The Foreign Service Journal, October 2003

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FS SPECIALISTS SPEAK OUT, PART II ■ BHUTAN AWAKENS ■ PIGGING OUT

$3.50 / OCTOBER 2003 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L STHE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS

WORLD OPINION WEIGHS IN The Death Penalty & U.S. Diplomacy

CONTENTS October 2003 ■ Volume 80, No. 10

F OCUS ON THE D EATH P ENALTY F EATURES & U.S. DIPLOMACY FOREIGN SERVICE SPECIALISTS SPEAK OUT, PART II / 49 Specialists share details of their personal and 19 / AMERICAN DIPLOMACY AND THE DEATH PENALTY professional lives in the Foreign Service. For a country that aspires to be a world leader in human By Steven Alan Honley rights, the death penalty has become our Achilles’ heel. By Harold Hongju Koh and Thomas R. Pickering TINCTURES FOR A GAPING WOUND / 58 A visit to an Indian village has lasting lessons for a 26 / THE DEATH PENALTY, AMERICA, AND THE WORLD self-declared “Foreign Service brat.” Many countries in Europe and elsewhere have abolished By Sarah Taylor the death penalty and are turning up the pressure on the U.S. to do likewise. But foreign views A GRACE NOTE: POLITICAL AND shouldn’t control American law. CULTURAL CHANGE IN BHUTAN / 60 By Paul Rosenzweig A tiny Himalayan kingdom moves toward democracy with cautious determination, striving to balance modern- 31 / INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE ON THE ization with tradition. DEATH PENALTY IN THE UNITED STATES By Linda Beeman The prospects for profound change in the death penalty in the U.S. are stronger now than at any other time in this important issue’s long and controversial history. A new concern for world opinion is part of the reason. By Richard C. Dieter C OLUMNS D EPARTMENTS PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 LETTERS / 7 39 / THE MYTH OF THE COWBOY Plus Ça Change, Plus C’est CYBERNOTES / 12 The picture many foreigners have of La Même Chose America as a reckless, gun-totin’, cow- BOOKS / 64 By Louise K. Crane boy nation that hands out the death INDEX TO penalty willy-nilly is a false one. SPEAKING OUT / 15 ADVERTISERS / 70 By Greg Kane Religion and Diplomacy AFSA NEWS / By Phil Skotte CENTER INSERT 43 / A DECENT RESPECT TO THE OPINIONS OF MANKIND REFLECTIONS / 72 By Paul Dever Page 19 America’s continuing attachment to capital punishment puts us far out of step with most of “the civilized world.” By Paul P. Blackburn

THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 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 here- Editor Editorial Board Journal, STEVEN ALAN HONLEY in represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal subscription: AFSA Associate Editor JUDITH BAROODY, SUSAN B. MAITRA CHAIRMAN Members - $9.50 included in annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign air- Business Manager mail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: MIKKELA V. T HOMPSON Send address changes to Foreign Service Journal, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Indexed & MARK W. B OCCHETTI Ad Circulation Manager by Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos ED MILTENBERGER ELIZABETH SPIRO CLARK AFSA News Editor TATIANA GFOELLER-VOLKOFF or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the SHAWN DORMAN endorsement of the services or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. E-MAIL: [email protected]. CAROL A. GIACOMO Art Director WEB: www.afsa.org. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Association, 2003. Printed LAURIE KASSMAN CARYN J. SUKO in the U.S.A. Send address changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037- CAROLINE MEIRS 2990. Printed on 50 percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste. HOLLIS SUMMERS WILLIAM WANLUND TED WILKINSON Cover and inside illustrations by Adam Niklewicz

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3

PRESIDENT’S VIEWS Plus Ça Change, Plus C’est La Même Chose

BY LOUISE K. CRANE

The June issue of Similarly, the demographics show the Journal was ded- AFSA has a proud that two-income families are becoming icated to recounting history of working the U.S. norm. More than a thousand the successful strug- State employees are part of a tandem, gle 30 years ago to tirelessly to improve and many others are single parents. transform the Ameri- the treatment of all AFSA has argued that since many posts can Foreign Service Foreign Service lack adequate and affordable day care, Association into a forcing many parents to hire live-in union. (If any of you missed that cov- employees. help, they should receive more square erage, I invite you to read it online at footage to house this essential person. www.afsa.org.) While AFSA has Yet thus far, management has turned a remained the same strong professional demonstrating that most states were deaf ear. association it has been for nearly 80 providing free public school kinder- Then there is that hardy perennial: years, it has also become an organiza- garten, the department agreed a revision paying per diem to new hires who tion that works tirelessly to improve the of the regs was appropriate. come to Washington for three weeks of treatment of all Foreign Service What struck me was how many sim- orientation and then take up their employees, both individually and col- ilar issues continue to arise in which domestic assignments. State correctly lectively. AFSA has detailed evolving demo- points out that the rules say that anyone Insightful as all the articles were, I graphics, or offered a practical alterna- brought to Washington for assignment want to highlight Ambassador Herman tive, but the department has yet to is not entitled to per diem. Fair Cohen’s reminiscences about joining respond positively. Take housing stan- enough. But sometimes new hires do the AFSA Governing Board in 1969 to dards for specialists who have 20 or not learn they are staying stateside until deal with “members’ interests” — a more years in the Service. In the early literally hours before they board the broad category covering requests for 1970s, Amb. Cohen fought successfully train or plane for Washington. (There assistance with issues ranging from to increase weight allowances, then are even cases of their not learning they R&R and overseas allowances to ship- based on rank, for these employees. were staying put until after orientation ment of household effects. Fast forward to the early 21st century. had begun.) One employee told of Amb. Cohen found that to do his job, Now AFSA is fighting for increased sleeping in his car out at Dulles Airport, he sometimes had to challenge the reg- housing for these employees, which is others of eating bologna sandwiches for ulations themselves, not just their imple- also based on rank. However, certain days. One told me that a year later he mentation. For example, in making the categories of employees like OMS have was still paying off the thousands he case that Foreign Service personnel little expectation of being promoted racked up in temporary lodging bills should be reimbursed for their chil- beyond FP-4. Thus, their square during orientation. dren’s kindergarten costs as they were footage is stuck at that level without AFSA doesn’t understand why the for other schooling, he discovered that regard for their years of service, or — as department can’t just wait until the end the State Department’s refusal to do so Amb. Cohen noted some 30 years ago of orientation to assign those employ- was based on an outdated 1955 survey. — the personal effects they have accu- ees stateside, thereby allowing them to Once he found more recent statistics mulated during those years of service. I collect per diem. have pointed this inequity out to the So thank you, Amb. Cohen, for stiff- Louise K. Crane is AFSA vice presi- department on numerous occasions, ening our spine on these issues. We’ll dent for State. only to get the brushoff each time. keep fighting. ■

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Fine Fiction the mid-1960s, thanks to the efforts of where USIA training and experience I finished reading the summer fic- Director Leonard Marks. were highly respected and where tion issue (July-August) last night and I am disappointed that Wilson USIA students stood out in that excep- want to congratulate you on your Dizard would treat career officers so tional crowd. I find it lamentable that selections and the authors on the qual- superficially and saddened that the you allowed your respected journal to ity of their stories. I enjoyed and was Journal’s editors did not pick up on be the vehicle for Mr. Dizard’s insinu- impressed by all of them. This issue is this destructive gaffe. ation to the contrary. a treat and inspiration to the many R.T. (Ted) Curran Robert L. M. Nevitt writers the Foreign Service experi- FSO, retired FSO, retired ence produces and, I hope, to others Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. as well. Mary Cameron Kilgour USIA Standards Don’t Trash Dissenters USAID FSO, retired Wilson Dizard egregiously misrep- I hope that David Jones just got up Gainesville, Fla. resents USIA personnel in his article on the wrong side of the bed the day when he talks about “a pick-up crew ... he wrote his attack on the three FSOs Misrepresenting trained on the job,” characterizing who resigned over current administra- USIA Officer Corps them as an exception to the pattern of tion policies (June “Speaking Out”), Wilson Dizard’s article about the Foreign Service officers. This is and that it does not reflect a perma- U.S. Information Agency (“Remem- patently false. nent attitude on his part. Although bering USIA,” July-August) has some I joined USIA in 1960 via the exact resignations rarely have much effect interesting anecdotal material but suf- same Foreign Service examination on policy, and the loss of talent and fers from an egregious error. He required of State FSOs. On joining, I experience that they represent is describes the USIA officer corps as went through a rigorous training regrettable, it is refreshing to find “by and large, a pick-up crew that got process, some of it with State Depart- from time to time that there are offi- its training as propagandists on the ment counterparts. The pedagogy cers out there who are prepared to job. As such they were exceptions to could be challenged, but not the seri- sacrifice a rewarding career over mat- the traditional Foreign Service officer ousness and professionalism of the ters of principle. Jones’ “good rid- pattern. Most came from media training. dance” attitude and his insinuation industries (and) several were Holly- In 1969, I was asked by the direc- that these officers were drones and wood actors.” tor’s office to undertake a study of atti- time-servers (which they clearly were This superficial and uninformed tudes of younger officers to determine not) are way off base. description does a great injustice to if USIA had a “generation gap,” and to Any knowledgeable person who is the career officer planning in the make recommendations for revising not a GOP party loyalist and who is not USIA that began under the first USIA the assignment and training process. deeply concerned about where the director, Theodore Streibert, and was Again, training was a subject taken neo-cons have led this administration carried on during the agency’s history, seriously and USIA invested in innov- in the Middle East and elsewhere — especially while Lionel Mosley was ative changes in both junior officer or who thinks the situation in Iraq is head of personnel. and mid-career training. under control, as Jones seems to — USIA had a commitment to career Over my 36 years of service, USIA must be asleep. Whether that concern officers, including a junior officer pro- maintained the highest standards in is deep enough to warrant resignation gram promoting diversity and talent. recruiting and put special emphasis on is very much a personal decision. I USIA officers were given career status training. My final tour was on the fac- would recommend against it, but then by the president and the Congress in ulty of the National War College, I no longer have the task of defending

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7 L ETTERS

U.S. Middle East policy to angry for- their opinions — representing the More on Vernon Walters eigners. Foreign Service far better than It was a delight to read Fletcher Richard B. Parker “drones and time-servers.” M. Burton’s tribute to General FSO, retired Jones trashes the dissenters Vernon A. Walters (FSJ, June). Gen. Washington, D.C. because of their distance from the Walters was, indeed, a celebrated Middle East. He appears to equate raconteur. Two amusing instances of Courage to Resign this with a complete lack of under- his knowledge and humor come to The purpose of the Speaking Out standing, knowledge and experience mind. forum is in no way reflected in the in foreign affairs in general and, I was in a position to brief Walters mean-spirited, ad hominem piece by apparently, awareness of administra- regularly in 1982, when he was an David Jones in the June issue. tion messages on the subject. ambassador at large. On one occasion Rather, that piece is a denigration of There was, however, no reference I mentioned that my wife, Marta, was three FSOs who resigned because of to his own experience in — or even from a German colony in the state of moral and professional concerns near — the region at any time, or Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The gen- over our Iraq policies. any recent familiarity with it. Since eral replied that he would like to meet Jones clearly supported those he probably no longer has access to her. When I brought her up to his policies, and contemptuously dis- classified traffic, there are valid rea- office, he served her a guarana (a misses the dissenters in a manner sons to question the value of his per- Brazilian soft drink). He then began that reads as both petty and ill- sonal views. speaking Portuguese with a German informed. Their resignations re- Edward L. Peck accent, sounding just like a native quired courage and strength of char- FSO, retired speaker from Marta’s area. acter — even if you disagree with Chevy Chase, Md. While I was assigned to Kuala

8 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 L ETTERS

Lumpur in 1986, Walters paid an offi- Thanks for the Memories tigious professional association headed cial visit to the post, and I was asked The June 2003 Foreign Service by senior career diplomats into a com- to accompany him on a Saturday to Journal articles (about AFSA’s 30 years pany union led by junior FSOs. In his visit the old Malay entrepot of as a union) brought back warm and account, Tom Boyatt, a disciple of the Malacca. When we returned to important memories of battles of long original “Young Turks,” alludes to Kuala Lumpur that afternoon, I ago. They were not just welcome “Rashomon,” the Japanese film classic asked him if he minded our stopping exercises in pleasant nostalgia for me, that presents four distinctly different to pick up that day’s International but are an important account of diffi- recollections of an event. However, Herald Tribune (then jointly owned culties that were faced and surmount- the June issue reflected only one point by the Washington Post and The New ed long ago. of view. The following is another. York Times). Although the general I thought the articles caught the The Young Turks and their succes- was very conservative in his views, he difficulty of the times. Thank you for sors failed to grasp the administrative assented to my request, adding that bringing me once again into the nightmare that the Foreign Service although it was a liberal paper, it was tumult of that goodly company. had become by the 1960s. The prob- essential reading overseas. He then William B. Macomber lems began with the suspension of added that he considered the Ambassador, retired recruitment into the Foreign Service International Herald Tribune to be Nantucket, Mass. during World War II. As a conse- the illegitimate offspring of an inces- quence, Civil Service personnel tuous marriage! An Opposing View increasingly filled positions held by William H. Barkell The June FSJ celebrated the mem- FSOs before the war, until, by the FSO, retired ories of a cabal that seized control of mid-1950s, most Washington jobs pre- Arlington, Va. AFSA in 1968 and transformed a pres- viously held by FSOs were staffed by

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OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9 L ETTERS

Civil Service personnel. The Foreign Henderson waded into the swamp, he early 1961 Henderson was replaced by Service became a quasi-expatriate became genuinely convinced that two Roger Jones, who, as head of the Civil corps. My first boss entered the parallel personnel systems with in- Service Commission, had battled Foreign Service some 30 years before compatible recruitment, compensa- Henderson on many occasions. I met him, and all of his assignments tion, promotion, leave, and retirement Instead of “de-Wristonizing” the were overseas: he inevitably had a lim- policies — and disparate cultures — Foreign Service (“unscrambling the ited understanding of the State could not be managed equitably with- eggs”), Jones asked former Secretary Department and even the United in the same structure. of State Christian Herter to head a States. “Integrating” Civil Service per- committee to review personnel mat- Soon after he became Secretary of sonnel into the Foreign Service ters. Before its excellent report was State, John Foster Dulles appointed brought instability to the depart- completed, Jones resigned. He was Henry M. Wriston to head a commis- ment and dislocations to many dedi- replaced after a hiatus by William sion to assess this problem. Wriston cated employees in the 1960s. Orrick, a protege of Robert Kennedy concluded that all Civil Service per- Former Civil Service officers were with no relevant experience. A year sonnel with substantive responsibili- assigned to embassy slots they were later Bill Crockett replaced Orrick; ties in the department should be “inte- ill prepared to fill: office directors and in 1967 Idar Rimestad replaced grated” into the Foreign Service, even became DCMs and experts on con- Crockett. though they outnumbered career sular invoices headed large visa In short, State management was a FSOs. Dulles subsequently appointed operations. Tensions were high. shambles throughout the 1960s. The Ambassador Loy Henderson, the most Unfortunately, President Kennedy Young Turks, ignoring this back- outspoken critic of “Wristonization,” rebuffed Henderson’s offer to contin- ground, saw their careers as stymied to implement it. Remarkably, as ue for a brief transition period, and in by Wristonees. They thought large-

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scale selection-out would be the steadfastly refused, as a matter of prin- Over the years, the majority of answer, and persuaded then-Under- ciple, to terminate the careers of FSOs AFSA members have known of the secretary for Administration Idar merely because they “failed” to reach damage to U. S. foreign affairs and Rimestad to require a large number of promotion after a specified number of countless diplomats that resulted from FSOs who had not been recently pro- years. Henderson never counte- the arbitrary dismissal of excellent moted to retire between 1968 and nanced substandard performance or FSOs. It’s no coincidence that the 1972. Their mentor was Ambassador disloyalty, but he believed so-called credibility and luster of the Foreign Graham Martin, who chaired the “efficiency reports,” selection boards, Service became tarnished during that committee that produced the 1968 and personnel operations were griev- same period. “manifesto” described by Tex Harris. ously flawed. Some established reporters (Taylor Martin was well known as a strong The AFSA elections in the ensu- Branch, William Greider, Clark critic of both Wristonization and ing years afforded no opportunity to Mollenhoff, Dan Thomasson, and Henderson. debate or even discuss these mat- Sarah McClendon, for example) cap- The Young Turks essentially ters, which have continued to cast a tured bits and pieces of this saga in the mounted a revolution against the Loy dark shadow over the Foreign early 1970s, but the real history of Henderson concept of professional Service. As one of the independent AFSA and the Foreign Service since diplomacy. The key issue was whether candidates seeking election in 1971 World War II is yet to be told. FSOs with distinguished records of (see p. 31 of Boyatt’s article), I was The June issue did not even reveal service should be routinely forced into appalled to learn I had only one the tip of the iceberg! premature retirement in their prime. minute to present my views at the John Harter As State’s top management officer in one and only campaign meeting FSO, retired the late 1950s, Amb. Henderson had authorized that year. Virginia Beach, Va. ■

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 11 CYBERNOTES

Special Court of Sierra Department of Defense. Statements Leone on Trial think all foreigners should by the prosecutor insisting that the Significant progress has been made crimes under inspection were not by the Special Court for Sierra Leone stop interfering in the about politics but about diamonds, and set up to bring to justice to “those who Iinternal affairs of Iraq. that “al Qaida is here,” are seen in bear the greatest responsibility for war Sierra Leone as an insinuation of U.S. — Deputy Defense Secretary crimes and crimes against humanity” in issues into the court’s work. the decade-long civil war that tore Paul D. Wolfowitz, July 21, Background on the crisis in Sierra apart this small diamond-rich nation, washingtonpost.com. Leone and the formation of the states a well-documented briefing Special Court can be found at the ICG issued by the International Crisis Web site, in particular, “Sierra Leone: Group in August (http://www.crisis html). The U.S. played a leading role Time for A New Military and Political web.org/projects/showreport.cfm? in establishing the court, which began Strategy” (http://www.crisisweb.org/ reportid=1076). operating in August 2002 and issued projects/reports.cfm?keyid=21). But the report, subtitled “Promises its first series of indictments in March Further discussion of the Special and Pitfalls of a ‘New Model,’ ” also 2003. Court and the U.N. role in Sierra warns that steps must be taken to The court’s credibility hinges, in Leone can be found at the Global ensure the court’s legitimacy — both part, on its international authority. In Policy Web site (www.globalpolicy. domestic and international. the report, the ICG urges the U.N. org/security/issues/sierra/court/20 The Special Court (www.sc-sl.org) Security Council to grant the court a 01/critique.htm) and (www.global was established in January 2002 in an mandate under Chapter VII of the policy.org/security/issues/slindex. agreement between the United U.N. Charter, which would require all htm). Nations and the government of Sierra member states to comply with its Leone, following a June 2000 request orders, including indictments and Too Little, Too Late for for assistance to the U.N. Security arrest orders. The court’s indictment Afghanistan? Council by Sierra Leone President against former President Charles Reports are now circulating of a Kabbah. By contrast with U.N. tri- Taylor of Liberia in early June put the major new boost in U.S. aid to bunals for the former Yugoslavia and issue on the table. The warrant for Afghanistan that would sharply Rwanda, which have huge budgets, Taylor’s arrest, transmitted to Interpol, increase the American role in securing open-ended tenure and are located far has yet to be honored by authorities in and rebuilding the country. According from the scene of the crimes, the Nigeria, where Taylor has been grant- to David Rohde’s Aug. 25 report Special Court has set a three-year ed asylum. (www.nytimes.com), U.S. recon- term for itself, is funded on a voluntary The court’s success also depends on struction aid is expected to double to basis at a total of $60 million, and is domestic legitimacy. Here, according $1.8 billion annually, some 70 new located in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s to the ICG, the perceived ‘American- staff positions will be added at capital. isation’ of the court, the likelihood that Embassy Kabul, a dozen senior It is meant to be cheaper and faster, it will not try more than 15 to 30 indi- American officials will work as advisers and more relevant to the process of viduals, and perceptions that it is dis- to Afghan government ministers, four rebuilding war-torn Sierra Leone, a tant from local media are potential new 120-soldier provincial reconstruc- possible “new template” for the prose- problems. Special Prosecutor David tion teams will be sent around the cution of war crimes, according to a Crane, appointed by the U.N. country, and police training centers background study by the Crimes of Secretary General, and Chief Inves- will be built in eight cities with the aim War Project (http://www.crimesof tigator Alan White are both U.S. citi- of producing 19,000 newly trained war.org/onnews/news-sierra2. zens and former senior officers in the officers by next spring.

12 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 CYBERNOTES

There is little doubt these plans are driven, among other things, by election Site of the Month concerns. Facing unexpected difficulty www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov in Iraq, the Bush White House needs To maintain a healthy perspective on the urgent little affairs of everyday life, American voters to see Afghanistan as a it is helpful to keep the bigger picture in focus. NASA’s Earth Observatory Web success story heading into 2004. The site does this in a most engaging way. The site offers a bird’s-eye view of Earth Afghan government needs to show suc- and fascinating insights into the natural processes at work here. The site’s pur- cess for its own electoral exercise, pose is to make freely available the latest satellite imagery and scientific infor- scheduled for June 2004. On July 14, in mation about planet Earth — its atmosphere, oceans, land, energy and life. The an event co-sponsored by the Center for site has news and features, as well as an “experiments” department where you Strategic and International Studies and will find interactive experiments to teach all ages how NASA uses remote sens- Radio Free Europe, Afghan Foreign ing to study the “how and why” of Earth changes. Click on “Ask the Scientist” Minister Abdullah Abdullah spoke at to pose your questions. length about the coming elections and A special feature introduced in the past year is a Natural Hazards image ser- stated that additional international vice, updated daily. You can access Natural Hazards at the Web site, or sign up funding commitments were necessary to receive free, daily notices by e-mail of significant Earth events replete with to maintain stability within the country satellite images — from hurricanes to dust storms, wildfires and floods. The and give credibility to the Hamid images are available up to the satellite sensors’ highest spatial resolution, and are Karzai government (www.csis.org). suitable for posters, print or TV publication. As with everything else at the site, Without more assistance, he warned, users are free to use or publish these images (with credit given). Afghanistan could again become a breeding ground for terrorism. Even assuming that bombardment Building: From Germany to Iraq” doc- in Kabul amounts to 0.18 peacekeep- by money and experts could solve uments the comparatively pitiful base- ers per thousand Afghans. When the the problem, a new Rand Corpor- line effort in Afghanistan. While there 11,500 mostly American combat troops ation study underscores the difficulty were 18.6 peacekeepers per thousand there are included, there is still well (www.rand.org/publications/MR/M people in Bosnia and 20 in Kosovo, the under one peacekeeper per thousand R1753). “America’s Role in Nation 4,800 international peacekeeping force Afghans. In addition, while per capita external assistance for the first two years of conflict in Bosnia was $1,390 and in Kosovo $814, in Afghanistan it 50 Years Ago... is $52. Mindful that at no time since the early days of the An urgent plea to the Bush adminis- Republic have the American people faced a more serious tration for action to support the Karzai and persistent challenge in foreign affairs, we believe the government was made in June by an national interest requires that the Foreign Service be independent task force of the Council steadily strengthened to meet its responsibilities. Proud on Foreign Relations, whose report, as we are of the record of the Service, we recognize that it must be “Afghanistan: Are We Losing the Peace?,” is available online (www.cfr. alert to change and as responsive to emergencies as it is constant in org/pdf/Afghanistan_TF.pdf). the long trials. Among other measures, the task force — From the declaration of belief in the Foreign Service, published as the called for making peacekeeping part of Editorial, FSJ, October, 1953 the U.S. forces’ mandate and giving the International Security Assistance Force

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 13 C YBERNOTES responsibility beyond Kabul. The Fuss About China’s goods to the U.S. and the recipient The growing threat of a resurgent Yuan of an enormous investment boom. Taliban points to the complexity of the In the run-up to the 2004 election, China maintains that its underdevel- Afghan situation, where tribal identities Democrats and Republicans alike oped financial institutions are not and colonial history still play a com- have been making noises about how prepared for a free-floating yuan. pelling role. An August report from the the allegedly undervalued Chinese In the U.S., too, a yuan float could International Crisis Group, “Afghan- currency, the yuan, is undermining pose complications. Though domestic istan: The Problem of Pashtun Alien- the U.S. economy. Both Treasury manufacturers threatened by Chinese ation,” addresses one of the principal Secretary John Snow and Federal imports have been complaining, many problems the Karzai government faces: Reserve Board Chairman Alan large American corporations are the ethnic imbalance in its makeup Greenspan have publicly voiced mis- dependent on economical parts and (www.crisisweb.org/projects/show givings about Chinese monetary poli- components from China. Moreover, in report.cfm?reportid=1078). cy. In late July, a bipartisan group of efforts to maintain the fixed value of Though a Pashtun himself, Karzai’s mil- lawmakers wrote to President Bush the yuan against the U.S. dollar, China itary, interior, foreign affairs and other calling for an investigation of whether has become the second-largest holder major ministries are dominated by China was responsible for the recent of U.S. dollars after Japan. Tajiks. Yet the Pashtun — who number U.S. economic downturn and the A comprehensive review of this some 20 million, distributed about highest unemployment rate in nine important issue, including analysis and equally on both sides of the border with years. commentary, news, and background Pakistan — constitute the single largest China’s relatively weak currency resources, is available at the Asia among the country’s four major ethnic has been pegged to the U.S. dollar Society’s Web site (www.asiasource. groups. The Pashtun-based Taliban is since 1994. Meanwhile, China has org/news/at_mp_oz.cfm?newsid=1 taking full advantage of this. become the third largest supplier of 00110). ■

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14 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 SPEAKING OUT Religion and Diplomacy

