25.00, paperback, 219 and Brussels. She currently lives in Phoenix, where pages. she writes and paints. This book, her first, can be Here is a memoir of what ordered at www.TheHeyDays.com. it was like to be a World War II veteran attending college Contra Cross: Insurgency and Tyranny in after the war with the help of Central America, 1979-1989 the G.I. Bill. Thousands of William R. Meara, Naval Institute Press, 2006, veterans who may not have been able to afford college $26.95, hardcover, 168 pages. could now do so, and there is no doubt that the U.S. “A boots-in-the-mud personal memoir from the

68 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 battlefields of El Salvador’s active duty in Honduras, El Salvador and Panama. As Marxist Revolution and Nic- a diplomat he served in Honduras (where he was one aragua’s Contra War, Contra of the embassy’s liaison officers to the Nicaraguan Cross is also an eerily timely democratic resistance), Spain, the Dominican Re- admonition of the challenges public, the U.K. and the Azores. and pitfalls of today’s ‘transfor- mational’ efforts to democra- Mr. Ambassador: tize the world,” says Dr. Timo- Warrior for Peace thy C. Brown of the Hoover Edward J. Perkins and Institution and Stanford Uni- Connie Cronley, University of versity. “It is a warning that Oklahoma Press, 2006, victory will require both a very long-term commitment $39.95, hardcover, 576 pages. of major national resources and some serious attitude “Had Mr. Ambassador: adjustments by us, beginning with our military and Warrior for Peace only recall- diplomatic corps.” ed his 24-year diplomatic William Meara takes us into the world of an Ameri- career, it would be well worth can adviser struggling with cultural differences and reading,” wrote retired FSO human rights violations while trying to stay alive in mur- and former Assistant Secretary of State for African derous El Salvador in the 1980s. His experiences with Affairs Herman J. Cohen in his review of this mem- insurgency and counterinsurgency allow him to provide oir in the July-August FSJ. “But as a bonus, it gives important insights into the difficulty of such missions. us a total picture of his life. And what a fantastic life William R. Meara joined the Foreign Service in it has been!” Perkins’ life took him from a cotton 1988, following four years as a U.S. Army officer on farm in segregated Louisiana to the elite ranks of the

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NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 69 Foreign Service, where he became the first black Kong and director of Chinese affairs at the State officer to ascend to the top position of director gen- Department during the Tiananmen crisis, in addi- eral. tion to opening the first American consulate in the Sent by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 to help PRC. dismantle apartheid without violence, Amb. Perkins was the first black U.S. ambassador to South Africa. It’s A Jungle Out There! His presence as a strong, articulate, unflappable black Memoir of a Spook man gave hope to South Africans of color, and his Rafael Fermoselle, Trafford advice to President-elect George H.W. Bush helped Publishing, 2006, $24.50, modify American policy and hasten the release of paperback, 344 pages. Nelson Mandela and others from prison. Amb. “Straight Talk about Infor- Perkins’ three-year experience in the land of apartheid mation Superiority” is the sub- is a high point of the book. title of this passionate memoir. Now retired, Amb. Perkins is the William J. Crowe The author believes that the Professor of Geopolitics and executive director of the events of 9/11 could have been International Programs Center at the University of prevented; and that they could happen again if Oklahoma. lessons are not learned from the intelligence failures of the late 1970s and 1980s, failures he traces to the At the Dawn of the series of actions Congress took beginning in 1976 to New China: An American “rein in” the intelligence community. The book is Diplomat’s Eyewitness unabashedly personal. Based on his own experience Account working, among other places, with the FBI, the Richard L. Williams, author makes an appeal for an understanding of the EastBridge, 2005, $24.95, critical importance of both human and signal intelli- paperback, 196 pages. gence. He explains the process of becoming a spy “Only rarely do diplomats and how intelligence agents work. write insightful books about Retired FSO Rafael Fermoselle was born in the societies to which they are Havana and paroled into the United States as a polit- posted. Even more infre- ical refugee in 1962 at the age of 16. He graduated quently is there a convergence between momentous with a Ph.D. from American University in 1972. events and an insightful observer. In At the Dawn of Since 2002, he has worked as a contractor for the the New China, Richard L. Williams writes insightful- Department of Defense. ly of historic events,” says David M. Lampton, director of China Studies and dean of the faculty of Johns War Whispers in the Wind Hopkins-SAIS. Joann LaMorder Hickson, Sent to Canton in 1979 as full diplomatic relations 2005, paperback, 28 pages. with the People’s Republic of China were estab- War Whispers in the Wind lished, Ambassador Williams was the first American is a heartfelt and wistful mem- consul general in mainland China in 30 years. His oir of Joann LaMorder Hick- Chinese wife, Jane, saw her family for the first time son’s life overseas as a Foreign since her departure in 1950. Williams combines the Service spouse and mother of personal and professional sides of this historic assign- three sons. Written in the ment in a very interesting and informative book. form of short and simple vign- Richard C. Holbrooke, who as assistant secretary of ettes, this book uses colorful language, metaphorical State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs was intimate- descriptions and dreamlike illustrations to remind ly involved in opening diplomatic relations with the readers of the beautiful yet transitory nature of the People’s Republic of China, provides a foreword. Foreign Service life. Despite the childlike narrative In a more-than-30-year career in the Foreign form, the author introduces the realities of political Service, Richard Williams served as the first U.S. strife through the pervading refrain, “war whispers in ambassador to Mongolia, as consul general in Hong the wind.” Anyone who has experienced any of the

70 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 20 countries Hickson has resided in will surely appre- Jewish woman as she unearths ciate her artistry. never-revealed stories of strug- Joann LaMorder Hickson was married to USAID gles for human survival during controller Donald Hickson for 48 years. After his the Nazi occupation of Greece; retirement in 1987, they continued to live abroad on discovers the secrets of mem- contracts. Hickson wrote, illustrated and published bers of the Solomonides fami- War Whispers in the Wind herself after her husband ly stretching from Athens to passed away in 2004. The book can be ordered by Israel to Hollywood; and finds contacting the author directly, either by e-mail at love with a Greek man who [email protected] or by phone at (352) 382-3188. compels her to redefine her- self. Carol P. Christ, author of She Who Changes and Rebirth of the Goddess, says: NOVELS “Ellen Boneparth’s story of the Jews of Greece is a gift to be grateful for. Beka’s spiritual quest will appeal to Days of Atonement: A Novel readers searching for meaning in a multivalent world.” Ellen Boneparth, iUniverse, Inc., 2005, $16.95, Ellen Boneparth launched her study of the Jews of paperback, 262 pages. Greece while serving as a U.S. diplomat in Athens Days of Atonement tells the story of Beka Freeman during the late 1980s. A writer of fiction and political — an American sociologist, single mother and daugh- commentary, this long-time Philhellene and part-time ter of a feisty widowed mother — who searches for her resident of Greece makes her home in Santa Rosa, Jewish identity and spiritual path by traveling to Calif., with her husband, Jim Wilkinson, and their Greece. Set against the historical backdrop of the two Greek-immigrant cats. Greek Holocaust, the novel follows this contemporary Continued on page 74

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 71 OF RELATED INTEREST

Radio: A Post Nine-Eleven this memoir is part of the ADST-DACOR Diplomats Strategy for Reaching the and Diplomacy Series. World’s Poor Stephen Sposato and W. A. Africa Reawakening: Smith, University Press of What the Continent Did America, Inc., 2005, $34.00, with International Aid paperback, 243 pages. James F. Conway, Beckham In the era of fiber optics, Publications Group, 2004, high-speed Internet connec- $19.95, paperback, 100 pages. tions, and ever-faster commu- For decades, development nications technology breakthroughs, it is useful to professionals have wrung their ponder the revolutionary potential of the humble hands over the failure of poli- radio. In this interesting book, development practi- tical and economic develop- tioners Steven Sposato and William A. Smith review ment in Africa despite massive the history of distance communication and the rise of injections of assistance and the continent’s own plen- information radio in the 1930s through its peak in the tiful natural resources. “What is the secret formula? 1970s. They present a series of case studies examin- What are the mistakes not to be repeated? Why is ing the innovative use of radio in fostering develop- the aid not working like a Marshall Plan?” These are ment. In bringing to light these little-known stories, some of the questions author Jim Conway asks. the authors make a compelling case for radio’s ability Refreshingly, in this book, he neither presents uni- to play a critical role in teaching as well as entertain- versalistic formulas nor proposes easy solutions. ing today. Instead, we have the insights from his own 15-year Stephen Sposato has 25 years of experience as an experience working in Africa, which “suggest suc- economist with USAID, specializing in development cesses and open a door to tomorrow,” as he puts it in communication issues for the last five years. William the introduction. A. Smith is executive vice president of the Academy James Conway worked in Africa from 1974 to for Educational Development, a nonprofit that spe- 1987 and from 1993 to 1994, through organizations cializes in applying modern communication to social such as the Church World Service and the U.N. change and development. World Food Program. Since 2003, he has worked for USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance A New Vision for America: Toward Human Solidarity in Angola and Sudan; he is now working in the through Global Democracy Democratic Republic of the Congo. John Richardson, Ruder Finn Press, 2006, $25.00, paperback, 225 pages. U.S. National Security and In a lively, personal style, John Richardson traces Foreign Direct Investment the evolution of his worldview from his elite prep- Edward G. Graham school days to service as a World War II paratrooper, and David M. Marchick, and on to careers in the private sector and in public Institute for International service. He was CEO of Radio Free Europe for Economics, 2006, $23.95, eight years, and later served as assistant secretary of paperback, 224 pages. State for educational and cultural affairs. He has also Foreign investment in the had leadership responsibilities in a host of education- U.S. raised alarm bells in al and service organizations. With a foreword by for- Congress and the nation follow- mer deputy secretary of State John C. Whitehead, ing the Dubai Ports World

