PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION SEPTEMBER 2014

ON ASSIGNMENT WITH AFSA’S 2014 AWARD WINNERS TURNING THE TABLES ON STU KENNEDY

MARC GROSSMAN TOWARD A “NEW” DIPLOMACY

FOREIGN September 2014 SERVICE Volume 91, No. 9

AFSA NEWS COVER STORY AFSA Presents 2014 Awards / 51 VP Voice State: A Diplomacy for the 21st Century: Diversity in the FS / 52 VP Voice FCS: Back to the Future? / 22 FCS Welcomes New Officers / 53 A distinguished diplomat explores an evolving concept of diplomacy to meet the kaleidoscope of opportunities and challenges America faces. VP Voice Retiree: Life Insurance Coverage / 54 BY MARC GROSSMAN Ambassadorial Logjam / 55 Ambassador Seeks Change to Clearance Policy / 59 Call for a Strategic Approach FOCUS AFSA HONORS DISSENT AND PERFORMANCE to South Asia / 60 Agent Warns Misuse of Border Security Program Might Violate Turning the Tables: An Interview with Stu Kennedy / 28 Rights/ 61 Charles Stuart Kennedy, this year’s winner of AFSA’s Lifetime Contributions Trials Offer Window into to American Diplomacy Award, talks about his Foreign Service career and Saudi Judicial System / 62 pioneering work creating American diplomacy’s oral history program. Carol Backman Is Indispensable / 63 BY SHAWN DORMAN Offsetting the Impact of Kabul’s Wartime Environment / 64 Making a Difference in Integrity and Openness: Mexico City / 65 Requirements for an Effective Foreign Service / 37 Awards Runners-Up / 66 Honesty and candor have been the watchwords of this three-time AFSA dissent New Governing Board Members / 67 award winner’s diplomatic career. Sharon Papp Wins Equality Award / 68 BY KENNETH M. QUINN Bikeshare @ FSI / 69 Associate Members Add Value / 70 A Reflection on Bravery / 42 AFSA-CBA Host Diversity Panel / 71 When Washington quashed a local outreach effort in Kandahar, one FSO decided to throw a spotlight on a broader public affairs problem. COLUMNS President’s Views / 7 BY JONATHAN ADDLETON Talking About Foreign Service Advocacy BY ROBERT J. SILVERMAN

FEATURE Letter from the Editor / 8 Celebrating AFSA’s Award Winners BY SHAWN DORMAN Speaking Out / 18 Serving at Embassy Kabul / 46 “Up or Out” Is Harming Life on a secure compound in a war zone is somewhat surreal. American Foreign Policy BY BILL BENT BY GEORGE B. LAMBRAKIS Reflections / 85 Sage Counsel, Fondly Remembered BY FLETCHER M. BURTON

DEPARTMENTS Letters / 10 Talking Points / 12 In Memory / 72 Books / 76 Local Lens / 86 On the cover: (Top) The four winners of AFSA’s 2014 awards for constructive dissent are shown on the job. From left: Ambassador Jonathan Addleton, winner of the Herter Award, in Afghani- MARKETPLACE stan; David Holmes, winner of the Rivkin Award, briefing President Barack Obama aboard Air Classifieds / 78 Force One; William “Ed” O’Bryan, winner of the Harriman Award, in Dhahran; and Nick Pietrow- Real Estate / 82 icz, winner of the Harris Award, in Chad. Composition: Jeff Lau. (Middle) Charles Stuart “Stu” Kennedy, winner of AFSA’s Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy. Index to Advertisers / 84

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 5 FOREIGN SERVICE

Editor Shawn Dorman: [email protected]

Managing Editor Susan Brady Maitra: [email protected]

Associate Editor Debra Blome: [email protected] CONTACTS AFSA Headquarters: LABOR MANAGEMENT Editorial/Publications Specialist (202) 338-4045; Fax (202) 338-6820 General Counsel Brittany DeLong: [email protected] State Department AFSA Office: Sharon Papp: [email protected] Ad & Circulation Manager (202) 647-8160; Fax (202) 647-0265 Deputy General Counsel Ed Miltenberger: [email protected] USAID AFSA Office: Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] (202) 712-1941; Fax (202) 216-3710 Labor Management Specialist Art Director FCS AFSA Office: James Yorke: [email protected] Caryn Suko Smith (202) 482-9088; Fax (202) 482-9087 Senior Staff Attorney Neera Parikh: [email protected] Editorial Intern GOVERNING BOARD Staff Attorney Aishwarya Raje President Raeka Safai: [email protected] Robert J. Silverman: [email protected] Advertising Interns Staff Attorney Secretary Angela Dickey: [email protected] Camila Rivera Sánchez Andrew Large: [email protected] Treasurer Hon. Charles A. Ford: [email protected] Debora Kim Labor Management Counselor State Vice President VACANT Contributing Editor Matthew K. Asada: [email protected] Executive Assistant Steven Alan Honley USAID Vice President Lindsey Botts: [email protected] Sharon Wayne: [email protected] Editorial Board USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser FCS Vice President Jim DeHart, Chairman Douglas Broome: [email protected] Steve Morrison: [email protected] Hon. Gordon S. Brown USAID Staff Assistant FAS Vice President Stephen W. Buck Chioma Dike: [email protected] Ruth Hall David Mergen: [email protected] Maria C. Livingston Retiree Vice President MEMBER SERVICES Richard McKee Lawrence Cohen: lawrencecohenassociates@ Member Services Director Beth Payne hotmail.com Janet Hedrick: [email protected] John G. Rendeiro Jr. State Representatives Membership Representative Duncan Walker Clayton Bond VACANT Tracy Whittington Ronnie Catipon Retiree Counselor Clayton Bond (AFSA Governing Board liaison) Todd Crawford Todd Thurwachter: [email protected] Chuck Fee Coordinator, Retiree Counseling THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS Neeru Lal and Legislation PROFESSIONALS Ken Kero-Mentz Matthew Sumrak: [email protected] The Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Ronita Macklin Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is pub- Elise Mellinger Ana Lopez: [email protected] lished monthly, with combined January-February and Homeyra Mokhtarzada July-August issues, by the American Foreign Service COMMUNICATIONS Association (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Nancy Rios-Brooks Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the Sue Saarnio Director of Communications writers and does not necessarily represent the views of USAID Representatives Kristen Fernekes: [email protected] the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries Jeri Dible Director of New Media and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. The Ásgeir Sigfússon: [email protected] Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, Andrew Levin photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. FCS Representative Publications Manager The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply Barbara Farrar Shawn Dorman: [email protected] endorsement of the services or goods offered. Journal Online Communications Specialist subscription: AFSA member–$20, included in annual FAS Representative Mark Petry dues; student–$30; institution–$40; others–$50; Single BBG Representative Andre de Nesnera Jeff Lau: [email protected] issue–$4.50. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; APHIS Representative Mark C. Prescott Special Awards and Outreach Coordinator foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid Retiree Representatives Perri Green: [email protected] at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Speakers Bureau Director Indexed by the Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS). Marshall Adair Hon. David Greenlee VACANT Email: [email protected] F. Allen “Tex” Harris ADVOCACY Phone: (202) 338-4045 Hon. Edward Marks Advocacy Director Fax: (202) 338-8244 STAFF Javier Cuebas: [email protected] Web: www.afsa.org/fsj Executive Director Senior Legislative Assistant © American Foreign Service Association, 2014 Ian Houston: [email protected] David Murimi: [email protected] Executive Assistant to the President Professional Issues and Policy Adviser PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Patrick Bradley: [email protected] Janice Weiner: [email protected] Postmaster: Send address changes to BUSINESS DEPARTMENT SCHOLARSHIPS AFSA Director of Finance Scholarship Director Attn: Address Change Femi Oshobukola: [email protected] Lori Dec: [email protected] 2101 E Street NW Controller Scholarship Assistant Washington DC 20037-2990 Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] Jonathan Crawford: [email protected] Assistant Controller Cory Nishi: [email protected] www.afsa.org

6 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL PRESIDENT’S VIEWS

Talking About Foreign Service Advocacy

BY ROBERT J. SILVERMAN

dvocating for the Foreign sense on when to deploy it. we are reducing the presence of provincial Service in Congress and the Service in country and taking an FSI reconstruction teams in Afghanistan and American public over the past course are necessary but quite insuffi- Iraq. But the need for volunteers to serve in A year has taught me some les- cient to achieve information dominance. similar situations is present elsewhere—for sons. One is to focus on the positive—here Here is an example. I used to sit in Near instance, in Syria and South Sudan­—and is what the Foreign Service brings to the Eastern Affairs Bureau meetings next to an the need for expeditionary diplomacy foreign policy table, and here is why the FSO named Alberto Fernandez who took skills isn’t going away. diverse and skilled women and men of the detailed notes—in Arabic. He went on to What skills? They involve the ability to Foreign Service should be at the center of reach an extraordinary level of fluency, work in fluid situations without a strong our policymaking and execution. and deployed it in media interviews that central host government or U.S. embassy Perhaps in a prior generation that sort established his pre-eminence in that dif- infrastructure to promote the local govern- of advocacy was unnecessary. But I do feel ficult language. ment’s rule of law, reconstruction and that in today’s globalized American soci- My advice is to seek appropriate economic development, and delivery of ety, with dozens of NGOs, businesses and opportunities to acquire the highest pos- services. think-tanks producing cadre with inter- sible level of expertise in areas of interest Different in nature from the work of the national savvy, the Foreign Service must for current and future assignments, to go other FS cones and skill codes, expedition- make its case to the public. To strengthen beyond what the State Department can ary diplomacy is more akin to the work of that advocacy, we must look inward to provide through personal investment of the U.S. military’s civil-military affairs or sharpen our tools and keep our profession time and energy. the United States Institute for Peace’s post- current. This level of expertise, along with strong conflict reconstruction. Conversations with colleagues have leadership and interpersonal skills, is key This Foreign Service discipline would surfaced two concepts along these lines to the “wow” factor of the top Foreign require intensive interagency leadership that I want to share with you. Service cadre. training. The homes for it already exist in Information Dominance. One way A New Career Track for Expedition- State’s Conflict and Stabilization Opera- for Foreign Service members to lead—for ary Diplomacy. In May I wrote about the tions Bureau and USAID’s Office of Transi- instance, to prevail in a debate over policy Groundhog Day experience of reliving our tion Initiatives. X in country Y—is for that person to know nation-building interventions, without The main purpose of establishing this more about X and Y, and how other U.S. learning from past experiences, from Viet- new track would be to deepen the Foreign government operations interact with them, nam and Bosnia to Iraq and Afghanistan. Service’s expertise in critical areas for the than anyone else. That led to a conversation with several U.S. national interest. It would demon- A colleague with plenty colleagues about how one might strate Foreign Service leadership in hard- of National Security Council institutionalize in the Foreign ship environments through a sustainable experience calls that infor- Service the skills needed to be institutional framework. mation dominance, and she successful in these situations. Willingness to lead in the toughest sees a need for more Foreign One idea we discussed places would also resonate with the Ameri- Service people to adopt the was seeking to establish a can public and strengthen our advocacy. concept. It shouldn’t imply new career track or cone for Bob being overbearing or aggres- expeditionary diplomacy. True, [email protected] n sive—just having the relevant knowledge and the good Robert J. Silverman is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 7 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Celebrating AFSA’s Award Winners

BY SHAWN DORMAN

his month, AFSA celebrates and neth Quinn reflects on his experiences interviewing the interviewer about his honors our own: members of speaking out over the course of a long work creating and growing the Foreign the Foreign Service community and successful Foreign Service career. Affairs Oral History Collection, and his life T who stand up for what they And Ambassador Jonathan Addleton, and work in the Foreign Service. believe to be right, even when it’s not the the 2014 Herter Award winner, shares the The oral histories are a national trea- easy path; those who have made lifetime story of his challenges with restrictions on sure, capturing U.S. diplomatic history contributions to diplomacy; and those local outreach efforts in Afghanistan in “A of the 20th and 21st centuries through whose performance has been so out- Reflection on Bravery.” Profiles of Amb. the voices of the practitioners who were standing that their colleagues single them Addleton and all the other AFSA award there. Kennedy is quick to point the out for recognition. winners can be found in the AFSA News microphone away from himself, praising Every June, AFSA presents its annual section. others and most especially the Associa- dissent and performance awards in the David Holmes, winner of the Rivkin tion for Diplomatic Studies and Training, grand Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic dissent award for a mid-level FSO, which is home to the oral history program Reception Room on the State Depart- called for a more strategic approach to today. ment’s eighth floor. AFSA and State U.S. South Asia policy. Nick Pietrowicz, He says, “Remember, I’m not the For- Department officials (including, this year, winner of the Harris dissent award for eign Service oral historian.” But truly, he Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, a Foreign Service specialist, raised con- is precisely that, and I can think of no one Under Secretary of State for Management cerns about a border security program. more deserving of the Lifetime Achieve- Patrick Kennedy, and Assistant Secre- William “Ed” O’Bryan, winner of the Har- ment Award than Stu Kennedy. tary for Economic and Business Affairs riman dissent award for an entry-level Elsewhere in this issue, former Under Charles H. Rivkin) serve as presenters. FSO, pushed for an embassy presence at Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc The State Department co-sponsors human rights trials in Saudi Arabia. Grossman outlines “A Diplomacy for the the ceremony, highlighting the unusual Carol Backman, winner of the Delavan 21st Century: Back to the Future?” He but powerful message that dissent is not Award for exemplary performance by an explores how the quest for “new” diplo- only tolerated in the Foreign Service, but office management specialist, used her macy might just bring us back to some respected and perhaps even welcomed. IT expertise and management skills to traditional values—optimism, justice, Or is it? We hear such disparate views improve life at Embassy Ankara; Mary honesty and realism. today on the state of dissent and the Kay Cunningham, winner of the Guess In his President’s Views column, Bob inclination and ability to speak up and be Award for an outstanding community Silverman reflects on Foreign Service heard—without retribution—when you liaison office coordinator, lifted the spirits advocacy and pitches a new career track disagree with a policy or see a better way of the embassy community in Kabul in a for expeditionary diplomacy. And finally, forward. big way. And Kari Osborne, winner of the as a preview to our December focus on This month we bring views on dissent Bohlen Award for an FS family member, Afghanistan, we offer FSO Bill Bent’s first- from AFSA award winners, past and pres- made a real difference to embassy com- hand account of what it’s like to live and ent. In “Integrity and Openness: Require- munity life in Mexico City. work on the U.S. embassy compound in ments for an Effective It was my distinct pleasure to “turn the Kabul today. Spoiler alert: It’s no picnic. Foreign Service,” three- tables on Stu Kennedy,” this year’s winner We want to hear from you, about what time AFSA dissent award of AFSA’s prestigious Lifetime Contribu- you read in these pages, and especially winner Ambassador Ken- tions to American Diplomacy Award, by what you think about the state of dissent today, or anything else on your mind. n Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal.

8 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL

LETTERS

The Weight of Waiting The association also worked tially of taking the Three hundred and sixty. It’s a nice with the department to find welter of data assail- round number, but a long time to wait creative solutions for those ing one in such a when counting the days. I had the honor officers who were in temporary setting and relating of being nominated as the U.S. ambas- duty limbo between overseas it to an underlying sador to Peru in June 2013 and was con- assignments. Those efforts broke theme, giving it firmed in June 2014—360 days later. the logjam for more than 1,000 coherence in place During that year, I heard a lot about Foreign Service officers and spe- of confusion. This the unprecedented political and proce- cialists awaiting promotions and theme needs to dural battles in the Senate that saw some tenure, and helped smooth the way emerge from the 250 executive branch nominees wait end- for progress on individual confirma- data themselves rather than being lessly for confirmation. tions. imposed from outside. Allowing it to Secretary of State John Kerry, the I have been at post for a month now, emerge entails risks. But only through its Bureau of Legislative Affairs and many and remain honored and humbled to emergence does reporting become truly senior State Department officials advo- serve my country here. I owe a debt of policy-relevant—and likely to be read. cated for us—first behind the scenes and thanks to a very long list of people who As for the superior value of reporting then very vocally. Individual senators, in helped me along the way. from overseas posts, reporting officers my own case two superb Rhode Island However, in this time of politi- have been entrusted with the interests of home-state senators, did everything they cal polarization, the importance of an the United States in a way that journalists could to be supportive. organization to advocate for those who and others have not. However, the disputes on the Hill have dedicated their lives and careers to It should be noted that the disciplines often appeared intractable. The wait took the service of America’s national security of reporting have further applications. a major toll on my family and on U.S. interests has never been greater. AFSA is With those skills, I’ve been able to widely foreign relations. As I write this, there are fulfilling that vital role. share my analyses of developments in the still numerous highly qualified career Brian A. Nichols worldwide Anglican Communion. officers awaiting confirmation for posi- Ambassador And they have enabled me to write tions overseas and in Washington. Embassy Lima the forthcoming book, Theology and the Those who might doubt the signifi- Disciplines of the Foreign Service, which cance of the American Foreign Service Irreplaceable Reporting is concerned with the major contribu- Association’s decision to confront this Having reported from embassies in tion that such disciplines can make to problem should know that AFSA con- Vietnam, Korea and the Congo at critical theology. tinues to play a vital role advocating for junctures, I read the July-August issue on The Rev. Theodore L. Lewis some three dozen career ambassado- political and economic reporting with FSO and FSR, retired rial nominees waiting for confirmation. intense interest. I was glad for the chance Germantown, Md. Through its network of contacts and to find out how technology has affected vigorous advocacy, AFSA has engaged the reporting process in the 29 years Education on the SAT numerous congressional staff, senators since my retirement. I was also grateful Thanks to the FSJ and always-excel- and department officials to promote a for the issue’s affirmation of the continu- lent author and all-around-nice-person solution. ing importance of reporting officers. Francesca Kelly for her terrific article on In my case, AFSA provided invalu- Two things, however, appeared not the newly revised SAT in the June Educa- able advice on time-in-class regulations, to be included. One was identification tion Supplement. It is very helpful to par- allowances, tactics and options. AFSA of the essence of overseas reporting. The ents like us with children just departing also mobilized key constituencies like other was why reporting from Foreign middle school. businesses and civil society to advocate Service posts has superior value. About Joe Costantino for the critical work of ambassadors and them I would say the following. Information Management Specialist senior officials. Overseas reporting consists essen- Embassy Ljubljana n