BY PHIL SKOTTE

ntil pretty recently, religion ied in the U.N. Declaration on didn’t matter much to many Involvement in the Human Rights, the Helsinki Accords UForeign Service employees. world of religion is and many other internationally recog- At my first post, Manila, one FSO told nized documents. True, these princi- me that “religion is just the language essential to ples (which I believe are universal) people use to express economic frus- will find different expression in differ- tration.” I disagreed, citing the role of success in the ent environments and cultures, but the Catholic Church in overthrowing their full realization is a goal for all President Ferdinand Marcos and the world of human societies. tensions between Muslims and diplomacy. Religious terrorists are religious Christians in the southern Philippines, totalitarians who want to impose their but he held firm to his conviction that version of a given religion on others by religion was relatively unimportant force. We oppose this because it goes vis-a-vis diplomacy. against our deeply held beliefs as We had that exchange nearly a flict generation, conflict resolution and Americans and also because we know decade ago, but such views remained even in economic development. We that it won’t work in a world of diverse common in the Foreign Service until recognize that it can be a powerful religions. For example, when religious quite recently. Perhaps this was force for good or ill in the lives of com- people are killed for peacefully propa- because America’s greatest foreign munities and nations. And most gating their faith, our comments as policy challenges for the previous 50 Foreign Service personnel now recog- American diplomats should be firmly years had not appeared to be religious nize that involvement in the world of on the side of the religious person, in nature. religion is essential to success in the even if we do not personally agree But communism, a non-religious world of diplomacy. with their beliefs or methods. It is ideology, is on the ropes and other But how do we, as U.S. diplomats, simply wrong to kill people for their forces with religious roots have begun get traction in the world of religion in religious beliefs or activities, and doing to present the United States with new order to further the foreign policy so is murder. This applies in Yemen challenges. If we had not noticed this goals of the United States? As a and India just as it does in New York shift already, we assuredly should have Foreign Service officer with a back- and Indiana. on Sept. 11, 2001. The attacks we suf- ground in religious studies, I’d like to Consistent and united American fered that day had a strong religious suggest the following short list as a support for freedom of the human component, a fact with profound start: conscience gradually helped to erode implications for all of us, as diplomats Remember the U.S. Constitu- the appeal of politically totalitarian and as Americans. tion. It may sound obvious, but we ideologies during the Cold War, and In fact, now that the blinders are ought to support our constitutional we will eventually succeed against reli- off, it seems obvious that many cur- principles regarding religion, and try gious totalitarianism, as well — if we rent conflicts around the globe have a to convince others of their value. are unapologetic and firm over the religious component, from the Middle These same principles, regarding the long term. In this sense, the annual East to the Balkans, Nigeria, Sudan, freedom of the human conscience, the International Religious Freedom Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. We right to assemble and the right to Report process, and our ongoing advo- now see religion as a key factor in con- propagate one’s faith are also embod- cacy of religious freedom, are not tan-

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 15 S PEAKING O UT MARKETPLACE Web access to major advertisers. Go to www.afsa.org Click on Marketplace tab on the marquee AFSPA gential, but core tasks for the For starters, they can be invaluable www.afspa.org Department of State. We must drain windows for us into the places we the sewer of religious totalitarianism serve. Missionaries in the Philippines Bukkehave because that is where the bacilli of took me to a drug treatment facility, a www.bukkehave.com religious terrorism thrive. shantytown and a rural development Charles Smith Corp. Living Tell our American religious project. In Hong Kong, a missionary www.smithliving.com story. America itself, like our consti- took me into the rat’s nest of buildings tution, is friendly to faith. Buddhists, where SARS later got its local start. Clements International www.clements.com Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians As for the war on terror, cultivating and religious people of virtually every local U.S. missionaries can help in Diplomatic Auto Sales conviction are free to practice and three ways. First, we are always more www.diplosales.com propagate their religious faith in the effective as diplomats if we know what Executive Club Suites United States. We are all the more is going on around us — and “below” www.execlubdc.com proud of this accomplishment because us (where missionaries frequently we did not come by it cheaply. It may work). Second, missionaries are a part Feed The Children sound arrogant, but much of the world of our constituency, American citizens www.feedthechildren.org could profit from this example. So we that we are bound to protect and serve Intelsat diplomats should find culturally (whatever their religion). At this time www.intelsat.com appropriate ways to tell the story. in history they are particularly vulner- America is a place where both law and able, and the nature of their work Harry Jannette International www.jannetteintl.com practice show a better way than reli- ensures that they will remain vulnera- gious totalitarianism. ble. Thus, we need strong, two-way Hirshorn Company, The Cultivate American missionar- communication with missionaries so www.hirshorn.com ies. There are good diplomatic rea- that we know what they are doing and Lauder Institute sons to get to know American mission- they know our security concerns. www.lauder.wharton.upenn.edu aries in our countries of assignment. Third, if it is true (as I believe it is) Laughlin Management www.century21laughlin.com Religion and Diplomacy Resources Long & Foster www.simunek.com http://www.nccbuscc.org/seia/ http://www.theirc.org/ US Conference of Catholic Bishops International Rescue Committee Oakwood Secretariat for Ecumenical and http://www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/ www.oakwood.com Inter-religious Affairs State Department— International Religious http://www.icrd.org/ Freedom Prudential Carruthers International Center for Religion and www.foreignservicehomes.com http://www.uscirf.gov/ Diplomacy United States Commission on International Remington http://www.irla.org/ Religious Freedom www.remington-dc.com International Religious Association http://www.wcrp.org/ SDFCU http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf World Council on Religion and Peace www.sdfcu.org Relief Web http://www.cdsee.org/ http://www.einnews.com/ Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in State Plaza Breaking news from around the world Southeast Europe www.stateplaza.com http://www.amnesty.org/index.html http://www.iocc.org/ Amnesty International International Orthodox Christian Charities WJD Management www.wjdpm.com http://www.hrw.org/ http://www.compassdirect.org/ Human Rights Watch Compass Direct — tracks religious http://www.Appealofconscience.org persecution issues For more information Appeal of Conscience Foundation — Phil Skotte about advertisers in the Journal go to: http://www.afpc.org/ www.afsa.org/marketplace American Foreign Policy Council

16 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 S PEAKING O UT

that terror finds opportune condi- to them and their fellow Americans. If important for all of us, but especially tions in chaos, poverty and misinfor- we have already built up some credi- for those who have not had much per- mation, then missionary efforts to bility in the missionary community, sonal religious experience. better the conditions of local popula- they might even listen to us in such In that connection, let me empha- tions are worthy of our attention and, cases. size that it is not necessary for Foreign when appropriate, our support. One Get comfortable with religion Service personnel to become religious missionary told me of an instance and religious people. Before we in order to understand religion and when an American missionary-run can be effective as diplomats in the appreciate its importance. Nor is it hospital in a given country felt threat- religious world, we have to understand necessary for all of us to become reli- ened by a new local administrator. that milieu. Books are a good start, gious experts. But there is currently a The new administrator stirred up but to really understand religion, we deficit in this area that we need to demonstrations outside the hospital must experience it with religious peo- address. Toward that end, I have list- and threatened worse. The hospital ple firsthand. ed some resources which may be help- contacted the embassy, which asked I remember visiting a mosque in ful (see p. 16). the central government to transfer San Diego as part of a university There are also good diplomatic rea- the local administrator to another requirement. My professor knew that sons to meet religious people from the area. This kind of intervention is experiencing Islamic worship in a local community. Religious leaders entirely appropriate. mosque with Muslims was different can give us feedback about how our Conversely, there are probably also than just reading about Islam in a image or policies are faring in their instances when we should advise mis- book. I had to take my shoes off at the communities and help us to sharpen sionaries that their activities are inap- door and sit separately from my girl- our message. Good relationships with propriate and possibly even dangerous friend. This kind of experience is local religious leaders also provide us

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 17 S PEAKING O UT

an opportunity to influence a constituency that is vital to our interests but too often is not on our radar. At three posts where I have served, chiefs of mission hosted events specifically for various religious leaders. The U.S. government provided a neutral venue for these various (and sometimes opposing) religious leaders to meet. We need not wait for a religious conflict to attempt reconciliation. To some extent our efforts, even in the absence of open conflict, further understanding between communities and help ensure that the leaders of these communities are talking to each other. That said, as with other foreign contacts, there may be persons or groups we should not meet with, as well as organizations and individuals who would rather not meet with us. Decisions about whom to meet and under what circumstances must themselves be based on many factors, including religiously informed diplomacy. To sum up: learning about religion, experiencing it firsthand, meeting religious leaders and American missionaries, supporting our constitutional values and telling our American story — these ideas are a small contribution to the emerging discussion regarding the interface between religion and diplomacy. The increasing acceptance and application of these policies demonstrates a growing, healthy recognition within the Foreign Service that a religiously informed and engaged diplomacy will be required in the coming decades. ■

Philip J. Skotte has been an FSO since 1993, serving in the Philippines, the Vatican and Hong Kong. Currently he is the deputy consul general in Budapest. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.

18 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 F OCUS ON D IPLOMACY & THE D EATH P ENALTY

AMERICAN DIPLOMACY AND THE DEATH PENALTY Adam Niklewicz

FOR A COUNTRY THAT ASPIRES TO BE A WORLD LEADER IN HUMAN RIGHTS, THE DEATH PENALTY HAS BECOME OUR ACHILLES’ HEEL.

BY HAROLD HONGJU KOH AND THOMAS R. PICKERING

s patriotic Americans, most U.S. diplomats assume that the United States is the world’s leader in human rights. But increasingly, one issue divides us from our allies and puts us in bad company: the deathA penalty. Simply put, no other democratic country with our commitment to universal human rights resorts to the death penalty as frequently as we do. The statistics alone are startling. According to an Amnesty International Report issued in April 2003, 80 percent of all known executions worldwide in 2002 were carried out by just three coun-

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tries: China, Iran and the United While American courts Court has taken a largely States. The United States has hands-off approach to adminis- carried out more executions of have allowed state tration of the death penalty by juvenile offenders since 1989 the states, 38 of which current- than any country in the world. executions to proliferate, ly have death penalty statutes. Only six countries have admitted Far from upholding exacting to executing juveniles since 1990 the rest of the world standards, it has rejected chal- — Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi lenges based on well-founded Arabia, Yemen, and the United has moved in the claims of racial and class bias, States. In 1999, the only country, inadequate legal representa- other than the United States, to opposite direction. tion, lack of consular notifica- execute a juvenile offender was tion, and defendants’ mental Iran. incapacity. Most of us are accustomed to thinking that Yet even while American courts have allowed state America’s human rights practices set the standard for executions to proliferate, the rest of the world has the world. In many respects this remains true. But in moved in the opposite direction. At last count, 111 our time as State Department officials, we found that countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in our administration of the death penalty increasingly practice. European regional organizations have made presents a glaring exception to that rule. Many forget abolition of the death penalty a prerequisite to joining that the U.S. Supreme Court actually suspended the the “new Europe,” and a cornerstone of European death penalty in 1972, on the grounds that its imple- human rights policy. mentation was unconstitutional. But in 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the states to resume capital The Diplomatic Fallout punishment, so long as they adopted and followed Increasingly, this issue has placed America and more rigorous judicial procedures. Since then, the Europe on a collision course in global diplomacy. During our time in the State Department, both in bilat- Harold Hongju Koh is Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe eral meetings with scores of nations and at various mul- Smith Professor of International Law at Yale University. tilateral fora, we became aware that the United States' From 1998 to 2001, he served as assistant secretary of continuing adherence to the death penalty was becom- State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. He ing a growing issue and source of direct approaches to served as counsel of record for nine former U.S. diplo- the United States by other nations. For example, mats before the U.S. Supreme Court in Atkins v. Virginia important bilateral meetings with our closest allies — and as counsel of record for former U.N. High particularly from the European Union, Central and Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and Eastern Europe, and Latin America — were increas- human rights organizations before the Court in ingly consumed with answering demarches challenging Lawrence v. Texas. Prof. Koh recently received the 2003 the death penalty. Wolfgang Friedmann Award from Columbia Law School The European Union now regularly criticizes U.S. for outstanding contributions to international law. death penalty practices in diplomatic demarches and sends Thomas R. Pickering, a career ambassador, served as pointed letters protesting specific executions. In many under secretary of State for political affairs, assistant sec- European capitals, outrage over American capital punish- retary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science, U.S. ment has triggered street protests and angry public ambassador and permanent representative to the United demonstrations. One distinguished former U.S. ambas- Nations in New York, and as ambassador to the Russian sador, Felix Rohatyn, reported in February 2001 that his Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria and Jordan. consulates in France were frequently besieged by death He retired in 2001. In 2002, Amb. Pickering received the penalty protesters, and that his embassy had received an American Foreign Service Association’s Award for anti-death penalty petition signed by 500,000 local citizens. Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy. Recently, the British government — our closest ally

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— protested to bar the possible Important bilateral meetings being administered fairly in the use of capital punishment against United States. Since 1976, and British detainees being held at with our closest allies were the advent of DNA testing, at least Guantanamo Bay. For several 100 people who were put on death decades, the European Union increasingly consumed row have been exonerated. In late countries have refused to extra- 1999, the Center on Wrongful dite criminal defendants to stand with answering demarches Convictions, a project developed trial here — even suspected ter- by faculty and students of rorists — without commitments challenging the Northwestern University’s law and by state prosecutors to forego the journalism schools, showed that 13 death penalty. death penalty. of the 25 inmates on Illinois’ death The practice has caused allies row were, in fact, innocent. In and adversaries alike to challenge response to these revelations, our claim of moral leadership in international human then-Governor George Ryan, a Republican, declared a rights, and probably helped contribute to the embar- statewide moratorium on executions. rassing (if temporary) loss in 2001 of America’s seat on In February 2002, a compelling statistical study the U.N. Human Rights Commission. Even more titled “A Broken System” was completed by professors troubling, the practice has provided heavy diplomatic at Columbia University (see http://www2.law.colum- ammunition to countries with far worse human rights bia.edu/brokensystem2). In examining more than records. China, for example, invariably raises 4,500 American capital appeals between 1973 and America’s death penalty when criticized for widespread 1995, Prof. James Liebman and his colleagues discov- human rights violations. ered that “courts found serious, reversible error in During the last administration, several state gover- nearly seven of every 10 of the thousands of capital sen- nors proceeded with executions despite letters from tences that were fully reviewed during the period.” then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright attesting One of the most common problems, now acknowl- that proceeding with the execution would do damage to edged in speeches even by justices of our Supreme the ongoing conduct of U.S. foreign policy and interna- Court, is egregiously incompetent defense lawyers who tional relations. After those executions took place, U.S. fail to find — or do not even look for — important evi- diplomats and our foreign policy absorbed the fallout in dence that the defendant was innocent. The adminis- countless ways visible and invisible to the American tration of the federal death penalty, resumed in this public. Most recently, President Vicente Fox of Mexico administration after a hiatus of nearly 40 years, has refused to visit President Bush at his Texas ranch, in been equally troubling. Of the 183 defendants for part, reportedly, because of bilateral friction over whom U.S. attorneys recommended seeking the death Mexican nationals held on U.S. death rows who were penalty between 1995 and 2000, a startling 74 percent not accorded consular notification rights, as specified were members of minority groups. under the Vienna Convention. This troubling evidence has led political leaders and In any number of countries and regions, the death commentators across the political spectrum — includ- penalty issue is often raised when questions are asked ing such conservative voices as the Rev. Jerry Falwell about why foreign governments and publics are and George Will — to question whether the death increasingly negative about the United States. penalty continues to serve any purpose. An increasingly active movement has arisen in opposition to the Questions at Home death penalty, even among families of murder victims. The growing liabilities of the death penalty abroad State legislators in many areas of the country are back- have been matched by mounting evidence at home that ing moratoria on the use of the death penalty. More has re-opened the domestic debate on capital punish- than 300 municipalities have passed resolutions calling ment. New documentation suggests that, contrary to the for a moratorium on capital punishment. Sen. Russell Supreme Court’s directive, the death penalty is not in fact Continued on page 24

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No. 00-8727 racy in the world that is known regularly to execute people with IN THE mental retardation. At least 108 of the world's nations have now Supreme Court of the United States abolished capital punishment by law or by practice. Of the minor- OCTOBER TERM, 2000 ity of nations that still retain the practice of capital punishment, only two — the United States and Kyrgyzstan — are reported regularly to execute people with mental retardation. In diplomatic BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE DIPLOMATS MORTON settings, the United States faces daily and growing criticism from ABRAMOWITZ, STEPHEN W. BOSWORTH, STUART E. the international community for maintaining a cruel and uncivi- EIZENSTAT, JOHN C. KORNBLUM, PHYLLIS E. lized practice. As former diplomats, amici curiae make three sub- OAKLEY, THOMAS R. PICKERING, FELIX G. ROHATYN, missions, based upon their first-hand observation. J. STAPLETON ROY, AND FRANK G. WISNER IN SUP- PORT OF PETITIONER I. The execution of people with mental retardation is inconsistent with evolving global standards of decency. June 8, 2001 The current United States practice of executing people with mental retardation has become manifestly inconsistent with evolving international standards of decency. Numerous interna- The following is excerpted from the friend of the Court brief tional and regional intergovernmental bodies have passed resolu- submitted by nine U.S. diplomats in the U.S. Supreme Court’s con- tions, statements and judgments expressing opposition to capital sideration of Atkins v. State of Virginia. All footnotes, sources and punishment for people with mental retardation. As far back as endnotes have been deleted. The complete brief can be found at 1989, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=538&scid=28. passed by consensus a resolution that recommended “eliminat- ing the death penalty for persons suffering from mental retarda- Interest of Amici Curiae tion or extremely limited mental competence.” … Amici curiae have served as diplomats representing the gov- In 1999, 2000, and 2001, the U.N. Commission on Human ernment of the United States at home and abroad in both Rights adopted resolutions urging those states that retain capital Republican and Democratic administrations. … punishment “not to impose the death penalty on persons suffer- Some of the signatories to this brief oppose the administration ing from any form of mental disorder,” a term understood by the of the death penalty principally with respect to the execution of Commission to include both mental illness and mental retarda- people with mental retardation; others oppose its application in all tion. … circumstances. The U.N. Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial, Summary or But all amici agree upon three basic principles: first, that the Arbitrary Executions have also repeatedly criticized the U.S. for current United States practice of executing people suffering from the practice of executing people with mental retardation. … mental retardation is inconsistent with evolving international standards of decency; second, that Virginia’s continuation of the prac- II. The growing international consensus against the execu- tice in this case would strain diplomatic relations with close tion of people with mental retardation has increasingly isolat- American allies, increasing America's diplomatic isolation and ed the United States diplomatically. impairing other United States foreign policy interests; and third, Amici submit that permitting Virginia to execute petitioner … that these considerations (along with other arguments presented will create friction with and alienate countries who have been by petitioner … and other amici supporting petitioner) should American allies of long standing. Nations that are otherwise our lead this Court to conclude that the practice of executing people allies, with strong rule-of-law traditions and histories, legal sys- with mental retardation offends our “evolving standards of decen- tems and political cultures similar to ours, have most consistent- cy” and hence, the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the ly protested our practice of executing people with mental retarda- United States Constitution. … tion. The European Union — which now makes abolition of the death penalty a prerequisite for membership — has strongly crit- Argument icized the U.S. execution of people with mental retardation both in The United States of America is the only established democ- formal diplomatic demarches to the United States and in letters

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expressing distress at specific executions. In numerous foreign erence to the actions of state legislatures and juries, it has regu- nations — including many to which amici have been accredited larly looked to international practices as well. Indeed, in assess- — the media and the general public have expressed growing out- ing the contemporary standards of “humanity,” this Court has rage at the continued existence and frequency of capital punish- consistently recognized the obvious fact that “humanity” encom- ment in our country, with particular emphasis on the U.S. practice passes citizens of nations other than our own. … of executing people with mental retardation. Our earliest understandings of the Eighth Amendment reflect- Amici believe that persisting in this aberrant practice will fur- ed the opinions and practices of other civilized nations. Indeed, ther the United States' diplomatic isolation and inevitably harm the phrase “cruel and unusual” originated in the English Bill of other United States foreign policy interests. The degree to which Rights of 1689. The framers of the Constitution understood that this issue has strained our diplomatic relations can be measured the customs of nations and the global “opinions of mankind” by the extent to which important bilateral meetings with our clos- would play an important role in the new nation. … est allies are now consumed with answering diplomatic demarch- Such respect for world opinion proved particularly important in es challenging these practices. The persistence of this practice the drafting of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. As has caused our allies and adversaries alike to challenge our claim Justice Blackmun noted, “[T]he drafters of the [Eighth] of moral leadership in international human rights. If this Court Amendment were concerned, at root, with ‘the dignity of man,’ and were again to sustain the practice of executing people with men- understood that ‘evolving standards of decency’ should be mea- tal retardation, it would provide fresh anti-American diplomatic sured, in part, against international norms.” … ammunition to countries who have exhibited far worse human When this Court last considered this question, in the 1989 case rights records. of Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302 (1989), only two states In Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council, 530 U.S. 363, (Maryland and Georgia) and the federal government statutorily 385 (2000), this Court recently found that “statements of for- prohibited executing people with mental retardation. Today, 14 eign powers necessarily involved in the President's [foreign states and the federal government prohibit the practice by statute. policy] efforts . . . indications of concrete disputes with those Taken in conjunction with the 12 states and the District of powers, and opinions of senior National Government officials Columbia which prohibit all capital punishment, 26 states, the fed- are competent and direct evidence of the frustration” of eral government and the District of Columbia now prohibit execu- Congress' foreign policy objectives by state law. In this case, tion of people with mental retardation. In four other states — this Court should similarly find that analogous statements, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, and Texas — similar bills have indications and opinions of former officials constitute relevant passed the legislature and are currently awaiting gubernatorial sig- evidence that sustaining Virginia’s law and practice of execut- nature. Several additional states are in various stages of legislative ing people with mental retardation would act to frustrate our action concerning a ban on the execution of people with mental broader national foreign policy goals. retardation. … International condemnation of the United States practice of III. In evaluating “evolving standards of decency” under the executing people with mental retardation has been a significant Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, this Court should weigh factor in state legislative moves to eliminate the practice. The last international as well as domestic opinion. time this issue was considered, 12 years ago in Penry, this Court Third and finally, amici believe that sustaining the practice of acknowledged that executing people with mental retardation might executing people with mental retardation would offend our be cruel and unusual punishment, … but held that there was “evolving standards of decency” and violate the Eighth and “insufficient evidence of a national consensus against [the prac- Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. … tice].” … The Eighth Amendment's bar against Cruel and Unusual Amici respectfully submit that abundant evidence now Punishments embodies broad “concepts of dignity, civilized stan- exists of both an international and a national consensus against dards, humanity and decency.” Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, executing persons with mental retardation. For that reason, 102 (1976). These concepts are not static; rather, they change this Court should now take the step postponed in Penry and with the “evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of bring this country's practices with regard to execution of peo- a maturing society.” Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 101 (1958). ple with mental retardation into line with that of all other civi- While this Court has primarily discerned these standards by ref- lized nations. … ■

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Feingold, D-Wis., has intro- Nine former American dissents from Chief Justice duced bills that would halt execu- Rehnquist and Justice Scalia, tions by the federal government diplomats whose combined who insisted that “the viewpoints and in all 38 states that have of other countries simply are not death penalty laws on their books service under Republican relevant” to an assessment of pending review of the death United States constitutional stan- penalty system by an indepen- and Democratic presidents dards. dent, blue ribbon commission. Several months later, a minor- totaled nearly 200 years ity of the justices argued, based Ending the Isolation on the reasoning in Atkins, that, Last year, for the first time in decided that it was time to given the “apparent consensus ... years, the U.S. Supreme Court in the international community signaled its willingness to take speak out. against the execution of a capital decisions to help reduce America’s sentence imposed on a juvenile international isolation on this offender,” the death penalty issue. In Atkins v. Virginia, the should also be constitutionally Court considered whether execution of persons with barred for juvenile offenders. Without opinion, a bare mental retardation violated the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth majority of the Court continued, however, to reject Amendment prohibition against “cruel and unusual” that claim. punishments, interpreted according to the “evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a matur- “A Wider Civilization…” ing society.” But a harbinger of change may have come this past Tom Pickering and eight other distinguished for- Supreme Court term. In Lawrence v. Texas, six jus- mer American diplomats whose combined service tices of the Court struck down a Texas law banning under Republican and Democratic presidents totaled consensual sodomy between adults of the same sex, nearly 200 years — Morton Abramowitz, Stephen W. declaring that the Court’s infamous 17-year-old deci- Bosworth, Stuart E. Eizenstat, John C. Kornblum, sion to the contrary in Bowers v. Hardwick was Phyllis E. Oakley, Felix G. Rohatyn, J. Stapleton Roy wrongly decided. and Frank G. Wisner — decided that it was time to Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the Court, speak out. Some of them opposed the death penalty declared: “To the extent Bowers relied on values we in all cases; some opposed it only in certain circum- share with a wider civilization, it should be noted that stances. But represented by Harold Hongju Koh, the reasoning and holding in Bowers have been reject- they submitted a “Friend of the Court” brief in the ed [by the European Court of Human Rights] and else- Atkins case, arguing that executions of mentally where. Other nations, too, have taken action consistent retarded inmates create diplomatic friction, pit with an affirmation of the protected right [claimed America against its allies, tarnish America’s image as a here] … The right the petitioners seek in this case has human rights leader, and harm broader U.S. foreign been accepted as an integral part of human freedom in policy interests (see 22 for excerpts). We were sur- many other countries. There has been no showing that prised to learn while preparing the brief that the U.S. in this country the governmental interest in circum- was quite literally the only country in the world that scribing personal choice is somehow more legitimate or regularly executed people with mental retardation as urgent.” a matter of state policy. In Lawrence, the Supreme Court simply acknowl- In Atkins, the Court struck down the practice of exe- edged that we are part of a wider world. Concepts like cuting persons with mental retardation, noting that, liberty, equality, privacy, and freedom from torture and “within the world community, the imposition of the cruel and unusual treatment are not American property, death penalty for crimes committed by mentally but universal concepts. Applied to the death penalty, the retarded offenders is overwhelmingly disapproved.” Court’s reasoning in Lawrence suggests that our courts Yet even this simple statement of fact provoked strong should also look now to the practices of other nations in

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determining whether our con- As the U.S. Supreme Court capital punishment diminishes tinuing administration of the America’s reputation as a human death penalty can be reconciled has begun to acknowledge, rights leader and its ability to with our constitutional human lead internationally on the basis rights guarantees. To look out- in an increasingly globalized of moral principle. For a coun- side our borders would hardly be try that aspires to be a world novel. After all, international society, the opinions of other leader on human rights, the opinion has informed the Court’s death penalty has become our understandings of the social val- nations, and the world Achilles’ heel. As the U.S. ues of the United States from Supreme Court has begun to the first days of its indepen- community as a whole, are acknowledge, in an increasingly dence. Indeed, our nation’s globalized society, the opinions founding document, the more relevant than ever. of other nations, and of the Declaration of Independence, world community as a whole, specifically directed us all to pay are more relevant than ever. “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind.” And now, more than ever, we believe, it is time for Shortly before he retired, the late Justice Harry those who have served this country as diplomats to be Blackmun argued that the death penalty should be abol- heard speaking out about how the rest of the world sees ished for the simple reason that the practice of capital the aberrant practice of governments putting their own punishment “lessens us.” By so saying, he meant that citizens to death. ■

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OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 25 F OCUS ON D IPLOMACY & THE D EATH P ENALTY

THE DEATH PENALTY, AMERICA, AND THE WORLD Adam Niklewicz

MANY COUNTRIES HAVE ABOLISHED THE DEATH PENALTY AND ARE TURNING UP THE PRESSURE ON THE U.S. TO DO LIKEWISE. BUT FOREIGN VIEWS SHOULDN’T CONTROL AMERICAN LAW.