72 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 Company bid to acquire American port operations peace in the neighboring Balkan states. She is the and the earlier Chinese attempt to buy Unocal. This director of the Women and Public Policy Program at study proposes ways to reduce the risks associated Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Govern- with foreign direct investment without forfeiting ment and president of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, a economic gains. Brent Scowcroft, national security private foundation. Her previous book, This Was Not adviser to presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Our War: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace (Duke Bush, calls this book “a very important and compre- University Press, 2005), won the 2005 PEN/New hensive assesment of a critical issue in a post-9/11 England Award for nonfiction. world.” He adds: “Protecting national security and maintaining an open investment regime are twin Plunging into Haiti imperatives for the United States.” Ralph Pezzullo, University Edward M. Graham, a senior fellow at the Press of Mississippi, 2006, Institute for International Economics, has been an $45.00, hardback, 312 pages. adjunct professor at Columbia University since 2002. Here is a detailed insider’s He is the author or co-author of numerous studies. account of the U.S. role in David M. Marchick, a partner with Covington & Haiti from the election of Burling, served as deputy assistant secretary of State President Jean-Bertrand Ari- for transportation affairs, deputy assistant secretary stide in 1990, to his over- for trade policy and principal deputy assistant secre- throw shortly thereafter, tary of commerce for trade development during the Washington’s ambivalent res- Clinton administration (1993-1999). ponse, and the Clinton administration’s decision in 1993 to intervene to restore Aristide. Through his Half-Life of a Zealot father, Lawrence Pezzullo, who served as the U.S. Swanee Hunt, Duke special envoy to Haiti, the author gained access to University Press, 2006, $29.95, important players on all sides. An instructive study of paperback, 360 pages. the strengths and weaknesses of American diplomat- In this absorbing memoir, ic and military efforts, presented with the energy of a H.L. Hunt’s daughter recounts political thriller, this book is also a contemporary his- her journey from the wealth tory of Haiti. It is part of ADST’s Diplomats and and ultra-conservatism of her Diplomacy series. family background to involve- Ralph Pezzullo is an award-winning playwright, ment in pioneering progressive screenwriter, novelist, poet and journalist. He is the causes — specifically, the author of Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al- inclusion of women in peace processes around the Qaeda (Crown Publishers, 2005) and At the Fall of world — and her recognition today as an expert on Somoza (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994). His foreign affairs and diplomacy. She seamlessly com- articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, bines discussion of her views on policy and philan- Newsweek and other national media. thropy with explanations of how she has maintained a balance among her roles as wife, mother, ambas- War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I sador, professor, philanthropist, commentator and to al-Qaeda activist. Jonathan B. Tucker, Pantheon Books, 2006, $30.00, Swanee Hunt served as ambassador to Austria hardcover, 496 pages. from 1993 to 1997 and, among other accomplish- Statesmen, generals and diplomats have long ments, played an important role in securing the debated the military utility and morality of chemical

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 73 OF RELATED INTEREST

warfare. Today, despite a treaty French Covert Action banning chemical arms that in the American Revolution some 175 countries have James M. Potts, iUniverse, signed, the chemical arms race 2005, $17.95, paperback, 336 is alive and well. This book pages. offers an insightful narrative A veteran U.S. intelligence history of chemical warfare officer recounts the story of from World War I to the pre- France’s covert support for the sent — including such events at American Revolution prior to the accidental discovery of the 1778, when Paris allied openly first nerve agent, Tabun, in with the Americans against Britain. This aid includ- 1936 in Hitler’s Germany and U.S. and British plans to ed the provision of vital arms and ammunition to mass-produce the far more toxic agent, Sarin. The George Washington’s army and subsidies to the book makes the threat of this constituent of WMD Continental Congress, among other things. The much more palpable. author brings the colorful leading characters in the Joanthan B. Tucker, a senior fellow at the drama to life, and also describes the highly effective Monterey Institute’s Center for Nonproliferation British counterespionage operations. Studies, was previously an arms control fellow at the James Potts served as an intelligence officer for Department of State, an international security ana- over 30 years, heading stations in Western Europe, lyst at the U.S. Congress’ Office of Technology and was twice awarded the Distinguished Intel- Assessment, and a specialist in chemical and biologi- ligence Medal. His book is the fifth volume in cal weapons policy at the U.S. Arms Control and ADST’s Memoirs and Occasional Papers Series. Disarmament Agency.

Continued from page 71 During her 27-year career as an FSO with USAID, Tangier, A Novel Diane Skelly Ponasik served in the Yemen Arab Diane Skelly Ponasik, Republic, Mali, Egypt, Haiti and Macedonia. She was BookSurge Publishing, 2006, a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco in the 1960s, and $17.99, paperback, 410 pages. then spent 10 years on and off there. She is now Set in Tangier, where Jews, retired and lives with her husband in Washington, D.C. Christians and Muslims min- gled freely during the late-19th No More Boss Man: A Novel and early-20th centuries, this Frank P. Catanoso, iUniverse, novel tells the story of Lili, a Inc., 2006, $15.95, paperback, Moroccan girl raised by the 222 pages. American consul, who is con- In April 1980, 13 enlisted vinced her future lies in becoming a Western woman; men, along with Samuel Doe, Lili’s stepbrother, Ted, an American educated in an obscure 28-year-old army Moroccan palaces who becomes a respected journalist sergeant, launched one of the reporting on Moroccan issues; and Ted’s Jewish wife, bloodiest coups in the history Meriam. Under conditions of mounting political of Africa by staging a military unrest and civil war, as a young sultan tries to fend off takeover of Liberia and disem- European powers interested in annexing Morocco and boweling Liberian President Albert Blamo. Doe, like bandits and pretenders threaten his throne, each of the most military dictators, started with good intentions characters faces a crisis of identity and allegiance. but, after surrounding himself with a cadre of yes-men

74 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 and fellow tribesmen, lost sight of his objectives to a result, loses his family, his job fight corruption and help the poor. and his freedom. His fight for No More Boss Man follows this turbulent era in justice becomes a story at once African history with a fictional, behind-the-scenes engrossing, exotic and full of look at the key players in the coup. Frank suspense. The novel shows Catanoso, public affairs officer in Monrovia at the both Galt’s extensive knowl- time and the first American to have an audience edge of life abroad and world with Sergeant Samuel K. Doe, provides a vivid affairs and his understanding of account of a military takeover of a corrupt Third real-life threats to national World government and a critical examination of security. In the words of the U.S. foreign policy in Africa. Westfield Leader: “Fritz Galt’s Frank Catanoso was an FSO with the U.S. spy thrillers boom!” Information Agency. He served in Addis Ababa, Novelist Fritz Galt is a Foreign Service spouse Monrovia, Calcutta, Milan and Trinidad & Tobago. who has lived in Cuba, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Taiwan, India and China. He has published essays Soul of a Harpist: on travel and expatriate and diplomatic life in numer- Dreamed by Karim Chaibi ous publications, and is co-founder of The SUN: The Karim Chaibi, Petrus, 2005, Spouses’ Underground Newsletter and Talesmag. £7.00, hardcover, 190 pages. com: Tales from a Small Planet. For an in-depth look Soul of a Harpist is a book at his work, visit his personal Web site at www.sigma- of short stories and original books.com. paintings told in the Tunisian storytelling tradition. Written The Banquet Bug: A Novel from the perspective of an Geling Yan, Hyperion East, Arab-American, these imagi- 2006, $24.95, hardcover, native tales discuss topics related to intercultural 288 pages. understanding, identity, philosophy and surrealism, Geling Yan’s novel chroni- while incorporating North African cultural refer- cles the adventures of Dan ences, from pre-Islamic gods to Islamic traditions to Dong, an unemployed factory images from Christianity. Karim Chaibi’s seamless worker who poses as a journal- shifts among Arabic, French and English make this ist to eat gourmet meals for book “at once surreal and charmed, peopled by talk- free at state-sponsored ban- ing shadows, melting bodies and drunken sculptors.” quets. At first, Dan enjoys exquisite meals at the A storyteller and painter, Karim Chaibi was born drop of a fake business card, but when he becomes in Tunis. He is currently in Washington with his privy to a scandal and is arrested during a crackdown wife, FSO Lora Berg, where they are working on “banquet bugs,” the story shifts into a twisted, together on a project of Arab-Jewish understanding intrigue-laden plot. Will Dan be able to uncover the for the Una Chapman Cox Foundation. The couple corruption without revealing his true identity? and their three children have also lived and worked Publishers’ Weekly called Yan’s “multifaceted mistak- in Tunisia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Slovakia. To en-identity farce” a clever and “pointed critique of order the book, go to www.arabsurreal.com. capitalism’s rise in her native China.” A Foreign Service spouse, Geling Yan was born in China Gate: An International Thriller Shanghai and began writing in the late 1970s as a jour- Fritz Galt, Pagefree Publishing, 2005, $13.95, nalist. Her first novel was published in China in paperback, 380 pages. 1985. Following the Tiananmen Square massacre, This new novel by acclaimed thriller writer Fritz she left China for the United States. Since then she Galt is “a tale of modern-day pirates, political black- has written many short stories, including one for the mail, vast sums of money at stake, and terrorists on award-winning Xiu Ciu: The Sent-Down Girl. This is the loose.” Protagonist Raymond O. Flowers gets her first work in English. She lives in San Francisco involved in a political scandal in Washington and, as and Africa.

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 75 Whither the Promised Land prison. Both the Soviet govern- Helga Ruge, Clay and Marshall ment, which is using Frank’s Publishing Company, 2005, arrest to force the media to $11.95, paperback, 307 pages. accept restraint, and the U.S. In this romantic novel, the embassy, which is reluctant to torrid love affair between a disturb improving relations beautiful Sicilian immigrant between the U.S. and USSR, and an American diplomat at choose to ignore the situation. the height of the Cold War Will McCarthy be able to foil draws readers into an exhilarat- both governments and spring ing world of diplomatic intri- Trudeau with nothing but jour- gues, shocking cultural experiences and larger-than- nalistic weapons at his disposal? life characters with a passion for adventure. Will Sutter is a retired Foreign Service officer. The story is set in 1960 and 1961. It begins when Over a 21-year career with USIA, he was posted to Sicilian native Octavia Angelini emigrates to America Bangkok, Moscow, Vientiane, Kinshasa and Nouak- to reunite with her lover, U.S. vice consul Jeff Car- chott. Following retirement Mr. Sutter lived in penter. Once in the Promised Land, however, their Rome and Vienna, where he began writing. He is the love is challenged by the strict State Department author of Star Over Chingat (PublishAmerica, 2004), rules regarding marrying non-U.S. citizens and Jeff’s and currently lives in Frederick, Md. dedication to his government career. Drawing from her own experiences as a foreign-born diplomatic The Lady in the Spitfire: spouse, Helga Ruge fashions a beautifully crafted A Novel tale of “passion, jealousy, conviction, honesty, joy and Helena P. Schrader, iUniverse, sadness, and so many of the eternal variables of 2006, $19.95, paperback, 322 human relationships.” Book columnist Dan Barnett pages. of the Chico-Enterprise Record notes, “It is clear Returning from his first Ruge had immense fun with this confection and combat mission over Germany readers can look forward to future work as she blos- during World War II with a soms as a novelist.” damaged B-17 and a wounded Helga Ruge was born in Germany and came to tail gunner, Lt. Jay Bronowsky America with her FSO husband in 1950. Together of the U.S. Eighth Air Force is forced to divert due with their two children, they have lived in Casablan- to weather. In heavy clouds he nearly collides with ca, London, Cardiff, Munich, Guatemala City and an RAF bomber that is piloted — he is shocked to Washington, D.C. After her husband’s retirement in learn after landing — by a woman. He soon finds 1969, they settled in California, where she taught himself fascinated by the attractive and highly pro- German at California State University. Her career as fessional pilot. a writer began with the publication of her memoir, Emily is a sharp contrast to his American fiancée, Flashbacks of a Diplomat’s Wife (Marshall Publishing who seems to have no understanding for what he is Company, 2002). going through. Emily has not yet recovered from the loss of her RAF pilot husband, Robin, who has been Moscow at Dawn reported missing, but is gradually drawn into a relation- Will Sutter, PublishAmerica, 2005, $19.95, ship with Jay, whom she discovers she likes very much. paperback, 236 pages. In this work of fiction, Helena Schrader imagines Dick McCarthy, star journalist of Philadelphia’s more fully the life experiences of the intriguing Omnium newspaper, returns to Moscow to cover the women whose history she has recorded in Sisters In rapid-fire developments in a newly revived round of Arms: British & American Women Pilots during World arms control negotiations just as the glasnost era War II, also published this year (see p. 64). begins. McCarthy and his partner, Frank Trudeau, get Ms. Schrader is a historican and writer. She is also involved with a group of artists who are testing emerg- an active-duty FSO. She joined the Service in 2005 ing political reforms, and Trudeau lands in a Soviet and is currently posted in Norway.