10 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL

TALKING POINTS

Where Is Our Dan Rooney left Dublin in December Media in Russia, Egypt and Romania Ambassador? 2012, and his replacement—political have also raised questions about the FSA members are very familiar appointee Kevin O’Malley—was not unusually long wait for new ambassa- Awith the frustrating Senate logjam nominated until June 5 of this year. dors. In the case of Romania, the previ- that has held up career Foreign Service With the foot-dragging going on in ous incumbent departed Bucharest in members’ ambassadorial nominations Congress now, he may not show up in December 2012 and, as of this writing, no for more than a year in some cases. The Ireland until November or December, nominee has been put forward. problem has been well documented in meaning that the U.S. embassy will have An interesting exception here has the pages of The Foreign Service Journal been without an ambassador for two been media in Norway, where there and on AFSA’s website. whole years. Both the Irish Times and seems to be little enthusiasm for confir- One new twist in the story is that for- the website Irish Central have been vocal mation of the nominee for Oslo, cam- eign media have started paying attention, about their displeasure with this unusual paign bundler George Tsunis. particularly news outlets in countries gap in representation. AFSA will continue to pay close where there has not been an ambassador Irish media are not alone. The Tico attention to ambassadorial nomina- for as many as 20 months. Times, a Costa Rican newspaper, has writ- tions. Please see this month’s AFSA News A slew of articles have come out this ten articles speculating about when the section (p. 55) for a chart showing how summer, complaining loudly about the Obama administration would nominate a many ambassadorial nominees await absence of a Senate-confirmed U.S. new ambassador; campaign bundler confirmation and how long they have ambassador. Many have wondered out S. Fitzgerald Haney was finally nomi- been waiting. loud whether the absence means the U.S. nated to the post on July 9. —Julian Steiner, AFSA Staff is not concerned with its bilateral rela- And the Jamaica Gleaner has on more tions with that country—i.e., “Country X than one occasion wondered why it has Ferguson: Through a doesn’t really matter, so there is no rush taken so long to replace Ambassador Foreign Lens to nominate a new ambassador.” Pamela Bridgewater. Her successor was ope, this is not Egypt or Turkey. The Irish have been the most indig- nominated in September 2013, but as of this “NThis is in the USA.” That was the nant, and for good reason. Ambassador writing he is still awaiting confirmation. comment, with a picture from Ferguson,

50 Years Ago

former director of the American Foreign Service Association (1957-1959) is going to Norway “A as ambassador. Margaret Joy Tibbetts, only 44, does not pretend to be stunned by the news. She doesn’t imagine that the idea never even popped into her head, but says with engaging direct- ness, “Of course I thought of it! Isn’t being an ambassador the aim and the hope of every Foreign Service officer?” She does not profess to be an expert on Norwegian geography, but she has visited the country twice. As a tourist, she took, in 1951, a cruise from Oslo northward. Since most of the bigger Norwe- gian towns are situated on the sea, she got a rather comprehensive view of urban life, to say nothing of the rugged 2,110-mile coastline. Her next visit, in 1958, was a business trip. On the subject of language, Miss Tibbett is not going to relax just because so many Norwegians know English. “Not knowing the language of a country means you don’t understand what’s going on around you, and that’s a distressing state of affairs.” She has already plunged into the study of Norwegian and, having spent several hours a day with instructors and alone, believes she has made good progress. In all likelihood the Norwegians will call her “Madame Ambassador”—the title they gave to an earlier ambassador, Miss Frances Willis. —From “Washington Letter” by Loren Carroll; FSJ, September 1964.

12 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Missouri, tweeted by a popular blogger in Referring to an Aug. 8 U.S. security The QDDR is an opportunity Cairo, who writes under the pseudonym warning to Americans in connection with to replace the current crisis- “The Big Pharaoh.” an increase in protests and anti-Amer- response approach with an The St. Louis suburb in the heart of ican sentiment in Sri Lanka, the island actual strategy. the United States, where the Aug. 9 police nation’s Daily News opined: “For the U.S. killing of an unarmed black teenager to issue a travel warning for Sri Lanka ignited long-simmering racial and eco- does seem odd at a time when there are nomic tensions, has drawn critical media race riots in Missouri.” attention from around the world. —Julian Steiner, AFSA Staff and USAID best address them over the “I have been to many warzones,” next two decades? wrote Ansgar Graw in Die Welt. “But to QDDR Exercise Thier, of USAID’s Policy, Planning get handcuffed, yelled at by police, and Is Underway and Learning Bureau, explained that to see a prison from the inside, I had to n June 24, the American Security the QDDR analyzes diplomacy and come to Ferguson, Missouri, in the U.S.” OProject hosted a discussion billed development together, as mandated in The German daily’s U.S. correspondent as “an opportunity for congressional the presidential decision directive on filed the story following his arrest and engagement” on the 2014 Quadrennial development. He also argued that State three-hour detention on Aug. 18. Diplomacy and Development Review. and USAID need to forge stronger rela- The German press was not alone Meant to serve as a blueprint for the State tionships with the private sector to carry among European newspapers in spot- Department’s diplomatic and develop- out the main objectives of international lighting the problems of press freedom ment efforts abroad, the first QDDR was development. and police tactics in Ferguson. The issued in 2010 by Secretary of State Hill- Perriello, who has met with more than French Le Figaro and others also raised ary Rodham Clinton. 25 embassies and more than 100 stake- questions. The second QDDR was officially holder groups seeking input on the review, In Britain, the Metro drew parallels to launched by Secretary of State John F. reiterated the deputy secretary’s emphasis the London riots of 2011, stressing that Kerry on April 22. The ASP event was part on partnership between USAID and State. “Ferguson is a living example of why we of the outreach effort being made during He added that the decision to proceed should be immensely grateful that those the “discovery” phase of the exercise, with a second QDDR despite a change in tactics (teargas and rubber bullets) were expected to last through the summer. State leadership was important, signifying never used during the U.K. riots.” Panelists were Deputy Secretary of a longer-term commitment. The Russian and Chinese media State for Management and Resources Perriello wants to ensure, he said, joined in. On Aug. 18, Chen Weihua Heather Higginbottom, Assistant to the that the QDDR’s overall strategy does not reminded China Daily readers of Chair- Administrator of USAID Alex Thier and simply reflect “the fact that we did things man Mao’s support for the Civil Rights Special Representative for the QDDR that way last year.” He looks forward to Movement of the 1960s: “It seems that Tom Perriello, a former Virginia con- receiving recommendations at perriellot@ even today, Mao’s words half a century gressman appointed to spearhead the state.gov or [email protected]. ago are not totally irrelevant. The U.S. effort by Sec. Kerry in February. Arguably, one of the central challenges also needs to clean its own hands before Deputy Secretary Higginbottom for the QDDR is focus. “The QDDR cannot pointing accusing fingers at others.” underscored the team’s sincere desire to be everything to everyone, and it is not Russia Today raised the question of engage with Congress, nongovernmental going to try to be,” Higginbottom told the the treatment of journalists in Ferguson organizations and thought-leaders on gathering. It is largely about prioritizing “a on Aug. 14: “Press Freedom? Police Tar- what she described as the key questions few big issues and a few big challenges,” get Media, Arrest and Teargas Reporters of the review: (1) How can State and she added. at Ferguson Protests.” USAID modernize to be more efficient? In a recent foreignpolicy.com post, Even little Sri Lanka, as the LA Times (2) What diplomatic and developmental Gordon Adams makes a compelling case noted in a survey of foreign press cover- successes can be built on? and (3) What for zeroing in on just three: governance, age, couldn’t resist. are the global trends, and how can State security assistance, and the integration of

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 13 Contemporary Quote The Senate should carve out State’s career nominees and expedite their confirmation just as it does for military promotions. Make no mistake: Vacancies in so many world capitals send a dangerous message to allies and adversaries alike about America’s engagement. This perception makes it much more difficult to do the nonpartisan work at the heart of U.S. foreign policy—defending the security of our nation, promoting our values and helping our businesses compete to create American jobs back home. —Secretary of State John F. Kerry, from a July 7 op-ed in Politico.

planning and budgeting. equate oversight” of local guard vetting. Adams also observes that the QDDR The OIG audit, conducted in the wake is an opportunity to replace the current of the September 2012 attacks on the U.S. crisis-response approach with an actual mission in Benghazi that left four Ameri- strategy. But that can’t happen, he insists, cans dead, examined six embassies. unless the peripatetic Sec. Kerry gets off Although the names of the posts were the airplane and “fully backs” the exercise. redacted from the 49-page audit and its Since Associated Press correspondent annexes, State said they were located in Matt Lee’s challenge to State Department Africa, Europe and Latin America, and spokesperson Jen Psaki—to name one chosen based on “the estimated number thing that was actually accomplished as a of local guards employed and the ter- result of the 2010 QDDR—went unan- rorist threat level as of March 20, 2013, swered on April 22, the final product is among other factors.” likely to come under closer scrutiny. In redacted replies, security chiefs —Editorial Intern Aishwarya Raje and at each of the embassies agreed to Managing Editor Susan B. Maitra recommended changes in their proce- dures. The audit notes that compliance Quis Custodiet Ipsos had been completed in about half of Custodes? (Who Will the recommendations; the rest were in Guard the Guards?) progress, but still undocumented by the riting in the June 13 Washington embassies. WPost, Karen DeYoung summarizes The State Department hires local a newly completed internal audit of secu- guards to augment U.S. security “because rity contracts at U.S. embassies. Alarm- of growing security threats at posts ingly, a team from the State Department’s worldwide,” the audit notes. Most are Office of the Inspector General found that employed to “secure access to posts and none of the six posts it visited had fully provide building and residential secu- complied with vetting and other require- rity.” As of the end of 2012, the total bill ments for contractors who provide the first for such hires worldwide was about $556 line of defense against attack. In particular, million. In March 2013, the audit said, regional security officers at five of the six there were 100 active local hire security posts were said to have performed “inad- contracts worldwide.

14 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Under a contract process central- tions, one of the posts said that checks of ized in Washington since 2008, vetting financial information about prospective requirements for every prospective hires were illegal under privacy laws of guard include “a police check covering the country in question, and said that it criminal and/or subversive activities, a had “no alternative means to conduct a credit check, proof of successful previous credit check.” employment with supervisor recommen- —Steven Alan Honley, dations, and a personal residence check.” Contributing Editor Results must be individually approved by the RSO, the head of the embassy Yes, ICANN Change security office. The audit found that 173 ack in March, the U.S. National Tele- local guards at one embassy and about Bcommunications and Information 100 at another were placed on duty Administration, part of the Commerce by contractors before meeting vetting Department, announced that it would requirements. At a third embassy, 18 end its formal relationship with the guards were placed on duty before being Internet Corporation for Assigned Names cleared by the embassy’s security office. and Numbers in September 2015. ICANN Many of the guard files were incom- performs many administrative functions, plete. At five of the six embassies, it said, but probably the best known of them is RSOs “frequently could not demonstrate managing Internet domain names, which that they had reviewed or approved the it does via the Internet Assigned Num- local guards employed to protect their bers Authority. posts.” Also, the process for approving As Grant Gross reports for PC World, guards for duty varied among the embas- ICANN has faced mounting criticism sies. about the influence of the U.S. govern- In one instance, it said, a local guard ment over its operations. However, NTIA was assigned to an embassy “for months maintains that the decision to cut ICANN before his criminal history and use of loose simply reflects an understanding multiple false identities was discovered.” that the partnership, which dates back to At another embassy, the audit deter- 1999, was always intended to be tempo- mined that a contractor had collected as rary, as well as Washington’s confidence much as $1.48 million over a three-year that ICANN is capable of taking over its period in wages that were not being paid responsibilities independently. to the guards. The announcement has set off a OIG visits to the embassies and rel- scramble to ensure that the transition is evant State Department offices were con- as smooth as possible and, above all, that ducted between March and September the new governance model will safeguard 2013, although all files were reviewed for the openness of the Internet. guards who had worked under contracts NTIA’s administrator, Assistant Secre- at the selected posts since October 2010. tary of Commerce for Communications In addition to redaction of references and Information Lawrence E. Strickling, to specific embassies, six full pages of has emphasized that the United States the document titled “Outline for Action,” “will not accept a proposal that replaces though designated as “unclassified,” are the NTIA role with a government-led or blacked out in their entirety. intergovernmental solution.” In its response to OIG recommenda- For his part, ICANN CEO and Presi-

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 15 dent Fadi Chehadé has actively involved tatives of nongovernmental organizations step toward “an infinite regress.” civil society, Internet groups and other and businesses from 97 countries. Vinton Cerf, one of the Internet’s organizations, as well as governments, As The Economist noted in its detailed founders and now the vice president of in the transition to the new governance readout, for all the grandiose talk of “a Google, was more blunt: “Don’t screw it model. Agenda items for the most recent new beginning” in Internet governance, up,” he implored the high-level commit- of the organization’s quarterly confer- most participants expressed the view that tee that drafted the summit’s concluding ences, ICANN 50, held in London in the Web works rather well as things stand. document on the basis of hundreds of June, included Internet Governance, the Rafal Trzaskowski, Poland’s minister in submissions received prior to and during IANA Transition and Stewardship, and charge of information technology, warned the proceedings. ICANN Transparency and Accountabil- his colleagues: “Any changes must pre- The final NETmundial declaration, a ity. (ICANN 51 will be held in Los Angeles serve the principle of ‘do no harm.’” non-binding document, stipulates that from Oct. 12-16.) Milton Mueller, a noted Internet human rights must be observed online Another venue for debate about scholar at Syracuse University, quipped as much as off, but that the properties these issues was the April NETmundial that replacing the Commerce Department which have let the Web blossom must conference in São Paulo, which brought with some “multistakeholder commit- be preserved. It gives a nod to some con- together more than 1,200 government tee,” itself in need of supervision lest it be crete ideas, such as separating ICANN’s officials, technical experts and represen- captured by vested interests, would be a policymaking role from the day-to-day

SITE OF THE MONTH: Yearbook of the United Nations

ust in time for the United Nations General Assembly’s only publication comprising all Yearbook chapter intro- J annual convocation later this month, the organiza- ductions as well as the annual secretary-general’s report tion has launched the new website of the Yearbook of on the work of the organization, in the six official United the United Nations (http://unyearbook.un.org), the main Nations languages. reference work on UN activities. You’ll also find an expanded “Yearbook Since 1946, the Yearbook has served News” section with background on Year- as the authoritative source of information book stories. This complements the live on the United Nations system, offering feed from the Yearbook Twitter account, comprehensive coverage of political and with its historical perspective on current security matters, human rights issues, and United Nations issues. Finally, an “About the economic and social questions, as well as Yearbook” section provides an overview of assorted legal, institutional, administrative the latest published edition, as well as a look and budgetary matters. The website made back at the past 68 cover designs. its debut in 2008. The new website was developed jointly The new and improved version boasts by the Knowledge Solutions and Design a powerful search engine and enhanced Section and the Yearbook Unit of the U.N.’s readability across all platforms and mobile Department of Public Information. The devices. A scrolling gallery of Yearbook cover art provides web-development team built the site using open-source clickable access to each of the 63 published Yearbook software, providing improved functionality at substantial volumes. savings to the organization. “Yearbook Pre-press,” a new feature, offers a look at Readers and researchers are encouraged to visit the Yearbooks currently in production, with draft Yearbook new website and to use the “Contact” function to provide chapters and detailed chapter research outlines added feedback about their experience. regularly. Another feature is “Yearbook Express,” an online- —Steven Alan Honley, Contributing Editor

16 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL operation of the “root file” of the Inter- That process has been delayed by each, and .kp for North Korea.) net’s domain-name system, which could various technical and political issues, But domains aren’t property and be devolved to regional registries. however. For instance, does the Internet don’t belong to the countries they point It also calls for the Internet Gover- domain name for a country belong to its to, ICANN says in its motion to quash nance Forum, a “multistakeholder” talk- government—or to anyone else? the court order. Instead, they’re more ing shop the United Nations convened Stephen Lawless reports for PC World like postal codes: “simply the provision in 2006, to be shored up by extending its that plaintiffs who successfully sued of routing and administrative services five-year mandate, which expires next Iran, Syria and North Korea as spon- for the domain names registered within year, and guaranteeing “stable and pre- sors of terrorism now want to seize the that ccTLD,” which are what let users go dictable funding.” three countries’ country code top-level to websites and send email to addresses Meanwhile, another hot topic is domains—the two-letter code at the end under those domains. ICANN’s ongoing initiative to expand the of a country-specific Internet address—as Reassigning them would disrupt every- current Internet address system, which is part of financial judgments against them. one who uses a domain name that ends in based on 21 generic top-level domains. As (There are more than 280 ccTLDs, all of those codes, including individuals, busi- the FSJ explained in an April 2011 Cyber- which need to have managers, administra- nesses and charitable organizations—and notes item (“Stake Your Claim!”), the new tive contacts and technical contacts who that, in turn, “could lead to fragmentation gTLDs will eventually include a potentially live in the countries they represent. The of the Internet.” n infinite array of websites with subject- domains in this case are .ir for Iran and .sy —Steven Alan Honley, specific suffixes. for Syria, plus Arabic script equivalents for Contributing Editor

You Are Our Eyes & Ears!

Dear Readers: In order to produce a high-quality product, the FSJ depends on the revenue it earns from advertising. You can help with this. Please let us know the names of companies that have provided good service to you — a hotel, insurance company, auto dealership, or other concern. A referral from our readers is the best entrée! Ed Miltenberger Advertising & Circulation Manager Tel: (202) 944-5507 E-mail: [email protected]

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 17 SPEAKING OUT

“Up or Out” Is Harming American Foreign Policy

BY GEORGE B. LAMBRAKIS

he “up or out” system for 1980s, a psychologist presented find- Yet this issue must be faced: Does the career advancement in the ings on the ages at which the heights of diplomacy of the United States deserve Foreign Service was intro- effectiveness are thought to be reached to be served mainly by a stable body of T duced as an improvement in in various professions. It should sur- experienced people for their full profes- the Foreign Service Act of 1980, but it prise no one that advertising profes- sional lives? Or is the Foreign Service has instead damaged the Service. It sionals were most effective in their late content to ultimately depend on pro- should be repealed. 20s and the military in older years. But viding training grounds and relatively “Up or out” is borrowed from the the height of effectiveness in diplomacy short-term, in-and-out experiences for military. The regulations for “up or was reached even later, by practitioners many other professionals who view their out” set limits (usually short) on the in their 60s. Clearly, the age of greatest principal careers as being elsewhere? time in class an officer can serve before effectiveness depends on the type of Is the work of the Foreign Service so being either promoted or selected out. mission to be accomplished. easily mastered without special training The intention, of course, is to thin out or apprenticeship, and can the Service senior ranks to provide “flow-through” A Career or a afford to release many of its best people space for more junior officers to move Way Station? after providing a partial stage in their up the pyramid. This suits the military “Up or out” is also based (often life experience? hierarchy. unconsciously) on the belief that the For that is where the “up or out” Yet diplomacy requires larger por- Foreign Service is not truly a profes- provision of the 1980 Foreign Service tions of international sophistication, sion. Proponents of this view claim its act has led. The faster one is promoted, tact and specialized knowledge, while work involves so many characteristics the sooner he or she faces competition demanding less physical prowess in and skills that are also partially present for senior rank. And a few years later— its execution. That is why every other in members of many other professions, often still in their 50s, and arguably developed country’s diplomats are such as lawyers, politicians, academics, near the height of their effectiveness— generally allowed to remain in active businessmen, journalists and others the vast majority of Foreign Service service until reaching the age of 65. who often aspire to temporary diplo- professionals are forced (or elect) to At a symposium on creativity run by matic assignments—preferably starting leave the Service. the Department of Defense back in the at the top. The Foreign Service I propose is dif- ferent, but not difficult to attain. George B. Lambrakis was a U.S. Foreign Service officer from 1954 to 1985, the first two years with the U.S. Information Agency and the rest with the Depart- Elements of a ment of State. Formerly director of training assignments in the State Depart- Professional Service ment’s Personnel Bureau (now Human Resources), he was also a member of In my view, a professional Foreign AFSA’s 1970 “Young Turks” AFSA Governing Board, which organized the trans- Service should be characterized by the formation of the association into a labor union. Even after subsequent careers in international following elements. fundraising and academia, he remains interested in Foreign Service personnel issues as they (1) A career that can last until the affect wider American foreign policy. His December 2013 FSJ article, “A Plea for Greater Team- age of 65, following a trial period lead- work in the Foreign Service,” introduced his views on “up or out.” ing to tenure.