BY PAUL ROSENZWEIG

n October 2002, hundreds of thousands of Washington, D.C.-area residents lived in constant fear of being murdered by mysterious snipers. Eventually, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Malvo were arrested and chargedI with 21 cold-blooded, premeditated attacks that killed 14 people across the country — 10 of them in the D.C. area alone — and seriously wounded several others. Among the victims: • Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera, 25, mother of a three-year-old. A nanny. Shot while vacuuming her employer’s van at a car wash.

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• Conrad E. Johnson, 35, bus driver and family man. what moral philosophers would call an “inherent good.” Father to two sons who cannot understand where their Rather, the legal system is a means to an end — namely, “best friend” went. Killed as he stood on the steps of his discovering the truth and doing justice. Death-penalty bus waiting to begin his first route of the day. opponents can argue for abolition only by elevating the • Premkumar A. Walekar, 54, “system” and devaluing the victim father of two, an immigrant from — and calls to ignore the victims India who came to America in Yielding to international show this unfortunate moral calcu- search of an education and a better lus at work. life. Gunned down as he was filling criticism of the death Simply put, there is a class of his taxi with gas. people whose crimes are so • Linda Franklin, 47, FBI ana- penalty would require heinous, like Malvo and Muh- lyst. Picked off as she loaded bags ammad, that the death penalty into her car in a Home Depot disavowal of the should apply. For those who parking lot with her husband. She oppose the death penalty the ulti- died in his arms. traditional American mate thought experiment is: “What Malvo and Muhammad alleged- would you do with Adolf Hitler?” ly hunted humans like deer, using a belief in the concept of Anyone who can answer that the high-powered rifle, tripod and principle of non-retribution re- scope to drop their prey by shoot- “just deserts.” quires society to permit Hitler to ing through a hole they had drilled live demonstrates remarkably little in the trunk of their car. Their trials are set to begin this regard for any moral calculus that reflects a serious con- fall. In jail, young Malvo reportedly has boasted of his sideration of what it means to be just. feat and laughed about the people he’d executed in cold blood. Safeguarding the Innocent The question is, do he and Muhammad deserve a The death penalty is tough on criminals, yes. But any similar fate if convicted? lesser punishment is tougher on innocent people. And Some opponents of the death penalty, including many as a matter of moral justice, do Muhammad and Malvo Europeans and other critics of the U.S., say no. They deserve anything less than execution? Killing should in insist that in this day and age, the death penalty is a relic aggravated cases carry consequences equal to the gravi- of the past, a barbaric instinct for vengeance no better ty of the harm caused. People may be free to choose than the crime it purports to punish. their actions, but in a civilized society, they certainly But such sentiments, however heartfelt, ignore the ought not to be free to choose the consequences of those horrific nature of some criminal deeds. And to do that actions. On the contrary, only a barbaric society would is, in many senses, to devalue human life itself, for it permit such behavior to be weakly punished. denies the value of the life of the innocent victim and Do innocent people ever get caught in the crosshairs exalts that of the murderer. of justice? Not as often as death-penalty opponents We can see this tendency every time death-penalty would have us believe. According to Dudley Sharp, opponents object to anyone highlighting the victims. from Justice For All, a nonprofit organization that works According to opponents, the guilt of their murderers, on criminal justice reform, “somewhere between 15 and not the fact that the victims were ‘good’ people, is the 30 death row inmates have been released from death central legal issue. But that is precisely backwards. The row with credible evidence of actual innocence. That “legal issues” are not an end in themselves; they are not represents about a 0.3 percent error rate of the 7,300 sentenced to death since 1973.” None of these people Paul Rosenzweig is a senior legal research fellow in the were executed before their names were cleared. Those Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage who say otherwise — who think that the error rate is Foundation and an adjunct professor of law at George higher — often confuse two types of error. Some cases Mason University. are reversed because of a legal error about, for example,

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the admissibility of certain evi- Those outside America refrain from killing fellow inmates dence. But reversals of this sort are and guards. (If they can’t possibly not indicative of the execution of who oppose capital be punished any more severely innocents. With respect to that than they already have been, noth- issue — factual errors resulting in punishment urge, in effect, ing deters them from turning their the execution of an actually inno- aggression on others confined with cent defendant — no case has been moral equivalency them.) Other convicts sent to identified since the U.S. re-institut- prison to serve out sentences, and ed the death penalty in 1973. between murderer not to die, should not be subject to Thus, though the risk of error is the “death penalty” at the hands of certainly real, the likelihood of it and victim. fellow inmates who have no reason happening is sufficiently small that to behave. we ought not let that small risk that innocents might die prevent us from taking action that International Criticism would save other innocents. Besides complaining about the unfair nature of the For that, precisely, is what the death penalty does. It death penalty, American critics also say it isolates us is a deterrent that dissuades people from killing. Indeed, from other countries who oppose it. Despite the over- it would be illogical to assume that, as a group, murder- whelming support for the death penalty among the ers are ignorant of the negative consequences their act American public, our continued insistence on it has could bring. And so it would be equally illogical to become a bone of contention with many of our allies, assume that some potential murderers are not deterred particularly those from Europe, who see it as an anti- by the threat of a more severe punishment — namely, quated, inhumane policy. execution. Evidence substantiating the deterrent effect It is true that virtually all European nations have of the death penalty is stronger than that against it and abolished the death penalty. The United Nations supports this intuition. As long ago as 1975, economist Commission on Human Rights has drafted resolutions Isaac Ehrlich published a study concluding that each several times over the last few years, asking nations to additional execution deters seven or eight murders. impose a moratorium on the death penalty. Many More recently, three economists from Emory University nations around the world already refuse to extradite conducted a study using multiple regression analysis to any criminals to the U.S. who might face the death isolate the deterrent effects of a death penalty from penalty. Some international organizations are even get- other factors affecting murder rates. They calculated a ting involved in U.S. capital punishment cases by filing deterrence rate of between eight and 28 murders for legal arguments in support of the defendants. each execution. Given the overwhelming evidence that But should we care that some countries object to the criminals do respond to the potential of negative conse- death penalty and thus are turning up the pressure on quences, reason supports the conclusion that executions the U.S. to abandon the practice? No. European views do deter and that they deter more than lesser punish- shouldn’t control American law. ments do. And what that means is simple — without a To begin with, yielding to such criticism would death penalty you condemn innocents to death at the require a significant reversal in the course of American hands of murderers. history. From the time of our nation’s founding, Opponents of the death penalty claim a life sentence Americans have recognized that the concept of “just is just as harsh a punishment and effective a deterrent as deserts” allows for the ultimate punishment of those a death sentence for murderers. Not so. Some life sen- whose malevolence demands it. tences come with the possibility of parole. And all sen- More fundamentally, we long ago rejected the premise tences short of capital punishment involve the risk that that American thought should be bound by European, or a convicted murderer will escape and prey upon other international, convention. (After all, that is why we had a victims. Furthermore, those who are locked up for life revolution.) Rather, the European view should control without any possibility of parole have no incentive to only to the extent it has the power to persuade.

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And on that score, the abolition- Evidence substantiating requiring a murderer to give his life ist view fails. Consistent with our as penance for his crime? At the expectations and our conceptions of the deterrent effect of heart of their outrage are, they deterrence, the rates of violent claim, civil rights concerns. They crime in the United Kingdom and the death penalty is say that every human being has a on the Continent are rising — up 20 fundamental right to life. True. percent in England; 37 percent in stronger than that But the European Union and its Italy and 31 percent in France in the abolitionist allies never turn the second half of the 1990s. against it. challenge around and ask: What of Homicides in England, for example, the right to life of the murdered? rose from 725 in 1991 to 1,048 in The rights of the victims and their 2002. At precisely the same time, according to the families? If we refuse to punish those who kill, then Bureau of Justice Statistics, the rates of violent crime where do those pained by their crimes turn for justice? fell 36 percent in America, while homicide rates More prosaically, though execution is physically identi- dropped by more than half. Can the divergence be cal to murder, it is both morally and legally distinct — wholly attributed to respective attitudes toward the a distinction that the abolitionist view simply ignores. death penalty? Probably not. But we are entitled to Finally, there lies behind this question a buried issue ask Europeans who oppose capital punishment to offer of national sovereignty. Simply stated, it has never been an alternative explanation. a tradition within the U.S. to submit to the whims of Why does the European Union reject the notion of international bodies that, for the most part, are not

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bound to respect American sover- The death penalty is mechanisms and a different moral eign concerns. Though their views calculus. For this reason we must be may, at times, be persuasive, we can- tough on criminals, yes. cautious in imposing it and America not be bound by them, lest, for has developed a complex (some example, we find ourselves respond- But any lesser would say too complex) series of ing to criticisms of our policies from mechanisms to insure accuracy. But a U.N. Human Rights Commission punishment is tougher caution does not require inaction. whose current chair is a Libyan dic- Those outside America who oppose tator. on innocent people. capital punishment urge, in effect, Rather, we must agree to respect- moral equivalency between murder- fully disagree with other countries on er and victim. Worse yet, if our con- the death penalty. We can discuss the issues with them, cept of deterrence is anywhere close to accurate, they but when they seek to thwart the laws that govern our condemn countless unnamed and never-to-be-identi- people, they engage in the very sort of cultural imperi- fied victims to acts of violence that might have been alism they normally accuse us of. They don’t want us to deterred. tell them what to do in their countries to their crimi- Or, to return to where we began: the argument for nals, yet they feel comfortable (with an air of supercil- the death penalty can be restated in two words: Lee ious moral superiority) advising us what to do with Malvo. ours. And if you need two more, think of victim Linda Death is different — it requires different legal Franklin. ■

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30 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 F OCUS ON D IPLOMACY & THE D EATH P ENALTY

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE ON THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE U.S. Adam Niklewicz

THERE ARE PROSPECTS FOR PROFOUND CHANGE IN THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE U.S. A NEW CONCERN FOR WORLD OPINION IS PART OF THE REASON.

BY RICHARD C. DIETER

lowly, but impressively, international law and opinion are beginning to have an impact on law in the United States, and particularly on the death penalty. While the law and practices of other countries may not haveS played a significant role in the past in the evaluation of our society’s standards of decency, recent Supreme Court opinions indicate that that influence may be growing. And while the American public strongly supported the death penalty during periods when many of this country’s closest allies were renouncing capital punishment, public opinion in the U.S. is now shifting. The prospects for profound change in the death penalty in the U.S. are stronger

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today than at any other time in the In the late 1980s, penalty in Europe. This challenge long and controversial history of resulted in the somewhat surpris- this important issue. international opinion was ing decision of the U.S. Supreme There are at least three reasons Court in Furman v. Georgia in for this development. First, there is considered but largely 1972 finding the death penalty to a greater recognition of the need be unconstitutional as it was being for international cooperation and rejected in the discussion applied everywhere in the U.S. respect for the laws of other The five opinions of the concurring democracies, and this recognition is of the death penalty for justices made scant mention of any finding its way into decisions by the trend away from the death penalty highest courts in the U.S. Second, juvenile offenders. outside the U.S., though they rec- today there is a broader intersec- ognized the debt that the ban on tion between U.S. capital punish- cruel and unusual punishments ment law and the interests of other countries. Issues of owed to English law and the Magna Carta. Some of the extradition, the execution of foreign nationals, and the justices measured the meaning of this clause by the prospects of military tribunals to deal with suspected “evolving standards of decency” in society, but did not foreign terrorists often put the death penalty and inter- look to other countries for these standards. national human rights concerns in direct conflict. The decisive rationale for holding the death penalty Third, while in the past the U.S. faced a diversity of unconstitutional in Furman rested on its arbitrary and views on capital punishment among its allies, today we capricious use within the United States, rather than on are confronted with a near unanimity on certain aspects any declining use or condemnation from abroad. In of the death penalty and a growing consensus con- fact, a number of the justices pointed to the increasing demning its use in general. rarity of the use of the death penalty in the U.S. as a reason for stopping it all together. Justice Stewart, one of International Influence in the Past the two key justices in the decision, compared the death The death penalty in the earliest days of the United penalty to the random act of being “struck by lightning.” States was a continuation of the practice brought over Justice White, the other centrist, said that it was impos- from England, but less harsh. The number of crimes sible to distinguish the many cases eligible for the death punishable by death was curtailed in the early colonies penalty from the few that received it. compared to the long list of capital offenses in England, In the late 1980s, international opinion was consid- and was gradually limited to the most violent crimes ered but largely rejected in the discussion of the death such as first-degree murder and rape. Some jurisdic- penalty for juvenile offenders. The Supreme Court tions in the U.S. abolished the death penalty in their banned the execution of those who were under 16 years state systems long before that became the norm in of age at the time of their offense in Thompson v. Western Europe. The state of Michigan abolished the Oklahoma in 1988, relying almost exclusively on U.S. death penalty in 1846 and Wisconsin took a similar step practice at the time. When the Court was faced with in 1853. Neither state has carried out an execution the companion question regarding the execution of since then. those who were 16 or 17 years old at the time of their But the death penalty was not seriously challenged as crime, it not only allowed the practice, but Justice a constitutional issue in the U.S. until the late 1960s — Scalia, writing for the Court, strongly objected to the a time of considerable turmoil on civil rights issues here, use of international opinion in evaluating the evolving and a time of movement toward abolition of the death standards of decency to apply in the U.S., a point raised by the dissent. This sharp difference of opinion on the Richard Dieter is executive director of the Death Penalty use of international standards set the stage for future Information Center. A graduate of Georgetown battles on the death penalty in the Court. University Law Center, he also teaches capital punish- International influence on the U.S. death penalty ment law at Catholic University Law School. perhaps reached its nadir in the dispute over the execu-

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tion of foreign nationals in this Although there have been Justice at The Hague and country. When it was gradually received an order for a stay of discovered that the U.S. had foreign nationals on death execution. They brought this been systematically ignoring order to the U.S. Supreme the provisions of the Vienna rows in the U.S. in the past, Court, but the case was dis- Convention on Consular Re- missed, largely on procedural lations by failing to inform the issue received scant grounds, and the execution defendants of their right to con- went forward on schedule. fer with their respective con- attention until executions of Germany pursued a similar sulates, and that some of these route to stop the execution of defendants had been sentenced such persons began occurring two of its citizens, Karl and to death, numerous objections Walter LaGrand, who were also were raised. The issue reached regularly in the 1990s. not informed of their consular a crisis with the scheduled exe- rights. Again the ICJ unani- cution of Angel Breard in mously called for a stay of exe- Virginia in 1998. Breard’s home country, Paraguay, cution, but the order was rejected. This time, Germany tried to intervene on his behalf in Virginia courts, in fed- continued pursuing the matter in the ICJ after the exe- eral court and with the governor — all to no avail. cutions and eventually prevailed in a ruling holding the Finally, Paraguay appealed to the International Court of U.S. in violation of the Vienna Convention.

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All of this caused little ripple A poll conducted in 2000 by maturing society. The 18 states in the U.S. media or in public banning such executions did opinion. For example, a poll Newsweek found that, even not constitute a majority of the conducted in 2000 by death penalty states, yet the Newsweek found that, even among opponents of the death Court found evidence of a con- among opponents of the death sensus when these states were penalty, only 2 percent gave as penalty, only 2 percent joined with many other factors, the main reason for opposition including world opinion. It that the death penalty “hurts gave as the main reason for should be added that among America’s image.” But now other amicus briefs supporting there are signs of change. opposition that the the exemption was one submitted by former members of the New Weight to death penalty “hurts U.S. diplomatic corps (see World Opinion excerpts, p. 22). In 2001, the Supreme Court America’s image.” International opinion has surprised many in the U.S. by gained even greater stature in agreeing to hear the appeal of U.S. court decisions in recent Earnest McCarver from North Carolina, whose attor- months. Perhaps the two most important Supreme Court neys had raised the issue of his mental retardation. At opinions from the 2002-2003 term were Lawrence v. the time of this grant of certiorari, only 13 of 38 death Texas and Grutter v. Bollinger. Neither of these involved penalty states had passed laws forbidding the execution the death penalty, but instead dealt with the right to pri- of the mentally retarded. When the Supreme Court vacy for consenting adults in sexual relations (Lawrence) had first addressed this issue in 1989 in Penry v. and affirmative action programs at universities (Grutter). Lynaugh, it found insufficient evidence of a national In Lawrence, the Court overturned a prior ruling in consensus rejecting such executions. It was not clear which reference had been made to an asserted unifor- that the standards of decency had now evolved to the mity of laws forbidding homosexual relations. In rebut- extent that these executions should be declared uncon- tal of this notion, Justice Kennedy pointed to the constitutional. McCarver’s appeal was eventually ruled trary opinion of an advisory committee to the British moot when the state of North Carolina joined a growing Parliament and to a decision of the European Court of list of states banning the execution of the mentally Human Rights as examples of authority upholding pri- retarded. But the Court quickly took up a new case, vacy rights. Such a reference in a sensitive matter Atkins v. Virginia, and in 2002, with 18 states outlawing involving states’ rights, morality, and the law sent a pow- such executions and a clear trend toward more such erful new message about the weight to be given inter- bans, it ruled that this practice had become a cruel and national law. unusual punishment. In Grutter, the Supreme Court upheld a limited use From an international perspective, this case was sig- of affirmative action programs such as the one nificant for two reasons. First, it marked the first major employed at the University of Michigan Law School. removal of a whole class of inmates from death row in Justice Ginsburg concurred in the result, and specifical- many years. The international community, through res- ly cited international law on the same matter: “The olutions at the United Nations Commission on Human Court’s observation that race-conscious programs ‘must Rights, and in other forums, had called for just such have a logical end point’ accords with the international reform on many occasions. Second, the Court’s opinion understanding of the office of affirmative action. The in Atkins v. Virginia made specific reference to the ami- International Convention on the Elimination of All cus curiae brief filed by the European Union support- Forms of Racial Discrimination, ratified by the United ing such a ban. The clear inference of this reference States in 1994, endorses ‘special and concrete measures was that international opinion played a role in deter- to ensure the adequate development and protection of mining the standards of decency as they evolved in a certain racial groups or individuals belonging to them,

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for the purpose of guaranteeing There are increasing signs among countries with citizens on them the full and equal enjoyment death rows in the U.S. In an effort of human rights and fundamental that giving way on the to inform and assist law enforce- freedoms.’” ment agencies with regard to this death penalty would not be binding treaty, the State Depart- Progress on ment has distributed summaries Death Penalty Issues the major concession it of the information that police The right to effective repre- should give to foreign nationals in sentation at trial. In capital pun- would have been in a variety of languages. ishment matters, the Court sig- The president of Mexico, naled a greater openness than in the past. Vicente Fox, emphasized the crit- the past to the informed opinions ical importance of this issue for of bodies that have explored this his country when he cancelled a issue in depth. In a key decision on the right to effec- scheduled visit with President Bush in Texas after a tive representation at trial, Wiggins v. Smith, the Court Mexican national was executed, despite the failure of pointed favorably to the guidelines for defense attor- law enforcement to provide him with his rights under neys established by the American Bar Association. the treaty. Recently, Mexico obtained a ruling from the Though not strictly an international organization, the International Court of Justice calling for stays of execu- ABA has members around the world and is deeply tion for three Mexican citizens facing possible execu- involved in the subject of international law. Moreover, tion dates in the U.S., and calling for more time to in a previous decision, the Court had bypassed the study the cases of 48 other such Mexicans on death ABA’s guidelines as worthy ideals, but not required for rows around the country. Countries such as Mexico minimal constitutional representation. and El Salvador, which have a number of their citizens Juvenile offenders. It is widely anticipated that on state death rows, have begun providing assistance to the Supreme Court will eventually review another issue the lawyers defending their citizens accused of capital that has strong international law overtones: the execu- crimes, sometimes even before trial in order to avoid tion of juvenile offenders. Just as the Court reviewed the death penalty in the first place. the execution of the mentally retarded in Atkins, so, too, In U.S. courts, the Vienna Convention issue is being are they likely to reconsider whether those who were raised earlier in the judicial process and in some cases under 18 years of age when they committed their courts have recognized the establishment of individual crimes should be eligible for the death penalty. Four defendant rights connected to this treaty. U.S. District justices, ordinarily enough for the Court to grant certio- Judge David H. Coar ruled that a decision by the rari in a case, have already expressed their view. In dis- International Court of Justice “conclusively determines senting from denial of the writ of habeas corpus in a that Article 36 of the Vienna Convention creates indi- 2002 death penalty case, they stated that it has come vidual enforceable rights, resolving the question most time to end this “shameful practice” that they regarded American courts have left open.” In his ruling in the as a “relic of the past.” Since international opinion, as case of Gregory Madej, a Polish foreign national who expressed through the International Covenant on Civil claims that Chicago police and Cook County prosecu- and Political Rights and in the Convention on the tors violated his right to secure consular assistance, Rights of the Child, is nearly unanimous on this point, it Judge Coar noted that Madej's rights under both the seems likely that international opinion will contribute to Vienna Convention and the Consular Convention of the ultimate decision in this case. 1972 between Poland and the United States “were Consular relations and the Vienna Convention. clearly violated.” The judge rejected arguments that an Despite the Supreme Court’s dismissal of international individual alleging violations of Article 36 may be challenges based on the Vienna Convention on denied relief if he misses the deadline imposed by the Consular Relations mentioned above, the issue has state for initiating such a challenge to his conviction or gained attention both at the U.S. State Department and sentence.

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Broader Intersection of this issue has been heightened by the events of Sept. 11 Foreign and U.S. Interests and the war on terrorism. Suspected terrorists not only Although there have been foreign nationals on death may face the death penalty in the U.S. if extradited, but rows in the U.S. in the past, the issue received scant they may also be tried in a military tribunal that lacks attention until executions of such persons began occur- the normal due process afforded defendants in the civil- ring regularly in the 1990s. Even then, the raising of the ian courts. While the U.S. sorely wants to bring such Vienna Convention as a legal challenge to the death suspects to justice, many countries just as strongly penalty was rare. There was little knowledge of how believe that the death penalty is a human rights issue many foreign nationals were present on death rows, and and extradition in such circumstances would be a viola- from what countries. Today, all that has changed. Both tion of deeply held principles. defense attorneys in the U.S. and officials from other In a measure of the direct influence that countries countries are aware of this issue and the fact that there can have when they hold something the U.S. wants, are at least 118 foreign nationals from 30 different states and the federal government have agreed to drop countries on death rows across the U.S. the prospect of capital punishment in numerous cases In addition to the execution of foreign nationals, in exchange for extradition from other countries. there are numerous instances where people wanted for Similarly, following a visit by British Prime Minister crime in the U.S. are arrested in other countries. The Tony Blair to Washington recently, the U.S. announced question of extradition and the possible use of the death that the death penalty would not be sought against two penalty has raised major concerns throughout Europe, British citizens who were among the first six to be tried Canada, Mexico, and parts of Africa. The urgency of under the new military tribunals. It appears that a sim-

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ilar rule will apply against two Australian citizens who icant impact on the U.S. is that this opposition is more have also been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, awaiting cohesive than ever before. The United States’ closest military tribunals. allies in Europe and North America are unanimous in rejecting the death penalty and they do not hesitate to A More Cohesive Opposition let their views be known. New countries can only be Clearly, the world is more interconnected than ever admitted to the growing European Union, a body whose before. Interests of trade, the promotion of human size and economy may soon equal or surpass the U.S., if rights, fighting terrorism, and international develop- they renounce the death penalty. Courts in countries ment, all require greater cooperation among countries. such as Canada and Mexico, and throughout Europe, The U.S. is keenly aware of these new realities and has have begun to consistently refuse extradition as long as sought allies for its military interventions in Kuwait, the death penalty is a possibility in the U.S. And, on the Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. concern was also issue of the execution of juvenile offenders, every coun- demonstrated by its angry reaction to being excluded try of the world, with the possible exception of Somalia, from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 2001 has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (though it has now regained its seat). The U.S. is facing forbidding such executions. In the face of such consis- a further embarrassment if it loses its observer status in tent and adamant challenges to the death penalty, the the Council of Europe, which has been directly tied to U.S. risks becoming isolated at a time when it can least movement on the death penalty issue. afford it. In the long run, the reason why international opposi- There are increasing signs that giving way on the tion to the death penalty may finally be having a signif- death penalty would not be the major concession it would have been in the past. Doubts about the accuracy and fairness of the death penalty have increased dramatically in the U.S. as scores of inmates have been freed from death row. Support for life-without-parole sentences has increased, and the number of death sentences in the U.S. has plummeted by 50 percent in recent years. The only contrary trend is a more aggressive use of the federal death penalty by the present administration. But even there, the results reflect a growing ambivalence about this ultimate sentence: 20 of the last 21 federal capital prosecutions have resulted in sentences of less than death. International concerns about the death penalty would probably never be enough alone to make the U.S. abandon this practice. But capital punishment is unlikely to be undone for any one reason. Like snow on a branch, it is not any single flake that makes the branch break, but rather the collective weight of many flakes accumulating over time. Because international concerns are generally being given more recognition in the U.S., because various aspects of the U.S. death penalty are forcibly intersecting with the citizens and principles of other countries, and because the opinion of those other countries is more unified than ever before, it is likely that the death penalty will come under increasing criticism both here and abroad, and its use will continue to decline. ■

38 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 F OCUS ON D IPLOMACY & THE D EATH P ENALTY

THE MYTH OF THE COWBOY Adam Niklewicz

THE PICTURE MANY FOREIGNERS HAVE OF AMERICA AS A RECKLESS, GUN-TOTIN’, COWBOY NATION THAT HANDS OUT THE DEATH PENALTY WILLY-NILLY IS A FALSE ONE.