76 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 Director, Center for International and Regional Studies Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar

Georgetown University invites applications for the position of Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies, which is located within the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (www.georgetown.edu/sfs/qatar). The ideal candidate will have vision, commitment and the ability to conceive and realize a world-class program of research, scholarship, and outreach on the major issues of international affairs, especially as they bear on the United States and the Middle East.

Requirements include administrative experience in the fields of higher education and/or policy related to international affairs, exceptional communication skills and the ability to supervise and motivate others. The successful candidate will have extensive experience in the field of international affairs in the univer- sity, government, media, or public policy setting. An advanced degree is preferred. The incumbent will also teach in the undergraduate (and later graduate) program of the SFS-Q. The compensation package is highly competitive and includes generous allowances and benefits.

The School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q), located in Education City in Doha, Qatar, is a branch of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and offers a four-year undergraduate curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) degree. The Center for International and Regional Studies, located within the SFS-Q, supports scholarly research and public affairs programming on inter- national affairs, with an emphasis on the study of the United States and the Middle East. The Center Director will join a community of scholars in Education City who include members of the branch cam- puses of Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Texas A&M, and Virginia Commonwealth Universities and the Rand Corporation.

Applications, including a letter of application and curriculum vitae, are now being accepted and will be considered beginning on December 15. Candidates may be asked for references following initial discus- sions. Georgetown University is an equal opportunity-affirmative action employer.

Applications should be sent to: Chair, CIRS Search Committee c/o Peter Dunkley Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Intercultural Center, Room 301 Georgetown University Washington, D.C. 20057 BOOKS

Toward a World Policymakers in the U.S. and Europe Trade Organization Stiglitz and Charlton have gradually moved to seek trade assert that “NAFTA agreements that provide more bene- Fair Trade for All fits to developing countries. Joseph Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton, is not really a free The authors analyze the principles Oxford University Press, 2006, $30, trade agreement.” that would underlie a development hardcover, 315 pages. round of trade negotiations. Their framework concentrates on produc- REVIEWED BY JAMES PATTERSON ing “development-friendly” agree- ments that incorporate such unquan- Concerned about a longstanding tifiable elements as equity and social imbalance between developed and have plunged their rural sector into justice. This approach would also developing countries in trade negotia- extreme poverty. Clearly, trade liber- afford developing countries special tions, Nobel Prize-winning economist alization hasn’t worked to our south- treatment in negotiations. As they Joseph Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton, ern neighbor’s benefit. point out, once developed countries a research officer at the London Paradoxically, however, the NAFTA are open to imports, the increased School of Economics, have written experience also provides the authors flow of trade from developing coun- Fair Trade for All to make the case with support for their argument that tries, primarily in textiles and farm that “trade policies can be designed in trade liberalization can work if it is goods, brings them economic and developed and developing countries carefully managed. Toward that end, social benefits. with a view to integrating developing they support a “Development Round” Economics is often called the “dis- countries into the world trading sys- of global negotiations under the aus- mal science,” in part because individ- tem.” pices of the World Trade Organization uals and countries with a lack of Both authors are critics of the that, in their view, would do a far bet- resources have such limited choices. Washington Consensus, a set of mar- ter job of protecting the economic Recognizing this power differential, ket liberalization methods some poli- interests of developing countries than developed countries have traditionally cymakers see as vital to economic have previous multilateral trade protected their industries with their growth in developing countries. The agreements. own “special treatment” at the authors do not reject the concept out Under previous accords, develop- expense of developing countries. This of hand, but do argue that liberaliza- ing countries have not realized the approach may change over time; but tion must be carefully managed. As benefits that have accrued to devel- once applied, protectionist measures evidence, they cite the Mexican expe- oped countries. Some analysts argue become difficult to remove. rience under the North American this inequity is calculated, even The authors have selected a timely Free Trade Agreement. immoral, while others attribute it to and important subject, recognizing In what is perhaps the book’s most other factors. Stiglitz and Charlton that the general public needs to know controversial line, Stiglitz and Charl- strongly advocate trade as a develop- more about government trade agree- ton assert that “NAFTA is not really a ment tool. However it is judged, ments. Unfortunately, their book is as free trade agreement.” As they docu- there has been an increased world- dry and complex as an economics jour- ment, since NAFTA was signed in wide sense of responsibility for the nal. This is doubly disappointing 1993, U.S. farm subsidies have grown, economic plight of developing coun- because it is possible to write best-sell- not declined. As a result, Mexican tries, particularly since the riots at the ing books on trade; in fact, Stiglitz him- imports of subsidized farm products 1999 WTO meetings in Seattle. self did so with his 2002 work, Globali-

78 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 B OOKS

zation and Its Discontents, a far easier from oppression. Toward that end, he book to digest. provided Iraqis to participate in That said, Fair Trade for All will Chehab relays a actions against Israel by the various appeal to serious readers, and deserves rejectionist Palestinian terrorist groups a wide audience. common Iraqi belief that that opposed Fatah. Chenab makes no bones about the dictator’s ruthless- James Patterson is a former FSO the Americans came ness, however. He says Saddam whose writing and reviews have ap- ordered the assassination of Abu Nidal peared in the Foreign Service Journal, primarily for Iraq’s oil, when that terrorist leader appeared in Washington Post and The Christian Baghdad as an uninvited guest. Science Monitor. and are sure to remain Chehab castigates the U.S. for sins such as Abu Ghraib. He also relays a there indefinitely as common Iraqi belief that the Ameri- The Sunni Side cans came to Iraq primarily for its oil occupiers. and are sure to remain there indefi- of the Street nitely as occupiers. He goes so far as to list four military bases that the Iraq Ablaze: United States plans to hold onto. And Inside the Insurgency he reports that even Ayatollah al- Zaki Chehab, I.B.Taurus & Co. Ltd., dare approach, even if the opportuni- Sistani, who has been relatively coop- 2006, $34.31, paperback, 220 pages. ty were offered them — especially erative to date, is now pushing for the now that so many journalists have Americans to leave. REVIEWED BY become targets of the insurgency. Chehab is clearly not a stickler for GEORGE B. LAMBRAKIS The book has useful chapters on details, misidentifying Donald Rums- foreign fighters, the Shia religious feld as Secretary of State and Douglas The main contribution Iraq Ablaze: leadership and the Palestinian con- Feith as U.S. national security adviser. Inside the Insurgency makes, for the nection, and offers a tour d’horizon of He also shares a Middle Eastern ten- specialist as well as the general reader, the regional powers most interested dency for exaggeration and emphatic lies in its focus on the Sunni insur- in Iraq (Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, misstatement, asserting that Arab gency and its explanation of how Kuwait and Turkey). Sunnis make up 35 percent of the American missteps and local suspi- Chehab clearly enjoys insider Iraqi population — nearly double the cions have turned so many Iraqis accounts of secret manipulations, as true proportion. against coalition forces. Indeed, the when he claims a Baghdad-based Nor should the reader look to him title’s reference to “insurgency” by human rights activist, Safieh Al- for a balanced weighing of pros and itself suggests that the opposition is Suhail, hosted three different meet- cons in Iraq (though a partisan atti- broader than just foreign fighters ings between Iraqi politicians Ahmed tude is understandable as a way for and Baathist diehards. While the Chalabi and Iyad Allawi at a time Chehab to protect his privileged narrative centers on Sunnis, it details when the press was portraying them entree to anti-Western sources). Yet the political costs of Washington’s as not on speaking terms. He reports his central message is quite reasonable failure to provide effective security that during those talks, the two agreed — one might even say indisputable: and reconstruction immediately after “to postpone their fight for another “As history shows, a military can never the fall of Saddam Hussein. day” and allow the formation of a defeat a guerrilla force without the A Palestinian journalist who grew coalition government “using Prime support of the indigenous people.” up in a Lebanese refugee camp, Zaki Minister Al-Jaafari as a figurehead.” Chehab appears to have established Saddam Hussein is, of course, a A retired FSO, George Lambrakis excellent contacts in Iraq (his first trip pivotal figure in the narrative. In one spent over half of his 31-year career there was in 1978) and elsewhere in meeting, he reportedly impressed a working in or on the Middle East. He the region. This has led to his gaining delegation of visiting Palestinians with now heads the international relations the confidence of the types of people a promise, made while standing before and diplomacy program at Schiller that Western journalists would never a huge regional map, to free all Arabs International University in London.