18 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Is the work of the Foreign Service so easily mastered without special training or apprenticeship?

(2) Abolition of the “senior thresh- old,” which is largely meaningless in the Foreign Service assignment pro- cess. Many senior positions are filled by more junior officers on “stretch” assign- ments. These are usually officers who have been promoted quickly and are— ironically—most likely to be thinned out early because so few can make it to the top. Requiring such officers to compete for nominally senior status is demeaning and irrelevant; they will either be promoted into more senior rank or not. (3) Continued selection-out, but only for serious breaches of discipline or provable errors. (4) Substantial intake at the mid- level of capable specialists to meet new or unexpected shortages, as and if they arise. (5) Continued tailoring of Foreign Service generalist promotions to the flow-through desired, but without presenting the criteria as foolproof or scientific. They can change as needs evolve. Law firms, universities, the media and other comparable profes- sions also have hierarchies, but they do not struggle to maintain perfect pyramids in their organizations. They recognize that numerical bulges of experienced seniors below the top

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 19 The Service can afford to keep experienced people in the ranks, doing what they do best, even if they never reach the top.

often suit their organizational missions. are certainly limited and not primary (6) A recognition by the Service motivators. Also limited are high rank, that personal rank and salary do not titles and promotions; they, too, should necessarily have to equate to manage- not be primary motivators. ment responsibilities at the top. While Foreign Service work consists of the Service needs good management, helping to formulate, and then carry it especially needs good—even excel- out, U.S. foreign policy, and generally lent—professional judgment and to conduct the business of the U.S. persuasive skills, which are normally government abroad. This means under- developed by FSOs as they gain experi- standing how foreign governments and ence. their people think and operate. Dedica- Presidents are not elected primar- tion, experience, interest in foreign ily for their management skills, nor cultures and commitment to a life of are Secretaries of State so chosen. So service alongside others with similar why do we think that senior diplomats, ambitions—along with a willingness to dealing with similar affairs of state, accept physical dangers, health risks should be so judged—and be selected and psychological vicissitudes—should out if they cannot all squeeze into top remain the primary motivators. management positions? The Service can afford to sacrifice As much or more rides on the abil- some rapidity of promotion to avoid ity of Foreign Service practitioners to slotting officers into positions for which analyze, report and persuade others, they are not ready (thus avoiding the both at home and abroad, regarding a “Peter Principle”) and keep experi- foreign situation or a U.S. foreign policy enced people in the ranks, doing what issue. they do best, even if they never reach Success in these skills is also the the top. secret to leadership of other govern- (8) As to arguments in favor of a ment agencies. We can only manage “half-dozen good people” to control their foreign activities if they, too, policymaking in Washington, and the respect our expertise, based on our concomitant desire for a special track successful performance, and not just at to produce them, let the Service build the top. one informally. But make this the (7) Recognition that the principal exception, not the rule. attraction of the Foreign Service is that Those who have a significant role of any other profession (e.g., teach- in formulating Washington policy (as ing, economics, law, journalism, the distinct from providing the factual basis military)—the nature of the life and and analysis on which such policy is work itself. Financial rewards in the FS based) will always be a small minority.

20 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL It is stupid to throw away Foreign Service expertise in regular, predetermined numbers just as those officials are making their greatest contributions.

And many of them will necessarily be seeds from which those foreign policies their people, views that often differ tied to the politics of the administration should grow. from ours. then in power, often recruited tempo- It is stupid to throw away such rarily at the top. Modest Support expertise in regular, predetermined Getting senior FSOs among such Our innovative, impatient, ebullient numbers just as those officials are mak- policymakers—valuable and necessary country can well afford to continue the ing their greatest contributions. Ameri- as that is—can never be the central aim employment of senior career Foreign can foreign policy lurches enough as it of any system guiding as big a popu- Service officials who have, through long is. We must not deprive it of even this lation as the entire Foreign Service, experience, developed understanding modest support. n whose main function is to provide the of the views of other governments and

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 21 COVER STORY

A DIPLOMACY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: BACK TO THE FUTURE?

A distinguished diplomat explores ince my retirement from the Foreign an evolving concept of diplomacy Service in 2005, I have had the chance, to meet the kaleidoscope of inspired by colleagues doing the same, opportunities and challenges to think about the future of the dip- lomatic profession. When I meet new America faces. Foreign Service officers, I tell them that I envy them for having a chance to BY MARC GROSSMAN reshape the job of diplomacy—not just because our world has changed, but because they are more educated, technologically savvy and Sdiverse than my cohort.

Marc Grossman, a vice chairman of The Cohen Group in Washington, D.C., retired from the Foreign Service in 2005 as the under secretary of State for political affairs. During his 29-year career, Ambassador Gross- man also served as chief of mission in Turkey (1994-1997), assistant secretary of State for European affairs (1997-2000) and director general of the Foreign Service (2000 -2001). He was recalled to the State Depart- ment to serve as the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2011 to 2012. The author wishes to thank Mildred Patterson, Jenny McFarland and Dylan Vorbach for their help in preparing this article. Some of the ideas on a diplomat’s philosophy were explored in Joint Forces Quarterly (No. 62, 2011). The story of the diplomatic campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan was reported in the Yale Journal of International Affairs (Sum- mer 2013). The ideas on Ukraine were discussed in the German Marshall Fund blog in March 2014.

22 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL But I confess that sometimes when I make a presentation What is 21st-century about a vision for “21st-century” diplomacy, I wonder what is really new. Is this a “revolution in diplomacy” like the one diplomacy’s answer in the mid-1400s described by Garrett Mattingly in his classic to the “Islamic State”? work, Renaissance Diplomacy? Is it similar to the changes identified by Harold Nicolson in his often politically incor- rect, but still astute, Diplomacy, or those analyzed by Henry Kissinger in his monumental Diplomacy? The world in which our diplomats work today is a kalei- doscope of opportunities and challenges, including violent non-state actors; global issues such as women’s empow- erment, energy and climate change; negotiation of trade ment taught me that the best diplomats are optimists. They agreements and managing financial crises; America’s need to believe in the power of ideas. They believe that sustained maintain alliances and create new coalitions; the requirement effort can lead to progress. They believe that diplomacy, to manage and further promote globalization; the impact backed by the threat of force, can help nations and groups individuals and groups of citizens now have on foreign policy; avoid bloodshed. and a recognition of the important link between pluralism A commitment to justice. Henry Kissinger rightly main- and economic freedom. It is a world that is also defined by tains that international orders only last if they are just. He the need to recognize the overriding reality of simultaneity: also emphasizes that this requirement for justice is connected the political, economic, military, cultural, humanitarian and to the domestic institutions of the nations that make up the media spheres have merged. Our policies must be as multi- international system. That is why, for U.S. diplomats, Ameri- faceted as the challenges we face. ca’s commitment to political and economic justice at home, The skeptic will say this is admirable, but will ask: What not just abroad, is crucial. lessons are those who argue for a “new diplomacy” taking Truth in dealing. It is dismaying to witness the periodic from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea resurrection of the statement by Sir Henry Wotton that “an and his continuing effort to destabilize eastern Ukraine? What ambassador is an honest man, sent to lie abroad for the good relevance does a debate about what 21st-century diplomacy of his country.” Wotton is wrong. I agree with Nicolson, who might be like have to the 150,000 thousand dead and nine wrote in 1939: “My own practical experience, and the years of million displaced in Syria’s civil war? What is 21st-century study which I have devoted to this subject, have left me with diplomacy’s answer to the “Islamic State”? And is Beijing’s the profound conviction that ‘moral’ diplomacy is ultimately political, psychological and military pressure on its neighbors the most effective, and that ‘immoral’ diplomacy defeats its in the South China Sea a reminder of the staying power of a own purposes.” more traditional, perhaps even timeless, diplomacy? Realism tempered by a commitment to pluralism. It is not a coincidence that the search for foreign policy paradigms Imagining a 21st-Century Diplomatic Philosophy after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has led some observers Any vision for a 21st-century diplomacy that can meet new back to the work of Reinhold Niebuhr. As Andrew Bacevich threats, grasp new opportunities and motivate new people maintains in his introduction to a 2008 reissue of Niebuhr’s is inherently optimistic. But it stands no chance of success The Irony of American History, Niebuhr’s admonitions are unless it is grounded in a realistic assessment of the world hard for us to hear, especially warnings about “the persistent as it is. To imagine a 21st-century diplomatic philosophy, we sin of American exceptionalism; the indecipherability of must start with an examination of first principles: What ideas history; the false allure of simple solutions; and, finally, the and values do we bring to diplomacy? imperative of appreciating the limits of power.” Here, briefly stated, are four principles that describe my Niebuhr is not the only one to call on for a stock-taking of approach to diplomacy. contemporary diplomacy. In The Return of History and the Optimism. Twenty-nine years in the U.S. Foreign Service End of Dreams, Robert Kagan reminds us that “in most places, and two more as a special representative for the State Depart- the nation-state remains as strong as ever” and that national

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 23 ambitions, passions and competition still powerfully shape The need for pluralism to be history. And Robert Kaplan argues in The Revenge of Geog- raphy that while they do not determine future events, “the both a guiding philosophy and legacies of geography, history and culture really do set limits a practical goal of American on what can be accomplished in any given place.” We have also been reminded by many astute observers not foreign policy remains. to get carried away with the power of social media to influ- ence statecraft and diplomacy, despite all the transformative possibilities of this new form of global interaction. Although we now are in an immediate and direct dialogue with people around the world, and the power of social media to organize is there for all to see, there are limits to the long-term com- mitments to action or enduring institutional connections related, the continuing need for policies based squarely on social media can make. the belief that the United States has an important and often Finally, proponents of the “authoritarian capitalist” model unique role to play in the modern world. have more talking points to use after the financial crisis of This is no easy task today. As Robert Kagan has recently 2008-2009; they use them to try to call into question a new written: “American foreign policy may be moving away from diplomacy’s belief in the inherent connection between pri- the sense of global responsibility that equated American vate sector-fueled economic growth, globalization, and more interests with the interests of many others around the world tolerance and pluralism in society. and back to a defense of narrower, more parochial national These are all powerful arguments and warnings. But the interests. … Unless Americans can...see again how their fate need for pluralism to be both a guiding philosophy and a is entangled with the rest of the world, then the prospects for practical goal of American foreign policy remains. That is a peaceful 21st century in which Americans and American why, just as some seeking a framework for U.S. foreign policy principles can thrive will be bleak.” after Iraq and Afghanistan have returned to Niebuhr’s writ- I am not ready to give up the thought that an evolving con- ings, others have also sought the wisdom of Isaiah Berlin. In cept of diplomacy can have a place in the future of our profes- his 2010 review of a new book of Berlin’s letters in the New sion. Even in the apparently “traditional” actions of Moscow York Review of Books, Nicholas Kristof highlights Berlin’s in Crimea or Beijing in the South China Sea, the power of commitment to pluralism as a “pragmatic way of navigating simultaneity is recognizable (the recent Ukraine crisis was an untidy world.” sparked by the desire of many Ukrainians to join the Euro- But this is not pragmatism devoid of values. As Kristof pean Union—an economic entity profoundly connected to a writes: “Finding the boundary between what can be tolerated transparent, rule-of-law-based, pluralistic way of life). with gritted teeth and what is morally intolerable may not If that observation is correct, we will need to use and be easy, but it does not mean that such a boundary does not respond to simultaneity as a key component of every future exist.” This well describes the profound challenge faced every diplomatic plan, bringing to bear all the elements of national day by America’s diplomats. power to respond to today’s challenges. It is through this recognition of the power and necessity of simultaneity, and An Evolving Concept of Diplomacy a “whole-of-government” approach, that one could imagine How does a proponent of “new diplomacy,” faced with a synthesis of traditional diplomacy and a diplomacy of the Putin, Assad, a “caliphate” declared by the murderous Islamic future. State and a rising China proceed? Part of any future for diplo- There are important examples of this synthesis. Plan macy will, of course, be rooted in Niebuhr’s realism. But his Colombia, conceived in the Clinton administration and views need to be combined with two other considerations: pursued by subsequent presidents, was an early and explicit first, the commitment U.S. diplomats have to promote politi- attempt to harness all of the levers of national power to sup- cal and economic pluralism (to include practicing Track Two port Colombians in their fight to preserve their democracy. or “citizen’s diplomacy” where appropriate); and, second and Trade, counternarcotics, counterterrorism and support for

24 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL human rights were all fused into a common conception. It It is through recognition of was an early example of the whole-of-government approach, which the 2010 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development the power and necessity of Review recommended for the entire State Department. simultaneity, and a “whole-of- Af-Pak: A “Diplomatic Campaign” government” approach, that My recall to the State Department gave me the chance to one could imagine a synthesis pursue another fusion of national goals and instruments: the 2011-2012 diplomatic campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan. of traditional diplomacy and a When President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Richard Holbrooke’s appoint- diplomacy of the future. ment as the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan on Jan. 22, 2009, they sent a message beyond South Asia. Sec. Clinton wanted SRAP to show that the whole-of- government philosophy—employing expertise and resources from all relevant parts of government to address the nation’s most important challenges—was the right model for 21st- ready to talk to the Afghan government about the future. century diplomacy. We decided to refer to our effort to create this surge as a After Holbrooke’s sudden death in December 2010, some “diplomatic campaign” to emphasize that this would not be asked if that effort to make and execute policy at the State a series of ad hoc engagements, but rather an effort that fol- Department in a unique way would continue. Sec. Clinton lowed a comprehensive plan. The campaign would require promised that it would; and, starting in February 2011, when I simultaneous, coordinated action by the SRAP team to con- was appointed to succeed Holbrooke, I pursued the whole-of- nect the military effort with the instruments of nonmilitary government approach, which I had advocated and practiced power in South and Central Asia, including official develop- in earlier diplomatic assignments. ment assistance, involvement of the private sector, support Pres. Obama laid the foundations for the 2011-2012 diplo- for civil society, and the use of both bilateral and multilateral matic effort in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the first two years diplomacy. of his administration. Sec. Clinton launched it in a speech at As we reviewed the diplomatic calendar after Sec. Clin- the Asia Society in New York on Feb. 18, 2011. In her remarks, ton’s speech, we devised, with our Afghan partners, a road she made clear that the military surge then underway in map designed to shape, guide and leverage four international Afghanistan was a vital part of American strategy. Without the meetings already set for 2011-2012. The first was the Novem- heroic effort of U.S. forces, joined by many allies, friends and ber 2011 meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbors in Istanbul, partners, there was no chance of pursuing a diplomatic end to designed to define the region’s stake in a secure, stable and 30 years of conflict. prosperous Afghanistan and what they could do to make that She also reminded her audience of the civilian surge happen. The second was the December 2011 international underway in Afghanistan, which had brought thousands of meeting in Bonn to mobilize post-2014 support for Afghani- courageous Americans from many U.S. government agen- stan. Third was the May 2012 NATO summit in Chicago; and cies, as well as international and Afghan civilians, to promote fourth was an international gathering to promote economic economic development, good governance, the power of civil development in Afghanistan, set for Tokyo on July 8, 2012. society and the advancement of women within their society. Beginning in March 2011, the SRAP team systematically In her speech, Sec. Clinton called for a “diplomatic surge” imagined what could be achieved for the United States, the to match the military and civilian efforts to try to catalyze international community, Afghanistan and the region by and shape a political end to years of war. This meant drawing the time the Tokyo meeting ended 17 months later. Our plan together all of our diplomatic resources to engage the countries defined what needed to be accomplished at each meeting in the region to support Afghanistan. It also meant, she said, and the work that had to be done to produce that result. Every trying to sustain a dialogue with the Taliban to see if they were aspect of the diplomatic campaign was integrated to achieve

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 25 the most comprehensive outcome. Every trip and every conversation with foreign leaders and diplomats at every level My recall to the State was used to press a holistic vision. Each of the four confer- Department gave me the ences contributed to the larger campaign and explicitly built on the one that had taken place before it. chance to pursue another The other key component of the diplomatic campaign’s fusion of national goals and regional strategy was based on the recognition that no regional structure in support of Afghanistan would suc- instruments: the 2011-2012 ceed without a strong economic component, including a key diplomatic campaign in role for the private sector. Sec. Clinton announced the U.S. vision—a “New Silk Road”—at a speech in Chennai, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. on July 20, 2011. The American objective was to connect the vibrant economies in Central Asia with India’s economic suc- cess. With Afghanistan and Pakistan in the center, they could both benefit, first from transit trade and, ultimately, from direct investments. The New Silk Road vision highlights a compelling aspect rooted in our values and philosophy. For example, the West’s of 21st-century diplomacy: acting as a “whole of government” answer to Mr. Putin in Ukraine is rightly focused on support- on opportunities and challenges simultaneously. For exam- ing the creation of a strong Ukrainian state connected to the ple, a successful New Silk Road could increase the incentives West, not tainted by corruption, ready to fight for itself (which for the insurgents to give up their fight by offering, at least for President Petro Poroshenko seems inclined to do, at least for some of their fighters, an alternative way of thinking about eastern Ukraine) and the threat of ever more severe sanctions the future. It could also promote the crucial role of women in on Russia, especially in answer to crimes like the shooting development. In his book Monsoon, Robert Kaplan provides down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. a view of the larger connections: “Stabilizing Afghanistan is A policy built on a long-term assessment of the West’s about more than just the anti-terror war against al-Qaida and many simultaneous strengths in this battle would focus also the Taliban; it is about securing the future prosperity of the on the need to create a relevant and robust vision for NATO’s whole of southern Eurasia.” future after Afghanistan. At the upcoming NATO summit in The 2011-2012 diplomatic campaign in Afghanistan and Wales, Pres. Obama has the chance to lay out new commit- Pakistan was not just a vehicle of policy, but also a way to ments to the alliance and reaffirm the enduring American think about the interaction of diplomacy with the other role in Europe. aspects of national power. As former British General Rupert Responding to Russia’s actions in a meaningful, long-term Smith wrote in The Utility of Force: “The general purpose of way also calls for a trans-Atlantic energy strategy that reduces all interventions is clear: We seek to establish in the minds the possibility of energy blackmail. Diversity of supply was a of the people and their leaders that the ever-present option motivating factor in U.S. support for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan of conflict is not the preferable course of action when in con- pipeline, which brings Central Asian oil to world markets. frontation over some matter or another. To do this, military Europeans have reduced their dependence on Russian gas. force is a valid option, a lever of intervention and influence, But more can be done, such as resurrecting Western sup- as much as economic, political and diplomatic levers; but port for an East-West energy corridor connecting the Cau- to be effective, they must be applied as a part of a greater casus and Central Asia to world markets and renewing the scheme focusing all measures on the one goal.” American commitment to the North American Energy Initia- tive with Canada and Mexico. The U.S. is helping Ukraine and Global Challenges Today other European countries build up natural gas storage and A survey of America’s global challenges points to the need find gas supplies in Africa. The United States can itself move for policies that press new ideas and simultaneously bring to export U.S. natural gas to increase world supply and further to bear all the elements of national power while remaining reduce the chances of Gazprom blackmail. While these steps