BY GREG KANE

assign the topic of capital punishment in almost every opinion-writing class I teach at The Johns Hopkins University. Most of my students, being incurably liberal, toe the anti-death penalty line: capital punishment Iis racist and cruel (as if a death sentence was meant to be benign). As so many American college students feel that way, perhaps it was inevitable that bashing the U.S. on the death penalty issue would eventually become a cottage industry in other parts of the world. So I can’t say I was surprised when one of my students told of his experiences in Spain during a recent visit. It seems the Spaniards

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gave him grief for coming from The usual tack of America’s United States executes people that horrible United States of who were juveniles when they America, where those barbar- anti-death penalty committed cold-blooded murder ians still practice the death is just plain wrong. Some states penalty. advocates and their in America do. Some don’t. As his experience suggests, the usual tack of America’s anti- foreign allies is to A Matter for the States death penalty advocates and According to the Web site their foreign allies is to play the play the “shame on www.deathpenaltyinfo.org, some “shame on you” game. Consider 38 states in America have death this blurb taken from the Web you” game. penalty statutes (as of April 1, site www.derechos.org: 2001), though the categories of “At the dawn of the 21st cen- criminals who are eligible for the tury, the death penalty is consid- death penalty vary from state to ered by most civilized nations as a cruel and inhuman state. Of those 38 death penalty states, six — punishment. It has been abolished de jure or de facto Connecticut, Kansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, by 106 nations (and) 30 countries have abolished it New York and South Dakota — haven’t executed any- since 1990. However, the death penalty continues to one since 1976. Maryland, my home state, bans exe- be commonly applied in other nations. China, the cuting those under 18 no matter how heinous their Democratic Republic of (the) Congo, the United crimes. Just south of here, in Virginia, juveniles as States and Iran are the most prolific executioners in young as 16 can be executed. the world. Indeed, the U.S. is one of six countries That’s why some conservatives (though not nearly (including also Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia enough for my liking) were appalled when U.S. and Yemen) which execute people who were under 18 Attorney General John Ashcroft, who claims to sup- years old at the time they committed their crimes” port states’ rights, arranged for Lee Boyd Malvo — the [my italics]. sniper suspect alleged to have murdered and terrified Two things stand out from that piece of propagan- Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. residents in da. The first is the not-so-subtle implication that some late 2002 — to be whisked from custody in Maryland Third World countries are still not civilized, and that (where he was captured) and handed over to Virginia Americans are on the level of those barbarians in authorities, where he could be executed despite his places like China, the Congo, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. age. who still practice capital punishment. It’s a veiled Mind you, if Malvo is found guilty, I’d have no form of racism that the folks who claim America’s problem seeing him executed. Yes, he was 17 when death penalty is so racist haven’t noticed yet, probably the crimes were committed. But that’s an age at which because of the laughable belief that all racism in the you clearly know right from wrong and, if you’re in a United States comes from the right side of the politi- courtroom before a judge, you should have a reason- cal spectrum. able understanding of your rights. The notion that The second observation is that the claim that the being 17 or 16 or 15 somehow, in and of itself, makes you incompetent to stand trial is a fantasy our foreign Greg Kane teaches journalism at The Johns Hopkins friends, and their American sympathizers, should University and is a columnist for the Baltimore Sun. abandon. He’s a two-time winner of the Headliner’s Award and, My gripe with Ashcroft is that he clearly violated along with Sun reporter Gilbert Lewthwaite, was a Maryland’s right to try and convict Malvo. True, Malvo finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles can’t be executed here, but I’d rather live with a Malvo about slavery in the Sudan. Kane and Lewthwaite also locked up for the rest of his life than with a federal won the Overseas Press Club Award and the Times government clearly overstepping its boundaries to Mirror Journalist of the Year Award for the same series. bum-rush a defendant to the execution chamber.

40 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 F OCUS

Yet that distinction is pre- The notion that being under their freedom, and made those cisely what foreigners don’t get who aided and abetted escap- about the death penalty in 18 somehow makes you ing slaves subject to prosecu- America: in the overwhelming tion. majority of cases, it’s a state incompetent to stand trial In response, Wisconsin state matter. Our Constitution clear- authorities openly defied federal ly provides that the states have is a fantasy our foreign authorities who wanted to try a the final say in establishing group of people who had helped penalties for crimes committed friends, and their free a captured fugitive slave. within their jurisdictions. Officials in other Northern states Some 38 states have opted American sympathizers, put the federal government on for a death penalty with various notice that they would resist by restrictions. Twelve others should abandon. force any attempts to enforce the have rejected it as vehemently Fugitive Slave Act and claimed as have those “civilized” nations states’ rights as their justification. preaching to us about it. That The resulting tension was spectrum of differing approaches is in keeping with one of the main factors leading to the Civil War — or the way our political system is designed to work. the War Between the States, as Southerners like to call But perhaps our foreign friends can be forgiven for it. After the North’s victory in 1865, two amendments not knowing that. For the truth is, many Americans were added to the Constitution to define more explic- don’t know how the system is supposed to work, either. itly the boundaries of “states’ rights.” The 13th Ashcroft is one of them, if his jackbooted, strong- Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery, while armed mishandling of the Malvo case is any indication. the 14th Amendment, ratified three years later, estab- Or he may have simply forgotten the federalism he lished the principle of due process. claimed to champion when he was a United States sen- ator from Missouri. The principle of federalism sim- Missing the Point ply means that those powers not explicitly given to the The argument over how much power should be federal government are — per the 10th Amendment shared between state governments and the federal to the Constitution — delegated to the 50 individual government continues today, some 214 years after the states. Constitution was ratified. But foreign critics of Granted, this has caused a few problems in “America’s” death penalty — and their American America’s past (to put it mildly). The states’ rights vs. friends as well — should pay special attention to the federal government struggle started in the early years wording of the 14th Amendment. It says that “(a)ll of the republic, and slavery was usually the catalyst. persons born or naturalized in the United States, and Throughout the antebellum period, Southerners subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the insisted that the issue of slavery — whether to contin- United States and of the State wherein they reside. ue or abolish it — was strictly a state matter. (In fact, No State shall make or enforce any law which shall many Northern states had slavery at one time and did, abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the indeed, abolish it.) But when Americans spread west- United States; nor shall any State deprive any person ward and formed new states, the issue of whether they of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; would be slave or free increased the tension over slav- nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ery. protection of the laws” [my italics]. The debate became rancorous with the passage of In other words, even under the 14th Amendment the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850, arguably the most — perhaps the most comprehensive and revolutionary abominable piece of legislation ever passed in this of all the additions to the Constitution since 1789 — country. That law called for federal marshals to the death penalty is explicitly allowed so long as due retrieve slaves who had run away to the north to secure process is followed. And in the overwhelming majority

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of cases, defendants do indeed Perhaps our foreign friends Here in Maryland, we’ve receive due process, thanks to a made the process of getting a judicial system that Americans can be forgiven for not defendant on death row even can confidently challenge their more difficult. The state must foreign critics to match in their knowing that capital prove beyond a reasonable own countries. (Whether a doubt that the defendant is defendant has a good lawyer is punishment is up to the states. indeed the person who com- another matter, unfortunately.) mitted the murder, as opposed When a defendant goes into Many Americans don’t to being an accomplice. The an American court for a capital state must then show there crime, he’s guaranteed a lawyer. know that, either. were aggravating circum- He can choose to be tried by stances: the murder was com- either a jury or a judge. His or mitted during a rape, robbery her defense attorney can chal- or other felony, or the victim lenge 20 of those jurors without giving a reason why, was a police officer, for example. while prosecutors can only strike 10 jurors. And most Nor is that all. Once those two things have been important of all, defendants are presumed innocent, so proven, jurors or the judge have to weigh any mitigat- during the trial the state has to prove the defendant’s ing factors in the defendant’s favor: his age, an abusive guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. childhood, mental deficiencies (though this is usually done at the front end of the process when it’s determined if the suspect is mentally competent to stand trial) and anything else a defense attorney may dredge up. Once all that’s done, the defendant still has the right to appeal when a death sentence is imposed. The convicted has a right to apply for a post-conviction modifi- cation of sentence, at which time he can ask the judge to reduce his punishment. (All prisoners, whether on death row or not, have this right.) The prisoners on America’s death rows, no matter what may have gone wrong at their trials, did, indeed, get plenty of due process. The system is designed to make as certain as is humanly possible that innocent individuals aren’t executed. Anti-death penalty advocates in America and abroad who cite instances of innocents being released from death row say those cases are an indication that something is wrong with the system. But such instances are actually an example of what’s right with the system. That’s what the appeals process and post-conviction relief are for: to catch mistakes. In short, the picture many foreigners have of America as a reckless, gun-totin’, cowboy nation that hands out the death penalty willy-nilly is a false one. Yet they can’t be blamed for that. For it’s their allies here in America — the anti-death penalty crowd — who are all too happy to promote such nonsense. ■

42 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 F OCUS ON D IPLOMACY & THE D EATH P ENALTY

A DECENT RESPECT TO THE OPINIONS OF MANKIND Adam Niklewicz

AMERICA’S CONTINUING ATTACHMENT TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT PUTS US FAR OUT OF “ STEP WITH MOST OF “THE CIVILIZED WORLD.” BY PAUL P. B LACKBURN

don’t know and I don’t care,” Richard Gladden, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington, Va., replied, in essence, when asked his opinion on why so many other countries have given up the death penalty and are Iso critical of America for not doing the same. Mr. Gladden and I were among the speakers at a February 2003 debate on capital punishment sponsored by The Committee of 100, an Arlington citizens group. I, a retired FSO, was the out-and-out opponent of the death penalty, while Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County Richard Conway presented the pro-death

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penalty position. Over a hundred countries, have little patience for the back Sadly, Gladden, billed as the and forth of true international “moderate” on the panel, appears including all E.U. members dialogue. I didn’t previously feel to represent the vast majority of we were that kind of a country. Virginians, whatever their atti- as well as our NAFTA Throughout my 40-year career tudes toward capital punishment. “telling America’s story” as an As Tip O’Neill might have put it, partners, have given up FSO with USIA and then State in America all death penalty — despite the ups and downs of issues are local. capital punishment in law our national experience during That evening I presented six those decades — I proudly rep- major arguments. In addition to or practice. resented and portrayed a great the death penalty’s immorality, nation striving to set a standard susceptibility to bias and error, worthy of emulation by others. removal of possibilities for redemption or forgiveness, In explaining our unabashed promotion of democracy promotion of a culture of violence, and the better alter- and human rights, I stressed that as we seek to improve native of life imprisonment without parole, I contend- our own often imperfect performance, we honor the ed, America’s continuing attachment to capital punish- sentiment laid out in our Declaration of Independence ment puts us far out of step with most of “the civilized that Americans pay “decent respect to the opinions of world.” Well over a hundred countries — including all mankind.” the E.U. members as well as both our NAFTA partners When the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty — have given it up in law or practice. Even if those unconstitutional in 1972, I naively considered the deci- examples do not sway us, we should at least be con- sion a natural, almost inevitable, benchmark in our cerned that it undermines core foreign policy objectives nation’s forward progress. Disheartened when it was such as promoting human rights and securing the extra- reinstated only four years later, I resolved that once I dition of terrorist suspects and other criminals. was permanently back in the U.S., I would try to help After the session, even my supporters in the audi- get our country back on the right track. ence said they considered the foreign attitudes argument the least potent of my six points. Though I could- The Asian Perspective n’t disagree with them, I found the conclusion disturb- Working overseas, however, I found that my con- ing. After all, capital cases with profound international cerns about capital punishment were rarely shared by implications are all around us in northern Virginia: the even the most well-educated of my contacts in the four current trial in Alexandria of “20th hijacker” Moroccan- Asian countries where I served as public affairs officer. French Zakarias Moussaoui for his alleged complicity in Seldom did I meet a Thai, a Malaysian, a Japanese, or a the 9/11 attack; the trial of Jamaican Lee Boyd Malvo, Chinese with any serious qualms about it. Unlike their one of the two alleged “snipers”; and the November counterparts in Europe and elsewhere, most Asians 2000 execution of Pakistani Aimal Khan Kasi (aka Mir consider the death penalty a necessary deterrent and an Aimal Kasi) for his 1993 murder of two CIA employees appropriate retribution for heinous crimes by undesir- outside that agency’s Langley headquarters. able individuals who simply “deserve to die” (a view of It seems that Virginians, like most other Americans, course widely held in our own country). Nor do their governments feel pressure from us to re-examine their Paul Blackburn, an FSO for 40 years with USIA and policies; the U.S. dwells on capital punishment in State, served as public affairs officer in Kuala Lumpur, human rights reports only when there are perceived Bangkok, Tokyo and Beijing. He currently chairs the deficiencies in legal processes. Task Force to Abolish the Death Penalty at the In Thailand, capital punishment has been applied Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington and is a throughout the country’s long history, though its fre- member of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death quency has waxed and waned. In 2002, 17 people were Penalty. sentenced to death, and five were executed (by

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machine-gun fire): three for mur- The U.S. dwells on capital Malaysia is equally unsenti- der and two for drug crimes. mental about administering its Amnesty International reports punishment in human rights death penalty. Visitors to the that more than 600 people are on country are greeted at points of death row there, some 70 percent reports only when there are entry with anti-trafficking signs of them on narcotics charges. In that read “POSSESSION OF February 2003, Prime Minister perceived deficiencies in DADAH (drugs) IS DEATH,” Thaksin Shinawatra began an and some foreigners have in fact aggressive campaign against drug legal processes. been executed for dealing in nar- dealers that by mid-year had cotics. Though capital punish- resulted in more than 2,000 ment is most frequently applied deaths and is being expanded to for drug infractions, the only exe- include a broader range of “dark influences.” The gov- cutions reported in 2002 were those of three men ernment claims that only 51 of the deaths were the hanged, on the same day, for the murder of a state result of police action while the rest were internecine assemblyman. As in Thailand, I encountered no appre- killings among drug dealers, but most outside observers ciable opposition to the death penalty among consider the bulk of them to be extrajudicial executions. Malaysians. Much more deeply concerned about the Whatever the numbers and means of execution of those country’s draconian Internal Security Act, they see cap- killed, Thai public opinion has strongly supported ital punishment as necessary in the fight against crime, Thaksin’s campaign. particularly when confronting the scourge of narcotics.

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Although an anti-death penalty Several capital cases knows when his last hours may be at movement is slowly growing in Japan, hand. Japanese friends told me that the Japanese rarely talk about capital with profound the practice meets a cultural desire punishment and apply it sparingly. to minimize anguish and expense for Amnesty International reports that international the family members of the executed. more than 100 inmates are on Japan’s The Chinese carry out more than death rows, while only two people implications are going half of the world’s executions. In were executed in 2002, both by hang- 2002, according to Amnesty ing. Yet the government has stead- forward right now in International, China reported 1,060 fastly resisted European and other executions, and sentenced 1,921 oth- entreaties to abandon the practice, northern Virginia. ers to death. Most outside observers even at the cost of losing observer believe the actual figures to be much status at the Council of Europe (a higher. China’s methods of execu- penalty the U.S. also faces). The Japanese court system tion are firing squad and lethal injection. Those subject is ponderous but thorough. So far the alleged master- to capital punishment include not only drug dealers and mind of the 1995 murderous sarin gas attack in the perpetrators of violent crimes but also corrupt officials Tokyo subways, Shoko Asahara, is far from having his and even pimps. In June 2002, at least 150 people were case reach the sentencing phase. Outsiders often criti- executed across China as part of China’s “strike hard” cize as cruel the Japanese practice of not giving advance campaign to mark the U.N.-designated International notice before the day of a prisoner’s execution: he never Anti-Drugs Day.

THE REMINGTON

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The Chinese make no apology for As Tip O’Neill might other mitigating factors. However his their widespread use of the death complicated case ultimately turns out, penalty. In answer to criticism from have put it, in America sentencing him to death risks creating abroad, they say it is a necessary tool yet another U.S.-executed martyr. for maintaining social stability during all death penalty Sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo, a a time when their immense and Jamaican, arouses even stronger local diverse population is undergoing fun- issues are local. passions, as the murder spree in damental change. In addition, the which he allegedly took part truly ter- officials I dealt with were fond of rified the Washington metropolitan reminding their American interlocutors that at least region. Though it is understandable that he has they do not follow our “inhumane” practice of executing received scant public sympathy, the fact that Malvo was juveniles and those with serious mental impairments. only 17 at the time of the crimes (unlike co-defendant John Allen Muhammad) has brought to the fore the Local Death Penalty Cases arguments for and against applying the death penalty to After returning to Washington in 2000 for my last juveniles. While many argue that the flagrant malevo- assignment before retirement, I joined a small group of lence represented by the Malvo case demonstrates the death penalty activists at my church and in the desirability of capital punishment for juveniles, others Northern Virginia chapter of Virginians for Alternatives contend that his dependency on the much older to the Death Penalty. Drawing on my Foreign Service Muhammad, his deeply troubled childhood in Jamaica, experience of observing how U.S. domestic issues play and his apparent lack of mature empathy for others all out under international scrutiny, I often stress the suggest that he should not be made to pay the ultimate downside of our executing foreigners, even when done price for his actions. after an assiduously fair judicial process. Despite the fact that several of the murders they are Aimal Khan Kasi was a vivid example. After being charged with took place in Maryland, a state that does caught in a sting operation in his native Pakistan, to not execute minors, Attorney General John Ashcroft which he fled after killing the two CIA employees in determined that the Malvo and Muhammad trials 1993, Kasi was returned to the U.S. and sentenced to should take place in Virginia, a state that has demon- death in 1997. He essentially dropped from public strated no hesitancy to put juveniles to death. attention during the next five years, but as his Because of Malvo’s age, the rest of the world looks on November 2002 execution date approached, he this case with particular alarm. (The fact that Malvo returned to the spotlight, giving interviews defending and Muhammed, like Kasi and Moussaoui, are Muslims the murders he committed. (He also told reporters that is certainly not lost on the international Islamic com- although he disapproved of the 9/11 attacks on civilians munity, either.) As many international organizations, in New York, he fully supported the attack on the including such strange bedfellows as the Chinese State Pentagon, a military target.) By executing Kasi, we sat- Council Information Office and Amnesty International, isfied his desire for martyrdom and gave him a platform have pointed out, the U.S. stands virtually alone in its to try to inspire others to emulate him. Was that in the willingness to execute juveniles and accounts for about interest of our nation? 80 percent worldwide of those executed in recent years. Unlike Kasi, Zakarias Moussaoui did not directly Only the United States and Somalia have not ratified murder anyone. Even so, he is on trial for his life, the U.N. Convention on Rights of the Child, which pro- essentially for harboring a hatred of America so intense hibits death sentences for juveniles. that it allegedly led him to take part in planning the 9/11 But do such arguments cut much ice, even in the attacks. As a foreigner with a belligerent courtroom most liberal of Virginia’s counties? Apparently not. demeanor, Moussaoui does not elicit the empathy we Polls show that throughout the state about two-thirds of often feel for Americans on trial for their lives — even Virginians support the death penalty as a general propo- those accused of the most heinous crimes — who can sition — though the population is split about 50-50 cite closer-to-home drug abuse, parental abuse, and when offered the alternative of life imprisonment with-

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out the possibility of parole. In In this era of American of murder in a foreign peniten- Virginia or anywhere else in the tiary? Even in countries that are United States, the attitudes of hypernationalism, it is hostile to our values and our inter- foreigners have never registered ests, and which have substandard as a significant factor in surveys perhaps not surprising that prisons, our government aggres- of why people oppose (or favor) sively — and properly — has been capital punishment. Americans seem blasé about able to insist that U.S. citizens be afforded full legal rights and Consular Notification: arousing the disrespect of spared execution. Double Standards By contrast, according to the In this era of American hyper- foreigners when it comes to Death Penalty Information Center, nationalism, it is perhaps not sur- the United States has executed 20 prising that Americans seem the death penalty. foreigners since 1988, and 116 for- blasé about arousing the disre- eign prisoners were on our death spect, if not also the outrage, of rows as of April 15, 2003. foreigners when it comes to the death penalty. They, of course, take their lead from our national leaders, who A Decent Respect are even willing to brush off harsh criticism from the Though we usually seem not to care what the rest of Mexican government, which in January 2003 filed a the world thinks about this issue, there are occasional complaint in the International Court of Justice against bright spots. For example, in its June 2002 ruling the United States for violating the Vienna Convention (Atkins v. Virginia) that execution of the mentally on Consular Relations in the cases of all 54 Mexicans on retarded is cruel and unusual punishment, the Supreme death rows in the United States. Court noted that within the world community such exe- U.S. embassies and consulates are quick to insist on cutions are “overwhelmingly disapproved.” consular access to Americans arrested in foreign coun- Encouraged by such glimmers of progress, I believe tries, as is called for by the Vienna Convention on that we will eventually join the growing international Consular Relations. However, despite efforts by State’s consensus on banning executions of juveniles, of the Bureau of Consular Affairs to get the word out, foreign- mentally disturbed, and, one day, even of reprehensible ers in our prisons too often are unaware of their own perpetrators of violent crimes. For if we do not, our right to consular notification. And judges and governors nation will become increasingly hamstrung in promot- throughout America have shown themselves oblivious ing basic human rights and democracy, as well as coop- to appeals from foreign countries that their nationals be eration in law enforcement. spared the death penalty. For example, Angel Breard, a On the other hand, just as the European Union pro- Paraguayan citizen, was executed in Virginia in 1998 vides a strong incentive for candidate members like despite efforts by his government both to intervene in Turkey to abandon the death penalty, an America free the appeals process and to secure a ruling from the of capital punishment would, by example and by exhor- International Court of Justice on the grounds that tation, help effect such changes — not only in the Breard was denied timely consular access and advice. nations of Asia that are closely bound to the United Do other countries treat us the way we treat them in States and where I spent so many years as an FSO, but these matters? No, of course not. We wouldn’t stand ultimately throughout the globe. for it. None of the four death penalty countries I served Toward that end, in my modest public advocacy in has executed an American citizen in recent decades. work in northern Virginia I am motivated by a fond Nor, for that matter, has any other country that I know hope that, in not too many years to come, those of. How many Americans are even on the death rows of charged with telling America’s story to foreigners will other countries? Possibly a few dual nationals, at most. be able to speak with pride of how our nation managed For that matter, when was the last time you heard that finally to consign capital punishment to the rubbish we were denied consular access to an American accused heap of our history. ■

48 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 FOREIGN SERVICE SPECIALISTS SPEAK OUT, PART II

SPECIALISTS SHARE DETAILS OF THEIR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIVES IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE.