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 79 B OOKS

Voyages of Self- dard collection of funny/exotic/weird Discovery stories in exotic settings. It distills the authors’ experiences and offers them up for scrutiny in a thought-provoking, So Far and Yet So Near: meaningful and relevant way. Organi- Stories of Americans Abroad zed thematically, it touches on nation- Various authors, American Citizens alism, tolerance, guilt, fairness and Abroad, 2005, $15.95, paperback, change. Synergy is at work — perhaps 223 pages. due to the diversity of authorship — with the result that the whole is far REVIEWED BY LISA CONNER more than the sum of its parts. In “Living History,” a survivor of T.S. Eliot wrote, “The end of all our the December 2004 Asian tsunami exploring will be to arrive where we retells his chilling experience in a way started and know that place for the first that will forever change how readers time.” While self-discovery is not often view an ocean wave. A Peace Corps cited as a reason for living abroad, it Volunteer in Sierra Leone contracted frequently is a by-product. tumba fly, giardia, malaria, amoebic So Far and Yet So Near: Stories of dysentrery, ascaris and unciniara — Americans Abroad is a compendium all during her first four months. This of personal stories from a diverse onslaught, she recounts in “The group of overseas Americans, inclu- Lessons of Culture Shock,” resulted in ding Peace Corps Volunteers, students her “lower intestinal tract becoming a and diplomats. The collection was com- 24-hour roadside motel with the com- piled by American Citizens Abroad, a ings and goings of all these critters.” nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovern- Another contributor recalls being mental association dedicated to serv- on the scene for a military coup in ing and defending the interests of indi- Peru, while a Foreign Service spouse vidual U.S. citizens living all over the recalls tending her rose garden in world. Headquartered in Geneva, Tehran in the early 1970s. ACA welcomes new members, includ- Anyone who has been overseas will ing Foreign Service members; visit its understand and enjoy these stories. Web site, www.aca.ch, for more infor- But for “official” overseas Americans, mation. who operate under an embassy or con- This collection allows readers to sulate infrastructure with social sup- share in the triumphs, tragedies and port mechanisms, So Far and Yet So personal insights of their expatriate Near opens up a much wider window compatriots. Their stories span the onto the lives of those who don’t bene- gauntlet from hilarious to sad; some fit from these luxuries we so often take will undoubtedly provoke a sense of for granted. The book will also prompt déjà vu for many Foreign Service many readers to recall how we got the folks. “bug” to live overseas ourselves. One True, many FSOs and other people warning, though: Reading it may cause who’ve lived abroad have their own nostalgia for the simple days when our stories of cross-cultural misunder- cars weren’t searched for bombs standings, life-threatening experiences before being allowed to proceed to and aha! moments, so they may not work! think strangers’ stories would hold much interest. Lisa Conner, an FSO since 1991, is a But this book transcends the stan- consular officer in Ulaanbaatar.

80 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 AFSAAmerican Foreign ServiceNEWS Association • November 2006

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR Inside THE 2007 AFSA GOVERNING BOARD This Issue:

VP STATE: PUNISHING ant to represent your col- June 1 — Ballots counted “FRATERNIZATION”...... 83 leagues and make sure July 15 — New board takes office VP FCS: WHERE’S THE SERVICE? ...84 the voice of the Foreign VP RETIREE: ON THE HILL ...... 85 Service is heard by man- Positions to be Filled W MEMBERS ON NEW agement, on the Hill and around the coun- The AFSA bylaws require that all ASSIGNMENTS ...... 86 try? If you do, please consider running for Governing Board members shall be res- a position on the 2007-2009 AFSA Govern- ident in the Washington, D.C., area with- ing Board. in 60 days of taking office and shall remain This election call, issued in accordance resident there throughout their term in Dissent is the highest with Article VII (2)(a) of the AFSA bylaws, office. The officer positions to be filled in form of patriotism. constitutes a formal notice to all AFSA this election are: — Thomas Jefferson members of the opportunity to participate President in the nomination and election of a new Vice President for State AFSA Constructive Governing Board. Vice President for USAID Take a look at the positions available and Vice President for FCS Dissent Awards consider putting your name forward or Vice President for FAS o you know anyone in the nominating a colleague. This election is for Vice President for Retirees Foreign Service who deserves to a board that will take office July 15, 2007, Secretary Dbe recognized for constructive and serve for two years. We are beginning Treasurer dissent? Let AFSA know. Look for the this process at this early date because of the The president and the State, USAID and official call for nominations for the time needed for overseas ballots and in order FAS vice presidents are full-time positions AFSA Constructive Dissent Awards in to complete the process by March 2007 for detailed to AFSA. The FCS vice president the next issue of AFSA News and on our active-duty members who may need to is detailed 50 percent of his or her time to Web site at www.afsa.org/awards/ transfer or bid on other jobs. Below are AFSA. These employees are assigned over- index.cfm. instructions on how to be nominated and complement and are eligible for time-in- run for the 2007-2009 AFSA Governing class extensions. Board. Article V (4)(b) of the AFSA bylaws quired to attend monthly luncheon board authorizes a constituency vice president for meetings and may volunteer to serve on Important Dates in 2007 each constituency with a minimum of 100 additional committees. Feb. 1 — Nominations deadline members and one constituency represen- The constituency representative posi- March 26 — Ballots and candidate state- tative position for every 1,000 members or tions to be filled in this election are: ments mailed fraction thereof. Representatives are re- State Department (eight positions) USAID (one position) FCS (one position) FAS (one position) IBB (one position) Retirees (four positions)

JOSH Continued on page 88

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 81 A F S A N AFSANEWSBRIEFS E W Congress Breaks for Recess: Much Work Remains S ate on Sept. 29, Congress went on recess, Holmes wrote: “With the increasing difficulty of ser- allowing members to focus their full attention vice overseas and a continuing threat against L and energies on the upcoming November elec- American officials abroad, this measure (bill) may be tions. Many items remain unresolved, including crit- the single most important morale booster that ical decisions related to funding of key foreign and Congress could provide at this time.” humanitarian assistance programs. Of particular While significant progress was made in brokering interest to AFSA is pending legislation that would a final agreement, Congress unfortunately missed a close the locality pay gap. golden opportunity to at last tackle the pay-equity Addressing the locality-pay inequity has been a pri- problem. Despite the six-week recess and an elec- ority for AFSA for this session of Congress. The wan- tion that may completely shift power in Congress, ing days of this session had AFSA playing an aggres- AFSA remains cautiously hopeful that a solution can sive but largely behind-the-scenes role engaging key be achieved in the “lame-duck” session prior to offi- decisionmakers. In separate letters to Senate Foreign cial completion of the 109th Congress. The 109th Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., will reconvene for final votes on the evening of Nov. and Ranking Foreign Relations Committee Democrat 13. AFSA will continue to hold congressional feet to Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., AFSA President Tony the fire.

Combined Federal Campaign Kickoff: Choose #2422 and #2460 It’s that time of year again, time to consider which worthy organizations you want to support through your CFC donation. Please consider designating #2422 and #2460 on your CFC pledge card to support AFSA. • The American Foreign Service Association Scholarship Fund (#2422) provides scholarship money to Foreign Service children to help pay for their college education. • The Fund for American Diplomacy (#2460) educates the public on the critical role of U.S. diplomacy in the world. Through grass-roots education programs, we show how the Foreign Service contributes to America’s national security and economic prosperity. Visit www.afsa.org or call (202) 944-5504 for more information. State Department employees (active- duty or retired) can obtain a CFC pledge form from and return it to Shelly Kornegay in the Office of Employee Relations, reachable at (202) 261-8166 or [email protected].

AFSA HEADQUARTERS: Staff: Governing Board: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 Executive Director Susan Reardon: [email protected] Business Department STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: PRESIDENT: J. Anthony Holmes (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 Controller Steven Tipton: [email protected] Accounting Assistant Jon Reed: [email protected] STATE VICE PRESIDENT: Steven Kashkett USAID AFSA OFFICE: (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 Labor Management USAID VICE PRESIDENT: Francisco Zamora General Counsel Sharon Papp: [email protected] FCS VICE PRESIDENT: Donald Businger FCS AFSA OFFICE: Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: [email protected] FAS VICE PRESIDENT: Vacant Grievance Attorneys Neera Parikh: [email protected] and RETIREE VICE PRESIDENT: David Reuther AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org Charles Garten: [email protected] SECRETARY: Tex Harris AFSA E-MAIL: [email protected] Office Manager Christine Warren: [email protected] FSJ: [email protected] USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: [email protected] TREASURER: Andrew Winter PRESIDENT: [email protected] USAID Office Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: [email protected] STATE REPRESENTATIVES: Alan Misenheimer, STATE VP: [email protected] Member Services Hugh Neighbour, Joyce Namde, Randy Director Janet Hedrick: [email protected] RETIREE VP: [email protected] Steen, Daphne Titus, Andrew Young, USAID VP: [email protected] Representative Cory Nishi: [email protected] Web-site & Database Associate Sheng Zhao: [email protected] Andrea Zomaszewicz and Sandy Robinson FCS VP: [email protected] Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez: [email protected] USAID REPRESENTATIVE: Mike Henning Outreach Programs FCS REPRESENTATIVE: William Center AFSA News Retiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: [email protected] Editor Shawn Dorman: [email protected] Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: [email protected] FAS REPRESENTATIVE: Robert Curtis (202) 338-4045 x 503; Fax: (202) 338-8244 Congressional Affairs Director Ian Houston: [email protected] IBB REPRESENTATIVE: Vacant Executive Assistant to the President Austin Tracy: [email protected] On the Web: www.afsa.org/news Scholarship Director Lori Dec: [email protected] RETIREE REPRESENTATIVES: Leonard J. How to Contact Us: to Contact How Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: [email protected] Baldyga, Roger Dankert, Larry Lesser and Retiree Recruitment Coordinator Norma Reyes: [email protected] Gilbert Sheinbaum Elderhostel Coordinator Janice Bay: [email protected]