26 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL will not by themselves solve today’s challenges,they send a strong signal about the changing global gas market. We can also honor our values and the original Euromaidan protesters by recognizing the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Invest- ment Partnership for what it is: a strategic investment in the economic and political future of the West. Europe and the United States should complete TTIP negotiations as soon as possible and not let tactical disagreements stop governments from launching what may be the most strategically profound response to Russia’s actions. There are many other possibilities for a realistic diplomacy carried out by a professional and engaged Foreign Service, one that is committed to supporting a whole-of-government approach and founded on a recognition of the power of simultaneity, a robust commitment to pluralism and a belief in the enduring power of the United States to do good things in a troubled world. Managing China’s rise in Asia is as much about bringing into force the trade and investment–focused Trans-Pacific Partnership as it is about stationing Marines in Australia. As Geoff Dyer observes in his analysis of U.S.-China relations: “Instead of American decline, the bigger question is whether Washington can sustain broad international support for the system of free trade, freedom of navigation and international rules it put into place after the Second World War.” Getting energy policy right has implications beyond Ukraine, perhaps including making a contribution to a better future for Greeks, Cypriots, Turks and Israelis in the eastern Mediterranean. Energy strategy, economics, trade, military strategy, the environment and geography all come together in the Arctic. Promoting the rule of law is not just about human rights; it is also about sustaining economic development. Getting women involved in commerce, development, and peace and reconciliation processes leads to more successful societies. Diplomacy—even a 21st-century version—is not the answer to every question. Geography, power, passion, ambi- tion and competition still matter. Diplomacy must be backed by force and based on a strong domestic foundation. But there are some new things under the sun, and we need to consider, talk about and study the ways in which diplomacy will need to continue to evolve to meet the challenges of this new era. We should focus especially hard on those places where we can use simultaneous, integrated tools of national security to face tomorrow’s challenges or the return of yesterday’s. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 27 FOCUS AFSA HONORS DISSENT AND PERFORMANCE

TURNING THE TABLES: An Interview with Stu Kennedy

Charles Stuart Kennedy, 2014 winner of AFSA’s Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award, talks about his Foreign Service career and pioneering work creating American diplomacy’s oral history program.

BY SHAWN DORMAN

n June 18, at this year’s awards D.C. Throughout his career, he set a high standard for creatively ceremony, AFSA conferred managing and responding to the growing need for protection of, its Lifetime Contributions to and services for, American citizens, and for managing U.S. visa American Diplomacy Award programs and processes. on Charles Stuart Kennedy, in In 1986, after retiring from the Foreign Service, Mr. Kennedy recognition of his distinguished became managing director of The George Washington University’s Foreign Service career and life- Foreign Service History Center. There he created the Foreign Affairs time of public service. Oral History Collection and began recording the insights and expe- The previous recipients of riences of American diplomats. The program moved to George- this prestigious award are U. Alexis Johnson, Frank Carlucci, town University and then, in 1988, to the Association of Diplomatic OGeorge H.W. Bush, Lawrence Eagleburger, Cyrus Vance, David Studies and Training, where he serves as its director. Newsom, Lee Hamilton, Thomas Pickering, George Shultz, Rich- In that capacity, Mr. Kennedy has personally interviewed ard Parker, Richard Lugar, Morton Abramowitz, Joan Clark, Tom more than 1,000 retired American diplomats, some of whose Boyatt, Sam Nunn, Bruce Laingen, Rozanne Ridgway, William careers date back to the 1920s. The ADST Oral History Collection Lacy Swing and George Landau. now includes more than 2,000 entries, which are posted on the A career officer in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1955 to Library of Congress website, as well as at ADST’s website. The 1985, Charles Stuart “Stu” Kennedy retired after a distinguished collection is a rich and essential resource for authors, scholars consular career with the rank of minister counselor. Mr. Kennedy and journalists. was consul general in Naples, Seoul, Athens and Saigon, and Mr. Kennedy is the author of The American Consul: A History also served in Frankfurt, Dhahran, Belgrade and Washington, of the United States Consular Service, 1776-1914 (Praeger, 1990). He is the co-author, with William D. Morgan, of The U.S. Consul Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. at Work (Praeger, 1991) and American Diplomats: The Foreign

28 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL U.S. Department of State of Department U.S. Charles Stuart Kennedy delivers remarks on receiving AFSA’s 2014 Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy in the State Department’s Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Room on June 18. AFSA President Robert J. Silverman, left, and Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy, right, applaud.

Service at Work (iUniverse, 2004); and, with Dayton Mak, of Stu Kennedy: Obviously, I’m delighted and honored, and American Ambassadors in a Troubled World (Praeger, 1992). He a little bit overawed. I am very thankful to AFSA for doing this. has received the Foreign Service Cup, the Cyrus R. Vance Award By the way, since this is effectively an oral history, I should for Advancing Knowledge of American Diplomacy, the For- note that today is June 20, 2014. rest C. Pogue Award from the Mid-Atlantic Region Oral History Association and a special citation from the American Academy SD: Right! When I went up to Toronto this past spring for of Diplomacy. the International Studies Association Convention to represent Early in his Foreign Service career, Stu Kennedy realized AFSA and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, that there was no real record of the work of U.S. diplomats. As seeing the reactions from academics to the oral history collec- a result, their fellow Americans have no idea of these individu- tion made me even more aware of just how valuable the oral als’ many contributions and sacrifices, and suffer from serious histories are. They really are a treasure trove of primary-source misconceptions about what Foreign Service members do. material—firsthand accounts of diplomatic practice. In creating the ADST Oral History Program, he has made an SK: Yes, it’s like fishing in a barrel. I mean, you take any enormous contribution to public understanding of American person involved in foreign affairs and get them to talk about diplomatic history and the crucial role the Foreign Service has what they’ve done, and they’ve all had remarkable experi- played in advancing U.S. interests around the world. ences. On June 20, Foreign Service Journal Editor Shawn Dorman sat down with Stu Kennedy to talk about his life and career. SD: As you say to everyone you interview, let’s start at the beginning. Tell me where you were born and grew up. Shawn Dorman: Congratulations on winning AFSA’s 2014 SK: All right. I was born in Chicago in 1928, just before the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award. Every- Great Depression. That had a profound effect on my family, one was thrilled by the choice. as it did on so many others. My mother and father separated

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 29 Courtesy Charles Stuart Kennedy Stuart Charles Courtesy Charles Stuart Kennedy (second from right), U.S. consul in Yugoslavia, at a rest stop with the 7th Army MASH hospital on its way back from treating victims of the 1964 earthquake in Skopje. The hospital was at Kumanovo, now in Macedonia. Kennedy was an adviser to the hospital during this first entry of NATO troops into a communist country on a humanitarian mission.

when I was about 3. I moved to California and ended up in the of us doing this. I’m sure the Soviets were doing the same Pasadena area until about 1939. Then we moved to Annapolis, thing. It’s quite a bit fancier now, but the same thing still goes Md., where my older brother was a midshipman who gradu- on. ated in the class of 1940. SD: Same concept, different technology. And what was next SD: Where did you get your undergraduate degree? after the military? SK: Williams College. I graduated in 1950. A couple of years SK: I served in Japan and Germany for a year each and left later, I joined the intelligence branch of the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force in 1954 with the rank of airman first class. I used studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Mon- my GI Bill benefits to attend Boston University, where I got a terey, Calif. It was very good for me because I had gone to one master’s degree in history and a bride. While in the Air Force, of these nice New England prep schools, a nice New England stationed near Frankfurt, I had taken the Foreign Service writ- college, and it was time to get out and meet some other peo- ten exam in 1953 and just barely passed. ple. Although I was in the intelligence branch of the Air Force, as an enlisted man, I developed an appreciation for non-com- SD: What was your first post? missioned officers of the Air Force and how good they are. SK: Frankfurt. I’m told that approximately a third of the Then I was sent to Korea during the Korean War, and I had a Foreign Service was assigned to posts in Germany for their first very interesting assignment with the U.S. Air Force. One of the tour at that time. We had lots of consulates. I went to Frank- lesser known wars that we fought was the U.S. Air Force fight- furt and spent one year there, initially with the refugee relief ing the Soviet Air Force over North Korea. There were regular program. We dealt with refugees who during World War II had combat planes on both sides shooting at each other. Of course, headed west to escape the Soviets and settled in Germany. I was one of those who sat on the ground and had a tape Most of them didn’t want to be there, so we arranged for thou- recorder listening to this. It was a rather nasty little war. sands of them to come to the United States. The Canadians and Australians did the same thing. SD: You were listening to the Russians? SK: I listened to the Russians directing their fighter pilots SD: And when you entered the Foreign Service, did you come to our fighter pilots. And I would pass on to our fighter pilots in as a consular officer? what the Russians were planning to do. There were a number SK: There were no cones then. After a while, your assign-

30 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL There were no cones then. After a while, your assignments showed what you wanted to do, and I found that I really liked consular work. ments showed what you wanted to do, and I found that I really and getting things done. I came in just at the beginning of the liked consular work. It seemed to me that my friends who were real involvement in postwar efforts in Europe. After the war, doing political reporting were writing papers for class again. we really were the top dogs in everything concerning foreign Initially, when a friend would tell me, “My paper went all the affairs. The Foreign Service had not been really fully engaged way up to the deputy assistant secretary,” I thought, “Wow, in World War II. The military had taken over. And by the early ain’t that wonderful?” I preferred to deal more with people, 1950s, the military was letting go of its occupation of Germany which I enjoyed. and of Japan. And the Foreign Service was moving in to estab- lish normal relations, and things were changing. SD: Did you feel there was a hierarchy or any snobbism between political and consular officers? Did you see any of that? SD: I wonder if you see any parallels with what happened, SK: Yes. I accepted it at the time; but looking back on it say, with the Iraq War and the military having more promi- now, I’m sort of horrified. There were two terms that were nence in foreign policy. used: substantive work and non-substantive work. Work in SK: In dealing with war, the military has to take over. But both consular and administrative affairs was considered non- now, I think it’s much more built-in, with Foreign Service substantive. In today’s world, on the 90th anniversary of the political advisers helping the military avoid some mistakes. Rogers Act, talk about being politically incorrect! According The civilian side is involved but not in charge until the actual to that view, getting an American out of jail lacks substance. war is over, and then the military in effect says, “Now it’s your Incredible! baby.” In my era, almost all of us in the Foreign Service were There are deep roots to this, of course. Years ago, I did quite male and almost all of us had served in the military, albeit a bit of research on the history of the consular service and later some of us, like myself, had a very lowly rank; but you had published a book about it, The American Consul: A History of learned to appreciate and understand what the military could the United States Consular Service, 1776-1914. For a long time, and couldn’t do. Back then the military was not necessarily we had a diplomatic service and a consular service. The diplo- “them;” the military was “us.” And it’s quite a difference from matic service tended to be for those who were wealthy—you’d today, I think. send your son to serve under a certain ambassador to give him a little polish and work on a language and come back. It wasn’t SD: Which of your postings stand out the most in your really professional. memory? What was your favorite posting? The consular service was made up of people who had SK: My favorite post was Belgrade. I extended there, and was political clout, from all parts of society, and some of them chief of the consular section from 1962 to 1967. I took Serbian stayed. It was much involved in trade matters and taking care with Larry Eagleburger before we went out there. We loved to of seamen. The world was different then, and there was a cer- travel through all the different parts of Yugoslavia. Looking back tain amount of snobbery. on it, you could see that the Serbs and Croats didn’t get along, Fortunately, I had gone to what were considered the “right” but it didn’t seem nasty. We certainly never imagined that the schools. I didn’t have money, but I had the education. Yet I country would come apart. still recall hearing colleagues say: “This is Stu Kennedy. He Another assignment I wouldn’t say I enjoyed, but was memo- may be a consular officer, but he’s one of us.” Happily, I think rable, was the 18 months I spent as consul general in Saigon that attitude is long gone. (1967-1968). I traveled rather extensively. The war wasn’t going As a matter of fact, I think consular work has become well, but those of us in Saigon didn’t feel under any particular far more attractive; not that it’s changed that much, but the threat. I lived out in the middle of Saigon. The Civil Operations perception has. People now see it as getting involved in things and Revolutionary Development Support program was going

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 31 I’ve been interviewing people for more than 30 years. I have a fairly low threshold for boredom, and I’m not bored yet.

on then. There were some rockets and some fighting on the out- SK: Absolutely. skirts of Saigon. It was quite a different war. SD: You were consul general four times. What were the most SD: Were you married then? satisfying and the most challenging things about being in that SK: Yes, but my wife wasn’t with me in Vietnam. I’d met position? Ellen while studying at Boston University, and we got married SK: Consular work is one side of the operation of the before I joined the Foreign Service. We just celebrated our embassy. When you’re running a consular section, you’re pretty 59th anniversary, by the way. much on your own. You don’t have to write long papers with explanations. You get involved with things dealing with relations SD: Congratulations, that is an accomplishment! with the host country and you’re on the country team, but the SK: Next, I served in Greece, an interesting place. I was there basic work was done without somebody on top of you. from 1970 to 1974, while the military junta was in charge. So, I The ambassador and deputy chief of mission didn’t give us got to see how inefficient a dictatorship was. That’s one of the any trouble. That’s the way it should be. I remember that if you nice things about the Foreign Service: you get to observe differ- had a difficult case, and you really didn’t want to do anything— ent types of government. I served in every geographic bureau figuring that if you hold off a while, something will happen to except Africa and Latin America, and always did consular work resolve it— you just sent it off to Washington, because you’d while overseas. I served in Frankfurt, Dhahran, Belgrade, Saigon, hardly ever get an answer. Seoul, Naples and Washington. SD: Was there a lot less bureaucracy back then? SD: Did you spend much time back in Washington? SK: Yes. Things have not improved in that regard. I think com- SK: Yes, usually in personnel. But many of us stayed overseas munications are probably much better now, but there are many as much as possible, because we got better pay there. You didn’t more restrictions. get any particular credit for serving in Washington. I didn’t understand until I got to this oral history program that you could SD: Naples was your last post. You retired in 1985, and then pick work that would be more likely to lead to becoming an almost right away got to work on the oral history project? ambassador and other plum assignments by working in desk or SK: Yes. I had started thinking, “What am I going to do with staff jobs in the State Department. my life after I leave the Foreign Service?” A lot of retired FSOs When I entered the Foreign Service, we were the first post- were going into declassification work, but that didn’t seem like McCarthy class and got a certain amount of attention for that. much fun. I remember one time someone came to the department and I had attended the funeral of Charles Burke Elbrick, who had asked us, “How many of you want to be ambassadors?” We all been consul in Poland during World War II and was later kid- raised our hands, of course; but I only raised mine about halfway napped in Brazil. There were so many stories. And I remember up because I thought, “Consul general in Bermuda sounds like a at the funeral I saw Larry Eagleburger and many other friends, hell of a lot more fun!” all of whom had stories of their own to tell. And then it came to me: Someone needs to collect those stories, because no one else SD: It seems there are different types in the Foreign Service, knows them. including some who focus on networking and climbing to be Back then, you could get a good portable tape recorder for ambassadors and others who are more focused on having the about $35. At first, I had the rather naïve idea that I would just experience of a good career and doing what they’re interested in. go around and invite people to “tell me about the good old

32 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL days.” And I’d collect all these stories taking it to a new level. that would all be there for people to lis- SK: Oh, yes. We’re now past the ten to. But when I eventually started the 2,000 mark. And since we started the oral history program, I discovered very intern program, we have been able quickly that a lot more was involved. to do more country readers and even First, you had to get everything subject readers. transcribed. Nobody’s going to listen to people sit and talk. You’ve got to have a SD: Did you conduct most of the repository for them. Then you have to interviews yourself? How long do they get it out and get it known. So I hustled take? and got somebody at The George Wash- SK: Many, but not most of them. ington University interested. They took Now though, I am doing most of them. me in with another colleague, Victor In the early days, each oral history Wolf, and that’s where we started the would last about an hour and a half. oral history collection. Now they are much longer. I started to Unfortunately, Victor was killed in a put more emphasis on people’s early car accident shortly after we started. One years. Not all of that information is problem was that George Washington being used now, but we have a signifi-