Editor’s Note: Last month, we presented some of viously needed and I was looking at curtailing to find a the many responses to our AFSANet invitation for spe- more challenging assignment. The new incoming cialists to share vignettes describing their personal and Information Management Officer offered me the professional experiences in the Foreign Service. Here Information Systems Officer position to keep me, which I are more of their responses. Again, our thanks to all accepted, and with the post’s concurrence, he had who responded. Washington reassign me to the position officially. — Steven Alan Honley, Editor Once I’d been assigned as the ISO, I was greeted at my new office by some of the senior FSNs, who asked me when I “had arrived at post.” These were the same individuals whom I had worked with in the embassy at differ- FS Class Structure ent points for the previous two years. This was certainly Before joining the State Department, I was a U.S. not because I was a “wallflower.” I firmly believe it was Army Signal Corps Major with nearly 12 years of active strictly due to the fact that I now had the word “officer” in duty. I was proud of the title “communicator,” which the my title. I was no longer a “specialist” per se, at least not military considers a distinguished by title. profession. The fact that I had a This is not to say that there Bachelor of Science degree in In my 10 years I have seen are not FSOs who consider spe- Management Information Systems cialists as equals, because there was “icing on the cake.” But it some improvement in the are. In fact, in my 10 years I quickly became obvious during have seen an improvement my first tour in Moscow that this treatment of specialists, overall in our treatment, was not the case in the State although minor. However, the Department, where the title is but the prevailing mentality prevailing mentality throughout viewed as somewhere equivalent the service is to look upon us as to “janitorial staff.” Having only is still to look upon us as a “less than officer” class. I can been in for 10 years now, I have understand the reluctance to no idea how it started, but it is a “less than officers.” include us in many social events fact of life in the Foreign Service. afforded to JOs due to the dif- Another good example of this ferences in our backgrounds, occurred during my second tour, in Tel Aviv. Even the training, specialties, professions and so on. What I find Foreign Service Nationals recognize the class structure difficult to understand is that it appears to be the norm to and know where an Information Management Specialist be extremely dismissive when it comes to things such as fits into it. When I arrived at post I was initially assigned specialists having diplomatic titles, which directly equates to the post communications center as an IMS. During my to the quality of life overseas because of tax benefits, etc. first two years we upgraded the systems in that office to and equal treatment as a diplomat of the mission by the the point where we actually had more people than we pre- foreign government. Indeed, we are expected to remain

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 49 behind as essential personnel during on me because that would hurt the perpetuating the class distinction. emergencies, but we may only be generalists who also have limits on Loren F. File allowed to bring in one car to that the number of promotions. Yet even Information country, while officers are allowed though I can’t be promoted, I can be Management two, because of our status. The low-ranked. Specialist small, but impacting, examples go Admittedly, not all specialist cate- Embassy London on and on. gories have senior possibilities, but Overall, I enjoy the travel that’s some do (RSO, IMO, ESO, and oth- involved, seeing the world, meeting ers). I bring this to AFSA’s attention Encourage Language and living with different cultures as only to ask that the organization take Training well as working with my specialist a look at the possibility of ensuring a I would like to see State make colleagues, and how this transforms few senior GSO slots (like other spe- more of an effort to announce lan- the world into a very small place we cialist areas). Surely, there are posts guage-designated jobs far enough in all call home. It’s unfortunate that to like Cairo, London, Paris, Manila, advance so that specialists can take enjoy these benefits, we must accept and Mexico City that could use a advantage of language training. treatment as a “special” class. I can GSO at the senior level. Officer language-designated positions only hope it will continue to Dan M. Cushman are announced early, so they have the improve, and I believe it will when Senior General Services opportunity to take language training, the older generation of officers Officer usually for one year. I’ve noted that retires. Embassy Rome several jobs that may be on the bid list The scary part is that I’ve already this summer require 2/2 in a particu- seen JOs who are following in their lar language; however, there is no footsteps. We’re All Officers time allowed for training in the lan- Jeffrey J. Hoover Why are new-hire generalists guage. Therefore, those are positions Regional Desk Officer called “junior officers” but new-hire that I have to cross off the list, limit- IRM/M/CST/LD/ specialists not? Either they should ing my options. If foreign language is OB-EAP be called “junior generalists” or all a prerequisite for a position, the job new hires should be called “junior should be announced early enough to officers.” Starting people off in the allow time for language training. Senior Threshold Block Foreign Service with this distinction Violet Kotto I am an FS-1 specialist serving as cannot help promote unbiased rela- Office Management a Senior General Services Officer in tions later in their careers. Does Specialist Rome. As a specialist, I have no AFSA think this is worth taking on? Embassy Kingston regrets, and have always had good References should be to FS spe- relations with my generalist col- cialists and FS generalists — using leagues. I knew the rules coming in the “officers” tag just reinforces the Why Discriminate? and am not the type to complain mythical distinction inherited from Compared with specialists, junior after the fact – with one exception. the military between officers and officers seem to receive special treat- As a GSO specialist, I compete enlisted personnel. This is a legacy ment when it comes to training oppor- for promotion not only with other of the old Foreign Service Act that tunities and special project handling. specialists but with generalists. So had designated separate salary scales This may be because it is often per- far, I have been fortunate and have for Foreign Service officers and ceived that the average specialist is been promoted fairly regularly to Foreign Service staff. specifically trained and hired to do the 01 level. However, this year, my The 1980 Foreign Service Act one specific job only — or it could also performance will be considered by a was supposed to eliminate this dis- be that managers assume it would be promotion panel that will be told tinction and some of the class war- particularly difficult to relieve individ- that no GSO specialist can be pro- fare by unifying both salary scales. ual specialists from their daily respon- moted to OC because there are no Unfortunately, Human Resources sibilities to take advantage of such jobs for them. Thus, even if I were for some reason finds it necessary to opportunities. (hypothetically) ranked number-one distinguish between specialists and Consider the department’s recent in my category by the panel, they generalists in their records. So the call for nominations for a training will not want to “waste” a promotion FP and FS designations are used, opportunity in Guatemala, which was

50 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 istries of those three countries near- program needs to be reviewed. ly every day on many diverse issues, Currently, even experienced HR spe- I can only hope things will primarily bilateral work agreements cialist employees are hired at the and visas for family members. entry-level grade of FP-4. (In my case continue to improve, and Throughout my tour, I worked I actually lost a grade when I accepted alongside Foreign Service officers the position.) I believe they will when who welcomed my contributions Despite this frustration, the chal- and appreciated my expertise. The lenge of serving the United States is the older generation of same was true during my next tour at still a great privilege. As a natura the American Institute in Taipei and ized American, I think that I bring a officers retires. But I’ve in Kampala, where I now serve. Yet unique perspective to the Foreign the State Department has refused to Service and am proud to represent already seen JOs who are approve a diplomatic title for the the U.S. abroad. position, leaving me feeling like a Thank you for this opportunity to following in their second-class citizen. share this with you. Because the Human Resources Elenita M. Shorter footsteps. Office at most posts deals with the Human Resources Foreign Ministry on substantive issues Officer that affect both individual employees Embassy Pretoria and bilateral relations, I am convinced that the HRO position should carry a targeted to JOs. Why weren’t special- diplomatic title regardless of whether Not Everyone’s An Officer ists invited to apply? The topics cov- it is held by an Foreign Service officer At one post where I served, some ered in the classes were general in or a Foreign Service specialist. I also colleagues started a group for nature and would have benefited the believe the HR specialist new-hire “Women’s Issues.” I went to the first specialists who participated. All employees should be viewed as equal and without classification. I continue to hear and feel the competition and separation which definitely exist live better. throughout the Department of State. There are often references made to brand new luxury high rise : fully appointed one, one bedroom dens and two bedroom corporate suites : state of the the Civil Service vs. Foreign Service; art fitness and business centers : heated outdoor lap pool : and now generalists vs. specialists. Yet custom made mahogany furniture : fully equipped kitchens : luxury towels and linens : soft, firm or hypoallergenic pil- we are all expected to work as team low selection : weekday club breakfast serving Starbucks® Coffee : afternoon Tazo® Tea : digital premium cable and members/players. When does it end? high speed internet : 27” and 20” sony wega tv and dvd : Luberta Abraham sony cd stereo : free local phone : on-site management, maintenance, housekeeping : concierge services : walking General Services Officer distance to ballston common mall, ballston and virginia Embassy Port of Spain square metro stops

Specialist Or FSO — What’s the Difference? The Foreign Service has been my home since 1987 — first as an Eligible Family Member and then as a Human Resources Specialist. My first posting as a specialist was in korman communities arlington Addis Ababa, where I was also CORPORATE SUITES responsible for assisting Embassies Asmara and Djibouti. Like most HR arlington, va 880 north pollard street 866.korman.4 : kormancommunities.com specialists and officers around the world, I dealt with the foreign min-

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 51 If you look at the average education level of most specialists, it is on par with our FSO colleagues. “Officers” do not come from blue-blooded families.

two meetings. Near the end of the first session I stated, “All these issues are pertinent, but everyone needs to remember that there are women in the Foreign Service who are not officers.” The statement was accepted with a smile but pretty much ignored. That’s why I only went to two meetings. I find this attitude is pretty prominent throughout the Foreign Service. Nearly everything one reads is about the needs of officers. All too often the plight of the specialist is overlooked. Judy Chidester Retired Information Management Officer Las Cruces, N.M. Separate and Unequal The Foreign Service is separated by a perceived class difference between specialists and officers. If you look at the average education level of most specialists, it is on par with our FSO colleagues. “Officers” do not come from blue-blooded families. They have not attended a special academy like West Point. So where does this distinction have its origins? It comes from two places:

52 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 It is first instilled when FSOs are me to take the test and become an offi- hired and attend the Foreign Service cer because they believed I had the Institute. This is where they begin You don’t get to the top potential to “get in.” (As if I wasn’t the segregation process by splitting already in the Foreign Service.) Why I up the specialists and officers. This in this outfit by rocking would want to take a two-grade reduc- segregation continues after they tion to stand at a visa window or be a leave FSI with the separate meetings the boat. One must JO is beyond me. The fact that they between senior management and would even suggest it shows many JOs and specialists that are routinely conform and become believe it is better to be an “officer” of held at posts. any rank than in IRM. The second problem is the percep- part of the old-boy club It is time to get rid of the separate tion that taking the Foreign Service titles of officer and specialist. We are Exam confers credibility. This exam is in order to get all specialists. What difference does it simply a general knowledge exam. Yes, make whether you are an admin offi- it is difficult, but it does not measure anywhere. cer or an administrative specialist? ability or aptitude. It is certainly not an The job is the same. The rank is the intelligence exam. The reason for the same. The pay is the same. test is there is no way to demonstrate So long as the institution uses dif- experience as a diplomat. The written ferent titles to separate us, a sense of test and oral exam are used as a mea- our past experience. Our oral exam is elitism will prevail. surement of potential. simply a way for the department to Joe Cole Specialists have no need to take verify that our resume is an accurate Information Programs a test to demonstrate potential reflection of what we have accom- Officer because we already proved that we plished in our careers. Consulate General could function in the job based on I remember one officer counseling Istanbul

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 53 Regards from Fort Apache This issue of specialists vs. gener- In the short time I have alists has always been a problem in the department. It continues to be served in the Foreign an attitude fostered from the top on down at most posts to which I’ve Service as a new-hire been assigned. TEN TOP Even here in Bishkek (Fort IMS, I have gained an REASONS TO Apache as I call it), the FSNs are quick to notice how management immense amount of JOIN treats us differently in the hierarchical structure of this mission and on-the-job experience we get the same from them. The junior officers also take their cue on and training. DACOR how to treat us from looking at how the upper management treats us, (Diplomatic and which is usually not very well. Consular Officers, Over the years, I’ve found that it is difficult if not impossible to get in this outfit — though some places Retired) support from above on issues that were far better than others, I must concern IM, even from within our admit. And I’m looking forward to 10. Guest rooms at less than own ranks. The reasons for this one calling it quits soon. I used to enjoy half of per diem can only speculate about, but they the work up until about six years ago 9. Sunday musicales with probably involve not wanting to rock when these computer systems start- rising stars the boat and simply not caring ed to be put in and our jobs changed 8. Annual conference on key enough about the other guy’s prob- dramatically. It just is getting to be issue or country lem to get involved. After all, it too stressful. 7. Receptions for A-100 might require saying things to some- It hasn’t been all doom and classes and new one that they don’t want to hear. gloom, though. I’ve also encoun- ambassadors You don’t get to the top in this tered some officers who treated us 6. Scholarships for Foreign outfit by rocking the boat. One professionally and correctly over the Service dependents must conform and become part of years. The majority, however, do 5. Top lecturers on foreign the old-boy club in order to get any- not and I often find myself wonder- affairs and culture where. And once you get into the ing if it is more a question of how 4. Reasonable dues (half off old-boy club, why risk your status these people were taught to treat for active-duty personnel) sticking up for some FS-4 or FS-3 others by their parents while grow- 3. Memorable venue for out there at post who is having a ing up. It may be as simple as that. private or representational hard time with management? It All I know for sure is that I’ve been functions can’t help you, and you are all that treated very poorly by many FSOs 2. Five blocks from State matters, right? over the years — and I can say that 1. Congenial collegiality in I realize that sounds cynical, but I wouldn’t, and don’t, treat even a an elegant, historic home it’s the reality of Foreign Service dog the way some have treated me life. and gotten away with it. Richard McKee Very few people will take up a Being in government, unfortu- Executive Director cause. There aren’t any “Ches” out nately, by the time one gets fed up 1801 F St., NW here in the Foreign Service. That with this sort of thing, one usually Washington, DC 20006 would be career suicide ... under- has too many years invested to just 202-682-0500 standably. quit and go find a real job or dif- [email protected] So all us lowly IMers can do is ferent job, depending on how you www.dacorbacon.org complain or get out. think about this. If you quit as I’ve weathered 19 years of abuse soon as you’re eligible instead of

54 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 making it to age 62, then you get a much smaller pension. This means that even if you could retire at age 50, you stick around where you really don’t want to be because you have to. I don’t really know how to improve this age-old problem we have, of hierarchical status. I think the problem needs to be tackled by the higher-ups in IRM for it to change, but I don’t see that we have anyone in that position who cares enough to do what needs to be done to make it happen. The ones that make it that high are usually the ones who join the good-old-boy network and aren’t likely to take up our cause as it would only make them unpopular. A good beginning though would be to get us out from under Admin’s rule at post. RSOs were able to do that and we need the same now. We need to be in charge of our own budget, not Admin. It would be a great beginning. I could go on and on telling my SEVEN MINUTES TO STATE DEPARTMENT “war stories” of all the times I’ve been abused by this or that person over the years, but I’m not going to do that. Suffice it to say I’ve had my fill and am going home as soon as I columbia plaza can, God willing. Good luck to those who are left apartments behind. Capital Living Mark W. LaPoint With Comfort and Convenience Information Beautiful, Spacious Efficiencies, 1 and 2 Bedrooms Management Specialist SHORT TERM FURNISHED APARTMENTS AVAILABLE Embassy Bishkek Utilities Included 24 Hour Front Desk Complimentary Voice Mail Garage Parking Available Courtyard Style Plaza Shopping on Site Polished Hardwood Floors Learning As I Go Cardkey Entry/Access Private Balconies River Views When I joined the Foreign Huge Walk-In Closets Minutes to Fine Dining Service as an Information Manage- ment Specialist in March 2001, I Walk to the Kennedy Center and Georgetown Minutes to Foggy Bottom Metro believe I had a better idea of what to expect than most of my peers. I am (202) 293-2000 a Vietnam veteran who spent 24 2400 Virginia Ave., N.W. years in the U.S. Army, including Washington, D.C., 20037 tours in Embassy Canberra’s Managed by Polinger, Shannon & Luchs Co.

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 55 Defense Attaché Office from 1978 file system, trained others on use of to 1981 and with the United Nations radio and computer equipment, Truce Supervision Organization in I continue to hear and worked in the Information Manage- Jerusalem from 1989 to 1991. ment Center with the Local Area (Following retirement from the mil- feel the competition and Network and servers (including Con- itary, I continued to work for the sular Affairs systems), and assisted U.N. on temporary assignments in separation which exist with several major communication Europe, Africa and the Middle East.) upgrades. I researched and wrote a So my military and overseas service throughout the proposal for an auto-attendant and was a good stepping stone for what I voice mail upgrade to the existing might expect in the Foreign Service. Department of State. telephone switch, which required Even so, I learned plenty during close coordination with the RIMC my initial eight months of general and Yet we are all expected staff and a telecommunications com- specialized training at both FSI and pany for the hardware and software the Warrenton Training Center, prior to work as team requirements. I had to coordinate to being posted to Georgetown. with local counterparts from the Because many of the Warrenton members/players. National Frequency Management instructors had served overseas in IM Center to request approval to operate positions, they were able to share When does it end? on newly assigned HF frequencies for their personal and professional expe- the State Emergency Network. My riences to impart a more realistic view dealings with a diverse group of coun- of what a new hire might expect (I terparts, field experts and specialized also want to acknowledge the cama- technicians have underscored the raderie among my classmates, which importance of coordinating and gain- really made the transition into the privilege of serving as Acting IPO on ing the trust of others in order to Foreign Service a memorable experi- several occasions. ensure the availability of a vast array ence. More than two years after join- In addition, I received lots of help of communications to the Chief of ing the Foreign Service, the 57th and guidance on resolving difficult Mission and staff to carry out foreign Class continues to stay in close con- problems from experts at the policy in the host country. tact.) Regional Information Management A highlight of my first tour were Still, my understanding of how an Center in Fort Lauderdale, the two wonderful opportunities to serve Information Program Center oper- Beltsville Information Management in the Western Hemisphere Affairs ates at an overseas post did not fully Center, the Diplomatic Telecom- Volunteer TDY program, which is a come together until well after arrival munications Service Program Office, tool available to WHA to augment at post. The only other Information and the IRM Help Desk. IMS rovers when staffing is short at Management position in George- In the short time I have served in other posts within the region. Those town was the Information Program the Foreign Service as a new hire, I opportunities added immensely to my Officer; and, both IPOs I worked have gained an immense amount of experience and understanding of how with there played a crucial role in on-the-job experience and training to a larger post operates while I was guiding and mentoring me through operate, maintain, and troubleshoot learning to work with other equip- my first tour (I found the same to be numerous communication systems ment not found at my post in true of the IMOs and IPOs I worked and equipment, including (to name Georgetown. with during TDY stints in Caracas but a few): E&E and HF radio sys- One final observation: Having and Santiago). The small IPC tems, emergency networks, the tele- served in the military, I am familiar staffing in Georgetown also provided phone system, TERP, both classified with the emphasis placed on manage- me with plenty of hands-on experi- and unclassified LANs, and the SC-7 ment and leadership training, which ence, not only related to IPC equip- and DST satellite systems and associ- grooms military personnel to take on ment and computer systems, but ated equipment. I’ve served as the increasing levels of supervisory also satellite communications main- Crypto Custodian, worked with both responsibility as they rise up through tenance and operation — areas an classified and unclassified pouches, the ranks. However, during my time IMS would rarely be exposed to at maintained accountability of property in the Foreign Service, I’ve noted larger posts. And, I also had the and equipment, maintained the office through discussions with colleagues

56 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) Specialists have no 1) Publication Title: Foreign Service Journal 2) Publication No. 00157279 3) Filing Date: October 1, 2003 4) Issue Frequency: monthly 5) Number of Issues Published Annually: 11 need to take a 6) Annual subscription price: $40.00 7) Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 8) Complete Mailing Address test to demonstrate of Headquarters of General Business Office of Publisher: 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 9) Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor and Associate Editor: Publisher: American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E Street NW, potential because Washington, D.C. 20037-2990; Editor: Steven Alan Honley, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990; Associate Editor: Susan B. Maitra, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. we’ve already 20037-2990 10) Owner: American Foreign Service Association, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20037-2990 11) Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent of More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or proved we can do Other Securities: none 12) For completion by non-profit organizations authorized to mail at special rates: the purpose, function and non-profit status of this organization and the exempt our jobs. status for Federal income tax purposes: (1) has not changed during preceding 12 months 13) Publication's Name: Foreign Service Journal 14) Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2003 15) Extent and Nature of Circulation: Average Number of Copies of Each Issue During Preceding 12 months: A. Total Number of Copies: 15,000 B. Paid and/or Requested Circulation: (1) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors and Counter Sales: 10 (2) Mail subscription: 12,500 C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 12,510 D. Free Distribution by Mail (Samples, Complimentary and Other Free): 750 E. Free Distribution and supervisors that there are limited Outside the Mail: 180 F. Total Free Distribution: 920 G. Total Distribution: 13,430 H. Copies leadership and management training Not Distributed: (1) Office Use, Leftovers, Spoiled: 1570 (2) Returns from News Agents: 0 courses available to Information I. Total: 15,000 J. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 89% Actual Number of Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date A. Total number of copies: 15,000 B. Paid Management Specialists as they deal and/or Requested Circulation: (1) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors and with ever-evolving technology and Counter Sales: 12 (2) Mail subscription: 12,440 C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: rise through the ranks. As an exam- 12,456 D. Free Distribution by Mail (Samples, Complimentary and Other Free): 740 E. Free ple, IMS new hires are frequently Distribution Outside the Mail: 180 F. Total Free Distribution: 920 G. Total Distribution: 13,370 charged with supervising FSNs who H. Copies Not Distributed: (1) Office Use, Leftovers, Spoiled: 1628 (2) Returns from News Agents: 2 Total: 15,000 Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 89% are assigned to the IPC Section (such I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. (signed) as the mailroom, switchboard, and Mikkela V. Thompson, Business Manager the Computer Center). Although I understand that leadership courses are just now starting to be incorporated into an IM Specialist curriculum at FSI, I believe that curriculum may Look for the 2003 FS Author’s Roundup not afford training on how to effectively counsel employees and write balanced performance reports. Therefore, I believe any academic In Their Own Write training program should include Coming in the November issue of instruction on counseling and writing Foreign Service Journal, offering you evaluation reports — basic skill sets a wide variety of holiday gift picks for and tools needed to effectively man- young and old. age and supervise people and resources. Or check out the selections online Frank Sauer at the AFSA Marketplace: Information Management Go to www.afsa.org, Click on the MARKETPLACE tab, Specialist Click on AFSA and AMAZON BOOKS, Click on FS AUTHORS. Embassy Belize City (as of November 2003 Edition of Authors Roundup available online in early November. 2003) ■

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 57 TINCTURES FOR A GAPING WOUND

A VISIT TO AN INDIAN VILLAGE HAS LASTING LESSONS FOR A SELF-DECLARED “FOREIGN SERVICE BRAT.”

BY SARAH TAYLOR

he early morning was crisp in the way morning, I had to wonder whom I was kidding. After all, my that only Delhi winters can be: a cold, experience in the medical field did not extend much beyond easy fog enveloping the streets as the first aid. By the time we reached our assigned “village,” the city awakens, rousing everyone with orange glow of the sun was just peeking over the horizon, the smell of damp pollution and dust. slowly warming the still-empty unpaved roads. I was hunkered down in the seat of the A few of us set up shop in an empty schoolhouse. The bus, keeping my head turned just concrete building trapped the chilly air; the kids who were enough to avoid inhaling the mildew on the curtains, sulking already waiting in line danced and hopped back and forth to Tto myself but trying to smile and stave off fatigue. I glanced keep their bare toes warm. A kid with a distinctively around in search of familiar faces and found only those of disheveled mop of hair, whose eyes only came to about two the family friends that were dragging me along on this inches above the table, looked briefly at me. But when I excursion. The World Health Organization had asked for returned his gaze, curious to find out what would happen volunteers to aid in their drive to eradicate polio; my brief next, he looked away. demonstration of curiosity had landed me a free seat on the The other volunteers and I struggled for almost 20 min- bus. utes before innovation granted us a way to crack open the We had only been posted in New Delhi for a few months, seals on the polio vaccines. Family after family trekked but I had lived on the other side of the Line of Control in toward the schoolhouse, children under the age of 5 in tow. Islamabad, for years. The language had a ring of familiarity, Bigger siblings carried younger ones because their parents the local dress could have been taken from either country, were working; most of the time the older siblings were still and the food had the comfortable taste of familiar spices. young enough to need the vaccine. Nothing could faze me, I was sure. Now that I had survived I did a double take at a girl with drooping pigtails who the usual struggle of transition between international approached our table, her eyes cast toward to the ground — schools (nothing new), I was the tried-and-true poster child for she had already received a shot just moments before. for “Foreign Service brats” everywhere. She was not the only one to circle back, either: village myths Or so I thought. But as we rambled down potholed roads held that if one dose was enough to prevent polio, two doses toward the outskirts of Delhi on the rickety old bus that could surely make a child healthy. We quickly learned to watch for the purple stains on the fingernails that unmistak- Sarah Taylor is the daughter of Betsy and Dr. Brooks ably say: you’ve seen this child before. Taylor, the regional medical officer in New Delhi. In addi- Our translator, finishing his chai after a quick break, non- tion to winning a 2003 AFSA Merit Award, she was hon- chalantly suggested we take a walk through the village. I ored by AFSA for submitting this essay, which was judged asked him why, and he looked back at me and said matter- the best in this year’s competition. A graduate of the of-factly, “We must treat the children whose parents don’t American Embassy School in New Delhi, she is now a believe in vaccinating them.” Step by step, I did my own freshman at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. kind of haphazard dance through the streets to dodge piles

58 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 of garbage and tributaries of sewage. deposited one, two, three drops of We knocked on tin doors and As we rambled down the vaccine. She recoiled in crouched on the stoops of many of protest but no audible cries came the makeshift dwellings, looking for potholed roads toward the from her tiny body. A wave of sad- children without purple fingernails. ness hit me but remained unspo- One mother met us halfway down outskirts of New Delhi on the ken; we all suspected that this the street, gesturing approvingly for baby would be dead in a few days. us to enter her house. “Doctor, doc- rickety old bus that morning, When I returned home that tor, come,” she kept saying. She led evening, my own insulin and dia- us into a small room with a dirt floor I had to wonder whom betes supplies practically gleamed where we met her son. She pointed with modernity and cleanliness. at him and said “doctor,” then nod- I was kidding. Such fancy, imported medical ded. Her son was already suffering supplies seemed garish when con- from polio. My eyes glued them- trasted with the lack of even the selves to the floor and blood rushed to my face in indigna- most basic health care in the rural village. tion and embarrassment as the translator stood and It has been two years since I waved goodbye to those kids explained that there was nothing we could do for him. I had so little time to get to know, but there is something Ten steps down the side street and we arrived at the next about children’s faces that stick in one’s mind. I am now lean-to. No parents were around, but the grandmother and involved in peace activism and humanitarian work (from a a 5-year-old that had already come to our station at the distance) with the citizens of Iraq, but the children of that school crouched in the doorway. The only other child in the Indian village are reflected in — almost superimposed on — house had not been able to make it to the center of the vil- those Iraqi faces. lage: the smallest baby I had ever seen lay on a stiff straw As the world discusses terrorism and violence on a glob- mat in the corner. Seventeen days old, she weighed maybe al scale, I wonder who is trying to stop the slower, silent five pounds; the tiny girl had not even been named yet. The killers of all those children who live in poverty around the other volunteers and I cringed as we opened her lips and world. ■

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 59 A GRACE NOTE: POLITICAL AND CULTURAL CHANGE IN BHUTAN

A TINY HIMALAYAN KINGDOM MOVES TOWARD DEMOCRACY WITH CAUTIOUS DETERMINATION, STRIVING TO BALANCE MODERNIZATION WITH TRADITION.