82 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 A F V.P. VOICE: STATE BY STEVE KASHKETT S A Punishing “Fraternization” N E W he Cold War ended two decades ago, yet the Department country? At what point does “sporadic” S of State continues to carry on the books and selectively contact become a “continuing relation- T enforce obsolete regulations that require employees to ship” anyway? Who defines “roman- report personal contacts with citizens of “communist” countries, tic or sexual intimacy”? The reality is as well as “romantically or sexually intimate” relationships with that — not surprisingly — casual any foreign national as long as they are deemed to be “contin- social, romantic or sexual encounters with foreigners are fairly uing.” These rules date back to an era when the Soviet Union common among U.S. government employees who spend 10 or and its Warsaw Pact satellites posed the biggest threat to the United 20 years living overseas. Anyone who looks at the number of States in the world, and when their intelligence services used FS employees with foreign-born spouses knows how true this “honey traps” to lure unsuspecting Western diplomats into rela- is. tionships that could be exploited to gain access to U.S. classi- Moreover, it is our job to cultivate personal and profession- fied information. Though the department revised the regulations al relationships with citizens of the countries where we serve. This for diplomatic security (12 FAM) more than 10 years ago to do is how diplomats can best influence developments in other parts away with non-fraternization and pledged to revise other sim- of the world, get the U.S. message out and represent our nation ilar regulations (in 3 FAM) accordingly, it never did so. abroad. Failure to report these contacts was always considered a seri- Today there are hundreds of loyal Foreign Service members ous breach of security that carried severe consequences for mem- who have inadvertently run afoul of these archaic and sometimes bers of the Foreign Service. Back in the Cold War days, employ- contradictory regulations. The department has penalized employ- ees would lose their security clearances, undergo extensive inves- ees, sometimes in capricious and arbitrary ways, for perceived tigations and occasionally be forced out of the Service. It may violations of these rules. Even though the department has not surprise many to learn that some of this is still happening today. always enforced the current requirement mandating the Despite the dramatic changes that have occurred in the world reporting of all relationships with nationals from communist — the demise of the Soviet Union, the end of the internation- countries, many employees have nonetheless sustained lasting al communist threat and the rise of new dangers from stateless damage to their otherwise productive and distinguished careers terrorism and Islamic radicalism — key portions of the depart- for failing to report such relationships. Numerous employees ment’s foreign contact-reporting policy have remained frozen have been curtailed from post. Others have had their security in the past. The Foreign Affairs Manual states that employees clearances suspended or proposed for revocation for neglecting must “... report any relationship (not only continuing relation- to report a relationship that they honestly did not believe to be ships) with a national of a communist-governed/allied country.” reportable under the FAM. These suspensions can often last The 3 FAM also states that a reportable relationship with a nation- months or years, effectively preventing the employee from work- al of a communist country will “preclude continued security clear- ing in all but a few jobs and from being tenured or promoted. ance for ... assignment to sensitive duties/posts which relate to The current rules were designed to accompany the dracon- the nationality of the ... partner in a relationship.” ian ban on “fraternization” with communist-bloc nationals back Notwithstanding the reality that Foreign Service members spend in the bad days of the Cold War and are no longer relevant to much of their careers living and working overseas, developing a the threat confronting the United States today. There is noth- wide range of personal and professional relationships with hun- ing, for example, that would currently require a Foreign Service dreds of citizens of other countries, the regulations still impose com- member to report a “non-continuing” romantic or sexual rela- plex and Byzantine contact-reporting obligations. Anyone who tionship with an Iranian or Syrian citizen, with a member of wants a compelling example of this muddle should just sit down Hamas or Hezbollah, or with Osama bin Laden himself! and try to make sense of all the provisions of 3 FAM 4100. AFSA believes this is an urgent problem, and we have offered So what do these regulations mean for the Foreign Service to work with the department to produce a new, more coherent employee who has a one-night “fling” with someone in Hanoi, set of foreign contact reporting requirements that focus on today’s a weekly tennis game with a professional colleague in Beijing, threats to the United States and protect our members from the an intimate nightly cyberchat with someone in Havana, or even profoundly unfair consequences that many have faced. We Paris? Do employees really have to report “any relationship,” should not punish our diplomats for doing what they are sup- no matter how fleeting, with a national from a “communist” posed to do: “fraternize” with people from other countries.

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 83 A F S V.P. VOICE: FCS BY DON BUSINGER AFSANEWSBRIEFS A Where’s Service USAID AFSA VP Enters N Blogosphere E for the FCS? W n an effort to increase USAID mem- S s I write this in mid-September, we are on the cusp of bers’ awareness of and involvement possible, but not assured, major changes both for the Iin the work AFSA does, AFSA USAID AForeign Service as a whole and for the Commercial VP Francisco Zamora has “dipped his Service in particular. The Foreign Service Modernization Bill toes” into the turbulent waters of blog- has just been introduced in Congress, and we believe it has at ging. He saw the need for a blog while least a 50-50 chance of approval. AFSA supports the bill, because it meets our num- reading the many comments he got ber-one objective of getting overseas comparability pay (also known as locality pay) for related to the Lafayette Federal Credit FS-1s and below. Union plans to become a commercial Comparability pay was implemented for the Senior Foreign Service in 2004, and is bank. For the uninitiated, a blog is a now embedded in base pay regardless of domestic or overseas assignments. The link- “Web log” — in effect, an electronic age of locality pay to pay for performance will undoubtedly cause major changes in the journal on the Internet. A blog can give Foreign Service appraisal and board review systems, despite the fact that we, as a Service, members a forum to provide informa- already incorporate the principle of pay for performance in human resources manage- tion and input, as well as to express con- ment — certainly more than do our Civil Service colleagues at GS-15 and below. cerns on issues that affect the whole Aside from comparability pay, what else have your vice president and representa- USAID FS community. tive been working on during their first year in office? I try to post regular updates on Zamora intends to keep members the AFSA Web site at www.afsa.org/fcs, though I cannot go too far into details if the updated on AFSA’s day-to-day efforts issues are still under negotiation with management. But I offer the following update on and to solicit comments. He will key activities: update the blog regularly, and readers • Management took about 11 months to respond formally to our fall 2005 mid- can comment on each entry. This fea- term proposals (outlined on the AFSA Web site), and it now appears that we will reach ture will act as a supplement to the reg- agreement on our time-in-class proposals for the AFSA vice president and representa- ular AFSAnet messages. tive and, more importantly, for our members. Stay tuned! Find the USAID VP blog at • Management has not warmly embraced our spring 2006 midterm proposals (also www.afsa.org/usaid. Click on the outlined on the Web site) and, indeed, initially claimed “non-negotiability” for the most (unmistakable) blog link. If you want to important proposal, which concerned revisions in pay-for-performance for seniors. There leave a comment (which you can do was some hope after a recent meeting that at least informal changes in a positive direc- under your own name or anonymously), tion may be made. We have certainly laid down a marker concerning our deep inter- simply click on the “comment” link at est in this subject for non-seniors as well, though management has not yet given us even the end of each posting. Zamora only a hint about the allegedly-pending “balanced scorecard.” asks that you please keep it civil. Any • Management has extended the deadline for the fall 2006 proposals to Sept. 30. comments that include derogatory or We hope to table a couple of proposals, even though there has been little input from inflammatory statements will be delet- members. ed. Zamora will respond to comments FCS Representative Will Center and I have attempted to follow a middle ground, when appropriate, and will incorporate seeking improvements in FCS and a cooperative relationship with management inso- member views into the work of far as possible, both in terms of AFSA member benefits and the professionalism of the USAID/AFSA. Service. While some progress may yet be made, after one year in office our glasses are AFSA is using a commercial host for considerably less rosy due to the lack of responsiveness by management overall and the the blog, and thus takes no responsibili- slowness of the process. The planned quarterly meetings with the director general are ty for any links or advertising overseen a figment of the imagination. by it. It is our hope that this new enter- The Senior Service again had to wait, this time until July 2006, for the Commerce prise will increase the transparency of Secretary to approve a pay-for-performance system for the period ending May 31, 2005! AFSA’s work and, as an added bonus, Indeed, while FCS rightfully prides itself on customer service to external customers — the often murky procedures of the especially to our business clients — management can take little pride in the non-ser- agency. Send VP Zamora an e-mail vice it provides to internal customers, to its recognized bargaining unit — AFSA — and ([email protected]) and let him know to its members, the Foreign Commercial Service officer corps. if you like (or don’t like) the blog.

84 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 A F V.P. VOICE: RETIREES BY DAVID REUTHER S A AFSA on the Hill N ne of the insights I have gained from serving on the AFSA those Virginians living abroad for E Board is how much Congress dominates the lives of several years because of their job W Oretirees. Your annuity, benefits, cost of living and rep- could still vote in state and local elec- S utation are in the gentle hands of Congress. Another insight tions. The constitution had required I’ve gained is that many AFSA members are not aware of the a person to both have a residence and be in abode in order to association’s efforts and successes on their behalf on Capitol Hill. vote in Virginia’s state and local elections. Another success was We recently had to bid a sad farewell to Legislative Affairs his work with the Military Coalition and the Military Officers Director Ken Nakamura, who leaves AFSA after years of out- Association of America, to push for an amendment to the tax standing service to the organization and to the Foreign Service. code (now in effect) regarding the waiver of the tax on capi- (He has taken a position at the Congressional Research Service.) tal gains resulting from the sale of a principal residence. Prior I would like to share with you Retiree Representative Gil to the change, many Foreign Service personnel found they could Sheinbaum’s notes from the farewell ceremony. not waive the capital gains tax, because they had spent too many “On Sept. 14, the AFSA Governing Board, four former AFSA years abroad and fell outside the residency requirements. presidents, AFSA staff, the Department of State’s director gen- “AFSA has two roles to play for its members: as our pro- eral and other guests paid tribute to Ken Nakamura who, for fessional association, stressing the need to continue and enhance over 11 years, was AFSA’s point person on Capitol Hill.” the widely-recognized high standards of the Service; and as the Now don’t turn us off here — these notes are about why bargaining unit for most American Foreign Service employees. active-duty FS employees and retirees should become and remain What happens on Capitol Hill is vital to maintaining our high AFSA members! “The evening was about how a single mem- standards in recruitment, performance and morale. Ken has ber of the AFSA staff — Ken Nakamura — the first full-time worked closely with department officials in establishing our cre- legislative affairs staff member for AFSA, made the most of his dentials on the Hill. job by getting to know intimately how Congress functions and, “Hats off to Ken Nakamura for his accomplishments — and in turn, how to cultivate key members of Congress. He knew also to the AFSA membership that supports these efforts and how to win their assistance and support for legislation impor- lets its congressional representatives know how they feel about tant to the Foreign Service, whether it involved funding, secu- life in our cherished profession.” rity of FS personnel, training, improving living and working con- The torch has been passed to our new director for legisla- ditions abroad or helping when we face retirement from the tive affairs, Ian Houston, and I ask you to support the contin- Service. Basically, the indefatigable Ken always worked to spread uing fight for your benefits and reputation. We need to increase the word to our representatives on the Hill that our personnel AFSA’s retiree membership, which is the lowest percentage of are smart, well-motivated to work for our country and absolute- any AFSA constituency. After a multiyear effort, State now allows ly loyal, and that the Foreign Service itself is a unique and high- retirees to have their membership dues deducted from their ly qualified organization indispensable in the conduct of the for- annuity. Ask us for the forms. eign affairs of our country. We need to encourage retirees to make their presence known. “One former senior official at Ken’s farewell lamented that You’d be surprised how many members of Congress and staffers, it is too bad the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs both in Washington and your local district, don’t know they was not up to the same standard as AFSA’s efforts on the Hill. even have Foreign Service constituents. Yet retirees reside in [In all fairness, the bureau has many different responsibilities, every state and probably every congressional district. and everyone knows that the Pentagon’s contingent on Capitol Contacting your representative or senator’s office, whether Hill, by comparison, is far more extensive, can offer more in Washington or locally, doesn’t require commenting on spe- incentives and is very well-funded.] To active-duty members cific legislation or a foreign policy issue. It just means inform- of the Foreign Service, and retirees as well, our bread-and-but- ing your representative that he/she has a Foreign Service con- ter issues are those mandated by or resolved by congression- stituent who was proud to have served in the front lines of defense al action. for the American people. “One key issue has been locality pay, enacted more than Finally, consider bringing that pride to Washington, D.C., a decade ago, which disadvantages our personnel serving abroad. and join us for AFSA’s Day on the Hill, scheduled for May 2007. After intensive efforts by Ken and many others over the years, Join us and meet your representatives and senators, as American that aberration may soon be corrected. Ken was also among citizens and former Foreign Service employees. AFSA — Your those responsible for amending Virginia’s constitution so that Voice, Your Advocate.