University had just one diplomatic Lau ADST/AFSA/Jeff cant body of information about, for historian, and his period was the (First) Stu Kennedy, left, with the ADST team in example, growing up as an immigrant 2007: Financial Officer Marilyn Bentley, Executive Napoleonic era, which didn’t dovetail Director Les McBee, Publishing Director Margery in the United States, about college pro- too well with the 20th-century focus of B. Thompson and President Amb. Kenneth L. tests during Vietnam, things like that. American oral histories. Brown. (Second) Stu Kennedy interviewing Amb. I should also note that from the Nicholas Burns, a career FSO and former under secretary of State for political affairs (2005-2008). very beginning, I wanted each inter- SD: Then you moved the collection (Third) Foreign Service “brat” Kathleen Turner, an view to cover social history and be as to Georgetown University, right? interviewee, with Kennedy. representative as possible of different SK: Yes, and it stayed there until demographics. We wanted to interview 1988. Now we’re part of the Association for Diplomatic Studies women, but they just weren’t there. Now they are. and Training, at the Foreign Service Institute. They came up with the idea of a whole list of things to do to help the Foreign Service SD: Were there any interviews that didn’t work? Institute at the time it was getting ready to move to a new campus. SK: I remember one: the individual had had a very distin- When I started this thing, I had the idea that one of these days, guished career, but when I got there, I realized the poor man had there’s going to be a great library in the sky for material like this, severe dementia. At a certain point, I just turned the tape recorder where anyone could use it. I had no idea about the specifics, but off and kept chatting. the Internet was just starting to take off. In many ways, we’ve really We do have a problem, a serious one. This is when someone been the beneficiaries of larger developments like that. does an oral history interview with us and then does not edit the transcript and return it to us. We have two options. Option one is SD: Still, you had a lot of foresight before the technology was to turn it over to a volunteer Foreign Service person to clean it up. even there—a vision. The other one is to wait until they die. That’s pretty much it. We’re SK: Yes, there was a vision there. Early on, I had some concepts not going to let go of it; it’s just a matter of timing. [Wry laughter, like offering country readers, which would extract from all the oral as Kennedy knows that Dorman is one of these slackers.] How is histories entries that deal with, say, Patagonia or whatever. And I your health? put together about 20 of those. There was no money, so I typed the manuscripts myself and even bound them. SD: I’m holding on! It’s fascinating to me, the process and what happens in the interview, the way that you elicit all that personal SD: Of course, now the transcripts are online, and searchable, information. In my interview, it felt like my whole life was laid out

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 33 And then it came to me: Someone needs to collect those stories, because no one else knows them.

before me. Do you feel that you bring out a lot from people that FSOs get along with colleagues at Treasury, the White House or they may not have thought about or may not have considered between the bureaus? I’m all for getting as much as we can. It whether they’re comfortable saying? can be rather personal. SK: This thing does surprise people. I try now to warn them, Once I interviewed a woman who had immigrated to America but this is my natural curiosity. I feel it fits right into this. When from another country. I knew her socially, and she said to me you’re looking at somebody who says, “OK, then I decided to at the end of her oral history: “I thought you were going to ask declare war on Patagonia,” you want to know where they came me about my affairs.” And sometimes people say, “You know, I from. But on all sorts of things, you really should know who the hadn’t thought about that son of a bitch for 30 years.” You don’t person is. get a lot of backstabbing, though. Maybe it’s the We also find out a lot of interesting things kind of people we’re interviewing. Some are still about what it’s like to operate in a bureau- bitter about their relationship with somebody, cracy like the State Department. How did often a supervisor. Fair enough, I’ve got no par- ticular problem with that; but for the most part, Stu Kennedy and his wife, Ellen, at the June people tend to be pretty objective. 18 AFSA Award Ceremony. Inset: Mr. Kennedy is congratulated by his daughter, Vickie It’s always a collaborative effort and depends Devereaux, at the ceremony. on the type of relationship you set up. And I AFSA/Joaquin Sosa AFSA/Joaquin do quite a few of my oral histories these days over the telephone. I find it works much bet- ter than I thought it would.

SD: I know you interview political appoin- tees, as well as career diplomats. Do you see differences between them? SK: Not really. I try to get as much as I can out of anyone I’m interviewing. So if the person is a politician, I ask about that. For example, I interviewed Robert Strauss and got a lot about Texas Democratic politics from him. Why not? I’ve got these people here, and I’m the vacuum cleaner.

SD: Do you gain a sense, in terms of com- petency, of how people perform when they are in the top position? Can you tell from talking to them whether they were successful? SK: Well, I’ve talked to, for example, Avis Bohlen, who was deputy chief of mission to Ambassador Pamela Harriman in France. She was glowing about the ability of Pamela Har- riman, said she was a real pro. And there are

AFSA/Joaquin Sosa AFSA/Joaquin other political appointees who did well.

34 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL I get both sides. You get some career FSOs who reach the ambassadorial level and really aren’t very good managers. I have a personal aversion to anyone who is nasty to their staff. A good political appointee coming out of the political side can often talk to the political figures in the country where they are. I mean, pol- itics is politics. And they’re probably better at it, to some extent, than the Foreign Service officer. It depends on the personality. I’m uncomfortable with the whole idea of making political contributions to get appointed, even though every administra- tion does that. But to me, it’s bribery.

SD: Overall, do you think that most people coming out of the Foreign Service are pleased with the career they’ve had? SK: Oh, sure. I’ve been interviewing people for more than 30 years. I have a fairly low threshold for boredom, and I’m not bored yet. I think it’s a marvelous career, and I can’t think of any one that could be more fun. For one thing, you keep changing jobs and posts instead of doing the same thing year after year, and the people change. And if you’re stuck with a lousy boss, or someone who’s incompetent, either you’ll move or they will.

SD: What would you tell students coming out of college or grad school about the Foreign Service as a career? Take AFSA SK: You have to be a certain type. For example, it may sound With You! silly, but I’m not that turned on by money. If money really inter- ests you, and vacations down in the Bahamas or something like Change your address online, that, or if you’re not willing to take some rather lousy assign- visit us at www.afsa.org/address ments, then the Foreign Service isn’t going to work out. But I Or found interesting things every place I went. I enjoyed walking Send changes to: the streets and seeing something different every day. AFSA Membership I had one person say at the end of the interview: “My God, Department they paid me to do this!” Some people have had bad experi- 2101 E Street NW ences, but that’s part of our profession, too. Washington, DC 20037

SD: Any final thoughts on the oral history program? SK: I want to be careful not to make this sound like I’m the Moving? oral historian for the Foreign Service. There are others involved. When I started this, there was an oral history of Foreign Service spouses and one for USIA newly underway. They were being done by the wives of retired FSOs and retired USIA officers on their own. After I got into this, I contacted a British diplomat, Malcolm McBain, who had been ambassador to Madagascar. I passed everything I’d learned on to him. But he did all the work and started the British Oral History Programme. We helped instigate

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 35 it and kept up a correspondence with them. It’s located at Cam- bridge University. You can find it through Cambridge online. They have about 150 oral histories now.

SD: The oral histories are one of the best possible outreach tools—educational, and not just for students. SK: Exactly right. We really have three audiences. One is the professional Foreign Service officers, and they’re using these excerpts as discussion matters. Two, the general public. And the third audience is the pundits and others of the “chattering class” who teach and write about diplomacy.

SD: The oral history collection seems like a great bridge between the study and the practice of diplomacy. With such a bridge, do you think academics can learn from the practitioners, and also the other way around? SK: My own prejudice is that if you’re practicing diplomacy, you’re doing something. If you’re teaching diplomacy and nobody’s reading about it, it’s just hot air. One of the things I really want to do is to develop a sense of history within the For- eign Service.

SD: Any final thoughts to share? SK: I want to say a word about this little organization we have here, the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Train- ing. Really, it’s quite small. And even though we can only pay McDonald’s-level wages, it’s kept going and most of the staff have stayed on. We are only about five people, and we each have our own specialty. Our interns have been a big help in so many ways. For one, they bring enthusiasm. And we give them “substantive” work. The goal for our first group of interns was to get things organized and put together our country readers. It took a long time, but now we’re pretty well caught up. Now we’re asking them to go through the transcripts and pick out tidbits and stories that can tie to foreign affairs today. We’ve got these on our website, www.adst.org. Thanks to Executive Director Chris Sibilla, our newest staff member, this website gets something like 35,000 hits a month. That means a great number of people in the public are able to understand what diplomats do. It shows that we don’t just sit around in striped pants writing treaties.

SD: It’s been a pleasure talking with you, and I really appreci- ate your taking the time. SK: No, thank you! n

36 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FOCUS AFSA HONORS DISSENT AND PERFORMANCE

INTEGRITY AND OPENNESS: Requirements for an Effective Foreign Service

Honesty and candor have been rom the very start of my 32-year Foreign the watchwords of this three-time Service career, through one of my final AFSA dissent award winner’s actions as chief of mission in Phnom diplomatic career. Penh, constructive dissent has been integral to most positions I have held BY KENNETH M. QUINN and decisions I had to make. While my willingness to challenge U.S. policy on issues ranging from genocide and terrorism to normalizing relations with Vietnam may have cost me a job or two along the way, the Frespect of my fellow officers and the three awards for con- structive dissent AFSA has conferred on me motivated me to keep speaking up. My first experience as a dissenter occurred in 1968. After completing the A-100 course, I had moved on to the Vietnam Training Center to prepare for my first assignment in that wartorn country. This was shortly after the Tet Offensive, which had claimed the lives of a number of Foreign Service officers, and amid growing doubt that our goals in Vietnam were “worth dying for.” In fact, several FSOs who had served there found the assignment so morally confounding that they either resigned or asked for reassignment just a few months after arriving “in country,” effectively ending their careers.

Kenneth M. Quinn, the only three-time winner of an AFSA dissent award, spent 32 years in the Foreign Service and served as ambassador to Cambodia from 1996 to 1999. He has been president of the World Food Prize Foundation since 2000.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 37 Throughout the Vietnam War, many FSOs had difficulty getting their reporting telegrams approved and sent if they dared to express any doubts about U.S. policy. The White House White The Kenneth Quinn, center, serving as President Gerald Ford’s interpreter at a meeting with a South Vietnamese government delegation at the White House in April 1975, a few weeks before the fall of Saigon.

This trend understandably caused considerable concern Dinner with the Ambassador among senior State Department officials, including the new I spent my first two years in Vietnam as a district senior director of the Vietnam Training Center, Cliff Nelson, who adviser in Sa Đéc province, where I headed a 10-member himself had just returned from the war. He spoke to the U.S. Army advisory team and commanded combat helicopter assembled trainees and urged anyone who had any doubts missions. I was there at the same time as a young naval officer about what we were doing in Vietnam to come see him right named John Kerry, who was assigned to a brown-water Navy away. Based on the conversations I’d had with my colleagues, patrol boat base. I assumed that there would be a long line at his door, but I was At one point, a few officers from the field, including me, the only one there. were asked to come to the embassy in Saigon to have dinner When Nelson arrived, he looked at me and asked, “Who with Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker. It was a rare opportunity are you and what do you want?” I replied, “You just said that to interact with someone at such a high level. Over dinner, anyone with doubts should come to see you, and I wanted to the ambassador asked us for assessments of how things were be honest and tell you about mine.” This enraged him, and he going in the countryside. went into a tirade, yelling that he could not understand why One by one, my colleagues gave relatively upbeat accounts. a “red-blooded American boy could not risk his life for his As the most junior person present, I was the last to speak, and country.” As I sputtered out a few words, trying to tell him I I could feel the pressure to repeat their assurances of suc- was fully prepared to do just that, he yelled that he was throw- cess. But instead, I described the significant corruption that ing me out of the program and, if he could, out of the Foreign pervaded the South Vietnamese government and military Service. hierarchy, and explained how it was undercutting our efforts Suddenly, my dream of a career in diplomacy was about to to defeat the insurgent Viet Cong. disappear before it had even begun. But the department was Amb. Bunker’s face showed just how unhappy he was to so desperate for employees to serve in Vietnam that it ordered hear what I had to say, but for good measure, he added: “That’s the director to reinstate me. Soon thereafter, I left for Saigon not what I hear from others.” Later in the evening, Deputy and ended up staying in Vietnam for six years, an experience Chief of Mission Sam Berger pulled me aside and told me that shaped my Foreign Service career. privately how glad he was that I said the things that I had, and

38 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL The response from Embassy Phnom Penh was to tell me to desist from further reporting on Cambodia. Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Amb. Kenneth Quinn, fourth from left, on the ground in Cambodia during a POW/MIA search for evidence of missing U.S. servicemen. DCM Carol Rodley is to his left.

how important it was for the ambassador to hear them. National Security Council staffers to squeeze my arm and say Throughout the Vietnam War, many FSOs had consider- he thought it was brilliant.) able difficulty getting their reporting telegrams approved and sent if they dared to express any doubts about U.S. policy. This The Foggy Bottom 46 added to a sense of frustration and deep disappointment. I In April 1974, after six years in Vietnam, I was assigned still recall walking down an alley in Saigon with another junior to the staff of the National Security Council. This was just as officer who was literally in tears. His vision of an honest, open Watergate was closing in on President Richard Nixon, and the Foreign Service reporting system had proven an illusion, and “decent interval” before the collapse of South Vietnam was he was considering resignation. drawing to an end. Internal turmoil led to the creation of the I felt similar pressure two years later, in 1972, when I was Secretary’s Open Forum, of which I was one of the co-founders stationed along the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. There I and vice chair. When we had our first meeting with Kissinger, observed the very first steps by the radical Khmer Rouge as now Secretary of State, you can imagine the startled look on they began taking over parts of Cambodia. By interviewing his face when he realized that a member of the NSC staff was refugees who fled across the border and carefully reviewing also leading this new organization. other reports, I pulled together the first-ever detailed account Two years later, I became a special assistant to Richard Hol- of the group’s genocidal policies, which they would later inflict brooke, the new assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific on seven million Cambodians. My analysis also documented affairs. As much as I loved my job, many mid-level colleagues that the Khmer Rouge were not controlled by Hanoi, which shared my dismay that seventh-floor political appointees were was an article of faith within the U.S. government and intel- making policy and personnel decisions without any input ligence community. from the career Foreign Service. A few of us began meeting in To his credit, the U.S. consul general in Cân Thö did not the EAP conference room to talk about the situation and how hesitate to send my well-documented report to Washington as to rectify it. an airgram, which received wide circulation. But the response In 1977, 46 of us (known as the “Foggy Bottom 46”) drafted from Embassy Phnom Penh was to tell me to desist from fur- and signed a statement of our concerns, which I hand-carried to ther reporting on Cambodia, and virtually every other analyst Executive Secretary Peter Tarnoff along with a request to meet reacted by saying I had it all wrong. (Twenty-five years later, with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. By the time the meeting was Henry Kissinger—who was the U.S. national security adviser set up, more than 500 FSOs had signed the petition, including when I submitted the report—pulled me aside at a reunion of several sitting ambassadors and assistant secretaries.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 39 More than ever, our foreign policy needs Foreign Service members to speak candidly. Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Amb. Kenneth Quinn and his wife, Le Son, departing from Embassy Phnom Penh at the end of his ambassadorial tour in July 1999.

On the day of the meeting, I served as spokesman, accom- questions to ask, one of them stood up and said, “This was the panied by George Moose, Barbara Bodine and Alan Romberg. single best meeting we have had with a government official After assuring Sec. Vance of our deep commitment to excel- in the 18 years since the end of the war.” That remark brought lence in foreign affairs, we then conveyed our concern that home to me again how critical openness is to promoting trust this basic principle was being undermined and eroded. The in U.S. policy. Secretary was clearly taken aback by our candid outline of Despite that success, the leader of one POW/MIA family concerns, and immediately committed the department to a organization met privately with senior department officials to thorough review of every issue we identified. urge that I be removed as DAS. That campaign briefly suc- Our initiative set off a chain reaction that helped pave the ceeded, but as I was packing up my office, Under Secretary of way for passage of the Foreign Service Act of 1980. It also led to State Frank Wisner reversed the decision. my receiving the William R. Rivkin Award for constructive dis- The result was that over two administrations, from 1990 to sent by a mid-level FSO, in 1978, my first AFSA dissent award. 1994, I was able to help put in place the “Road Map Policy,” which provided for simultaneous steps by both Hanoi and Formulating a Road Map Washington that led to significant progress in POW/MIA In 1990 I returned to Washington from the Philippines to accounting, the establishment of liaison offices and, even- serve as a deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East tually, the normalization of relations. It was for my role in Asian and Pacific Affairs. I also chaired the Interagency Com- bringing about this transformation of U.S. policy, in the face of mittee on Vietnam POW/MIA Accounting. Opposition to entrenched opposition and personal efforts to remove me, that moving forward on normalizing relations with Vietnam came I received AFSA’s Christian A. Herter Award for constructive from many directions. Many critics, including members of dissent by a Senior FSO in 1993. Congress, believed that the State Department and other fed- eral agencies had suppressed information about U.S. military A Matter of Life and Death personnel left behind alive in Indochina. My last dissent came right at the end of my career in 1999, At one point, I invited a group of about 30 of the most stri- while serving as ambassador to Cambodia. We had a com- dent critics to the department. In fact, we gathered in the same pletely defenseless facility with no Marines, no setback and no EAP conference room where the Foggy Bottom 46 had met. I way to prevent a truck bombing like the ones that had hit our told them that I would stay as long as they wanted and would missions in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam the year before. In fact, answer every question. the Diplomatic Security Bureau’s Mobile Assessment Team After more than two hours, when the group had no more said that Embassy Phnom Penh was the most exposed mission

40 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL in the world; hit with an explosive like that used in Kenya, everyone inside would likely be killed or wounded. Deputy Chief of Mission Carol Rodley and I began a desper- ate search for a new, safer location to which we could move our operations. However, Washington kept denying every application for funding or permission to relocate. The depart- ment finally ordered us to stop appealing the denials and to sign the waivers required for a security upgrade of our current location—the very one that DS itself had said could not be safeguarded. In my judgment, agreeing to sign such waivers would leave all of my American and Cambodian employees exposed. I sent a message via the Dissent Channel informing Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that I refused to implement the department’s orders. Since I was only a few months away from the end of my ambassadorial tour, I suspected Washington might try to wait me out. It was therefore critical that DCM Rodley sent her own, separate message, confirming that if I left post, she would also refuse to implement the directive. As a result of our united front, State ultimately came up with the funds to construct a new embassy with an appropriate setback and a detachment of Marine guards. In 2000, Carol Rodley and I shared the Herter Award (my second) for our actions.