BY LINDA BEEMAN

n Nov. 11, 2002 — his 47th birthday — Druk Air flight in Bangkok that halted in Dhaka to deport the Druk Gyalpo, Bhutan’s King Jigme some 20 Bangladeshis. After the takeoff, I fell into conver- Singye Wangchuck, announced his sation with a young Bhutanese woman traveling with her determination to abdicate many of his family. Her husband browsed an English-language news- powers as monarch in favor of a consti- paper and called her attention to an article about President tutional monarchy and political Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. democracy for his Himalayan nation. “Another one,” he said. The king first spoke of his plan a year earlier at the formation I cringed. Plucking up courage, I told her I knew Oof a constitution-drafting committee, the latest in a long Bhutanese were devout Buddhists and wondered if they series of steps toward modernization initiated by his father. would be offended by reports of my president’s philandering. As we can count the number of other nations that are open- “Oh, no,” she reassured me. “We’re very promiscuous ing, decentralizing power, and pressing to provide universal people!” access to education and medical care on the fingers of one Our ongoing conversation revealed her husband was the hand, His Majesty’s action struck me as a grace note in a governor of an eastern district — Pemagatsel — with so few global political landscape more often characterized by dark, roads that he traveled to village meetings on foot or horse- mean ignorance. back. We talked about his discussions with local leaders. I I hold Bhutan in high regard. It’s a country that is diffi- don’t recall asking, but she volunteered that Bhutan “was not cult to visit unless you sign up with a tour group and pay hefty ready for democracy.” Insufficient numbers were literate, fees, or are a citizen of either India or Bangladesh. As the last could distinguish wisdom from blather, or exercise their fran- standing Buddhist monarchy in the Himalayas, it attracts pil- chise intelligently, she said. I wondered if similar qualifica- grims focused on religion, trekking, and environmental tions would render the U.S. ‘not ready for democracy’ as preservation. Foreign tourists were first permitted entry to well. Bhutan in 1974. Nearly a quarter-century later my visit took place only after heroic exertions by the man who hosted me A Delicate Balance in the hope that older Bhutanese textiles would find a mar- My host, Tshering Dorji, sent his son Karma to collect me ket in the West. They didn’t, but our meeting led to a lasting at Bhutan’s only airport in Paro that winter afternoon. We relationship with his family. passed our two-hour drive over narrow mountain roads to That January 1998 sojourn was enlightening. I boarded a the capital, Thimphu, getting to know each other. Karma had recently married an American woman who worked for Linda Beeman, a former FS spouse, currently writes from the United Nations Development Programme as a physical her home on Puget Sound’s Whidbey Island. She traveled therapist. Though they’d known each other for several years, twice to Bhutan as the guest of a Bhutanese family and was Karma felt frustrated by cross-cultural communication. “We privileged to be in the country during the 25th-anniver- use the same words,” he said, “but we don’t mean the same sary celebrations of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck’s thing.” enthronement. These visits allowed her to see the country, ‘Using the same words’ is literally true: English, Hindi, as she says, “from inside out, as well as from outside in.”

60 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 Nepali, and the national language Dzongkha have all been taught in Bhutanese schools since the 1960s. It’s part of the government’s ongoing balancing act, adroit in a nation of 700,000 people wedged between India, China and adjacent to another landlocked kingdom, Nepal. The intent is to preserve Bhutanese cultural and religious traditions while connecting cautiously with the wider world. The government hopes to select those aspects of modernization that seem useful, rejecting others that might overwhelm the country’s values. Television fell into the latter category until 1999, though the government’s ban on satellite dishes had been previously undermined by VCR imports. Jeans and T-shirts similarly encroached on the government’s decree that the traditional men’s gho (a kimono-like robe) and women’s A hillside village in Bhutan. kira (a floor-length wrap dress) be worn in government and religious buildings. cient telecommunications system that reaches into all 20 dis- Coinciding with celebrations of the 25th anniversary of tricts. Though most of the population is still involved in sub- the king’s enthronement in June 1999, Bhutan inaugurated sistence agriculture, and average annual per capita income is television service for three hours each evening and initiated officially $700, progress has been made in expanding the pro- Internet access. It was a big step. The Communications ductive base and in social welfare. Twenty-two percent of Ministry hosted the Internet launch, and the first queen — Bhutan’s annual budget is devoted to health and education, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, magnificently dressed in a and literacy and longevity have increased significantly. pink and turquoise silk kira — gave the keynote address. Bhutan has enormous hydropower potential, which it has Monks chanted prayers to open the event; attendees begun to tap with India’s help. A member of the United received five ngultrum notes (about 15 U.S. cents) and a set Nations since 1971, Bhutan cooperates with UNICEF and of commemorative stamps. Attendants served tea and saf- the UNDP in its development efforts. fron rice. In the Bumthang Valley one cold evening, I lingered after A young lady from the ministry carefully explained dinner near a bukari wood stove as long as possible. Tshering DrukNet — Bhutan’s new Web site — then the queen (one told me about his travels to the United States to study differ- of four sisters married to the king) was called upon to send ent legal systems. He found Navajo law particularly perti- the first e-mail message to Bhutanese students around the nent to Bhutan, perhaps because it relies more on consensus world. As she pushed the send button, everyone turned than coercion. “Until recently,” he offered as an aside, “rape expectantly to the enlarged screen that showed the result. was not considered a crime here.” Perhaps he wanted to An error message flashed momentarily. “Ah,” sighed many shock me. It was one of those moments when you use the in the audience. “A reprieve.” same words, but are not at all sure you understand each other. “Doesn’t that imply the person being raped has no Four Decades of Change rights?” I asked. It’s fantastic to contemplate how Bhutan has changed in Women in Bhutan are strong, hardy products of a matrilo- the last 40 years. In the 1950s there were no roads, no cur- cal culture. It’s said the thingka brooches they use to fasten rency, no electricity or plumbing, and no telephones. their kira at the shoulders doubled as weapons in earlier days Schools were housed in monasteries, and the brightest stu- to stab attackers. They are legally able to have more than one dents walked hundreds of miles for higher education in what husband, as men are able to have more than one wife, is now India. Slavery was not abolished until 1958, and it was although few people practice polygamy today. Bhutanese not until the mid-1960s that Bhutan began developing its women are not subservient, unseen members of society. infrastructure. Founding-father tales of Buddhist saints They are powerful; they run businesses; they are mayors of establishing dzongs (monastic fortresses) and codifying law large towns, and members of the national legislative body. blur — as history recedes — with legends of a Lord Buddha The country’s National Assembly was formed after the reincarnation arriving on a flying tiger to subdue local current king’s father ascended the throne in 1951. The demons. majority of its members are representatives of the people Today the country has a growing power grid and an effi- elected by publicly declared consensus for three-year terms,

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 61 with the balance being appointed by and art are some of the fields perme- of 8th-century saint Guru Rinpoche, the king from among his ministers and ated with its teachings. While these until the road halted at the mountain representatives of the monastic com- disciplines are changing rapidly, the to which Tango Monastery clings by munity. Essentially, its mission has monastic community clings more sheer faith. Karma said the monks been to advise the monarch on issues tenaciously to tradition. here recently discovered a young boy of national concern. At 5 a.m. wood smoke begins to in eastern Bhutan who was the rein- The king has worked prudently but rise from cooking fires in Thimphu’s carnation of this monastery’s founder. steadily toward democratization. In houses. A morning constitutional to He’d just arrived, which might have 1981 he decentralized development the chorten (Buddhist shrine), com- accounted for the dozen or so people planning to the district level and 10 missioned by the mother of the third we encountered on our two-hour years later to the village level. In 1998 king in memory of her son, is a popu- zigzag up this alarming incline. It was he disbanded an entrenched Cabinet, lar way to start the day. Older people arduous work but, as Karma reminded introduced elected terms for his new especially are here, circumambulating me, a pilgrimage must be difficult to Ministers, and transferred executive the gilt-domed structure, spinning be meaningful. power to them. He gave the National prayer wheels, prostrating themselves. At last we reached the base of the Assembly the authority to remove the Worshippers fairly power-walk their monastery and paused to circle the monarch with a two-thirds vote. Last way around it, as though speed were a chorten and take in the view before year, the secret ballot franchise was factor in their devotions. Even at this unpacking our picnic lunch. Its pota- extended to all Bhutanese citizens and, early hour, Thimphu residents are out to chips, egg salad sandwiches, and in October, over 200 village headmen jogging, and military cadets practice apple juice seemed the most delicious representing hamlets across the coun- their kickboxing. Bird sounds — spar- food I’d ever eaten. We offered — try were elected by secret ballot. For row tweets, pigeon coos, and raven with hands extended, heads lowered the first time, a public interest suit was caws — greet the day. Spent from a — potato chips to passing monks. filed before the High Court. hard night’s howling, the town’s stray They accepted them with dignified By the end of 2002, a constitution dogs arrange themselves for the day’s bows. Entering the monastery, Karma had been drafted for consideration in sleep. Civic leaders’ efforts to control and Mila presented incense and the National Assembly and by grass- Thimphu’s exploding dog population prayed. A monk poured holy water roots bodies. have, so far, been defeated by resis- into our hands. We drank it, then tance from the monastic community touched our heads with our wet The Buddhist Tradition that opposes taking any life. hands. Purified, we were ready for Buddhism underlies every aspect Karma and his 2-year-old son Mila our journey down. of Bhutanese culture. Law, medicine, accompanied me on a hike to a local communications, education, history, monastery. We drove north from Challenges Ahead Thimphu along the river valley, past a Bhutan has a difficult pilgrimage rock face painted with a 50-foot image ahead of it as well. Her leaders observed what unregulated development under autocratic governments achieved in neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh. They saw Ladakh and Sikkim absorbed into India, Tibet merged with China. India and China are the elephant and dragon at the gates. So far, a happy conjunction of severe geography and fierce spirit has maintained Bhutanese independence, but that may change as infrastructure and communication improve and tensions between the two Asian giants wax and wane. Commemorative stamp marking Nepali immigrants present anoth- the 25th anniversary of the king’s An architectural detail of the Tango er, perhaps more pressing challenge. enthronement. Monastery outside Thimphu. Since the early 1900s, they have

62 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 The king’s oft-quoted goal of increasing “gross national happiness” as more meaningful for his people than growing GNP is not just a cute slogan.

Pet-friendly entered illegally over the porous southern border in search of jobs, fer- tile land, education, and health care. The third king granted a blanket amnesty to all illegal immigrants in 1958, making them citizens. But they continued to come, and their Hindu culture could easily swamp traditional Bhutanese mores within a few generations — as it did in neighboring Sikkim. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck will need to impart even more power and not a little wisdom to his subjects in coming years if his bold effort to balance modernization and progress with tradition and continuity is to succeed. Bhutanese ideas about progress, of course, differ from our own. The king’s oft-quoted goal of increasing “gross national happiness” as more meaningful for his people than growing gross national product is not just a cute slogan, and Bhutan deserves more than our bemusement. In its struggles to find equilibrium between issues of national identity and pres- sures to conform, it provides an example for other developing nations facing similar challenges. I’m going to savor watching, and only wish I could be around to hear how 21st-century scholars record the king’s efforts. ■

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 63 BOOKS

Understanding Islam Islam and the other major world reli- Ahmed urges the gions. But Ahmed remains concerned that if we are to prevent the Islam Under Siege: West “to respond to world “from lurching toward one cri- Living Dangerously in a sis after another, one flashpoint to Post-Honour World the Muslim world another” — the terror attacks of 9/11 (Themes for the 21st Century) firstly by listening to and the recent Iraq war come to Polity Press, 2003, paperback, mind, both with their religious over- $19.95, 176 pages. what Muslims are tones — “then we all need to radical- saying and secondly ly rethink the relationship between REVIEWED BY KARL F. I NDERFURTH by trying to our religion and other religions; a radical reassessment of each other.” In his latest and perhaps most understand Islam.” In his final chapter, “Toward a important work, Islam Under Siege: Global Paradigm,” Ahmed points us Living Dangerously in a Post- in the direction of what “people of Honour World (Themes for the 21st good will and good faith” (of which Century), Akbar S. Ahmed observes: the author is eminently one) can do “For the first time in history, Islam is to increase the prospects for a “har- in confrontation with all of the major monious relationship between Islam world religions: Judaism in the and the West and other world civi- Middle East; Christianity in the Christianity. Hindus were ordered lizations.” The steps he urges for the Balkans, Chechnya, Nigeria, Sudan, to wear yellow identification badges Muslim world are fundamental and and sporadically in the Philippines to distinguish them from Muslims transformational. Of central impor- and Indonesia; Hinduism in South (under intense international criti- tance, Ahmed says, is the internal Asia; and, after the Taliban blew up cism, the Taliban later backed down challenge of rebuilding “an idea of the statues in Bamiyan, Buddhism.” on this). And, as part of its campaign Islam which includes justice, integri- Unfortunately, this statement to destroy all “un-Islamic idols,” the ty, tolerance and the quest for rings true with me. While serving as Taliban blew up centuries-old and knowledge.” Equally important is U.S. assistant secretary of State for revered giant Buddha statues in what the West must do — to take the South Asian affairs from 1997 to Bamiyan. initiative “to respond to the Muslim 2001, I had direct responsibility for Was there a way to persuade the world firstly by listening to what Afghanistan and came to know the Taliban to pursue a path of greater Muslims are saying and secondly by Taliban all too well. tolerance, to show respect for the trying to understand Islam.” During its five-year reign in diversity of Islam and the Quran? “Understanding Islam” has been Afghanistan, the Taliban, whose That was unlikely, given, as Ahmed and continues to be a central focus name comes from talib, or “religious points out in his insightful look at the of the life’s work of Akbar Ahmed. student,” declared war on other reli- ethnic and religious roots of the As a scholar and former diplomat, he gions. Shiite Muslims, who number Taliban, “their zeal for Islam and the writes with authority, clarity, insight several million in Afghanistan, were burning desire to impose their vision and compassion. And his message to considered little better than infidels on all of society.” his many audiences is the same: by the Sunni Muslim Taliban, who Today, of course, the Taliban are “Whether one adheres to the notion carried out periodic massacres of no longer in control of Afghanistan of the clash of civilizations, or Shiites. Foreign aid workers were and therefore no longer a major con- whether one chooses dialogue, arrested on charges of spreading tributor to the confrontation between understanding Islam is the key.” He,

64 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 B OOKS

by the way, is firmly in the “dia- ing to his staff, “and that is Potus” logue” camp — as is this reviewer. (the president of the United States). State’s defenders need to The second part of the book Ambassador Karl F. Inderfurth was depicts how U.S. military operations assistant secretary of State for South take the message of this have expanded in the post-9/11 era. Asian affairs from 1997-2001 and the Two statistics make the case con- U.S. representative for special politi- book very seriously and vincingly: each regional CinC has a cal affairs to the United Nations from budget of $380 million a year, and 1993-1997. He is currently a profes- make the case that has a long-distance aircraft and a sor at The Elliott School of fleet of helicopters at his disposal. International Affairs at The George diplomacy is a In contrast, the Secretary of State is Washington University. the only U.S. diplomat with a dedi- job for diplomats, cated aircraft and a security entourage. Turf Battles not soldiers. Priest effectively uses a series of case studies that take us from Nigeria to Bolivia to Central Asia. The Mission: Waging War and But as we make the journey, there is Keeping Peace with America’s defenders of “traditional” diplomacy a disturbing sameness throughout Military she interviews seem to have ruefully all areas of operation: everywhere, Dana Priest, W.W. Norton, 2003, accepted second-class status: Priest State is invisible. hardcover, $26.95, 430 pages. quotes Amb. Joseph Presel, State’s The diplomatic meetings held by man in Tashkent, as quipping, “I the military are described as REVIEWED BY DAVID CASAVIS wish I could get someone from the “uncomfortable and forced” — but State Department to pay this much the soldiers are shown as gamely The Department of State has attention.” trying to learn the language of diplo- long viewed the Department of The book begins with an macy and politics. “This is what we Defense as a bureaucratic rival that overview of the various regional do. We spend most of our time has steadily encroached upon its commanders-in-chief (CinCs) and a accomplishing foreign policy objec- turf overseas. As the second part of description of the extensive Ameri- tives,” Maj. Mike Bownas is quoted this book’s title, The Mission: can buildup in each one’s domain. as saying as he sat at the hot, sticky Waging War and Keeping Peace For example, Gen. Anthony Zinni, U.S. logistics base outside the with America’s Military, suggests, the CinC of the Central Command’s Nigerian capital, Abuja. “We really the Pentagon has made its gains by 25 countries, pithily describes him- are the CinC’s foreign policy tool.” portraying itself as reluctantly taking self and his fellow commanders as That may sound like boasting. on new tasks assigned to it by policy- “proconsuls to the empire.” But consider the conflict between makers. Of course, such a perspec- Priest’s vivid portrait of Secretary Ambassador Robert Gelbard in tive overlooks the inconvenient fact of Defense Donald Rumsfeld cen- Jakarta and Admiral Dennis Blair, that there already is a government ters on his well-known fascination CinC of the U.S. Pacific Command. department charged with oversee- with high-tech warfare and bias In Priest’s account, despite ing America’s foreign policy. toward special operations, as well as Gelbard’s best efforts, Blair handily Washington Post reporter Dana his tendency to berate his comman- outmaneuvers him both in Asia and Priest attempts to be neutral in ders. But what is surprising is how on Capitol Hill, actually changing describing this trend, which she pegs closely his views mesh with Foggy U.S. policy toward Indonesia. as beginning with the end of the Bottom’s on a number of “turf” In short, State’s defenders need Cold War but accelerating markedly issues. At one point, he displays to take the message of this book very during the Clinton administration. fury at how his department has seriously and make the case that However, it becomes clear early in drifted into its new role. “There is skillful diplomacy is a job for profes- her account that she is decribing a only one CinC under the Consti- sional practitioners, not the military. fait accomplis. Even the few tution and law,” he is quoted as say- Otherwise, the Foreign Service risks

OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 65 B OOKS

losing even the shrinking con- Singapore, Macedonia, Cyprus, stituency it still enjoys. Luxembourg, and Ecuador. Those This book epitomizes the profiles demonstrate that female David Casavis works for the U.S. ambassadors are as diverse in their Department of Commerce in New York “new diplomacy” of the personalities, backgrounds, marital City. He was recently detailed to the status, and parenting responsibilities Department of Homeland Security. Internet Age, centered on (or lack thereof) as their male counterparts. And tying up neatly the three human contacts and use main characteristics of the “new diplo- Ambassadorial macy,” one ambassador tells Scott that of the media, and open female diplomats actually have an Portraits advantage now, as they tend to be as never before to female more flexible, comfortable with the Diplomatic Dance: The New media, and people-oriented. Embassy Life in America practitioners. Obviously many of Scott’s inter- Gail Scott, Fulcrum Publishing, view subjects have come and gone 1999, $27.95, hardcover, 272 pages. since 1999, and there are certain pre- dictions which are already badly out of REVIEWED BY TATIANA C. GFOELLER tity. Or the Egyptian ambassador’s date. Knowing how far Uzbekistan reminiscences of participating in the and many other former Soviet Why, you may be wondering, is the negotiations that produced the Camp republics have fallen since the heady Journal reviewing a book published in David peace accords 20 years before, days of independence, one winces at 1999? And why does the Four and his warning — even more pre- the rosy picture the Uzbek ambas- Seasons Hotel still feature it promi- scient than he could have known four sador paints of his nascent country, nently in its gift shop? years ago — that by supporting which he cockily predicts will be bet- I would offer three main reasons. Islamic fundamentalists against the ter than Russia in all aspects, including First and foremost, because Diplo- Soviets in Afghanistan, the U.S. had freedom of religion and respect for matic Dance: The New Embassy Life “let the genie out of the bottle.” human rights. in America is that rare book which is Second, the book epitomizes the Finally, while many other books both entertaining and wise, full of pithy “new diplomacy” of the Internet Age, have been written about diplomacy anecdotes. Its author, Gail Scott, is an centered on human contacts and use since this one appeared, none has accomplished journalist and lecturer of the media, and open as never been able to replace this one as an who writes often on diplomatic topics. before to female practitioners. Many extremely useful reference, full of For example, Scott passes on a par- of these diplomats have used their embassy addresses, phone numbers, ticularly astute observation from the personalities to become memorable Web sites, national days, currency Egyptian ambassador that remains and therefore influential in promoting names, etc. My only suggestion for true today: “CNN is the enemy of the causes. For example, did you know when Diplomatic Dance is reprinted new ambassador.” As the British that the British ambassador's wife's and updated, as I am sure it will be, is ambassador observes, “in Washington children by a previous marriage had to add the date of independence for you are not a diplomat but a lobbyist” been kidnapped by their German each cited country. — a dictum exemplified by the father and that she is a tireless cam- Swedish ambassador, who provides a paigner for family reunification? A member of the Journal Editorial superb tutorial on “how to get things Similarly, the Brazilian ambassador Board, Tatiana C. Gfoeller is the direc- done in D.C.” that even non-diplo- was disabled by a stroke and is a poster tor of the Office of Multilateral Affairs mats will find useful. child for the ability of disabled persons in the Bureau of Democracy, Human You will not want to miss the fasci- to be extremely effective diplomats. Rights, and Labor. Among other pub- nating conversation with the Russian I was particularly fascinated by the lications, she is the author of United by ambassador (previously the Soviet portraits Scott draws of Washington's the Caspian: Pursuing U.S. National ambassador) on what it was like for the handful of female ambassadors, repre- Interests in Central Asia and the country he represents to change iden- senting such varied countries as Caucasus. ■

66 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 REAL ESTATE

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OCTOBER 2003/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 71 REFLECTIONS Pigs On Parade

BY PAUL S. DEVER

In Balayan, Batangas, in the asked to accept the first piece. As Philippines, for the last 20 years we ate the bounty, our conversation roasted pigs have been dressed up in There were pigs touched on a group of recently costumes for the “Pigs on Parade,” in swimsuits. arrived Bajao, one of the minorities Parada Ng Lechon to celebrate the uprooted from Basilan. I could see Feast of St. John. Everyone told me the joy on Father Mandanes’ face as to bring a change of clothes, as I he told how the church had been would get wet. I was wondering how able to help them. We were con- they could predict rain. vinced to buy some jewelry. We went to the parade grounds. squirt gun resembled a pistol. Then, Afterwards, Father Mandanes There was a huge crowd and I got a by the time I was a Peace Corps offered us a tour of the town. First, great spot where the floats and admin officer, kids graduated to he introduced us to two young crowds were gathering. I began Super Soakers. But now they had priests. As we left, they tossed a few filming the parade, which got off to a sharks, machine guns, space guns and buckets of water on us. (Priests can rocky start. One of the pigs decided the like. And I thought the old Ruger have fun, too.) We hid behind Father not to cooperate — its hindquarter water pistol was cool! Everyone Mandanes, but to no avail. On this broke off. They tried to tie it back began shooting each other, mostly day, everyone was fair game. As we on, but then they gave it to an old aiming at the people on the floats. walked down the main street, some lady. She ran to her friends and they The participants on the floats were people came to Father Mandanes for all feasted. The first float I saw was ready with guns or basins and pots of “mano po” (a sign of respect for your for Mama Sita’s Reloaded. The pigs their own. People reveled in getting elders by bowing and placing their were dressed in black. Okay, I was each other wet. The floats continued right hand to your forehead). Then slow ... it was for the movie, “The to pass — the technical schools had a one of his parishioners invited us in Matrix.” A local motorcycle dealer pig operating a computer, and a for a bite to eat — a big bite: turbo- had a pig riding a chopper, while swimming pool company had pigs in chicken, fish, puto, kuchinta, etc. Mighty Meaty had their hot dogs swimsuits on a diving board. One of This also allowed us to seek refuge being advertised with a red lechon. the best floats was from a hospital in from the water. I noticed some of the lechon were which there was a pig patient and a Back on the street, people were covered in plastic. I was soon to see pig surgeon. The whole parade last- still dousing each other. I was why. ed about an hour and everyone got drenched. My shoes were making There were squirt guns all around. drenched. squelching noises. I wondered about When I was a kid, the old-fashioned Then we went to the church the water. Where did the tradition grounds, where I met Father Totit start? I asked around and then did a Manila is Paul S. Dever’s first State Mandanes. He was in his fifties and Homer Simpson “Doh.” Water ... Department assignment. He was dressed in shorts, flip-flops and a Feast of St. John ... St. John the with the Peace Corps in Burundi, tee-shirt. He invited us to the refec- Baptist. Father Mandanes explained Rwanda, Malawi and Mali from tory. A feast awaited us. There were that people were blessing each 1993 to 2000. The stamp is courtesy various kinds of glutinous and gelati- other. Now it all made sense. I was of the AAFSW Bookfair “Stamp nous concoctions, eggs, sausages, still soaked, so I was much blessed on Corner.” salted bread, and ... lechon. I was this day. ■

72 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2003 AFSAAmerican Foreign ServiceNEWS Association • October 2003

AFSA’S NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST AFSA and FSYF Ceremony In Brief: Honors Outstanding Youth NEWS BRIEFS ...... 2 A NEW AGENDA...... 5 BY SHAWN DORMAN FAMILY TIES...... 6 ecretary of State Colin Powell MEDICAL BENEFITS...... 7 gave a warm introduction at the Q&A: PERSONNEL ...... 9 SAug. 15 youth awards ceremony in the Department of State Treaty Room. Acting AFSA President Louise AFSA Commemorates Crane presented awards to the top three winners of the AFSA National High Fifth Anniversary of School Essay Contest. The essay con- East Africa Embassy test drew 550 submissions this year, and serves to stimulate interest among high Marc Goldberg Bombings school students nationwide in the Secretary of State Colin Powell with AFSA Essay n Aug. 7, AFSA put a wreath at the Foreign Service and the conduct of U.S. Contest winners (from left) John Kalz, Margaret State Department’s commemora- Jackson and Andrew Hoover. diplomacy. Otive plaque honoring colleagues The Treaty Room ceremony, in addition for Community Service. The ceremony was and family members who died in the ter- to honoring AFSA award winners, also hon- sponsored by AFSA; FSYF; Associates of the rorist bombings of the U.S. embassies in ored winners of the Kid Vid Awards and the American Foreign Service Worldwide; the Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Foreign Service Youth Foundation Awards Continued on page 8 Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998. AFSA also placed another wreath at the AFSA AFSA SCHOLARSHIPS AFSA Awards Thousands of Dollars in Financial Aid

FSA awarded need-based under- attend a U.S. accredited school full-time, graduate Financial Aid Scholarships maintain a 2.0 grade point average and fin- Afor the 2003/2004 school year to 63 ish their degree in four years. Applications Foreign Service college students with aid for the 2004/2005 school year will be avail- totaling $127,250. These students are in able on Nov. 1 at www.afsa.org and are due addition to the 27 winners of the 2003 on Feb. 6, 2004. Academic and Art Merit Scholarships (July- AFSA adds new perpetual scholarships August AFSA News). each year created on behalf of individuals Awards range from $1,000 to $3,500. who leave bequests in their wills, want to

Tax-dependent children of Foreign Service honor a loved one, or who want to give to Ed Miltenberger children are eligible to apply. Students must AFSA while living. Establishing a perpet- In memory of the 1998 embassy bombings. Continued on page 8 Continued on page 7 AFSANEWSBRIEFS

Loss of an Outstanding U.N. Diplomat From AFSA USAID VP Bill Carter: “My words are not up to the task. He was one of us. I suspect some of you, like me, might have felt a special sense of loss at the death of U.N. Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. He was an energetic diplomat — the U.N.’s “go-to” guy for all of the most difficult assignments. His tragic passing is another reminder of the perils along this professional path we have chosen. We mourn his loss and those of all the others in the Aug. 19 Baghdad bombing.”

