The Foreign Service Journal, December 2011
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J. KIRBY SIMON FOREIGN SERVICE TRUST AN INVITATION TO PROPOSE PROJECTS FOR FUNDING BY THE J. KIRBY SIMON FOREIGN SERVICE TRUST IN 2012 he J. Kirby Simon Foreign Service Trust is a charitable fund established in the memory of J. Kirby Simon, a Foreign Service officer who died in 1995 while serving in Taiwan. The Trust is committed to expanding the opportunities for professional fulfillment and community service of active Foreign Service officers and specialists and their families. TThe principal activity of the Trust is to support projects that are initiated and carried out on an entirely unofficial, voluntary basis by Foreign Service personnel or members of their families, wherever located. The Trust will also consider projects of the same nature proposed by other U.S. government employees or members of their families, regardless of nationality, who are located at American diplomatic posts abroad. Only the foregoing persons are eligible applicants. In 2011 the Trust made its fifteenth round of awards, approving a total of 52 grants that ranged from $500 to $4,500 (aver- aging $2,040) for a total of $106,094. These grants support the involvement of Foreign Service personnel in the projects de- scribed in the Trust announcement titled “Grants Awarded in 2011” and available at www.kirbysimontrust.org. To indicate the range of Trust grants, the following paragraphs set forth a sampling of projects supported by the Trust in recent years. • Education Projects: School supplies for refugee and other conflict-afflicted children and for orphanages; English-lan- guage learning materials for high school students; day-care facilities for children of underprivileged women learning marketable skills; specialized education equipment for the disabled; kitchen and other equipment for occupational training programs. • Additional Projects for Young People: Playground and sports training equipment, educational toys, furnishings, house- hold appliances, toilet and shower facilities for special-needs schools and orphanages; cleanups to improve sanitation and cre- ate play spaces; school fees and food for abandoned children; materials for a re-entry program for returning Foreign Service teens. • Health and Safety-Related Projects: Dental care for impoverished children; staff training for crisis shelters; health care equipment, security equipment and improved sanitation for maternity clinics and orphanages; a visual impairment survey among HIV-positive children; rebuilding homes of earthquake victims; photo documentation of murdered women set on fire by hus- bands or in-laws. • Revenue-Producing Projects: Machines and materials for income-generating programs for sick and disadvantaged chil- dren and adults, including abused women, migrant workers, refugees, Roma and victims of sex-trafficking; a cooperative for deaf carpenters. The Trust now invites the submission of proposals for support in 2012. It is anticipated that few of the new grants will ex- ceed the average size of the 2011 awards, and that projects assisted by the Trust will reflect a variety of interests and approaches, as illustrated by the foregoing paragraphs and by the Web site description of 2011 grants. Certain restrictions apply: (a) Funds from the Trust cannot be used to pay salaries or other compensation to U.S. Govern- ment employees or their family members. (b) The Trust does not support projects that have reasonable prospects of obtaining full funding from other sources. (c) The Trust will provide support for a project operated by a charitable or educational organ- ization only where the individual applicant(s) play an active part in initiating and carrying out the project, apart from fundrais- ing. (d) The Trust will support only projects in which each applicant's role is clearly separate from the applicant's official responsibilities. A proposal should include a description of the project, its aims and the role to be played by the applicant(s); a preliminary plan for disseminating the results of the project; a budget; other available funding, if any; and a brief biography of the applicant(s). Proposals should be no longer than five double-spaced pages (exclusive of budget and biographical material). Please follow the application format available at www.kirbysimontrust.org/format_for_proposals.html or by communicating with the Trust (see below). Proposals for projects to be funded during calendar year 2012 must be received by the Trust no later than March 1, 2012. Proposals can be submitted by mail, by fax or (preferably) by e-mail to: J. Kirby Simon Foreign Service Trust 93 Edgehill Road New Haven CT 06511 FAX: (203) 432-0063 E-mail: Send to both (1) [email protected] and (2) [email protected] Further information about the Trust can be found at www.kirbysimontrust.org. OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S CONTENTS December 2011 Volume 88, No. 12 I NTERVIEW CHARTING A PATH THROUGH GLOBAL CHANGE: AN INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH / 17 F OCUSON The Breakup of the Soviet Union EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION / 21 By Shawn Dorman COLD WAR LESSONS / 23 The Reagan administration’s strategy of diplomacy backed Cover illustration by strength holds lessons for today. by Jeff Lau By George P. Shultz EMBASSY MOSCOW: ON THE FRONT LINES OF HISTORY / 27 As the Soviet empire self-destructed, an intrepid Foreign Service team played a vital role in informing U.S. policy. PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 By Jack F. Matlock Jr. Strategic Planning, Part II By Susan R. Johnson THE VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES / 34 Service in Moscow was a heady experience that is the stuff SPEAKING OUT / 13 of every diplomat’s dreams. FS Blogging: By Thomas Graham An Opportunity, Not a Threat By Matt Keene IN THE EYE OF THE STORM: TEAM SOV / 39 At a critical moment, a generation of experienced Soviet hands REFLECTIONS / 112 came together at Embassy Moscow. Too Far Away from Everything By James Schumaker By C. Robert Dickerman CULTURAL DIPLOMACY IN THE COLD WAR / 42 Three decades of U.S.-Soviet cultural exchanges helped LETTERS / 7 pave the way for the end of the Cold War. By Yale Richmond CYBERNOTES / 9 MARKETPLACE / 10 PICKING UP THE PIECES / 46 With the crumbling of the Soviet empire, the demand for economic INDEX TO reporting and commercial diplomacy in the NIS soared. ADVERTISERS / 110 By Michael A. Lally DECEMBER 2011/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 OREIGN ERVICE CONTENTS FJ O U R N A L S SETTING UP SHOP IN THE NEWLY INDEPENDENT STATES / 49 Veterans of the 1991-1993 era of post openings Editor STEVEN ALAN HONLEY in the former Soviet Union tell their stories. Senior Editor By Mike Tulley, Julie Ruterbories, Tamara Burkovskaia, SUSAN B. MAITRA Isken Sydykov and Mary Kruger Associate Editor SHAWN DORMAN EURASIA’S TROUBLED FRONTIERS / 56 AFSA News Editor Unresolved conflicts haunting the former Soviet states could DONNA AYERST hold clues to how the region develops in the decades ahead. Ad & Circulation Manager ED MILTENBERGER By Robert McMahon Art Director CARYN SUKO SMITH Editorial Intern S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT LAURA PETTINELLI Advertising Intern MINH-NHAT (LEO) TRAN COLLEGE APPLICATIONS CHECKLIST FOR 11TH-GRADERS / 73 Here is a no-nonsense guide to getting a EDITORIAL BOARD JAMES P. SEEVERS jump-start on the college application process. Chairman By Francesca Kelly JUDITH BAROODY WILLIAM D. BENT WHEN BOARDING SCHOOLS ARE AN OPTION / 98 GORDON S. BROWN Boarding schools often provide much-needed STEPHEN W. BUCK continuity for Foreign Service Families. KATE WIEHAGEN LEONARD RICHARD MCKEE By Leah Wallace JED MELINE GREGORY L. NAARDEN WHAT’S IN A COLLEGE RANKING? / 104 LYNN ROCHE With its unique approach to college rankings, Washington Monthly RACHEL SCHNELLER points to a new fault line in American higher education. By Laura Pettinelli and Susan Maitra THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN CHOOLS AT A LANCE S G / 85 AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS Essential data on educational choices. Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly with a combined July-August issue by the American Foreign Service Associa- A F S A N EWS tion (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opin- ions of the writers and does not necessarily rep- AFSA BOOK NOTES EVENT FEATURES AFGHANISTAN EXPERT / 63 resent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions ISSENT OB EQUIREMENT are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal sub- D : A J R / 63 scription: AFSA members – $13 included in an- nual dues; others – $40. For foreign surface mail, NEWS BRIEFS / 64 add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and STATE VP: OUTSTANDING MEDICAL PROGRAMS, BUT STILL at additional mailing offices. Indexed by Public NO GUARANTEE OF SAFETY / 65 Affairs Information Services (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are FCS VP: STRUGGLES OF THE DDG / 66 invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the CLO COORDINATORS: COVERING ALL THE BASES / 66 services or goods offered. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045 A YEAR-END MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / 67 FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820 E-MAIL: [email protected] AFSA WELCOMES NEW FOREIGN SERVICE EMPLOYEES / 68 WEB: www.afsa.org; www.fsjournal.org © American Foreign Service Association, 2011. ... AND CONGRATULATES RETIREES / 69 Printed in the U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to – AFSA CLASSIFIEDS / 70 Attn: Address Change 2101 E Street N.W. Washington DC 20037-2990 Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste. 4 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/DECEMBER 2011 STRATEGIC PLANNING, PART II BY SUSAN R. JOHNSON Last month I described the consultative role with the For- membership, misinformation and disin- process by which the 2011-2013 eign Service Institute, manage- formation, limited time and resources, AFSA Governing Board iden- ment commitment to the use political misperceptions, management tified five priority strategic of retired FS personnel over reluctance.