The Value of Dissent I can attest to the fact that challenging U.S. policy from within is never popular, no matter how good one’s reasons are for doing so. In some cases, dissent can cost you a job—or even end a career. And even when there are no repercussions, speaking out may not succeed in changing policy. Yet as I reflect on my 32 years in the Foreign Service, I am more convinced than ever how critically important honest reporting and unvarnished recommendations are. And that being the case, ambassadors and senior policy officials should treasure those who offer different views and ensure that their input receives thoughtful consideration, no matter how much they might disagree with it. AFSA’s annual dissent awards are a powerful reminder of that responsibility. By recognizing and honoring Foreign Service personnel at all levels who demonstrate intellectual courage and integrity, this unique program reminds us that our foreign policy, more than ever, needs Foreign Service members to speak candidly, whether about personnel issues, war policy, terrorism or genocide. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 41 FOCUS AFSA HONORS DISSENT AND PERFORMANCE

A REFLECTION On Bravery

When Washington quashed a local issent is never easy. outreach effort in Kandahar, one FSO Respectful of the Addleton Jonathan Courtesy decided to throw a spotlight on a broader chain of command, I ordinarily accept decisions made public affairs problem. by those above me and then BY JONATHAN ADDLETON move on. However, there are occasions when this approach is tested to the limit—and beyond. Once in my 30-year Foreign Ser- Dvice career, that resulted in a dissent cable. A career Foreign Service officer, Ambassador Jonathan Addleton is the recipient of AFSA’s 2014 Herter Award for constructive dissent. He is cur- rently regional USAID mission director for the Central Asian Republics, based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He previously served as U.S. ambassador to Mongolia; senior civilian representative for southern Afghanistan in Kandahar; development counselor at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium; acting USAID deputy assistant adminis- trator for legislative and public affairs in Washington, D.C.; mission director in Pakistan and Cambodia; and a program officer in Jordan, South Africa and Yemen. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in March 1984, he worked briefly at the World Bank, the Macon Telegraph and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

42 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL It happened last year, following the attempt by the Pakistan Ambassador Jonathan Addleton, second from left, meets with Taliban on the life of Malala Yousafzai, the Pashtun adolescent the district governor, second from right, and security officials in Panjwai district, west of Kandahar city, in fall 2012. Panjwai was from Pakistan’s Swat valley who championed female educa- once considered among the most violent districts in Afghanistan. tion. Malala of Swat was named by her forward-looking father after Malala of Maiwand, a 19th-century Afghan heroine of Malalas’ bravery and continued relevance almost wrote itself, whom folk songs are sung, stories are written and schools are and would have provided an important point of conversation. named. At the height of battle against British forces in 1880, But the story never appeared in the local Pashto press, she had ripped off her veil, waved it like a flag and rallied the apparently because of concerns that such commentary might Afghan troops: the result was a famous victory during what the inadvertently undermine Malala’s credibility in the face of British refer to as the Second Afghan War. The heroine died conspiracy theories already emerging in Pakistan, that the shortly afterward, and the shrine constructed in her memory United States was somehow behind the attack. is visited to this day. Several months later, Secretary of State John F. Kerry The courage of both Malalas resonates for obvious reasons, addressed embassy staff in Afghanistan via video conference. providing an important example of bravery and outspoken- In his remarks, Kerry emphasized candor and outreach as two ness across two countries that are often at odds, yet face essential aspects of our service. similar challenges. Viewed from the distance of Kandahar, the “spiking” of the In Kandahar, where I was then undertaking the hardest Malala story by decision-makers in Washington suggested assignment of my life, outreach was difficult. Yet this was a that we were missing important opportunities in both of those story that might help facilitate it. My reflection on the two areas. Or, as a Foreign Service colleague with strong ties to

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 43 THE OP-ED THAT WAS NEVER PUBLISHED Schools and health “MALALA OF MAIWAND AND MALALA OF MINGORA: centers are sometimes TWO BRAVE WOMEN WHOSE COURAGE INSPIRES named after her. OTHERS” Born in 1861 in a village southwest of A few days ago, a 14-year-old girl named Malala Maiwand, Malala was Yousafzai was shot and nearly killed while traveling on the daughter of a poor

a school bus near her home in Mingora, Swat. Following Truong-Ngoc Commons/Claude Wikimedia Afghan shepherd. Malala Yousafzai surgery in Peshawar, she was moved to a hospital in Rawal- Reportedly, she was pindi where she remains in critical condition. engaged to a soldier in the army of Ayub Khan, son of the “I am ready for any situation,” she had stated several Afghan Emir Sher Ali Khan. In fact, the Battle of Maiwand months before the attack, defending her long-standing took place in July 1880 on what was supposed to be her wish to attend school and receive an education. “Even if a wedding day. terrorist comes to kill me, I will tell him that he is wrong. I As the battle between the Afghans and the British raged, won’t back down.” it seemed that the Afghan army was facing certain defeat. Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Taliban spokesman in Pakistan, Seeing that the situation was desperate, Malala of Maiwand praised the attack that nearly killed Malala and wounded took hold of the Afghan flag and appealed to the soldiers at least one of her classmates. “Let this be a lesson,” he around her to fight on. commented, publicly affirming Taliban support for violence When one of the Afghan flag-bearers standing beside her against young girls even as politicians, journalists and ordi- was killed, she took off her veil, waved and shouted the now- nary people across Pakistan condemned the attack. famous words: Perhaps less well known is the fact that Malala her- With a drop of my young love’s blood, self was named after an Afghan national hero—Malala of Shed in defense of the motherland, Maiwand—who offered another example of courage at the I will put a mark of beauty on my forehead famous battle that took place west of Kandahar more than Such as would shame the roses in the garden. 130 years ago. Shortly afterward, Malala of Maiwand—not yet 20 “I named her Malala after being inspired by Malala of years old—was herself killed in battle. Her grave in south- Maiwand,” her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, is reported as ern Afghanistan is visited to this day. During subsequent having told journalists in Pakistan. “She has fulfilled my decades her story inspired countless others, providing an dream and played the role of Malala.” example of bravery among Afghan women that lives on, not Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are just in Afghanistan but in neighboring Pakistan and beyond. sometimes difficult. However, the fact that a Pashtun father The fact that Malala Yousafzai from Mingora in Swat living in the mountains of northern Pakistan would name valley was named after Malala of Maiwand lends a special his daughter after a hero of Afghanistan who was born and poignancy to the story. Certainly, the two Malalas together raised near Kandahar more than a century and a half ago represent a high order of bravery, setting an example of is remarkable. More importantly, the lives of both young female courage and heroism, not only for Pushtuns but for girls named Malala offer an important example of defiance people everywhere. as well as selfless service, one that people everywhere can Perhaps during the coming years, the Malala who is now admire and appreciate. recovering from her surgery at a hospital in Rawalpindi will The story of Malala of Maiwand offer similar inspiration to children and adults around the is, of course, already well-known world, leaving an especially strong mark among those who across Afghanistan. Students read value education—by being so committed to the education of about her in their school books and girls that she was willing to give up her own life to achieve it.

Garen Ewing Garen hear about her from their parents. –Jonathan Addleton, September 2012 Malala of Maiwand

44 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL The best public diplomacy often misplaced concerns about conspiracy theories elsewhere suggests we have prematurely sur- takes place at a purely local level—and rendered on the information front. Somehow it is precisely this point that needs to we need to become more confident about the ideals and foundations on which our own figure more prominently in both the society is built, to challenge more directly clearance process and in our approach those who are committed to violently destroy- ing them. to outreach. A Policy for “Serious Times” My intent in writing the dissent cable on Malala in February 2013 was to help pre- cipitate an internal discussion on important Pakistan later told me: “We are so afraid of saying the wrong public affairs matters and to make the case for thing that we end up not saying anything at all.” an approach that is more nimble, less bureaucratic and gives greater authority to the field. We Can Do Better The mandatory official response to the original dissent Using the Malala example as a starting point, my dissent cable suggested that the timing had not been right for an cable provided a platform for broader reflection on how we as article on Malala, given the sensitivities involved and the pos- a Foreign Service could do better. Like many officers, I have sibly counterproductive consequences of having a U.S. official been frustrated over the years at the complicated and uncer- publicly comment on a case that was already being widely tain clearance process, which all too often stifles or discour- discussed in Pakistan. At the same time, it acknowledged that ages outreach. At times, the clearance process itself seems the department could perhaps have been better attuned to the more like a capricious obstacle course than a catalyst for effec- merits of publishing commentary like this in the more local- tive public diplomacy. Drawing on these frustrations, I used ized context of Kandahar. the dissent cable to highlight several areas of special concern. From my perspective, the “missed opportunity” did, First, our clearance processes are too cumbersome. While indeed, stem from a failure to recognize that the best public serving in Mongolia the previous year, it was disappointing diplomacy often takes place at a purely local level—and it is to discover that it took no fewer than 32 signatures to clear an precisely this point that needs to figure more prominently in innocuous, book-length manuscript that was finally published both the clearance process and in our approach to outreach. by Hong Kong University Press. Something is seriously amiss Hopefully this year’s Christian A. Herter Award will give fur- when it takes longer to clear a document than it does to write ther impetus and visibility to this important discussion. or translate it. Finally, it is my sincere hope that this award will bring Second, meaningful engagement is sometimes squashed greater recognition to those who serve or have served in before it even happens. A control-oriented approach based on extraordinarily difficult and even dangerous circumstances, decisions made thousands of miles away breeds a tendency including most especially colleagues in Kandahar and across to steer clear of any media exposure, even when permission southern Afghanistan. is likely to be granted. All too often we “overthink” issues, More than two centuries ago, two former political adversar- avoiding potential “negatives” that may or may not exist. Deci- ies, both also former presidents, engaged in a long and historic sions also sometimes seem to be made based on a fear about correspondence. John Adams, in one of his letters to Thomas the “heavy scrutiny” that will follow, with careers damaged Jefferson, at one point noted that the two of them had lived in because of perceptions that someone has “misspoken” or is “serious times.” somehow “off message.” We, too, live in serious, even momentous, times. Hopefully, Third, we are too reticent in taking on extreme narratives our entire Foreign Service can directly confront the challenges directly, including radical Islamist ones. The fact that we that we face in ways that are truly serious and, ultimately, don’t publish meaningful articles in the local press because of make a lasting difference. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 45 FEATURE

SERVING AT EMBASSY KABUL Life on a secure compound in a war zone is somewhat surreal.

BY BILL BENT

rying to capture what it is like living and working as a diplomat in Afghani- stan is a bit like the Indian parable of the blind men and the elephant. In the story, each blind man feeling different parts of the elephant has a different view on how to describe it. Their indi- vidual impressions, while true, are not entirely so, at least not in the sense of describing the elephant in its totality. Similarly, one’s impres- Tsions and experiences of Afghanistan depend on what one has touched or, more accurately, what has touched each unique individual. My thoughts may, therefore, be different than the impressions others have come away with; but there are certain experiences common to all. The critical security threat colors everything here, govern- ing how we live, work and play. The adage, that soldiering is 99 percent boredom and 1 percent sheer terror, applies equally well to diplomatic service here. The weekly Selectone security tests and the periodic “duck and cover” drills become routine background noise, and it is easy to become complacent. But

Bill Bent, an FSO serving in Afghanistan, is a former member of the FSJ Editorial Board and the AFSA Governing Board.

46 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Courtesy William Bent William Courtesy William Bent at the International Security Assistance Force base.

then something occurs—like an early Christmas morning indi- Minimalist Living rect fire attack—to give us a taste of that 1 percent terror and Living on a secure compound in a country at war is some- jolt us back to the reality that there are people outside the wire what surreal, with the barbed-wire walls, guard towers, ubiq- who want to kill us. uitous (but overwhelmingly friendly) Nepalese guards armed Given this, it is remarkable that we are able to conduct the to the teeth and frequent overflights from International Secu- work of diplomacy as effectively as we do. But the fact is that, rity Assistance Force helicopters. Although employees occupy- although movements outside the compound are limited to ing senior positions and married couples are all assigned to “mission-essential” trips, officers from the senior leadership apartments right off the bat, the majority of staff here—about down to entry level are able to travel to meetings in Kabul to 80 percent—live in 10-by-12 (or smaller) Container Housing meet with their counterparts. Many also travel to our field Units, referred to as CHUs or hooches (also spelled hootch, the locations in Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Bagram and Kandahar; word usually refers to a thatched hut and is derived from the and our colleagues there regularly engage with Afghans. Some Japanese word uchi). sections have developed creative ways to successfully conduct Most folks prop their twin beds up on foot-high leg exten- outreach and diplomacy via social media and hosting events sions to allow for storage under the bed, a practical step. But and meetings on the embassy grounds. if you are prone to tossing and turning, it is a precarious one. There have been some interesting debates in these very pages Some, however, are quite creative with their hooch décor, and about the nexus between security and the ability to conduct the Community Liaison Office even sponsors a monthly “Bet- effective diplomacy, but we are able to get the basic work done ter Hooch and Garden” contest that garners some interesting to support U.S. foreign policy. As one colleague notes, however, entries. “What is missing here is our ability to develop deep, ongoing As cramped as our living conditions are, they can be oddly relationships with our contacts.” The “mission-critical” standard comforting for some. Minimalist living has its advantages. for travel outside the compound does not allow for this, mean- Henry David Thoreau captured the essence of this in Walden: ing that we are not able to call upon close relationships to subtly “I used to see a large box by the railroad, six feet long by three shape issues as our colleagues serving in other countries can. wide, in which the laborers locked up their tools at night; and

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 47 it suggested to me that As cramped as our living permeates everything, every man who was hard including clothes, hair and, pushed might get such a conditions are, they can be oddly of course, lungs. one for a dollar and, having comforting for some. Minimalist Many people here suf- bored a few auger holes in fer not just from soiled it to admit the air at least, living has its advantages. suits, but also respiratory get into it when it rained problems. I quickly learned and at night, and hook to overcome feeling self- down the lid, and so have conscious about wearing a freedom in his love, and in his soul be free.” For many, how- surgical mask on the smoggiest days. Summers bring warmer ever, the charm of minimalist living wears off quickly. temperatures, but also more winds and dust. There are actually two compounds that make up the Stress is a factor here, exacerbated by the long working embassy grounds, divided into east and west and connected hours, the ever-present security threat and separation from by a 30-yard-long underground tunnel. Conditions on the families. We work six days a week, and the days are long. Many eastside compound can be Spartan; that is where most of of us are sleep-deprived at one point or another. the “hooch” dwellers live (although the west side does have People deal with pressures and the monotony of compound some), and where most of the recent power failures and water life in different ways. The saying is that during your time here shut-offs have been occurring. you either become a drunk, a monk, a hunk or a skunk. (The Most hooch dwellers place their names on the shared- latter two refer to those who are promiscuous and those who apartment waitlist immediately on arrival, and closely scruti- let their hygiene go.) The smart people practice a healthy nize their movement upward weekly—some daily, to the woe mixture of the first three and avoid the fourth. Post has a strict, of the poor general services officer assigned to manage the list. zero-tolerance alcohol abuse policy, but the libations do flow Some adherents of Thoreau’s philosophy elect to remain in freely here at many community events. their hooches. Or it could be because they dread the prospect Everyone looks forward to rest and recuperation breaks, of sharing a bathroom or living in an “Odd Couple” situation. and these are often a topic of conversation among colleagues. Currently, the entire compound is a construction zone, with a The typical native greeting on the compound is not the Dari major billion-dollar project underway to build additional office “Salaam alaikum,” but rather “When is your next trip?” or, space and living quarters. As you can imagine, this results in for variety, “Did you just get back?” The trips out are crucial significant noise and dust, and not only in the Great Outdoors. to morale. One of my colleagues compares service here with There have been more than a few evenings here when we have working on an oil rig: a couple of months on duty, followed by had to close the front office due to the noise of hammering and a blissful two-week rest to restore the soul. drilling. Our “commutes” to work can change at a moment’s Most of us are also keenly aware of our end-of-tour date. notice as walkways are blocked off and rerouted. Some know how long they have been here to the day, hour, The gentleman in the construction hat in the post’s orienta- minute and second, assisted by a creative “Circle of Free- tion video is likely correct when he states that this place will be dom” Excel sheet that counts down the time, calculates your “something to see” when the construction is finished. But he is “sentence served,” and helpfully displays a pie chart that, as equally correct in his warning of how difficult it is to live here the sentence served ticks away, gradually replaces a menacing while the work is going on. Taliban fighter touting an RPG with a tropical beach scene. Most of us are separated from our families, which of course Dealing with Stress creates its own stresses. Visits home or a rendezvous in Europe Afghanistan’s climate and topography present additional on R&R are precious gifts, but there is then the inevitable challenges. Kabul is located at 5,869 feet above sea level, and return to post. Twenty-first-century technology makes the sep- its thin, dry air poses dehydration dangers for those who are aration somewhat bearable; in fact, to be honest, I have had not careful. During the cold winters, Afghans burn anything some great in-depth one-on-one conversations with my wife and everything to stay warm, generating acrid smoke which, this past year via FaceTime as the normal daily distractions of trapped by an inversion, results in a heavy, dense smog that life—the TV, dinner preparation—are put aside. Absence truly

48 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Courtesy William Bent William Courtesy The author, fifth from left, with his staff at Embassy Kabul. can make the heart grow Currently, the entire compound These activities are no fonder, and brings the substitute for home, but importance of communi- is a construction zone, with anyone claiming to be cation into sharp focus. It a major billion-dollar project bored in Kabul probably may not work for every- needs to get out of his or one and it doesn’t make underway to build additional her living quarters more a bad relationship better; (see “monk” reference but for already healthy, office space and living quarters. above). resilient relationships, the Year of Living Sepa- Longer-Term Effects rately is doable. But it is still hard. The issue of U.S. diplomats serving in dangerous and diffi- Of course, like most situations, it isn’t all bad. Although cult places is not a new one. The names engraved on the AFSA we work long hours under challenging circumstances, we Memorial Plaques offer a stark reminder that, since the begin- have our light moments, too. Thanks to a very active CLO, ning of our nation’s history, diplomats have served under there are many activities here to keep one busy, including difficult and dangerous circumstances. And Kabul certainly the ever-popular Quiz Night, Movie Night, various dance and doesn’t hold a monopoly on being a challenging assignment, music events, dinner events, Karaoke Night and Friday vendor as our colleagues serving in the field in Afghanistan or at other markets. There are also countless classes taught by volunteers, unaccompanied posts can certainly attest. including yoga, swing dance, martial arts and running, as What concerns me, however, is the scope of the issue in well as book clubs and bridge clubs, spinning and lectures. the 21st century. The advent of “expeditionary diplomacy” has

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 49 One of my colleagues compares service here with working on an oil rig: a couple of months on duty followed by a blissful two-week rest to restore the soul.