Have You Moved? Don’t forget to let AFSA know that you have transferred to a new post. Please send your new contact information, including e-mail, to [email protected] or go to www.afsa.org/comment.cfm to update your address directly.

USAA for non-State FSOs Inside a USAA, the popular insurance agency used by many U.S. Embassy at Foreign Service employees, has begun denying new mem- Barnes and Noble bership applications from non-State Foreign Service officers. AFSA’s book, Inside a U.S. According to AFSA USAID VP Bill Carter, these exclusions Embassy, is now available “have a lot of people steamed, including some in manage- through your local Barnes ment within USAID.” USAA reportedly changed the policy and Noble store. It is also based on a decision that an “agency must function under a available at Politics and Prose published, institutionalized mission statement that explicitly in Northwest Washington, refers to national security or national defense, both at home and is on display and on sale and abroad.” AFSA strongly opposes the exclusion of these at the George Washington FSOs and will push for a reversal of the policy. AFSA USAID, University Bookstore. AFSA AFSA FCS and AFSA FAS are drafting a rebuttal letter to members teaching a class on diplomacy or giving a talk USAA to be sent from AFSA headquarters. Any members are encouraged to request copies of the book postcard who have suggestions for other ways we can work to and to consider using the book as a class resource: just reverse this policy are urged to submit their ideas to AFSA. e-mail [email protected].

AFSA HEADQUARTERS: Staff: Governing Board: (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 Executive Director Susan Reardon: [email protected] STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: Business Department PRESIDENT: John W. Limbert Controller Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] STATE VICE PRESIDENT: Louise K. Crane (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 Accounting Assistant Steven Tipton: [email protected] USAID AFSA OFFICE: USAID VICE PRESIDENT: Bill Carter Labor Management FCS VICE PRESIDENT: Charles A. Ford (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 General Counsel Sharon Papp: [email protected] Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] FAS VICE PRESIDENT: Vacant AFSA Internet and E-mail addresses: Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: [email protected] RETIREE VICE PRESIDENT: George F. Jones AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org USAID Senior Labor Management Advisor Douglas Broome: [email protected] SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris USAID Office Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: [email protected] AFSA E-MAIL: [email protected] Grievance Attorneys Harry Sizer: [email protected], and Charles Henderson: TREASURER: Danny Hall AFSA NEWS: [email protected] [email protected] STATE REPRESENTATIVES: Pamela Bates, FSJ: [email protected] Office Manager Christine Warren: [email protected] Cynthia G. Efird, Scot L. Folensbee, PRESIDENT: [email protected] Member Services Raymond D. Maxwell, John C. Sullivan, STATE VP: [email protected] Director Janet Hedrick: [email protected] Jim Wagner RETIREE VP: [email protected] Representative Lindsay Peyton: [email protected] USAID VP:[email protected] Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez: [email protected] USAID REPRESENTATIVE: Thomas Olson FCS VP: [email protected] FCS REPRESENTATIVE: William Crawford Outreach Programs Retiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: [email protected] RETIREE REPRESENTATIVES: Gilbert Sheinbaum, AFSA News Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: [email protected] David E. Reuther, Theodore S. Wilkinson, III, Editor Shawn Dorman: [email protected] Congressional Affairs Director Ken Nakamura: [email protected] Stanley A. Zuckerman Corporate Relations/Executive Assistant Austin Tracey: [email protected] How to Contact Us: to Contact How (202) 338-4045 x 503; Fax: (202) 338-8244 Scholarship Director Lori Dec: [email protected] IBB REPRESENTATIVE: Alex Belida On the Web: www.afsa.org/news Professional Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: [email protected] FAS REPRESENTATIVE: Vacant

2 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2003 AFSANEWSBRIEFS

Editor-in-Chief Francesca Kelly. Another popular part WEB NEWS ... of the site is the Message Boards. “We have always thought that ‘community’ was important to the Foreign Official Post Reports on the Web Service, and the Message Boards are a terrific resource Until recently, the official State Department for those who need information about our communi- Post Reports were only available through the ty,” said Kelly. Overseas Briefing Center and on the IntraNet Tales from a Small Planet, Inc., was recently award- system. As of mid-August, they were posted ed a significant grant from the Una Chapman Cox to the State Department’s Internet Web site. Foundation. A $5,000 portion of the grant is contin- You can find them at: http://www.foia.state.gov/MMS/postrpt/ gent on Tales’ raising the same amount by June 2004. Donations pr_view_start.asp. are critical to the long-term success of the site, and can be made on-line (click on the word “donate” in the home page banner for Unofficial Post Reports at Tales from a Small Planet information) or by check to: Tales from a Small Planet, P.O. Box Where can you find up-to-date reports on what it’s really like 6777, Jackson, WY 83002. Since Tales from a Small Planet is a to live at posts such as Baghdad, Bombay and Beijing? Or how about 501(c)(3) organization, donations are deductible to the extent allowed a funny essay about cows and visas, or reviews of the latest books by law. Further information may be obtained from Victoria Hess about overseas living? The answer is Tales from a Small Planet, an at [email protected] or Francesca Kelly at francesca@tales- informative, humorous and sometimes irreverent Web site that is mag.com. Please visit the site at www.talesmag.com and explore gaining popularity among Foreign Service employees and family all it has to offer. members, especially among the incoming classes. The Tales site offers a wide range of information and enter- AnAmericanAbroad.com tainment for Foreign Service personnel and their families. Most Another Web resource worth checking out is popular on the Web site are the Real Post Reports: uncensored, first- AnAmericanAbroad.com, which calls itself “the hub for Americans person accounts of what it is really like to live in more than 200 cities traveling or residing abroad.” It is a good resource for expats for things around the world. “Who hasn’t moved to a new post with only min- such as current news of interest to overseas Americans, stories of imal information about life there?” says Victoria Hess, Chief Executive American experiences abroad, community forums, travel bookings, Officer for Tales. “Real Post Reports fill an information gap. Even country reports, expat shopping information, recommended books, the department’s best efforts to provide information at the Overseas links to world newspapers in English as well as many other links. Briefing Center do not give you a full impression of life in your new One of the goals of the site is to simplify the amount of infor- city, and the official ‘Post Reports’ tend to be out-of-date once they mation available and provide an easy gateway for Americans abroad. are available.” Another goal is to provide Americans inexperienced with life abroad The literature section gives heart to the site. Tales’ goals are “to with feedback and information from Americans overseas. This site find stories, essays and poetry that illuminate what it’s really like to was created in the spring of 2003, and is a work in progress. It is live abroad, and the more honesty and humor, the better,” says edited by Brian Wall, who is also the founder.

1959 Thule Helicopter Crash Victims Remembered U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Stuart Bernstein unveiled a memorial at Embassy Copenhagen on July 14 in honor of two American diplomats from Embassy Copenhagen who died in a helicopter crash near Thule, Greenland on Aug. 26, 1959. Deputy Chief of Mission Livingston Lord “Tony” Satterthwaite and Air Attaché Col. James F. Hogan were part of a joint U.S.-Denmark delegation that visited the Inuit community at Qannaaq. The delegation was flying back to Thule from Qannaaq when the accident occurred. All seven persons on board perished, including a Danish liaison officer, the Thule flight surgeon, the commander of the Army Artillery Group at Thule and the aircrew of the helicopter. Ambassador Bernstein (center) with Dedication of the new memorial plaque at the embassy in Copenhagen follows the addition of (from right): Tony Satterthwaite’s son Tony Satterthwaite to the AFSA Memorial Plaque at the State Department in 2002. George, his widow Kay, his daughter Briefs continued on page 4 Janet and his son Henry.

OCTOBER 2003 • AFSA NEWS 3 AFSANEWSBRIEFS AFSA Welcomes New Staff A warm welcome to two new staff members who joined AFSA in August. Charles BOOKFAIR Henderson is our new grievance attorney, taking Neera Parikh’s position. Charles can The 43rd annual BOOKFAIR of the be reached at (202) 647-8160 or by e-mail: [email protected]. Austin Tracy is Associates of the American Foreign Service our new executive assistant to the president. His e-mail address is [email protected] and Worldwide will open on the afternoon of he can be reached by phone at (202) 944-5506. Friday, Oct. 17, and continue through Sunday, Oct. 26. It will be held in the Proposed Changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act Diplomatic Exhibit Hall of the Truman Building Several specialists have drawn our attention to recent press on the first floor near the cafeteria. Entrance coverage of the administration’s proposed changes to the Fair will be at C Street. Labor Standards Act which, if adopted, will affect the eligibility for FLSA overtime of all workers, whether federal or private sector, in the domestic United States. Support for Foreign Service Youth At the outset, however, it is important to recognize that these The Foreign Service Youth Foundation is in need of your sup- proposed changes will have no effect on overtime paid under port. The FSYF serves a key element of the Foreign Service Title 5 of the U.S. Code, which is what governs payment of all federal overtime overseas, and all overtime for federal workers community — the kids. The group offers workshops to help in the United States who are “exempt” from FLSA. Thus, kids with transitions overseas and re-entry into the U.S.; pro- almost all Foreign Service personnel will be unaffected by any vides leadership, social and educational programs; and promotes of these changes. global responsibility and volunteer service by Foreign Service In addition to the foreign exemption, there are at present youth. For more information, go to www.fsyf.org. To make a three basic grounds for exemption from FLSA: contribution, designate Combined Federal Campaign partici- — Executive Exemption: For example, exercising discretion and independent judgment in work planning, and having pant #8488. Continued on page 5

Board of Contract Appeals Rulings agree. On the contrary, the BCA pointed out, the regulations say that when an AFSA would like to alert readers to two Federal Travel Regulations nor the employee rents a house during a TDY, the recent BCA rulings. In the first case, an Foreign Affairs Manual provides for reim- employee is entitled under the FAM (and employee was on TDY in December in bursement of personal expenses. provisions of the FTR incorporated in the Bangkok for five days, and had only Agencies, the board noted, may only FAM) to a lodging per diem allowance taken tropical lightweight clothing with reimburse employees for actual and nec- whose daily rate would include those her. While in Bangkok, she was ordered essary expenses for travel. maid cleaning expenses as well as the util- to travel to Beijing. On her way, she In the second case, an employee and her ity and phone expenses (if normally spent $477.22 in Hong Kong to buy tandem spouse had both been on long- included in the price of a hotel room in winter clothes to cope with the freezing term training in the Washington area. Her the Washington, D.C. area) she incurred as temperatures of Beijing in December. spouse’s per diem had paid for the rental long as the daily lodging per diem She requested reimbursement on her of their temporary accommodation, while allowance did not exceed the cost of rent- travel voucher when she returned to hers had been used to pay for utility bills, ing conventional lodging at a daily rate. Washington, pointing out that her need including cleaning. Some years later the Thus, if her tandem spouse’s portion of to buy these clothes resulted solely from department sought repayment of $511 the per diem allowance was insufficient to the department’s change in her travel that had been paid to her to cover house- cover more than just the rental costs, then itinerary to meet the needs of the cleaning costs, saying that since her tan- the employee’s portion could cover the Government. The BCA turned down her dem spouse had paid the rent, she did other costs that would normally be includ- request, on the grounds that neither the not have lodging costs. The BCA did not ed in the per diem costs.

4 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2003 News Briefs • Continued from page 4 V.P. VOICE: FCS ■ BY CHARLES A. FORD authority to suggest and recommend promotions, or advances of pay for Shaping a New Agenda subordinate employees. — Administrative Exemption: For his is my first column since returning to Washington example, formulating management to begin my service on the AFSA Governing Board. policy, doing work that is “intellectual TBill Crawford, our FCS representative, and I are in or varied in nature,” or exercising dis- the early stages of establishing priorities and setting an agen- cretion and judgment. da, making this an excellent opportunity to invite your — Professional Exemption: For thoughts as to the detail of our work plan. My number example, doing work that requires one priority is to ensure that this is a membership-driven knowledge in a field of science or learn- process. ing that is customarily and characteris- With this in mind, Bill and I will establish a new sys- tically acquired through education or tem to broaden the ability of all FCS members to shape our agenda. Any mem- training that meets the requirements of ber is encouraged to contact us directly at any time. In addition, however, I believe a bachelor’s or higher degree. we need to identify volunteers to serve as regional FCS AFSA representatives who The proposed changes to FLSA would generate ideas and channel commentary on our priority issues. Our region- would extend these exemptions by, al members are frequently in touch with each other, thus facilitating discussion essentially, lowering the bar so that and communication. My goal is to have this regional network up and running lower level supervisors, virtually all before the end of the year. white-collar workers who have any As for our agenda, we need to be active in two major areas that reflect the basic education beyond high school, and mission statement of AFSA. The employees who are “in a position of first is commercial diplomacy. responsibility,” rather than actually AFSA is a professional association supervising, would become “exempt” as well as a union, and we represent from FLSA. In the federal government, My goal is to have this regional those professionals at the forefront but not in the private sector, they of the national effort to promote would then become eligible for Title 5 network up and running before and defend our commercial inter- overtime. The difference is consider- the end of the year. ests. With resources strained and able. FLSA overtime is paid at a much in demand by new, compet- straight time-and-a-half. Title 5 over- ing program areas, our commercial time, on the other hand, is subject to a diplomacy program is at a cross- variety of caps, the most commonly roads. Program priorities were encountered one being the hourly rate defined in the period immediately after the end of the Cold War. They are out- cap at one-and-a-half times the hourly dated and backward-looking and need to be overhauled. Most importantly, we rate of a GS-10/1, which at the basic need to engage our business community to help drive this process. We also need rate without locality pay in 2003 comes to be leading the effort to reform and strengthen our commercial diplomacy pro- to $28.11. gram. Please share your views, and I will keep you updated at every step along If the changes are implemented as pro- the way as we begin our work in this area. posed, it is likely that more Foreign The second item relates to our responsibilities as a union and partner with man- Service employees on domestic assign- agement to improve the conditions of employment. I already witnessed much ments — mostly IMSs and OMSs — progress during this past summer. I participated in two consultations that con- will fall into categories that are “exempt” cluded a multiyear effort to create a new Management Planning and Performance from FLSA and will only be eligible for Appraisal System as well as new precepts for the selection boards. These new poli- overtime pay under the Title 5 rules. cies will dramatically change and improve FCS evaluation procedures. Many of This is likely to result in receiving less our members were deeply engaged in this process, and the atmosphere between money per hour of overtime worked. AFSA and management was excellent. Much credit goes to Peter Frederick, our For more information, go to the AFSA outgoing vice president. For my part, I want to build on this success and work Web site at http://www.afsa.org/ to deepen and expand on the very constructive AFSA-management attitude that statevp.cfm and look under Member I found in our August sessions. Guidance for “Overtime and Please let Bill and me know if there are other issues that should be priorities. Compensatory Time Rules.” Also let us know how we are doing. We will provide you with monthly reports Briefs continued on page 6 on our activities. Together I know we can make a difference. ▫

OCTOBER 2003 • AFSA NEWS 5 FS VOICE: FAMILY MEMBER MATTERS ■ BY EURONA E. TILLEY Ten Ways to Cultivate Strong Family Ties

amily has always been at the center of my life. My fami- ing a letter in the midst of all those bills. Your relatives will feel ly is a tight-knit bunch. Every holiday, every graduation, special. Fevery milestone no matter how small or large, is filled with 5. Honor past traditions people, laughter and, of course, food. This was my reality from Give your children a sense of connection by continuing to the moment of my birth. When my husband started his A-100 do things the way they have always been done in your family. class, I immediately began to contemplate how to pass this won- 6. Create new traditions derful gift on to my children while living overseas. I am sure New traditions give birth to a special bond in your imme- this dilemma weighs heavily on the heart of each parent who diate family and allow you to add your footprints to those of agrees to serve America overseas. Years of separation from grand- past generations. parents, cousins, aunts and uncles can leave children devoid of 7. Create an extended family at post family connections. But this does not have to be the case. If a If a large Sunday dinner has always been a major part of your conscientious effort is made to maintain these relationships, our life, invite other expats over to share this meal with your fam- children can grow up surrounded by the love of extended family each week. ily. Here are 10 simple things Foreign Service parents can do 8. Join a religious group or community service organi- to preserve strong family ties: zation while at post 1. Buy a digital camera It is amazing how quickly bonds can be formed while serv- A picture truly does say a thousand words. Milestones can ing others in need. be shared almost instantly with those on the other side of the 9. Use R&R to spend time with family globe. E-mail pictures at least once per week or set up a Web Children can have quality time with relatives at least once site and update it often. Free Web sites are readily available. per year. If possible, have all of your relatives meet at a central 2. Buy a phone card and do not be afraid to use the vacation spot and share a week or two together. Then your fam- minutes ily will not waste precious time traveling from one coast to the Set aside a regular time for phone calls to be made to each next. relative. If finances are an issue, spread out calls over regular 10. Share memories with your children while away at intervals and take turns shouldering the bill with family mem- post bers back home. Copy old pictures and take them along with you to post. 3. Encourage family members to sign up for e-mail Telling stories from the past will keep the memories fresh in your and instant messenger accounts mind and allow your children a glimpse into yesterday. Teach grandma how to use these features if necessary. There is no better motivation to tackle the big, scary computer than Eurona E. Tilley is currently posted in Manila with her husband, Sterling staying connected to grandchildren. Jr., and small children, Arianna and Sterling III. Educated at Spelman College, 4. Use snail mail Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgetown University, she holds degrees in chemistry, materials engineering, and microbiology/immunology. She The intimacy of the written word has been lost in this age enjoys music, reading, teaching, and writing about her favorite topic — of instant gratification. Yet there is nothing better than receiv- science.

Briefs • Continued from page 5 if an ambassador needs you immediately at tions are in the Foreign Service Act, we are Beware the Direct Transfer post what choice do you have but to go? I not in a position to get lost R&R back for Several members brought our attention to think AFSA should address the problem with members. However, we can certainly a problem encountered by employees who management.” remind people of the dangers of taking a accept a direct transfer to a three-year post. Another member who accepted a direct deferred HL after a direct transfer. These employees generally take deferred transfer without knowing the negative con- Some possible good news is that there is home leave from post, and in so doing, lose sequences ended up losing the second R&R an amendment proposed for this year’s their second R&R. So beware: If you take a and going $1,200 out-of-pocket for an air- State Department Authorization Bill that direct transfer to a three-year post and take line ticket for his daughter to return to col- removes the phrase “unbroken by Home home leave during that time, you lose the lege. “Bottom line,” he writes, “you do the Leave” from Section 901 (6) of the FS Act second R&R because the tour does not offi- post a favor by taking a direct transfer and (on the IntraNet at 22 USC 4081(6)) that cially start until the end of the home leave. you suffer financial and morale hardship as authorizes R&R. That phrase is what cur- One member writes that, “No one is a result.” rently prevents you taking more than one reminded of that fact before the tour. I AFSA appreciates being alerted to this R&R. Indications are that the amendment think this is an unfair practice. For example, inequity. Unfortunately, because the regula- will pass, but it might take awhile. ▫

6 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2003 Memorial • Continued from page 1 V.P. VOICE: RETIREES ■ BY GEORGE JONES Memorial Plaque in the State Department honoring Foreign Service employees who Keeping Tabs on Medical Benefits have died in the line of duty overseas. AFSA issued a press release asking all went into the hospital for repair of a detached retina two Americans to remember the victims of the days before taking office as your new vice president for bombings. Louise Crane, then acting AFSA Iretirees, and found that, like being hanged in the morn- president, noted during a media interview ing, surgery concentrates the mind wonderfully. that “the War on Terror began on Aug. 7, What it concentrated my mind on was the tremendous 1998, three years before 9/11.” On that trag- value of our Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, ic day, 11 people died in Dar es Salaam and which insures nearly nine million Americans. My personal over 200 people died in Nairobi, includ- view is that America has no higher priority than to make health ing twelve American employees of Embassy insurance available to everyone. And one of AFSA’s highest Nairobi. priorities has to be to protect the health benefits we already have. As I’m sure you know, bills to create a prescription drug benefit have passed both AFSA recognizes that it is houses of Congress and are, at this writing, in conference. Final passage is uncertain; there are wide differences between the versions and major retiree organizations are impossible to provide 100 opposed to the bills because they believe them percent protection for embassy inadequate. But the major concern for AFSA and other employee unions was that it personnel and families. However, Be assured that AFSA will appeared likely that both of the bills under con- the U.S. government must aim to sideration would reduce FEHBP reimburse- continue to keep you ment for prescription drugs to the level of the protect these public servants, informed and continue to new Medicare benefit being proposed. beginning with dedicating AFSA alerted its membership to this threat lobby for improvements in on June 25. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., and four sufficient resources to the effort. other Washington-area congressmen intro- employee and retiree duced H.R. 2631, which would require that fed- Foreign Service personnel work every benefits. eral retirees (including FS retirees), receive the day on behalf of America around the world, same prescription drug benefits as current and and no place is immune from the threat future active duty personnel. The bill passed of terrorism anymore. The memorial the House by voice vote on July 8. (The quick plaques honor the memory of all those who approval may have had something to do with the fact that members of Congress are have died while serving their country. federal employees, too.) Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the Republican major- AFSA recognizes that it is impossible to pro- ity was guilty of hypocrisy by passing legislation that guarantees federal retirees more vide 100-percent protection for embassy generous coverage than other seniors will receive. Unfortunately, giving all seniors the personnel and families. However, the U.S. same drug benefit we enjoy would greatly increase the estimated $400 billion cost over government must aim to protect these pub- 10 years of the bills now in conference. lic servants as well as possible, beginning Sen. Dan Akaka, D-Hawaii, introduced a similar bill, S. 1369, in the Senate on June with dedicating sufficient resources to the 27, co-sponsored by Senators Allen and Warner of Virginia, Mikulski and Sarbanes effort. Since 1998, progress has been made of Maryland and Corzine of New Jersey. Prospects for passage are encouraging. in bringing our overseas embassies and con- Be assured that AFSA will continue to keep you informed through AFSANet of sulates up to security standards. However, the progress of this and other legislation affecting employees and retirees, and con- as embassies have become better protect- tinue to lobby for improvements in employee and retiree benefits. ed, so-called “soft targets” have become As your brand-new vice president, I have a lot of learning to do. There is also some- more vulnerable. AFSA is also pushing for one new handling retiree issues on the AFSA staff. Bonnie Brown is a graduate of additional resources for providing better Whitman College and UC-Berkeley Law School. She is an FS spouse who received a security for “soft targets” such as schools State Department award for her volunteer work in Africa. and residences. Both Bonnie and I would welcome your messages telling us what’s of interest and AFSA appreciates the increased fund- concern to you. All messages will be answered, and we will do our utmost to assist ing going to security upgrades, and regu- any AFSA retiree member. (So keep your membership current!) Bonnie can be reached larly urges Congress to sustain increased at [email protected] and I am at [email protected] — whatever our other faults, your retiree funding. ▫ specialists’ names are easy to remember and spell! ▫