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 85 A F S FS VOICE: AFSA MEMBER MATTERS A In place of the Family Member Matters column this month, we are printing a submission from a group of Foreign Service employees calling themselves “Concerned AFSA Members in Belgrade.” They are reacting to the recent assignment rules N changes, which are being discussed around water coolers in the State Department and in embassies and consulates world- E wide (summary in October AFSA News at www.afsa.org/news). AFSA heard from more than 200 members in response W to its Aug. 31 message, “Straight Talk on the New Assignment Rules.” Many issues of concern with the new rules have been S raised by AFSA members. While little debate was possible before the new rules were announced, AFSA believes that a dia- logue between employees (directly and through AFSA) and management will be of great value as the department imple- ments the new procedures that directly affect the way employees are assigned.

September 15 of the officers in this discussion has regretted serving in hardship Letter from Belgrade: New Assignment Rules posts, and most have enjoyed it (personally and professionally). group of officers and AFSA members at Embassy Belgrade Financial incentives or promised future benefits did not figure as met recently to discuss the new assignment rules. The group primary motivators for assignment to this post. Aincluded a cross-section of Foreign Service employees at Rather than cajoling officers to serve in Iraq — by changing post, from the junior to the senior level, and from various sec- the bidding process, or by raising the specter that non-service will tions of the embassy. While we agreed that many of the new rules have an impact on one’s career — and rather than promising incen- could have a positive impact, employees also expressed certain con- tives like a top-five bid, the State Department should instead look cerns, many of which are obviously shared by our colleagues world- for ways to attract good officers to serve in Iraq, or other hard- wide as expressed in AFSA’s Aug. 31 message. ship tours, and to make these jobs desirable. What is “desirable”? All of us recognize that it is a privilege to serve the U.S. gov- Our group wants the promise of an interesting job, a fulfilling expe- ernment as Foreign Service employees. We also recognize that rience and, especially, great leadership. We want to know that FS employees commit to being available for worldwide service when our service in Iraq, or another hardship post, will make a differ- they join the Service. Moreover, we fully respect the authority of ence to the U.S. and to our host country. We want to work with the Secretary of State to manage the assignments process in a way inspired colleagues and for excellent leaders who will make this that best serves the interests of the U.S. — including her author- entire experience even more fulfilling. We also want to have con- ity to direct assignments to high-priority posts to meet the needs fidence that the department is staffing Iraq and other active com- of the Service. bat zones in a way that is consistent with past practice and with We also agree that one of the main strengths of the Foreign realities on the ground. Service is its flexibility in adapting to reflect the priorities of the As one member of our group pointed out, if Iraq were any United States. As we are all currently serving in a hardship post, other country in a similar situation (say, Sierra Leone or Liberia), we certainly agree with the “fair share” rules that require all offi- the department would be drawing down to minimal staffing, not cers to serve in difficult posts. However, we are concerned that exposing an additional 200 officers and support and security staff the new assignment rules announced by the department leader- to hostile action directed at them. As in other posts with hard- ship are motivated primarily by the need to staff positions in Iraq. to-fill positions, the department might also consider accepting that The Aug. 31 e-mail from AFSA succinctly addresses many of these certain jobs in Baghdad may simply be unable to attract strong, fears in its opening paragraph: “No one can doubt the intent of qualified bidders, and that such positions could remain vacant. these changes, which were designed to increase the incentives and This is not to say we do not appreciate the benefits of hard- pressure on Foreign Service members to bid on the growing num- ship service — in particular, assurances that our families will be ber of extreme hardship, danger-pay and unaccompanied posi- cared for while we are gone and that we will be cared for while tions that now need to be filled every summer, particularly those we serve. In order to encourage greater interest in Iraq service, in Iraq.” several ideas were mentioned, including non-monetary assurances We strongly believe that service in Iraq, as well as service in such as proper training for service in a hardship zone (suggestions most other hardship posts, is motivated less by incentives and pres- for making us safer in hardship posts included everything from sure than by a sense of loyalty and commitment. We are all proud defensive driving classes to serious combat-zone training with to serve our country — we do so willingly and out of a sense of weapons and first aid) and assurances that our families would be duty to our country and our fellow Americans. We are motivat- supported at our “losing post” or in the U.S., including housing ed neither by money nor glory. We love the Foreign Service because for our families, schooling for our kids and job assurances for our it not only gives us a clear way to fulfill these drives, but a flexi- spouses (whether tandem FS or accompanying family member). ble career path that also allows us to have fulfilling personal and Finally, we are concerned that the new bidding unnecessari- family lives. All of us in Belgrade have chosen a hardship tour; ly complicates the Foreign Service system by valuing location of indeed, many of us have only served in hardship posts. Not one service rather than quality of service, and by adding another layer

86 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 A F of “hardness” to hardship. A top-five bid AFSANEWSBRIEFS S for any Iraq service with a Provincial A Reconstruction Team becomes an award AFSA Connects with Entry-Level Employees for attendance rather than for quality ser- AFSA’s president and State vice president took to the road in September to vice. It struck several of us that the current N consult with over 160 entry-level employees in the field. AFSA President Tony system, by skewing so heavily in favor of E Holmes attended the conference in Prague for all entry-level employees working Iraq service, actually works against the W at posts in the Bureau of European Affairs, while AFSA State Vice President Secretary’s stated goals of global diplomat- S Steve Kashkett attended a similar event in Sao Paulo put on by the Bureau of ic repositioning — that is, making sure all Western Hemisphere Affairs. of our policy priority areas are adequately Holmes participated in two panel discussions on FS careers and gave a solo staffed. Thus, it would seem more logical presentation on AFSA’s present priorities, with a particular focus on recent to, for instance, structure the bid season so changes to the assignments system, efforts to eliminate the disparity between that our top policy-priority posts are filled (Baghdad, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Tel overseas and Washington salaries and the linked introduction of a pay-for-per- Aviv, to name a few) instead of forcing the formance system, as well as the challenges of institutionalizing transformational Service to first fill lower-priority posts sim- diplomacy. He gave a similar talk to AFSA members at Embassy Prague. ply because they carry higher differentials. The Sao Paulo conference was also a positive, productive event, Kashkett tells We are also concerned that the effort to AFSA News, attracting more than 80 employees from almost every post from reshape the assignments process to meet the Chile to Canada. The attendees were mostly Foreign Service generalists, though staffing needs of Baghdad and Kabul could a couple of dozen specialists attended as well. Conference speakers on the have unforeseen, distorting effects on the ground included WHA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Charles Shapiro, Service itself. For instance, it is conceivable Director of the Human Resources Bureau’s Entry-Level Career Development that the bidding and promotion preferences Office Dean Haas and several other senior WHA and department officials. offered to Baghdad employees could rela- Haas and Kashkett led separate panel discussions on promotion/EER con- tively quickly lead to the creation of a senior cerns, assignment/bidding strategies and FS family/lifestyle issues. Kashkett then “Iraq cadre” of employees holding top posi- gave a stand-alone presentation on major challenges facing the Foreign Service tions that might better be filled by other today. The participants were very receptive. In addition to interacting with the employees with stellar track records and entry-level employees during the panel discussions and presentations, Kashkett more relevant regional or functional expe- had the opportunity to speak privately with probably about half of the attendees rience. We suspect that other consequences at some point during the three days. could also ensue. If it has not already done Although a lot of different subjects came up in these discussions, the main so, we recommend that the department themes that the participants repeatedly raised at both conferences were concern review what effects the assignment of large about unfairness in the new assignment rules, dissatisfaction with what they see numbers of employees to Vietnam four as the 7th floor’s exclusive focus on Iraq and apprehension that the future decades ago had on the Foreign Service at Foreign Service will be inhospitable to families. Kashkett and Holmes got posi- large. Such a review could determine what tive feedback about AFSA’s candor and efforts on behalf of our members. lessons — good or bad — were learned Kashkett and Holmes believe there is high value both for AFSA and for AFSA from that experience. members to have AFSA officers participate in these entry-level conferences. It is The State Department thrives on the an opportunity for ASFA to reach out to a key membership constituency and flexibility of its employees. We come from make valuable face-to-face connections, and it gives entry-level employees a different socioeconomic and ethnic back- chance to share ideas with AFSA in person. grounds. We aspire to different goals, and have different ideas of where and how we FREE MONEY FOR YOUR CHILD’S COLLEGE EDUCATION want to serve. This diversity and flexibili- High school seniors and college undergraduates who are children of Foreign Service ty are what makes the Foreign Service a rich, employees (active-duty, retired and deceased) are eligible to apply for one-time-only productive and strong institution that we AFSA Academic/Art Merit Awards and renewable need-based AFSA Financial Aid are proud to serve. By changing the nature Scholarships. Awards range from $1,500 to $3,000. of this volunteer force to one based on pres- The submission deadline is Feb. 6, 2007. Visit AFSA’s Scholarship Program Web sure, one changes the nature of American page at www.afsa.org/scholar/index.cfm for complete details or contact Lori Dec diplomacy. at [email protected] or (202) 944-5504 or 1 (800) 704-2372, ext. 504 (toll-free). Parents and students can also find information through free online scholarship Sincerely, search engines such as www.fastweb.com, www.wiredscholar.com, Concerned AFSA members, Belgrade www.srnexpress.com and www.brokescholar.com.

NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 87 A F S Governing Board • Continued from page 81 AFSA Governing Board positions covered by these restrictions. Please A Nomination Procedures direct questions regarding this issue to Sharon Papp, General Counsel, 1. Any AFSA member in good standing (i.e., a member whose at phone: (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 or e-mail: papps@ dues are automatically deducted or who has paid dues as of Feb. 1, state.gov. N 2007) may submit names (including his or her own name) in nom- 4. Nominations may be submitted individually or in slates. A E ination for any of the above-mentioned positions for which the nom- proposed slate must have a minimum of four candidates from at least W inee is eligible. No member may nominate more than one person two constituencies. Slate designations will be noted on the ballot. S for each officer position or more than the number of representa- 5. All nominations must be submitted in writing by letter, cable, tives established for each constituency. No member’s name may fax or e-mail. All written nominations must be addressed to the AFSA appear on the ballot for more than one position. Elections Committee, 2101 E Street NW, Washington DC 20037. 2. In order to be nominated, a person must be a member in good To be valid, they must, without exception, be received at this address standing and remain in good standing through the election process no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2007. Members overseas can send and, if elected, for his/her term of office. “AFSA Channel” cables marked for delivery to the AFSA Elections 3. The Foreign Service Act restricts employees occupying cer- Committee. They must be received in the State Department’s tain positions in the foreign affairs agencies from serving on the Communications Center within the same time limit. Faxes can be Governing Board. Only employees in AFSA’s bargaining unit may sent to (202) 338-6820, and e-mail to [email protected]. serve on the board or nominate others to serve. Therefore, individ- Alternatively, nominations can be hand-delivered to a commit- uals who will be serving as management officials and confidential tee member who will be in the AFSA office, Room 1251, employees (as defined below) when the new board takes office on Department of State, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon on Feb. 1, 2007, or July 15, 2007, are ineligible to occupy a position on the Governing to an Elections Committee representative at AFSA headquarters, at Board. In addition, management officials and confidential employ- 2101 E Street NW, during that same time period. ees may not make nominations for Governing Board positions. For 6. A nominee can indicate his or her acceptance of a nomi- the purpose of the above discussion, management official means an nation by appending a letter to the letter of nomination or by appro- individual who: is a chief of mission or principal officer; occupies a priate notation on that letter, or by communicating with the AFSA position of comparable importance to chief of mission or principal Elections Committee at the addresses, fax and e-mail noted above. officer; is serving as a deputy to the foregoing positions; is assigned Otherwise, an authorized representative of the Elections to the Office of the Inspector General; or is engaged in labor-man- Committee will communicate with each nominee (excluding mem- agement relations or the formulation of personnel policies and pro- bers who nominate themselves) as quickly as possible after the grams of a foreign affairs agency. Confidential employees are employ- receipt of each nomination to determine whether the nominee ees who act in a confidential capacity with respect to an individual wishes to be a candidate. Any member who accepts the nomi- who formulates or carries out management policies in labor-man- nation must confirm his or her acceptance in writing through one agement relations. of the channels described above, addressed to the AFSA Elections Furthermore, the Foreign Service Act also places a two-year restric- Committee, to be received no later than 12 noon on Feb. 7. Any tion on the movement of Foreign Service personnel between cer- nominee whose written acceptance of nomination has not been tain positions in AFSA and certain Washington-based jobs in the received by the Elections Committee by the above time limit will foreign affairs agencies. Pre-AFSA restrictions: Any individual who be considered to have declined candidacy. has served 1) in a management position in Washington in which he or she has engaged in labor-management relations or the formu- Election Campaign lation of personnel policies and programs or 2) as a confidential 1. All candidates nominated under the procedure outlined above employee (as defined above) within two years will be given the opportunity to submit cam- ELECTIONS COMMITTEE MEMBERS prior to taking office in AFSA, is ineligible paign statements for dissemination to the Robert J. Wozniak, Chair [email protected] to hold the position of AFSA president or AFSA membership with the election ballots. (202) 686-0996 constituency vice president. Post-AFSA Further information regarding such state- Geoff Cleasby, FCS [email protected] restrictions: In addition, any individual who ments and editorial deadlines will be con- (703) 235-0326 has held one of the foregoing positions in tained in the “Instructions to Candidates,” AFSA may not serve 1) in a management Anita Katial, FAS [email protected] which will be issued by the Elections (202) 720-8777 position in Washington that involves labor- Committee on or before Feb. 1, 2007. management relations or the formulation of Richard Thompson, [email protected] 2. The AFSA bylaws provide that, should Retiree (301) 229-6442 personnel policies and programs or 2) as a candidates wish to mail supplementary state- confidential employee, for two years after Karen Welch, USAID [email protected] ments to the membership, the association (202) 712-1423 leaving AFSA. will make available to them on request, and Members should consider these restric- Frontis Wiggins, State [email protected] at their expense, the membership mailing (703) 302-7381 tions before deciding whether to run for list or address labels. Further information

88 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 A F on this and other campaign procedures will be included in the individually of the election results by the swiftest possible means and S “Instructions to Candidates” mentioned above. will publish the names of all elected candidates in the next issue of A the Foreign Service Journal. The elected candidates will take office on Voting July 15, 2007, as provided in the bylaws. Ballots will be distributed on or about March 26, 2007, to each per- N son who is a regular AFSA member as of March 1. Candidates or Questions, Suggestions, Complaints or Challenges E their representatives may observe the ballot distribution process if they Any member may file a written question, suggestion or com- W so desire. Each member may cast one vote for president, secretary plaint concerning the conduct of the 2007 election. These should S and treasurer and, in addition, one vote for a constituency vice pres- be addressed to “Chair, AFSA Elections Committee” and mailed ident and each representative position in the member’s constituen- or delivered to AFSA, Room 1251, Department of State, cy. Votes may be cast by selecting candidates listed on the official Washington DC 20520, or AFSA, 2101 E Street NW, Washington ballot, by writing in the name(s) of eligible member(s), or by doing DC 20037, by July 2, 2007. both. To be valid, a ballot must be received by May 31, 2007, at the Members may also file a written challenge to the outcome of address indicated on the envelope accompanying the ballot. More the election. Such challenge must be filed by July 16, 2007, and should detailed balloting instructions will accompany the ballots. be addressed to “Chair, AFSA Elections Committee” and mailed or delivered to either address stated above. The AFSA Elections Committee Vote Counting and Announcement of Results will respond in writing to the challenge within three months of receipt On or about June 1, 2007, the Elections Committee will count the of the challenge. If the member is not satisfied with the AFSA Elections ballots and declare elected the candidate receiving the greatest num- Committee’s response, the member may file a written complaint with ber of votes for each position. Candidates or their representatives may the U.S Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management be present during the tally and may challenge the validity of any vote Standards. Such complaint must be filed within one month of receipt or the eligibility of any voter. The committee will inform candidates of the Elections Committee’s response. CLASSIFIEDS

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NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 89 A F S A CLASSIFIEDS N E W TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES TEMPORARY HOUSING TEMPORARY HOUSING S JACOB FORBAI, CPA/MS: Affordable FULLY-FURNISHED APARTMENTS: CAPITOL HILL, FURNISHED housing: expatriate tax solutions, compliance, planning, Arlington, Va. Two blocks to Rosslyn Metro. 1-3 blocks to Capitol. Nice places, great loca- preparation for U.S. citizens & aliens world- Short/long-term rental. Everything included. tion. Well below per diem. Short term ok. wide. 22+ years experience. $1,700 Studio, $2,000 1BR. Includes all util- Tel: (202) 544-4419. Tel: (301) 608-2248. ities and a parking space. Please contact Web site: www.capitolhillstay.com E-mail: [email protected] Theodore at (703) 973-9551, or [email protected] PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WJD MANAGEMENT IS competitively MOVING BACK TO D.C. area? FSO priced, of course. However, if you are con- ATTORNEY, FORMER FOREIGN SER- HOME FOR RENT IN Cheverly, MD: Nice yard sidering hiring a property management firm, VICE OFFICER: Extensive experience w/ tax and 20 min. walk to Cheverly Metro, 2 min- don’t forget the old saying, “You get what you problems unique to the Foreign Service. utes by bus, 10 minutes to downtown DC. pay for.” All of us at WJD have worked for Available for consultation, tax planning, and Easy commute to State or USAID. 4 bed- other property management firms in the past, preparation of returns: rooms, 1.5 baths, yard, detached garage, and we have learned what to do and, more M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, P.C. screened porch and office space. importantly, what not to do, from our expe- 307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180. E-mail: [email protected] riences at these companies. We invite you to Tel: (703) 281-2161. Fax: (703) 281-9464. explore our Web site at www.wjdpm.com for E-mail: [email protected] SHORT-TERM RENTALS more information, or call us at (703) 385-3600. TEMPORARY HOUSING REAL ESTATE WASHINGTON, D.C. or NFATC VIRGINIA M. TEST, CPA: Tax service spe- JOANN PIEKNEY/RE/MAX REAL- TOUR? EXECUTIVE HOUSING CON- TORS: Complete professional dedication to cializing in Foreign Service/overseas contrac- SULTANTS offers Metropolitan Washington, tors. Contact info: Tel: (804) 695-2939. residential sales in Northern Virginia. I pro- D.C.’s finest portfolio of short-term, fully-fur- vide you with personal attention. Over 24 Fax: (804) 695-2958. E-mail: [email protected] nished and equipped apartments, town- years’ real estate experience and Foreign homes and single-family residences in Service overseas living experience. JOANN TEMPORARY HOUSING Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. PIEKNEY. Tel: (703) 624-1594. Fax: (703) In Virginia: “River Place’s Finest” is steps 757-9137. E-mail: [email protected] to Rosslyn Metro and Georgetown, and 15 CORPORATE APARTMENT SPECIALISTS Web site: www.movetonorthernvirginia.com minutes on Metro bus or State Department Abundant experience working with Foreign shuttle to NFATC. For more info, please call Service professionals and the locations to best WASHINGTON STATE ISLANDS: (301) 951-4111, or visit our Web site: serve you: Foggy Bottom, Woodley Park, Spectacular views, wonderful community, cli- www.executivehousing.com Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Rosslyn, Ballston, mate, boating, hiking. Access to Seattle & Pentagon City. Our office is a short walk from Vancouver, B.C. Former FSO Jan Zehner, NFATC. One-month minimum. All furnishings, SHORT TERM RENTAL Furnished and Windermere Real Estate/Orcas Island. housewares, utilities, telephone and cable outfitted two-bedroom, Cleveland Park near Tel: (800) 842-5770. included. Tel: (703) 979-2830 or (800) 914-2802. Metro, fenced yard, pet-friendly, min one E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (703) 979-2813. week, within per diem. Web site: www.orcashomes.net E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] PROFITABLE TURN-KEY BED AND Web site: www.corporateapartments.com $1,960 PARTIALLY FURNISHED 2- BREAKFAST FOR SALE: Two minutes from BEDROOM, 2.5 baths west Alexandria. Michigan’s world-famous Interlochen Center Comes with living-room electronic center, 26" for the Arts. Retired Foreign Service couple PIED-A-TERRE PROPERTIES, LTD: TV, some shelving, dresser, several walk-in innkeepers for 12 fun-filled years. Seven bed- Select from our unique inventory of fully-fur- closets. Full balcony. All amenities including rooms, 60' indoor, heated lap pool, beautiful nished & tastefully-decorated apartments & washer-dryer, fully-equipped kitchen, gor- library, five gas log-burning fireplaces/AC townhouses all located in D.C.’s best in-town geous uncrowded pool, indoor parking. throughout. On two acres of mature woods neighborhoods: Dupont, Georgetown, Foggy Staffed 24/7 front desk. 100 yards to between two large spring-fed lakes. Perfect Bottom & the West End. Two-month mini- Metrobus. Prefer commitment of one year or for energetic couple. mum. Mother-Daughter Owned and Operated. longer. John at Tel: (703) 850-9245. E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (202) 462-0200. Fax: (202) 332-1406. E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] FLORIDA WEST COAST Real Estate! Web site: www.piedaterredc.com BASEMENT FOR RENT with separate Perfect homes for vacation, investment, entrance in quiet single-family house in Ft. relocation. For information and referral to out- Washington, MD. For one professional, non- standing realty specialist, contact: smoker, no pets. Monthly rent is $650, plus [email protected] FURNISHED LUXURY APARTMENTS: security deposit, all utilities included. 1.5 bath, Short/long-term. Best locations: Dupont kitchen, washer-dryer, cable, back yard, street SPLIT-FOYER HOME, MANASSAS: Circle, Georgetown. Utilities included. All price parking, half-mile from I-495, 4 blocks from 1-acre quiet wooded lot. 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bath. ranges/sizes. Parking available. Metro, fenced-in yard in quiet residential area. Almost everything upgraded during past four Tel: (202) 296-4989. Tel: (202) 327-3641. years. Mid-400K. Contact Rudy at E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]