Even if the State Department were to decide tomorrow to end our presence in these places, we still have an entire generation of Foreign Service officers who have served in an unaccompa- nied post in a war zone, some multiple times. I can’t help but be concerned about the overall impact of this phenomenon on the Foreign Service as a whole. I am sure that, in the wake of ending two wars, the U.S. military will take a long, hard look at its experi- ences and adjust accordingly. I trust that the Foreign Service will do the same. Despite the challenges, I am walking away from my assign- ment to Afghanistan with an overall positive view, derived from a Courtesy William Bent William Courtesy sense of pride in what my colleagues and I contributed to further The author at the Citadel in Herat. The citadel dates back to 330 B.C., when Alexander the Great and his army arrived in what is U.S. foreign policy goals here. This has been a momentous year now Afghanistan. Many empires have used it as a headquarters in U.S.-Afghan relations, with national elections and the first over the past 2,000 years. democratic transition of power in Afghanistan’s history, the negotiations over a Bilateral Security Agreement and the transi- tion from a U.S. combat role to a more traditional diplomatic transformed the Foreign Service, bringing thousands of officers presence dominating our activities. to serve in places and conditions that were inconceivable in the As President Barack Obama said in his May 27 announce- previous decades. The sheer number of Foreign Service mem- ment on our future troop presence: “We have now been in bers experiencing this phenomenon points to a sea-change in Afghanistan longer than many Americans expected. But make our organization. no mistake—thanks to the skill and sacrifice of our troops, dip- An individual is bound to be affected by living and working lomats and intelligence professionals, we have struck significant on an isolated compound in the middle of a war zone, no matter blows against al-Qaida’s leadership, we have eliminated Osama how psychologically unscathed he or she appears to emerge at bin Laden and we have prevented Afghanistan from being used the tail end of the assignment. I am also beginning to perceive to launch attacks against our homeland. We have also supported a paradigm shift in the Foreign Service toward a more military the Afghan people as they continue the hard work of building a culture. This is manifested in our vocabulary, in our Facebook democracy. We’ve extended more opportunities to their people, profile photos (how many of your colleagues have posted including women and girls. And we’ve helped train and equip pictures of themselves wearing their personal protective equip- their own security forces.” Anyone who has served in Afghani- ment?) and in our overall approach to our diplomatic presence stan should be proud of their service and contributions to in conflict zones. these worthy goals. n

50 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION

AFSA Presents 2014 Dissent, Exemplary CALENDAR Performance, Lifetime Achievement Awards

September 1 Labor Day: AFSA Offices Closed

September 3 12-2 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting

September 4 4:30-6:30 p.m. End-of-Summer Happy Hour

September 9 3-4:30 p.m. “The Future of the Voice of America”

October 1

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE OF DEPARTMENT U.S. 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA’s 2014 award winners. Front row, from left: Herter Award winner Jonathan Addleton, Lifetime Award winner Luncheon: Stu Kennedy, Guess Award winner Mary Kay Cunningham and Rivkin Award winner David Holmes. Back row: Claire 179th A-100 Class Coleman, who accepted the Bohlen Award on behalf of winner Kari Osborne; AFSA staff attorney Raeka Safai, who accepted the Harris Award on behalf of winner Nick Pietrowicz; AFSA USAID VP Sharon Wayne; AFSA Executive Director October 8 Ian Houston; AFSA President Robert J. Silverman; Secretary of State John Kerry; AFSA State VP Matthew Asada; 12-2 p.m. Harriman Award winner Ed O’Bryan and AFSA Awards and Outreach Coordinator Perri Green. AFSA Governing Board Meeting

On June 18, AFSA honored winners at a ceremony, October 5-10 members of the Foreign opened by AFSA President AFSA Road Scholar Program Service community for their Robert J. Silverman, in the at Chautauqua, N.Y. courage, dedication and Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic October 13 outstanding performance Reception Room of the State Columbus Day: through the presentation of Department. AFSA Offices Closed its 2014 awards. This year was the first Some 300 people gath- since 2006 that AFSA has ered to recognize the award presented all four dissent AFSA/ADRIAN RIOS AFSA/ADRIAN awards (they are conferred only when a fitting recipient is identified). This year, too, the number of deserving nomina- tions received for exemplary performance awards sur- passed that of previous years. Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Ken- nedy presented the Award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy to AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN Charles Stuart “Stu” Kennedy AFSA President Robert J. Silverman opened the 2014 AFSA Awards ceremony on June 18. Continued on page 56

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 51 STATE VP VOICE | BY MATTHEW ASADA AFSA NEWS

Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA State VP. Contact: [email protected] | (202) 647-8160 | @matthewasada

Diversity in the Foreign Service

Diversity does not happen USIA film commemorating gender/skill code. In the past, see more continuity between on its own. Rather, it takes a the 50th anniversary of the State Magazine has also pub- reports, so that follow-on conscientious effort to reach March on Washington (see lished a portion of that data reports address progress out and include people from October 2013 FSJ). with its diversity analysis of made on priorities previously different backgrounds with State. The State Depart- the results from the Summer identified. diverse perspectives. The ment has also made impor- Selection Boards; and AFSA Program Reform. The nation’s public and private tant strides on the diversity encourages the department department has a responsibil- sector employers recognize front in policy and personnel. to resume such practice. ity to address programs or that diversity is good policy The department published its AFSA has encouraged procedures that appear to and good business. They have first diversity and inclusion State to improve the demo- be disparately impacting a expanded their efforts from strategic plan in response to graphic data covering recruit- certain group of employees. strict affirmative action/equal President Barack Obama’s ment, hiring, promotion and AFSA has heard from several employment opportunity Executive Order 13583 training in the Foreign Service employees and affinity groups compliance to more compre- (http://1.usa.gov/1n1PfcI) with greater data granularity regarding their concern with hensive support of diversity and is currently drafting its by bureau, overseas/domestic the department’s assignment promotion and inclusion. Now 2015 follow-up. location, skill code and length restriction/preclusion and let’s see how AFSA and State The director general has of service. AFSA is concerned pass-through programs. are doing. included diversity promotion that the statistics currently AFSA has written to the AFSA. AFSA is embrac- as one of the top three priori- compiled at the bureau and department outlining its ing diversity in policy and ties for the Bureau of Human service level may mask dis- concerns (see Feb. 27 letter at personnel, both internally as Resources. But, while officer parities at or in certain offices, www.bit.ly/vp-letter), urging an organization and externally and specialist classes are the posts, or skill codes and over- it to improve the communica- in its advocacy. Last year, the most diverse ever, there con- or under-represent women or tions, oversight and reporting AFSA Governing Board incor- tinue to be underrepresented certain ethnicities. on these programs and to porated multiple diversity groups in the Foreign Ser- Reports. State currently introduce a robust appeals objectives in its 2013-2015 vice (see Part I of the State has two primary reporting mechanism for employees. Strategic Plan (http://bit. Department’s 2012 MD-715 mechanisms for diversity: the For more on this issue, see ly/1nFz7tl). submission to the EEOC at annual MD-715 reports to the AFSA’s policy paper online at At the same time the http://bit.ly/1lcMEZd). Equal Employment Opportu- www.bit.ly/AR_PP. organization’s staff and To improve diversity, AFSA nity Commission and the tri- America needs and elected leadership have recommends that State ennial diversity and inclusion deserves a diverse, profes- grown significantly more improve the collection, analy- strategic plan. sional and innovative Foreign diverse. One-quarter of recent sis and publication of diver- AFSA supports the depart- Service capable of tackling AFSA hires are from diverse sity demographic data; revise ment’s efforts to split the the challenges of the 21st backgrounds, and a majority the diversity and inclusion current MD-715 report into century. I welcome your of the State representatives reporting process; and reform two separate components to diversity suggestions as we on the Governing Board are policies and procedures that better address the diversity continue this conversation. women or from non-majority may have a disparate impact challenges presented by its (For more on Diversity and backgrounds. on certain groups of employ- Foreign Service and Civil Diplomacy, see the author’s AFSA is also continuing its ees, in particular, assignment Service workforces. It recom- contribution to the January public outreach on diversity. restrictions/preclusions and mends the department review 2012 FSJ at http://bit.ly/ On June 12, AFSA organized a pass-through programs. the organizational structure fsj0112p52.) n panel discussion on diversity Demographic Data. State and responsibility for these Next month: Conversions in the Foreign Service on HR’s Office of Resource Man- two separate reports to see and the Foreign Service Capitol Hill (see p. 71), and agement and Analysis com- how the overall reporting last August the association piles and publishes diversity efforts may be improved. organized a showing of a 1964 data covering race/ethnicity/ Finally, AFSA would like to

52 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FCS VP VOICE | BY STEVE MORRISON AFSA NEWS

Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FCS VP. Contact: [email protected] or (202) 482-9088

Expanding Our Ranks: FCS Welcomes New Officers

Many interesting things have in on June 24 by Secretary the Commercial Service, succeed as a Foreign Com- been happening in FCS world of Commerce Penny Pritz- several cited Sec. Pritzker’s mercial officer,” says one. in addition to the ongoing ker are a diverse group, but all-hands meeting remarks Another talked about how he celebration of AFSA’s 90th nearly all have international summarizing the “three legs” is “passionate about working birthday. Ten Commerce offi- business backgrounds. In of American foreign policy with companies wanting to cials (including Deputy Under fact, a cursory review of and prosperity: security, expand overseas.” Secretary for International their resumes shows they diplomacy and economic When asked what they Trade Ken Hyatt and Deputy have spent on average more security. It is this third leg, hope to get out of a Foreign Director General of the U.S. than 11 years in international and the role of FCS, that Service career, these new and Foreign Commercial Ser- officers most frequently cite vice Judy Reinke), along with developing their international a number of FCS officers and When asked what they hope to get out business expertise. Others their guests, attended the of a Foreign Service career, these new add enhancing cross-cultural star-studded birthday bash. communication skills, travel We have also been meet- officers most frequently cite developing and giving their family ing continuously with Foreign their international business expertise. (including one officer with six Commercial Service Direc- kids!) the opportunity to see tor General Arun Kumar and and experience firsthand new management about a long business, demonstrating the several officers pointed to as and potentially vastly differ- list of concerns—Interna- success of our search for the reason they joined. ent cultures than our own. tional Trade Administration international trade profes- “Foreign trade is a vital Once again, please wel- consolidation, Office of For- sionals. part of the U.S. economy, and come our new FCS officer eign Service Human Capital As to why the class of 10 I will strive to raise awareness class of 2014! n staffing, language training women and 14 men joined and help U.S. businesses programs, When Actually Employed assignments— but more on that in future “STATE DEPARTMENT: FILE 649” columns. AFSA SCREENS FOREIGN SERVICE FILM What I want to talk about this month is our stellar new On July 15 AFSA opened its commercial officer class— doors for a screening of the our largest and the second 1949 movie, “State Department: consecutive group after a File 649,” which was the subject of a witty discussion by retired long drought. Our commer- FSO Don Bishop in the July- cial officer corps had drifted August issue of The Foreign down to a dangerous, unsus- Service Journal. A large crowd enjoyed this tainable 228 officers during campy classic, laughing along prior administrations. with the highly implausible Now, with the addition depiction of the Foreign Service. Free popcorn, courtesy of a of 42 new officers these fancy popcorn machine secured past two years, we’re up to specially for the occasion, made levels not seen in more than the evening even more festive. Given the success of this a decade: 250-260 officers. event, AFSA may hold additional The downward spiral has screenings of Foreign Service- turned into a virtuous circle— related films in the future. Stay tuned! or so we hope. The 25 new officers sworn SIGFÚSSON AFSA/ÁSGEIR

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 53 AFSA NEWS RETIREE VP VOICE | BY LARRY COHEN AFSA NEWS

Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA Retiree VP. Contact: [email protected] or (703) 437-7881

A Good Time to Examine Your Life Insurance Coverage

If on your birthday this year, Moreover, the FEGLI retire- the enrollee’s life. the FEGLI program is best, your age ends in zero or five, ment benefit is prefunded by Options A, B and C are especially if there are health congratulations! I will soon hit premium costs so that some optional enrollment programs or lifestyle issues. For others, one of those milestones. How- coverage can be continued with escalating premium rates private insurance offers a less ever, if you have life insurance after age 65 at no cost. that adjust every five years. expensive alternative. with the Federal Employees’ FEGLI Basic and Options. Depending on the phase-out Consult a financial adviser. Group Life Insurance, this FEGLI consists of “Basic” or post-retirement cover- If you do reduce or discon- year could also bring a signifi- insurance and options A, B age option chosen, options tinue life insurance, consider cant rise in your premium. and C. FEGLI Basic is a level- A, B and C may be free after placing the money saved into When you turn 60, the rate rate program. An enrollee’s the enrollee reaches age 65, retirement savings. you pay for options A, B and rate remains the same subject to a phase-out. If an And, happy birthday! n C could more than double. So whether he or she is a new enrollee prefers to retain a it is a good time to examine employee or retired. Unless constant level of coverage, his You may cancel or change your life insurance needs, and waived, new employees are or her premiums will increase your FEGLI election by sub- consider whether or not to automatically enrolled in every five years until age 80. mitting the completed SF continue with FEGLI coverage. FEGLI Basic. What Do You Need? 2818 to OPM’s Retirement The FEGLI program is a An enrollee who carries Do you still need life insurance Office at: “group term” policy. Once Basic into retirement can in retirement? How much do U.S. Office of Personnel enrolled and as long as you elect a 75-percent reduction, you need? If the children are Management Retirement pay the premium, you are cov- meaning that the Basic cover- grown, the house is paid off, Operations Center ered for the duration. There age reduces by 2 percent and you are healthy, it may be P.O. Box 45 is no medical exam or other each month until it reaches time to dial down. Boyers, PA 16017-0045 limitation on participation, 25 percent of its pre-reduc- What are your actual For more information on which is why it is an especially tion amount. But there is no needs? Do you have a suf- FEGLI visit www.opm.gov/ attractive option for those premium once the reduc- ficient emergency fund? Is healthcare-insurance/ who have medical issues or tions begin, and the policy your spouse protected? life-insurance/ work dangerous jobs. remains free for the rest of For some, continuation in

FEDERAL LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE EVENT On July 21, AFSA continued its popular series on federal benefits, this time focusing on federal long term care and survivor annuities. Jeannie Singleton, senior account manager at the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program, and Jacqueline Long, chief policy adviser for the Office of Retirement at the State Depart- ment, were the panelists. Singleton and Long explained the topics in detail to a large number of AFSA members who came prepared with numerous questions. You can find a thorough write-up of the presenta- tions and discussion in the August issue of the AFSA Newsletter and at afsa.org/retiree. AFSA/AISHWARYA RAJE AFSA/AISHWARYA

54 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

Ambassadorial Logjam AFSA Hosts Business Roundtable to Expedite Confirmations AFSA reached out to the business com- munity recently as part of its continuing effort to expedite the U.S. Senate confir- mation of ambassadorial appointees. On June 24, AFSA’s advocacy depart- ment brought together entrepreneurs, business leaders and government affairs professionals to consider the impact of delays in the confirmation process on our country’s ability to effectively serve American interests. The discussion focused on Africa, where nearly a quarter of our missions had no ambassador as of August 2014. The African countries awaiting American ambassadors are Botswana, Cabo Verde, Lesotho, Madagascar and Comoros, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Zambia. The career diplomats nominated to these countries have been waiting for an average of eight months. The combined trade between the United States and these African countries was more than 1.8 billion in 2013, accord- ing to the U.S. Trade Representative. The roundtable gave participants the opportunity to hear from area experts, share concerns and ask questions about the role and importance of chiefs of mission for U.S. national security and economic prosperity. —Debra Blome, Associate Editor

Ambassadors in Waiting. The data on the 48 ambassadorial nominations still awaiting Senate confirmation as of Sept. 8, 2014, shown here was compiled by AFSA. For more information on ambassadorial appointments, see AFSA’s Ambassadors Project at http://www.afsa.org/ ambassadors.aspx. AFSA/JEFF LAU AFSA/JEFF

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 55 AFSA NEWS

Continued from page 51 Jr. in recognition of his distin- guished career and decades of public service. “We have to thank Stu for his creativity in the Foreign Service,” Under Secretary Kennedy said. “Whether serving in stable or unstable places, he was always a AFSA/SHAWN DORMAN AFSA/SHAWN constant in tough situations.” SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN 2 A Foreign Service officer from 1 1955 to 1985, he retired after a distinguished consular career with the rank of minis- ter counselor. In retirement, he pioneered the Oral History Collection at the Association for Diplo- matic Studies and Training. Kennedy has personally interviewed more than 1,000 retired American diplomats,

some of whose careers date SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN back to the 1920s. 3 4 5 In accepting the award, Stu 1. Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy (left) presents the Lifetime Contributions to American Kennedy expressed gratitude Diplomacy Award to Stu Kennedy. 2. From left: Anthony Russell, Yvonne Beard, M. Juanita Guess Award runner-up Tricia Canton, Avis Bohlen Award runner-up Javier Dario Araque. 3. AFSA State VP Matthew Asada (left) presents to his staff at ADST, where he the W. Averell Harriman Award to Ed O’Bryan. 4. Ambassador Avis T. Bohlen presents the Avis Bohlen Award. directs the ADST Oral History 5. Ambassador William C. Harrop presents the F. Allen “Tex” Harris Award. Collection (http://adst.org/ oral-history), and spoke of the need for the Foreign Service interview with Stu Kennedy. and encourage constructive level Foreign Service officer. to understand its own history dissent and risk-taking in the O’Bryan convinced the a little better. Dissent Award Winners Foreign Service for more than leadership of Mission Saudi “The Foreign Service is AFSA State Vice President 40 years, and the program Arabia that the embassy not a silent service,” he said. Matthew Asada introduced is unique within the federal should start attending trials “We need to show people the constructive dissent government. of human rights activists. As what we do.” He emphasized awards presentation. “Dissent Asada presented William a result, for the first time in the importance of sharing is not always valued or appre- “Ed” O’Bryan with the W. recent memory, the mission the experiences of Foreign ciated, but that’s not the case Averell Harriman Award. Made gained a window into the Service members to secure at AFSA,” Asada stated. possible by the Una Chapman Saudi judicial system. their place in diplomatic his- AFSA has sponsored its Cox Foundation, the Harriman “I want to thank AFSA for tory. Please see p. 28 for an awards program to recognize award is given to an entry- supporting openness, justice

CORRECTIONS

In the July-August 2014 print edition, we misidentified two people in photographs of AFSA’s 90th anniversary gala dinner on page 54: In photo 6, the woman in the middle is Peggy Cifrino, principal assistant to former Secretary of State Colin Pow- ell; in photo 7, the woman on the right is former Director General of the Foreign Service Ruth A. Davis. We regret the errors.