OCTOBER 2003 • AFSA NEWS 7 Scholarhips • Continued from page 1 as a partner in 1994. Mrs. Kaplan has served Essay • Continued from page 1 ual scholarship is a great, and permanent, as a teacher, administrator, and counselor State Department Family Liaison Office; way to pay tribute to the Foreign Service: to international students in the U.S., Harry M. Jannette International, L.L.C.; only the interest from the original dona- Austria, Belgium, Germany and the Wood-Wilson Company, Inc.; the Office tion is awarded while the principal remains Philippines. She currently teaches at the of Overseas Schools; the Overseas Briefing protected in perpetuity. Washington International School. Center; and the State Department Federal Credit Union. New AFSA Scholarships A One-of-a-Kind FAS Scholarship Margaret Jackson of Clayton, N.Y. The Everett K. and Clara C. Melby Friends and family of Foreign received the first-place AFSA award, which Memorial Scholarship was established Agriculture Service FSO Martin Patterson included a check for $2,500 for her and $500 upon Everett Melby’s death in 2003. This recently established an AFSA scholarship for the Clonlara School, which sponsors her perpetual financial aid scholarship will be in his memory. “Marty” Patterson, an homeschooling. Her winning essay is enti- awarded annually. The Melbys spent 32 AFSA member, passed away suddenly on tled “Diplomacy and Cross-Border years in the Foreign Service assigned to July 3, 2003. His wife Constanza, an Security.” Second place went to John Kalz Switzerland, Greece, Germany, British Economic Research Service employee, of Somerset, Ky., for his essay about slav- Guyana (three tours), Haiti, and their three daughters — ery in Sudan. Third place went to Andrew Canada and the U.S. Everett Alicia, Sylvia and Mariana — Hoover of King of Prussia, Penn., for his Melby’s brother and sister survive him. He served in essay addressing ways the U.S. can deal with were also in the Foreign Singapore and Caracas. “rogue nations.” Service, and their son, Eric, was The Memorial Martin G. “I had no idea I would meet the an AFSA scholarship recipient Patterson Scholarship — Secretary of State,” said Margaret Jackson. in 1966. This scholarship trib- the first of its kind — will be The other two winners were also surprised ute to AFSA is highly fitting for bestowed as a need-based, and pleased to meet Secretary Powell. All a family that has dedicated so undergraduate, college schol- three winners told AFSA News that they much of their lives to the arship to a child of a FAS or learned a lot about the Foreign Service by Foreign Service. APHIS Foreign Service offi- entering the essay contest. Margaret The Elizabeth Berger cer. This will be an ongoing Jackson thinks she’d like to join the Memorial Scholarship was award once $12,000 is raised. Service. She is now a freshman at JOSH established in June through the AFSA encourages contribu- Dickinson College. John Kalz is a freshman coordinating efforts of tions, which are tax at Lindsey Wilson College, and Andrew Sheridan Collins, Elizabeth’s deductible. Those wishing to Hoover is a freshman at Princeton daughter. This $1,000 annual scholarship contribute may send a check payable to the University. was awarded to Khristian Lopez, now a “AFSA Scholarship Fund” noting on the The essay contest, co-sponsored by freshman at Columbia College in Chicago. check “In Memory of Martin Patterson.” AFSA and the Nelson B. Delavan Elizabeth Berger, a native of Montana, trav- Donations may be sent to Lori Dec, Foundation, is held every year. For more eled with her husband, Samuel David Scholarship Director, AFSA Scholarship information, go to www.afsa.org/essay- Berger, who served as deputy U.S. ambas- Program, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, contest/essay.html. The deadline for the sador to South Vietnam from 1969 until DC 20037. Credit card (Master Card and 2004 entries is in March 2004. 1972 when the Bergers returned to Visa) donations are also accepted. To make Washington, D.C. Mrs. Berger passed away a credit card donation, please include your Community Service and Video in June 2002 at the age of 88. name, card number, expiration date, Awards Ambassador Philip and Mrs. Barbara address, phone/e-mail and amount to be Foreign Service Youth Foundation Kaplan established a $3,000 scholarship for donated. All contributors will be sent an President Anne Kauzlarich introduced the a high-achieving college junior or senior acknowledgment for tax purposes. FSYF to the many families and friends of wanting to pursue a public service career. Each year the recipient of the award will the winners squeezed into the Treaty Room. Leslie Cole, attending George Washington be given biographical information about Acting DG Ruth A. Whiteside then pre- University, is the recipient of this award. Marty and his family so the young person sented the Foreign Service Youth Amb. Kaplan’s Foreign Service career can understand the Foreign Service con- Foundation Awards for Community spanned 27 years. He has also served as a nection. For more information on this Service. The awards honor teenagers who professor of international affairs at Brown, scholarship, please contact Lori Dec by have demonstrated outstanding volunteer American University and George phone: (800) 704-2372, ext. 504; fax: (202) efforts either in community service or in ser- Washington University, and is an author 338- 6820; or e-mail: [email protected]; or go to vice to their peers while facing the challenges and lawyer. He joined Patton, Boggs, L.L.P. www.martinpattersonscholarship.com. ▫ Continued on page 9

8 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2003 Essay • Continued from page 8 Caitlin O’Grady, Erin O’Grady and Corie tributions to local communities were truly of growing up in an internationally mobile Pope. Certificates of Appreciation went to outstanding. family. Iain Addleton, Garrett Bernsten, Bethanie The Kid Vid Awards — sponsored by First-place winners were Alexandra Brooks, Daniel Gettinger, Theodore the FSYF and the Overseas Briefing Center Pomeroy, 17, and Stuart Symington, Jr., 16. Franklin Greenly III, Sahar Herbol, Rebecca — were presented by former Director Alexandra worked with and taught Hoffman, Sarah Hohlfeld, Christian Hyland, General Ruth A. Davis, who praised the chil- Sudanese refugees for two years while liv- Tatiana Suda, Melissa Taylor, Kelly Lynn dren who produce the videos of life at post, ing in Egypt. In addition, following her Waterman, Andrew Wilson and Kelsey noting that the videos become part of the return to the U.S., she organized a writing Wohlman. Space does not permit us to list permanent library in the OBC and will assist project for teens to describe their overseas all the activities of these 22 young people, families preparing to move to new posts. experiences. The essays will be posted on but suffice it to say the dedication and con- The first-place winners were Philip (P.J.) the future State Department Web site for Nice and Micah Kagler, both age 18, for their youth. Stuart co-founded the Social video of Montevideo, Uruguay. Second Action Club at his school in Niamey, place went to 11-year-old Britta Coley for Niger, and spearheaded fundraisers and her video of Frankfurt, Germany. Third other efforts to assist a local orphanage. place: Iain Addleton, Cameron Addleton The Highly Commendable awards and Parker Wilhelm on Ulaanbaatar, went to Heather Alford, 17, and Kyle Mongolia; Most Technically Sophisticated: Tadken, 18, for their work on behalf of Ramon Taylor on Dakar, Senegal; Most

children in Moscow, Russia. Honorable Marc Goldberg Creative: Olivia Underwood and Owen Mentions went to Stefan Kazacos, AFSA State VP Louis Crane with the winners. Underwood on Seoul, Korea. ▫

return. The maximum amount an employ- Q: When can I enroll? ee may set aside in any tax year is $3,000 An early season occurred this and the minimum is $250. A:year ending in June, so your next • A Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA), chance to enroll for the first full Plan Year through which employees may use pre-tax (2004) will take place concurrent with the allotments to pay for eligible dependent care FEHB open season in November/ Q&A expenses. The maximum amount an December of 2003 (starting Nov. 10). All employee may set aside in any tax year is future FSA Plan Years will be Jan. 1 through Personnel Issues $5,000 ($2,500 if the employee is married Dec. 31 and employees must re-enroll each BY JAMES YORKE and filing a separate income tax return) and year to be eligible. the minimum amount is $250. Q: What if I allocated more than I spent Q: What is the basis for the FSA? in a year? Q: What is a Flexible Spending Account? Section 125 of the Internal The “use-it-or-lose-it” rule Technically known as the Federal A:Revenue Code allows employ- A:means you should plan careful- A:Flexible Benefits Plan (“Fed- ees to pay for certain health and dependent ly when estimating how much you want Flex”), FSAs enable eligible employees to care expenses with pre-tax dollars. You to allocate to an FSA. Under current IRS pay for certain benefits with pre-tax dol- may choose to make a voluntary allotment regulations, you must forfeit any funds lars. The first phase, implemented in from your salary to your FSAFEDS remaining in your account(s) at the end of October 2000, was the Health Benefits account(s); you will not pay employment the plan year. You will have 120 days from Premium Conversion, under which all fed- or income taxes on your allotments and the end of the plan year to submit claims eral employees, unless they opted out, pay your employing agency also avoids pay- for your expenses. Forfeited funds, and any their health premiums with pre-tax dollars. ing employment taxes. Participation is vol- interest accrued, will be set aside to help The second phase includes FSAs for two untary and you will identify an annual reduce fees in future plan years. There is other purposes: amount of salary to be contributed to your a useful guide on the Web that can help you • A Health Care FSA (HCFSA), through FSA. The payroll office will deduct your to estimate how much you should put which employees may use pre-tax allot- annual elected amounts from your pay and aside. Go to www.fsafeds.com, and scroll ments to pay for certain health care remit them for deposit into your FSA down to the “FSAFEDS Calculator,” expenses that are not reimbursed by account(s). You can draw upon your FSA which will help you plan your FSA alloca- FEHB or any other source and not account(s) for reimbursement as you incur tions and provide an estimate of your tax claimed on the participant’s income tax eligible expenses. savings. ▫

OCTOBER 2003 • AFSA NEWS 9 CLASSIFIEDS

DENTAL SERVICES PROFESSIONAL TAX RETURN PREPARATION: Thirty years in public tax FAMILY DENTISTRYJOSIE S.KEATD.D.S. practice. Arthur A. Granberg, EA, ATA, ATP. 2579 John Milton Dr., Suite 250, Oak Hill, VA Our charges are $65 per hour. Most FSO 20171. Tel: (703) 860-8860. Dr. Keat is a returns take 3 to 4 hours. Our office is 100 feet Foreign Service spouse and understands from Virginia Square Metro Station, Tax Foreign Service needs. Open 7 A.M.; evening Matters Associates PC, 3601 North Fairfax Dr., and Saturday appointments available. 50%* TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES Arlington, VA 22201. Tel: (703) 522-3828, off on first check-up and cleaning appointment Fax: (703) 522-5726. TAX RETURN PREPARATION AND E-mail: [email protected] with this ad. *Excludes third-party payments. PLANNING from a CPA firm specializing in expatriate taxation. Home of JANE A. BRUNO, PROPERTY MANAGEMENT the author of "The Expat's Guide to U.S. LEGAL SERVICES Taxes." Tax return preparation, tax consulta- REALTY GROUP, INC. tion and financial planning. Contact us at: ATTORNEY WITH 22 years successful Tel: (954) 452-8813, Fax: (954) 452-8359. DC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT experience SPECIALIZING FULL-TIME IN FS E-mail: [email protected] AND SALES GRIEVANCES will more than double your Visit our Web site: of single-family homes, chance of winning: 30% of grievants win before www.americantaxhelp.com condos & small apartment bldgs. We serve owners the Grievance Board; 85% of my clients win. VIRGINIA M. TEST, CPA: Tax service Only a private attorney can adequately devel- who appreciate personalized Specializing in Foreign Service/overseas con- service & quality maintenance. op and present your case, including neces- tractors. CONTACT INFO: (804) 695-2939, sary regs, arcane legal doctrines, precedents FAX: (804) 695-2958. E-mail: [email protected] Amy Fisher, CRS: (202) 544-8762 and rules. Call Bridget R. Mugane at E-mail: [email protected], Tel: (202) 387-4383, or (301) 596-0175. ROLAND S. HEARD, CPA Visit our Web site: E-mail: [email protected] 1091 Chaddwyck Dr. dcpropertymanagement.com Free initial consultation. Athens, GA 30606 Tel/Fax: (706) 769-8976 KDH PROPERTIES serves the property E-mail: [email protected] management needs of clients who are locat- ATTORNEY • U.S. income tax services ed inside the beltway from American Legion • Many FS & contractor clients Bridge to the Annandale exit. We have over GRIEVANCE ATTORNEY (specializing • Practiced before the IRS 30 years experience in renting and managing. since 1983). Attorney assists FS officers to cor- • Financial planning We are REALTORS and belong to the rect defective performance appraisals to • American Institute of CPAs, Member Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS. reverse improper tenuring and promotion FIRST CONSULTATION FREE We manage: single-family homes, town- board decisions, secure financial benefits, defend against disciplinary actions and obtain FREE TAX CONSULTATION: For over- houses, condo units, as well as small com- relief from all forms of discrimination. Free Initial seas personnel. We process returns as munity associations. We would be honored Consultation. Call William T. Irelan, Esq. received, without delay. Preparation and rep- to serve as your property manager. Our man- Tel: (202) 625-1800, Fax: (202) 625-1616. resentation by Enrolled Agents. Federal and ager has earned and holds the designation of E-mail: [email protected] all states prepared. Includes “TAX TRAX” Certified Property Manager and Certified unique mini-financial planning review with rec- Manager of Community Associations. Contact ommendations. Full planning available. Get the us for more information: Tel: (703) 522-4927, most from your financial dollar! Financial or e-mail: [email protected] WILL/ESTATE PLANNING by attorney Forecasts Inc., Barry B. De Marr, CFP, EA, who is a former FSO. Have your will reviewed 3918 Prosperity Ave. #230, Fairfax, VA 22031 and updated, or new one prepared: Tel: (703) 289-1167, Fax: (703) 289-1178, H.A. GILL & SON, INC.: Family-owned No charge for initial consultation. E-mail: [email protected] and operated firm specializing in the leasing M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, 307 FINANCIAL ADVISOR: Stephen H. and management of fine single-family hous- Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180 Thompson, Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. es, condominiums and cooperatives in Tel: (703) 281-2161, Fax: (703) 281-9464. Member NYSE/Member SIPC (Retired Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County E-mail: [email protected] Foreign Service Officer). since 1888. While we operate with cutting- Tel: (202) 778-1970, (800) 792-4411. edge technology, we do business the old- Web site: www.sthompson.fa.leggmason.com fashioned way: providing close personal E-mail: [email protected] attention to our clients and their properties. We PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: provide expertise in dealing with jurisdiction- $1.25/word (10-word min.) First 3 ATTORNEY, FORMER FOREIGN SER- al legal requirements, rent control, property words bolded free, add’l bold text VICE OFFICER: Extensive experience w/ tax registration and lead paint requirements. We problems peculiar to the Foreign Service. $2/word, header, box, shading $10 ea. closely screen all tenant applications and are Available for consultation, tax planning, and on-line with Equifax Credit Information Deadline: 20th of month for pub. preparation of returns: Services, which provides our firm with instant 5 wks. later. M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger hard-copy credit reports. You can rest assured Ad Mgr: Tel: (202) 944-5507, 307 West Maple Ave., Suite D, while you are abroad that your property will be Fax: (202) 338-6820. Vienna, VA 22180 Tel: (703) 281-2161, in the most capable hands. Please call John E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (703) 281-9464. Gill Jr. at (202) 338-5000 or e-mail him at E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] for more info or a brochure.

10 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2003 CLASSIFIEDS

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TEMPORARY HOUSING TEMPORARY QUARTERS GEORGETOWN: WASHINGTON, D.C. or NFATC TOUR? Exquisite, fully furnished accommodations at PRUDENTIAL CARRUTHERS REAL- EXECUTIVE HOUSING CONSULTANTS the East End of Georgetown. Short walk to TORS: Complete professional dedication to offers Metropolitan Washington, D.C.’s finest World Bank and State Department. Lower the management of residential property in portfolio of short-term, fully-furnished and two levels of four-level home, private front and Northern Virginia. Our professionals will pro- equipped apartments, townhomes and sin- rear entrances, eight-foot ceilings, three fire- vide personal attention to your home, care- gle-family residences in Maryland, D.C. and places, two large marble bathrooms, granite ful tenant screening, and video inspections of Virginia. and stainless steel kitchen, washer and dryer, your property. We are equipped to handle all In Virginia: “River Place’s Finest” is steps fenced rear patio leading to alley. Street park- of your property management needs. We to Rosslyn Metro and Georgetown, and 15 ing. Dishes, flatware, towels, linens and light work 7 days a week! Over 22 years real minutes on Metro bus or State Department maid service included. Pets case-by-case. estate experience and Foreign Service over- shuttle to NFATC. For more info, please call Rate commensurate with housing allowance. seas living experience. JOANN PIEKNEY. (301) 951-4111, or visit our Web site: Contact owner at: [email protected] or Tel: Vienna: www.executivehousing.com (202) 625-6448. See photos and description Tel: (703) 938-0909, Fax: (703) 281-9782, at: www.1229-30thStreet.com E-mail: [email protected] FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATES, INC. Arlington: Tel: (703) 522-5900, Stylishly and fully-furnished condominiums at REAL ESTATE Fax: (703) 525-4173. River Place (Rosslyn, Virginia), Foggy Bottom HEADED TO D.C.? Start planning now for E-mail: [email protected]. & Dupont Circle (D.C.) All units are walking house hunting in Northern Virginia. Let my 16- distance to the Metro or NFATC SHUTTLE. plus years of experience providing FS person- Utilities, free basic cable, free local telephone service and Internet access included. Full- nel with exclusive Buyer Representation work WJD MANAGEMENT IS competitively service gym, pool, entertainment center and for you. My effective strategy for home buying priced, of course. However, if you are consid- jacuzzi (certain locations). Efficiencies, 1&2 will make the transition easier for you and your ering hiring a property management firm, don’t Bedroom units available. Owned by retired family! forget the old saying, “You get what you pay Department of State Employee. Flexible with Contact MARILYN CANTRELL, Associate for.” All of us at WJD have worked for other all per diems, even sliding allowances. WE Broker, ABR, CRS, GRI at McEnearney property management firms in the past, and UNDERSTAND BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN Associates, 1320 Old Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, we have learned what to do and, more impor- THERE! (703) 470-4908. [email protected] VA 22101. Tel: (703) 790-9090, ext. 246; Fax: tantly, what not to do from our experiences at (703) 734-9460. these companies. We invite you to explore our PIED-A-TERRE PROPERTIES, LTD: E-mail: [email protected] Web site at www.wjdpm.com for more infor- Select from our unique inventory of fully-fur- www.marilyncantrell.com mation, or call us at (703) 385-3600. nished & tastefully decorated apartments & townhouses all located in D.C.’s best in-town NORTHERN VIRGINIA - FAIRFAX: neighborhoods: Dupont, Georgetown, Foggy Smashing townhome in sought-after Franklin Bottom & The West End. Two-month mini- PEAKE MANAGEMENT: Looking for a Glen. Formal living room and separate dining mum. Mother-Daughter Owned & Operated. great property manager experienced with FS room. High ceilings, skylights, gorgeous Tel: (202) 338-3190. Fax: (202) 332-1406. clients? Call me to set up an appointment, or hardwood floors. Deck off dining room and www.piedaterredc.com to receive our free Landlord Manual. The man- patio off lower level rec room. Backs to wood- ual clearly explains the rental management ed common area. 4BD, 3.5BA $265,000. process no matter which company you Marilyn Cantrell, McEnearney Associates choose. We’re professional, experienced and FURNISHED LUXURY APARTMENTS: (703) 790-9090, ext. 246. friendly. In business since 1982. Lindsey Short/long-term. Best locations: Dupont Circle, E-mail: [email protected] Peake: 6842 Elm St., McLean, VA 22101. Georgetown. Utilities included. All price Tel: (703) 448-0212. ranges/sizes. Parking available. Tel: (202) 296- E-mail: [email protected] NORTHERN VIRGINIA - ALEXANDRIA: 4989, E-mail: [email protected] Smart-looking Efficiency condo in a tucked TEMPORARY HOUSING away community off the GW Parkway. Large windows open to peaceful views of flowers and 1768-74 U. ST/ ADAMS MORGAN: landscaping. $74,900 Marilyn Cantrell, SHORT - TERM RENTALS Unique spacious 2-BR apts w/terrace. In newly McEnearney Assoc (703) 790-9090, ext. 246. renovated historic bldg. Individual HVAC units, E-mail: [email protected] CORPORATE APARTMENT SPECIALISTS: controlled entry system, hdwd flrs, all new Abundant experience working with Foreign appliances including W/D. Pkg. avail. Service professionals and the locations to best For appt. call: (917) 567-4811. FLORIDA serve you: Foggy Bottom, Woodley Park, LONGBOAT KEY, BRADENTON/ Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Rosslyn, SARASOTA Area will exceed expectations. Ballston, Pentagon City. Our office is a short FURNISHED TEMPORARY APARTMENT: Don’t miss owning in Florida. Resales, new walk from NFATC. One-month minimum. All Capitol Hill (Eastern Market), newly renovat- homes, rental management and vacation furnishings, housewares, utilities, telephone and ed, tastefully furnished, 1BR apartment, fire- rentals. Dynamic growing company offering cable included. Tel: (703) 979-2830 or (800) place, w/d, satTV, ceiling fans. Near personalized professional service. Contact: 914-2802; Fax: (703) 979-2813. Metro/restaurants/shops. Short/long-term. Sharon E. Oper, Realtor (AFSA Member) Web site: www.corporateapartments.com Non-smokers. $1,450 includes utilities. Wagner Realty. Tel: (941) 387-7199. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] 202-647-5265. E-mail: [email protected]

OCTOBER 2003 • AFSA NEWS 11 CLASSIFIEDS

FLORIDA BOOKS PET TRANSPORTATION BEAUTIFUL SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Point Four: Memories of a Foreign SARASOTA – Sunshine, blue skies, excellent Service Officer by James O. Bleidner. The values in real estate. Call former FSO Tom book is dedicated to my colleagues in Farley, AFSA member, licensed real estate USAID. Send check for $15 plus postage of broker. New homes and condos a specialty. $3 to: James Bleidner, 708 Leah Jean Lane, Construction International Services, Inc. Winter Haven, FL 33884-3198. Tel: (941) 926-8550, Fax: (941) 926-9546. E-mail: [email protected] OLD ASIA/ORIENT BOOKS BOUGHT Asian rare books. Fax: (212) 316-3408, NO STATE INCOME TAX enhances gra- E-mail: [email protected] cious living in Sarasota, the cultural capital of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Contact former FSO Paul MISCELLANEOUS Byrnes, Coldwell Banker residential sales DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: Robert G. DOMESTIC / WORLDWIDE SHIPPING: specialist, through e-mail: Morris’ third novel, now available from: Tel: (304) 274-6859, (888) 234-5028 [email protected] or Toll-Free: www.thebookden.com www.actionpetexpress.com (877) 924-9001. E-mail: [email protected] DC AND MD SUBURBS - homes for sale. W.W. GENERAL CONSTRUCTION Serving VA, MD & DC Log on to homesdatabase.com/samsells to SHOPPING view homes. Tel: (301) 951-3354. Licensed and Bonded Complete Home Remodeling & Repair WASHINGTON STATE ISLANDS: Total Renovations Spectacular views, wonderful community, cli- Kitchens, Bathrooms and Basements 110 - 220 VOLT STORE mate, boating, hiking. Access Seattle & Ceramic Tile and Hardwood Floors MULTI-SYSTEM ELECTRONICS Vancouver, B.C. Former FSO Jan Zehner, Painting and Drywall Windermere Real Estate/ Orcas Island, For more information visit our Web site PAL-SECAM-NTSC TVs, (800) 842-5770; www.orcas-island.com www.1stcarpenter.com VCRs, AUDIO, CAMCORDER, E-mail: [email protected] or e-mail us at: [email protected] ADAPTOR, TRANSFORMERS, or call us at (301) 330-9806 KITCHEN APPLIANCES BEAUTIFUL EXECUTIVE HOME with Quality Work and Reasonable Prices EPORT WORLD ELECTRONICS two decks, and hot tub. Great for entertaining. References upon Request 1719 Connecticut Ave. N.W. 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths. Lawn and spa ser- Washington, D.C. 20009, near Dupont vice included. $3,900/month. Summerwood Circle Metro. Between R & S Streets. Realty. Tel: (703) 255-6500. Tel: (202) 232-2244, Fax: (202) 265-2435, BEAUTIFUL RETIREMENT PROPERTY (800) 513-3907. in Parsons, Tennessee. E-mail: [email protected] Visit: Jacksproperty.com. Or call Jack at URL:www.220AV.TV Tel: (731) 847-4146. Government & Diplomat discounts VACATION SHIPPING BEACHVIEW CONDO FLORIDA at PLANNING TO MOVE OVERSEAS? Marco Island, 2 hours from Miami, 2 bed- Need a rate to ship your car, household goods, GRAND OPENING SECOND LOCATION room/bath, walking distance to beach, swim- or other cargo going abroad? Contact PAL-SECAM-NTSC TVs, ming pool, tennis, golf; low off-season rates; SEFCO-Export Management Company for VCRs, AUDIO, CAMCORDER, contact FSO Robert Cunnane at: rates and advice. Tel: (718) 268-6233, ADAPTOR, TRANSFORMERS, E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (718) 268-0505. Contact Joseph T. Quinn. KITCHEN APPLIANCES MORTGAGE Visit our Web site at www.sefco-export.com EPORT WORLD ELECTRONICS E-mail: [email protected] 1030 19TH ST.NW WASH., DC 20036 BUYING OR REFINANCING A HOME? 19th and L St. near Farragut West Metro. Save money with some of the lowest rates ACUPUNCTURE & FENG SHUI Tel: (202) 464-7600 Fax: (202) 464-7605 in 40 years. Jeff Stoddard specializes in work- (800) 513-3907. ing with the Foreign Service community over- Acupuncture for Body/Mind/ Spirit: E-mail: [email protected] seas and in the U.S. Call today and experi- Feng Shui for harmony in your space. URL: www.220AV.TV ence the Power of Yes! ® Tel: (703) 299-8625, Former FS spouse offers these services in Government & Diplomat discounts E-mail: [email protected] Bethesda, Md. & Vienna, Va. Contact: BUSINESS CARDS Abhaya Schlesinger, M.Ac; L.Ac; Diplomate. Tel: (703) 242-9065. References upon request. BUSINESS CARDS Printed to State AMERICAN PRODUCTS OVERSEAS! Department specifications and delivered in 5 INDEPENDENT SCHOOL OPTIONS: ONE-STOP SHOPPING for all your house- working days. 500 cards for as little as $37.00! Finding the best school placement for each hold & personal needs. Personalized service Thank you for calling Herron Printing & child in the Washington Metro area. for FS personnel by FS retiree. Must have Graphics at (301) 990-3100; or e-mail: www.independentschooloptions.org APO or FPO address. For FREE CATALOG: [email protected] Tel: (703) 671-8316. E-mail: [email protected]

12 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2003