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AVALON CORPORATE APARTMENT HOMES ARE A MORE SENSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE TO A HOTEL ROOM. • Located minutes from • 2 miles from NFATC Pentagon, Washington, DC and National Airport. • Controlled access entry throughout building. • Luxurious one and two bedroom apartments • Our amenity package completely furnished and includes: outdoor pool, accessorized with fully and spacious Nautilus equipped gourmet fitness center. kitchens and washers and dryers. • Minutes from Ballston Metro. • Free cable TV. • Free underground parking. • Within walking distance of department stores, • Cats welcome. specialty shops and Washington Towers restaurants. • 5p.m. check-in time. • Washington Towers is • 30-day minimum stay. adjacent to bike/jogging trail. Avalon at Ballston No matter which Avalon location you choose, you will be impressed! Washington Towers 4650 N. Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201 703-527-4409 or Fax 703-516-4369 Quincy Towers 1001 North Randolph St., Arlington, VA 22201 703-528-4600 or Fax 703-527-2356 Vermont Towers 1001 North Vermont St., Arlington, VA 22201 703-522-5550 or Fax 703-527-8731 CONTENTS July-An gust 1998 I Vol. 75, No. 7-8 COVER COLUMNS Focus ON SUMMER FICTION PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 18 / THE PROPER WAY How the OIG Can Regain Our Trust Even Infidels Should Know Better By Dan Geisler Than to Behave Rudely on a Visit. SPEAKING OUT / 15 By Joseph Salvo A Response to the Inspector General 24 / FRENCH FRIES AND GRAVY By Daniel M. Hirsch Accounting for Taste: Paris Was POSTCARD FROM ABROAD / 68 Seducing Him With Succulent Frites. Pregnancy and Birth the Kazakstani Way By Johnnie Prather By Susan Welsby 28 / THE EXPAT’S FILES For One Member of an American Family F ocv s In Harare, Its a Dogs Life. By Robert /. Caiola 34 / THE DIPLOMAT CLUB A Birthday Card Once Again Stirs Wistful Memories of a Tour of Duty in Hong Kong. By Ruth Kling Page 18 DEPARTMENTS LETTERS/7 CLIPPINGS / 12 BOOKS / 51 F E AT U RE Six Memoirs and a Novel: Which Genre Best 42 / SEOUL SURVIVOR Reflects Life in the Foreign Service? With North Korean Troops Closing In, (A Book Review Essay) It Was Our Job to Burn the Embassy Cables, By James Thomas Snyder Smash the Equipment, and Get Out Fast. IN MEMORY / 55 By Robert J. Rudolph INDEX TO ADVERTISERS / 67 Cover and inside illustrations by Jody May THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0015-7279), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profit organization. Material appearing Editor Editorial Board herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the BOB GULDIN EDWARD MARKS, Chairman Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries are invited. Journal subscription: AFSA Members - $9.50 included in Managing Editor ELIZABETH SPIRO CI ARK annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical KATHLEEN CURRIE MITCHELL A. COHN postage paid at Manchester, N.H., and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign Assistant Editor THEODORE CRAIG EVA-LOTTA JANSSON Service Journal, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information AURELIUS FERNANDEZ Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising Advertising 8 Circulation DAVID I. HITCHCOCK Manager inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the services ED MII.TENBERCER KATHERINE INEZ LEE MARY LEWELLEN or goods offered. FAX: (202) .338-8244 or (202) .338-6820. E-MAIL: [email protected]. WEB: www.afsa.org. TELE¬ AFSA NEWS Editor PHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Association, 1998. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address WESLEY ANN GODARD ROBERTA MAHONEY Editorial Intern M.ARK MATTHEWS changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. A Standard A enclosure MARK SAWCHUK CAROLINE MEIRS is being mailed under permit 1926 at Manchester, N.H. 03103. JULY-AUGUST 1998/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 @^Vo matter where you travel, this is the most important card you’ll ever Each MEDJET is equipped as a hospital IcU, with a specially trained American medical team. No dollar limit on air med ical transportation ser' vices for our members. 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MED JET members are not subjected to medical questions prior to enrollment, there is no dollar limit on repatriation, and no require¬ ment of medical necessity to come home. MEDJET members admitted to a hospital more than 150 miles from home are eligible for medically supervised transport anywhere in the world at no cost. The peace of mind is priceless; the annual membership is only $150 for individuals and $225 for families. Enroll today for immediate coverage. www.medjetassistance.com PRESIDENT’S VIEWS The Inspector General, the Senator and AFSA BY DAN GEISLER If you have read the last several investigation. An open case holds up a issues of the Foreign Service career. Commissioned officers can not Journal, you already know about AFSA has made be promoted while a case is pending. the complaints we’ve heard about the We have reports of cases diat drag on Inspector Generals Office of recommendations for years. Yes, years. Many allegations Investigations (OIG/INV), which come anonymously via die IG Hotline. investigates individual employees on how the IG can Some charges are credible; some are accused of waste, fraud and abuse. not. Some are credible but are too Note that this is not fire office diat peri¬ minor to spend money investigating. improve — but only 7 odically inspects embassies and OIG/INV decides when an allegation bureaus, and against which we have no warrants opening a case. There is a con¬ in cweas where we 7 complaints. The complaints we receive cern diat OIG/INV' staff indulge in too about OIG/INV come not only from can monitor many trivial cases — and that diey are the targets of investigation, but also too quick to assume that the accused are from witnesses, translators, and implementation. guilty until proven innocent. We can’t coworkers of targeted employees. monitor tiiose assumptions. True, there are two sides to every The second area: leaks. We have case, and it is not our intention to adju¬ reports that OIG/INV staff selectively dicate allegations ourselves.