90 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006 A F S CLASSIFIEDS A N E MORTGAGE VACATION BOOKS W S BUYING OR REFINANCING A HOME? BARBADOS: LUXURIOUS WEST Coast JAMES HUNTLEY’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Jeff Stoddard specializes in working with the sea view home (sleeps 6). World class beach- An Architect of Democracy: Building a Mosaic Foreign Service community overseas and in es, golf, cricket, restaurants, shops, activities. of Peace (New Academia Publishing, Wash- the U.S. Authorized lender in all 50 states and Low season: $1,250/week; $3,750/month. ington, D.C., June 2006) is being issued in the can provide access to local Multiple Listing High season: $1,750/week; $4,750/month. Memoirs and Occasional Papers series of the Services in all 50 states. Cell: (703) 725-2455. Details: e-mail: [email protected] Association for Diplomatic Studies and Toll-free: (866) 312-1700. Training (ADST). Mr. Huntley is a former E-mail: [email protected] Foreign Service officer (1952-1960). Copies may be ordered from ADST, 2814 N. WASHINGTON MUTUAL HOME LOANS' Underwood St, Arlington VA 22213, Tel: (703) Bill Starrels, Senior Loan Consultant & 302-6990, e-mail: [email protected]; from the President’s Club member, can help with your publisher; or from online booksellers. $30 + purchase or refinance on your primary, S&H. investment, or vacation home; loan amounts to $7,000,000. Office: (703) 299-8625, Cellular: (703) 625-7355. OVER 50,000 COPIES SOLD! E-mail: [email protected] Inside a U.S. Embassy, published by AFSA Web: www.wamuloans.com/william.starrels and updated for 2005, takes readers inside embassies in over 50 countries, providing VACATION REVOLUTION IN ZANZIBAR detailed descriptions of Foreign Service jobs and first-hand accounts of diplomacy in NEW HAMPSHIRE RETREAT: 1780 By Ambassador Don Petterson action. Quantity discounts available. For a farmhouse w/ fall foliage on 100 acres above complimentary outreach or review copy, e- Crescent Lake, Acworth. Five bedrooms, three Hardcover or paperback can be ordered at local mail [email protected]. To order, go to: baths, fireplace, country kitchen, screen bookstores or purchased from online book- www.afsa.org/inside or call (847) 364-1222. porch, deck, swimming pond; canoes, row- sellers. boat, x-country from front door; 20 minutes from Mt. Sunapee and golf in Newport. TRANSPORTATION $1,200/wk or $600/weekend-up to 8 people. The Cold War came to Zanzibar in 1964 after Ideal for children. Long term, Home Leave African rebels rose up against the exotic island negotiable. Tel: (603) 863-3817. nation’s Arab rulers, killing one of every 10 E-mail: [email protected] Arabs. This vivid, eyewitness account depicts the revolution’s genesis and the dramatic events MODERN COMPLETELY RENOVATED of the days of violence. It relates the revolu- furnished one-bedroom apartment in Buenos tion’s aftermath, when to Washington and Aires for rent. $600/week, discounts month London Zanzibar seemed a cancerous base for stays or longer. Located in Palermo district communist subversion of mainland Africa. It at the edge of Palermo Soho. For more infor- features the role of American diplomats, PET MOVING MADE EASY. Club Pet mation, pictures and availability, contact including Consul Frank Carlucci, who later International, is a full-service animal shipper [email protected] became secretary of defense in the Reagan specializing in domestic and international trips. administration. NORMANDY, FRANCE: Large, comfort- Club Pet is the ultimate pet-care boarding able farmhouse near D-Day Beaches for facility in the Washington Metropolitan area. weekly rental. E-mail: [email protected] Foreign Affairs Tel: (703) 471-7818 or (800) 871-2535. Web site: www.laporterouge.net “Spiced with many instructive anecdotes E-mail: [email protected] about diplomatic life, this could be useful read- Web site: www.clubpet.com HOME LEAVE ON SANIBEL: Former ing on several levels for Foreign Service train- FSO offers 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo on ees.” Sanibel Island, Florida. Steps from famous PET SHIPPING WORLDWIDE : Over 25 seashells and pristine beach of this vacation Los Angeles Times yrs. experience, free estimates, no deposits paradise. Available on monthly and weekly “…a compelling narrative…” required, military veteran, 24-hr. availability. basis. Check http://www.vrbo.com/92653 for Tel: (304) 274-6859, (888) 234-5028. availability and rates, or e-mail: Booklist E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] “…a rich insight into the superpower Cold War www.actionpetexpress.com conflict….” RENT A 300-year-old stone house in a PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: $1.25/word medieval village in the south of France Library Journal (10-word min.) First 3 words bolded free, (Languedoc-Roussillon)! “The lively and engaging writing style holds the add’l bold text $.75/word, header, box, shad- E-mail: [email protected] ing $10 ea. Deadline: 20th of the month for reader’s interest throughout….” publication 5 weeks later. CAPE SOUTH AFRICA. Sunny, secure 2- Ad Mgr: Tel: (202) 944-5507. bedroom home in wine country. Near Cape Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering Fax: (202) 338-6820. Town and beaches. For photos and reser- “An intriguing account of action in one of the E-mail: [email protected] vations, e-mail: [email protected] Cold War’s remotest centers of contention….”

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NOVEMBER 2006/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 99 REFLECTIONS Fortuneteller

BY JOYCE BARRETT

he best news from the future is discovering the world. that my granddaughter will I had prepared for an Nipon stared hard at her picture. Tgrow up to be “a hero to the emissary from Lord His hands circled her head and fore- world.” Based on her Sept. 1, 2004, head. I held my breath. Finally, he birth date, she’s a hen, but she’ll grow Buddha, and wore an spoke to Supak, who then spoke to into a swan. ankle-length denim skirt me: “She has a good brain,” he said. Nipon, a Chinese astrologer, came and a long-sleeved white “She’s intelligent. She’ll study hard walking up my street in Bangkok with blouse to receive him. and be a hero to the world.” a black canvas bag slung over his “What about her relationship with shoulder. I had been led to believe me?” I asked. Here I am in Thailand, that the person I had hired to feng and this child whom I desperately shui my apartment was a monk, so I want to know lives in West Virginia. was expecting someone in orange me, “You’re a snake. A big snake.” “She will love you so, so much,” robes. Prepared for an emissary from That was a disappointment. Supak said after conferring with Ni- Lord Buddha, I wore an ankle-length “No, that’s a good thing,” Supak pon. “You were born on the same day denim skirt and a long-sleeved white nodded emphatically. “A snake is of the week. Hen and snake are good blouse to receive him. Yet I found good.” together.” Nipon held up two side-by- myself nodding to a man with a crew Rereading the attributes of the side fingers to indicate how close cut in a light-blue shirt and navy pants, snake later mollified me. Snakes have Sloane and I would be. shiny with wear. highly developed qualities of sensitivi- I wept. Nipon pointed to the 50- We walked into my high-rise and ty, perception and suppleness, with an pound chicken lamp next to my front rode the elevator in silence. He didn’t uncanny ability to enjoy life. Others door. “That’s a hen, like your grand- even stop to check out the vibrations should take care never to make an daughter,” Supak translated. “Good.” in the tiled hallway outside of our enemy of the snake. There was no “Anything else?” Nipon gestured. three elevators, much less take note question of my snakeness. “Yes, just one more thing,” I said, as that we live on the 13th floor. He just Nipon prowled my house. He I pulled out a picture book and plat of slipped off his shoes and walked in. instructed me to repaint my bed- the house in Charleston, S.C., that we I had arranged for a young man, room’s blue ceiling white; he ordered are renovating. It’s an ambitious pro- Supak, who works at the reception that some pictures be taken down and ject, considering we moved halfway desk in our building, to be our transla- others moved. He rearranged potted around the world days after buying it. tor. I stood in my dining room, clutch- plants. Entry lights should be left on, Fortunately, our front door faces ing my notebook to my chest and smil- he said, to protect from evil outside. north, which means power; and our ing and nodding politely so he’d pick “You have one son,” Supak said. street number, 49, is lucky. You’ll have up on all my positive wavelengths. That was the linchpin of my fortune- “no problems there and will share “What is your birthday?” Supak ask- teller’s credibility: I had yet to put out everything,” Supak said. “It will be ed. Nipon took out a dog-eared calen- any pictures of Barrett. We have lived powerful. Very good. Happy.” dar. They conferred. Supak turned to in Bangkok for just a few months, and Nipon was ready to go. Whether are still unpacking boxes. anything he said is true, I can’t say. Joyce Barrett lives in Bangkok with “And one granddaughter,” I said. I But I am counting on Sloane loving her husband, William A. Marjenhoff, showed Nipon a picture of Sloane, me so, so much when she’s a young an FSO in the embassy’s Financial taken on her first birthday. She had woman and I’m living in my lucky Services Center. the winsome smile of a little girl just house in Charleston.

100 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/NOVEMBER 2006