56 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN 7 AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN 6 AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN 8 SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN 9 10

6. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles H. Rivkin (center) presents the William R. Rivkin Award to David Holmes, while AFSA President Robert J. Silverman looks on. 7. From left: 2005 Lifetime winner and former Sen. Richard Lugar, 2013 Lifetime winner Amb. George W. Landau, 2007 Lifetime winner Amb. Joan Clark, 2008 Lifetime winner Amb. Tom Boyatt and 2014 Lifetime winner Stu Kennedy. 8. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns with Herter Award winner Amb. Jonathan Addleton. 9. M. Juanita Guess Award winner Mary Kay Cunningham. 10. William R. Rivkin Award winner David Holmes with his spouse, FSO Stephanie Holmes, and son.

and dissent,” said O’Bryan as sized the value of dissent. “It and deprived policymak- the award winners would have he accepted his award. A pro- has challenged us to think ers of coordinated strategic accomplished such great file of Ed O’Bryan is on p. 62. differently, to make smarter advice. He submitted a formal things without a strong sup- Next, David Holmes choices, to do better,” he said. Dissent Channel message in port system. received the William R. Rivkin “Dissent didn’t just give us February 2013 on “organiz- Nick Pietrowicz was Award, presented in memory the courage to form a nation; ing to succeed in South Asia.” awarded the F. Allen “Tex” of the late ambassador to it helped us forge the democ- David Holmes’ profile can be Harris Award, presented by Luxembourg, Senegal and racy we live in today.” found on p. 60. Ambassador William C. Har- The Gambia and made pos- After serving in both Accepting his award, rop. This award for a Foreign sible by the Rivkin family. Afghanistan and India, and Holmes thanked AFSA for Service specialist is made Assistant Secretary of State then in the Office of the valuing dissent and encour- possible by the Nelson B. for Economic and Business Special Representative for aging creative thinking, and Delavan Foundation. Affairs Charles H. Rivkin, Afghanistan and Pakistan thanked the people who have Pietrowicz was Embassy son of the late ambassador, in Washington, Holmes was had an impact on his career. N’Djamena’s regional security presented the award, which convinced that the division “My incredible mentors, officer when he warned that acknowledges a mid-level of authority between SRAP such as Bill Burns, gave me the Terrorist Interdiction Foreign Service officer. and the Bureau of Central and opportunities and encourage- Program, through which the In his remarks, Assistant South Asian Affairs hindered ment to make contributions,” U.S. government provides the Secretary Rivkin empha- U.S. diplomatic priorities he said, adding that none of Personal Identification Secure

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 57 AFSA NEWS

Continued from page 57 Comparison and Evalua- tion System border security system as foreign assistance to Chad (and other countries vulnerable to terrorist activi- ties), operates without suf- ficient end-use monitoring. AFSA staff attorney Raeka Safai accepted the award on Pietrowicz’s behalf and read AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN his words: “We are blessed to 1 2 live in a country where com- plex ideas can be debated and oppression”—in a reference celebrated”— a statement to the plight of those in south- which seemed to resonate ern Afghanistan and northern with each award winner at the Pakistan living under the influ- ceremony. A profile of Nick ence of the Taliban, an issue Pietrowicz can be found on p. to which he hopes his award 61. can draw more attention. A In the last of the dissent profile of Jonathan Addleton awards, Deputy Secretary is on p. 59. of State William J. Burns presented Ambassador Exemplary Performance AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN Jonathan Addleton with the Award Winners 3 Christian A. Herter Award for AFSA also presented 1. Jon B. Clements, CEO of Clements Worldwide, presents the M. Juanita a senior Foreign Service offi- awards for exemplary per- Guess Award to Mary Kay Cunningham. 2. Roberta Feldman, left, presents the Nelson B. Delavan award to Carol K. Backman. 3. Stephen Buck, Faith cer. Calling Addleton’s dissent formance. The Avis Bohlen Duncan, Amb. Ed Peck and Robert Duncan. “inspirational,” Burns noted Award was established by that he was not surprised by Pamela Harriman in memory the ambassador’s nomination of the late Avis Bohlen, wife of Mary Kay Cunningham The Nelson B. Delavan for the award due to his work the late Ambassador Charles received the M. Juanita Guess Award for a Foreign Service around the world in the “hard- E. Bohlen. Made possible by Award from Jon Clements, office management specialist est places to be.” the Una Chapman Cox Foun- CEO and chairman of Cle- was given to Carol Backman. Addleton was the senior dation, it is given to an eligible ments Worldwide. The award, Backman used her outstand- civilian representative for family member of a Foreign made possible by and named ing computer skills at Embassy south Afghanistan, based in Service employee whose for the former owner of Cle- Ankara to improve the work- Kandahar. His belief that the relations with the American ments Worldwide, recognizes place’s overall effectiveness State Department’s complex and foreign communities at a Community Liaison Office and boost morale. Carol Back- system for reviewing requests post have done the most to coordinator who has demon- man’s profile is on p. 63. by Foreign Service personnel advance U.S. interests. strated outstanding dedica- At the conclusion of the to speak and write is overly Ambassador Avis T. tion, energy and imagination. ceremony, old friends and risk-averse and inhibits rapid Bohlen, daughter of Avis As CLO at Embassy Kabul, colleagues reconnected and responses led him to urge Bohlen, presented this award Cunningham was undaunted shared their experiences. As a systematic review of the to Kari Osborne. Osborne’s by the prospect of supporting Stu Kennedy said, “We have department’s public affairs dedication and leadership some 5,000 mission mem- to share history, and we have policy. energized Embassy Mexico bers. She created a supportive to think outside the box so as On accepting his award, City’s Charity and Activities and positive environment in a not to repeat history.” n Addleton said, “My hope is Committee. Kari Osborne’s difficult region. Mary Kay Cun- —Aishwarya Raje, that we’ll live in a world free of profile is on p. 65. ningham’s profile is on p. 64. Editorial Intern

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Profiles of award winners compiled by Debra Blome.

AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARDS: THE CHRISTIAN A. HERTER AWARD FOR A SENIOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER Ambassador Seeks Change to Cumbersome Clearance Policy

Ambassador Jonathan notes that he had been disap- could move forward Addleton, a USAID officer, pointed by the many “missed to publication was the State Department’s opportunities” for communica- (Mongolia and the senior civilian representative tion over the years, he says. United States: A for southern Afghanistan, “At times it is tempting to Diplomatic History, based in Kandahar, when he simply ‘give up’ in the face of a 2013). “Something urged a systematic review complicated, exhausting and is seriously amiss of the department’s public opaque process that typically when it takes longer affairs policy. He believed its takes much longer than it to officially clear a complex system for reviewing should.” book-length manu- requests by Foreign Service Two events occurred that script than it does personnel to speak and write spurred him to write the Dis- to write or translate COURTESY OF JONATHAN ADDLETON JONATHAN OF COURTESY was cumbersome and overly sent Channel message that it,” he notes. Amb. Jonathan Addleton meets with Haji Gulzar, risk-averse. earned him the AFSA award. The second chairman of the Peace Council in Zabul province, “I have always been The first was the length of time concerned an op-ed southern Afghanistan, in the fall of 2012. strongly interested in commu- and number of steps it took to on the “two Malalas” nications, outreach and public get a book-length manuscript he wrote for publication in review processes remain far diplomacy,” Addleton says. He on Mongolia cleared before it the Pashto language press in too cautious and risk-averse. Kandahar (see p. 44). State This needs to change.” Department officials killed Jonathan Addleton joined the piece on the grounds that the Foreign Service as a USAID publication would feed con- officer in 1984 and is currently spiracy theories then emerging the Regional USAID Mission in Pakistan that the U.S. was Director for Central Asia somehow behind the attack on based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. the young Pakistani girl. He previously served as U.S. Addleton’s dissent mes- ambassador to Mongolia, sage made the case for a more and at posts in Afghanistan, creative and rapid response on Belgium, Pakistan, Cambo- public affairs issues, conclud- dia, Jordan, South Africa and ing: “Whether driven by policy Yemen. Addleton and his wife, sensitivities that seek to avoid Fiona Mary Riach, have been directness in countries where married 29 years and have radical Islamist agendas drive three children. our discourse, or because of “My sincere hope is that institutional structures that this award will raise further deaden our creativity and flex- awareness about this issue ibility, we are somehow unable and expand efforts to some- to engage with confidence on how streamline the process,” the ideas we hold dear. For all Addleton says. “More local our efforts to become more approaches are also needed, streamlined, our public affairs pushing approval authority AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN Amb. Jonathan Addleton at the ceremony. culture and overly complex much closer to the field.” n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 59 AFSA NEWS

AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARDS: THE WILLIAM R. RIVKIN AWARD FOR A MID-LEVEL FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER A Call for a More Strategic Approach to South Asia

The years David Holmes He urged colleagues to Asian puzzle. Ultimately, he only a singular honor for me, spent in Afghanistan (2007- reconcile differences rather submitted a formal Dissent but also a validation of the 2008) and India (2008- than pursue conflicting prior- Channel message in February tremendous mentors with 2010) convinced him of the ities, and to take into account 2013 on “organizing to suc- whom I have been fortunate need for “a more strategic all the pieces of the South ceed in South Asia.” to work. They not only gave approach to our policies in As Holmes notes: “My me these opportunities in the South Asia.” efforts over this period, and first place, but also continu- On his return to Wash- then my formal dissent, were ally encouraged my efforts to ington, Holmes served as intended to give a voice to an make a constructive contri- special assistant for South important perspective that I bution to our policy in this and Central Asia to then- felt lacked an advocate.” critical region in spite of the Under Secretary of State for The Dissent Channel mes- obstacles.” Political Affairs Bill Burns sage was well received, and it David Holmes joined the (2010-2011), and was later provided State Department Foreign Service in 2002. detailed to the National leadership an opportunity to He has served in Kosovo, Security Council staff at the reassess the department’s Bogota, Kabul and New Delhi, White House as director for approach to this complex and is currently the senior Afghanistan (2011-2012). and critical region. energy officer in Moscow. He Through this experience In acknowledging the is married to FSO Stephanie AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN Holmes came to believe David Holmes at the June 18 award, Holmes saluted his Holmes, and they have a son that the division of author- awards ceremony. mentors: “The award is not and a daughter. n ity between the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Bureau of Central and South Asian Affairs “hindered our diplomatic effectiveness” and deprived policymakers of coordinated strategic advice. For speak- ing out on this issue, Holmes received the 2014 William R. Rivkin Award for constructive dissent by a mid-level FSO. “In the non-business- as-usual approach of the office of the SRAP,” his award nomination states, “David Holmes was both a dedicated team player in shaping our policies, as well as a coura- geous advocate for doing so in a more coordinated and WHITE THE.. HOUSE Holmes, then National Security Council staff director for Afghanistan, with President Barack Obama at the White strategic way.” House.

60 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARDS: THE F. ALLEN “TEX” HARRIS AWARD FOR A FOREIGN SERVICE SPECIALIST Agent Warns Misuse of Border Security Program Might Violate Rights

For Diplomatic Security Spe- the PISCES program, he sent cial Agent Nick Pietrowicz, a Dissent Channel message the protection of American outlining his objections to citizens and their liberties it. In the message he raised “is our paramount duty as concerns about the need to diplomats.” Pietrowicz is the balance human rights and winner of the F. Allen “Tex” respect for the rule of law in Harris Award for a Foreign U.S. programs that provide Service Specialist. counterterrorism assistance When he was the regional to other countries. security officer at Embassy “Officers in the field will N’Djamena, Pietrowicz rarely need to worry about the warned that the Terrorist legality of foreign assistance Interdiction Program, through programs,” said Pietrowicz, which the U.S. government who has a law degree. “But provides the Personal Iden- PIETROWICZ NICK OF COURTESY should an issue of concern be tification Secure Compari- identified, there is a profes- son and Evaluation System sional and civic duty to report border security system as that possible impropriety foreign assistance to Chad through the appropriate and other countries at risk of channels.” terrorist activities, operates On dissent, Pietrowicz without sufficient end-use says: “I am pleased that the monitoring, and that foreign department has a process so governments might use their that constructive dissent can PISCES systems to violate the be shared openly and without human rights of their citizens fear of reprisal. I applaud and foreign visitors, including AFSA’s support of this Americans. process, knowing that their Like all members of the interest in the Dissent Chan- Foreign Service, Pietrowicz nel is essential to keeping this travels a lot. He says that as a rarely needed but important COURTESY OF NICK PIETROWICZ NICK OF COURTESY federal agent he is very curi- (Above) Diplomatic Security Special Agent Nick Pietrowicz in Chad, near option available.” ous about security measures the Niger border. (Below) Pietrowicz, second from left, observes an election Nick Pietrowicz joined the in different airports: “That in Chad. State Department in 2002. includes how those measures He first served in the New are implemented and what receive outstanding security decisions,” he says. “I think York City field office, and has procedures are in place to training, as well as instruction that ethos is probably what since been posted to Port- respect legal and constitu- on what they can and cannot made me take a look at this au-Prince, Kabul, Chisinau tional standards, as well as do. “As RSOs overseas, we’re program.” and N’Djamena. He is now the practical consequences of constantly in gray areas, and After exhausting all the RSO at Embassy Luanda. such programs.” it takes a degree of self- other channels in efforts to He is married and has one He notes that DS agents scrutiny to make the right address his concerns about son. n

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AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWARDS: THE W. AVERELL HARRIMAN AWARD FOR AN ENTRY-LEVEL FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER Trials Offer Window into Saudi Judicial System

As a first-tour political/ support for activists would connections to Saudi economic officer in Dhah- only make their situations human rights activists. ran, Saudi Arabia, one of worse. But he was not As O’Bryan notes, they William “Ed” O’Bryan’s discouraged. “Actually, I was “see the mission as primary responsibilities was very encouraged, particu- taking their work more the human rights portfolio. larly by Consul General Joey seriously and are thus Among his duties was moni- Hood’s support,” he says. more interested in work- toring the protests in the “He not only used my points ing with us.” COURTESY OF ED O’BRYAN OF COURTESY minority Shia communities in helping to advocate for (Above) Ed O’Bryan attends a cultural “It was certainly a of the Eastern Province that attending the trials, but forum in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. (Below) difficult decision for the O’Bryan at the June 18 awards ceremony. led to the arrest of hundreds strongly built on them.” embassy’s leadership, of demonstrators and human He found the same kind especially at a time of rights activists. of support from the Riyadh tense relations between O’Bryan felt it was human rights officer, Daniel After a few months of the two countries,” O’Bryan important for the embassy to Boehmer, who had done deliberation, the mission acknowledges. “But they attend the protesters’ trials “phenomenal work in opening agreed and O’Bryan became deserve a lot of credit for (something it hadn’t done in channels to human rights the first officer to attend a looking at all the arguments recent memory) for a num- activists and in managing the human rights trial in Saudi and making the tough call.” ber of reasons. “First, there bureaucratic side of attending Arabia’s Specialized Crimi- On receiving the award, was a significant number of these trials,” O’Bryan notes. nal Court, which had been he says: “I consider what I peaceful activists on trial established to did closer to advocacy than in early 2013, and when the try terrorism dissent, but I am humbled by verdicts started coming in, suspects. the award and I am happy to they were shockingly harsh,” “The mis- bring attention to this issue. I O’Bryan says. sion now has also hope it encourages oth- “At the same time, there a window into ers to speak up for what they were protests in very con- the Saudi think is right.” servative areas by women judicial system,” Prior to joining the State with relatives who had been O’Bryan says. Department in 2011, William imprisoned, sometimes “Having this O’Bryan spent 12 years as without charges, which insight improves part-owner of Andrews Mon- highlighted how galvanizing our understand- ument Works in Nebraska issues related to the judicial ing of the Saudi City, Neb. He volunteered system could be,” he adds. Arabian govern- for a year with the United In light of this, O’Bryan ment and its Nations Global Compact says he felt the mission dynamic with project in Minsk, Belarus. needed as much insight into various groups, He is married and has two the judicial process as pos- and thus can daughters. n sible to better understand greatly inform the events in the country. our bilateral O’Bryan’s initial request to dialogue.” attend the trials was rejected Observing due to the long-standing trials has also belief that perceived U.S. strengthened AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN

62 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS: THE NELSON B. DELAVAN AWARD FOR A FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST In the Office or Broader Community, Carol Backman Is Indispensable

When any of the more than to her nomination, to make “I have always 1,000 staff at Embassy an impact on the mission believed that my job was Ankara had a dilemma— community. to do whatever made the whether they were U.S. direct She took ownership of the lives of those around me hires, family members or post’s contact management easier. I might not know local staff members—they database, identified incon- how to do something, but typically turned to Office sistencies and overhauled it. I certainly know how to Management Specialist Carol She then trained others to find out,” Backman says. K. Backman for help. One col- manage the program and ran “Backman’s willing- league described her as “the missionwide troubleshooting ness to solve problems, most competent, hard-work- sessions. and serve the commu- ing and generous Foreign As a result, Embassy nity in any way she can, Service professional I have Ankara became one of the is called upon daily,” had the pleasure to work with first 10 missions worldwide her nomination states. in my career.” to implement a single con- “Trouble figuring out the As OMS at Embassy tact database management Turkish mail, banking reg- Ankara, Backman, winner of platform for the entire mis- ulations or bus routes…? this year’s Delavan Award, sion. She also streamlined all Carol has the answers, or BACKMAN CAROL OF COURTESY used her exemplary com- management files and then will get them for you.” puter skills and management shared her skills in Share- Her voluntary contribu- “I am particularly honored skills, “combined with her Point, Excel and Word with tions to the broader com- to be the recipient of this unbounded spirit,” according anyone who asked. munity are also impressive. award because of the award’s Under her leader- focus on community,” says ship as chair, the Backman. She joined the For- Embassy Recre- eign Service at the age of 22, ation Association immediately after graduating was transformed. from college. The ERA’s man- “The Foreign Service has agement now has been all I have ever known in a real understand- my adult life, and the mem- ing of the organi- bers of the Foreign Service zation’s financial are my family,” she says. My standing for the husband is in the Foreign first time in nearly Service…and my friends are a decade, and was all Foreign Service. It is truly able to give the my home.” CLO a budget for Carol Backman’s husband, morale-boosting Tom, is a career informa- events and pro- tion management specialist, vide support to and they have a 4-year-old AFSA/JOAQUIN SOSA AFSA/JOAQUIN locally employed daughter. She has previously Office Management Special Carol K. Backman, center, with her family at the AFSA Awards Ceremony on June 18. Far right, at Embassy Ankara, directing database training. staff affected by served in Kuala Lumpur, the furlough. Minsk and Canberra. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 63 AFSA NEWS

AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS: THE M. JUANITA GUESS AWARD FOR A COMMUNITY LIAISON OFFICE COORDINATOR Offsetting the Impact of Kabul’s Wartime Environment

The M. Juanita Guess Award Teams were given a month is given to a Community to construct boats, using Liaison Office coordinator only water bottles and duct who has demonstrated out- tape, that could hold at least standing dedication, energy two people and complete and imagination in assisting a lap in the swimming pool employees and their families without sinking. Almost the serving in missions overseas. entire community came out The job of CLO in wartime to support the 15 teams that Kabul, a mission community entered. As Cunningham with more than 5,000 mem- recalls, “the teamwork, cama- bers, is a major challenge. raderie and sheer fun of the Mary Kay Cunningham event helped lift the spirits of faced that challenge. Her the entire community.” “flawless” performance as Also significant was her

CLO in Kabul “directly ben- CUNNINGHAM KAY MARY OF COURTESY personal involvement in efited everyone assigned,” advocating for the hiring of according to her award eligible family members. She nomination. Her “inspiring constantly sought opportuni- programs and events” helped ties to benefit EFMs as a way offset the impact of the to keep families intact. wartime environment and the “This award has meant danger everyone faced on a so much to me and the CLO daily basis.” office,” said Cunningham. Cunningham knew that “Despite the challenging providing constant activi- environment, we always kept ties and events was the key humor at the forefront, never to success in “combating limited ourselves in how boredom and also providing a creative we could be, and con- positive work-life balance.” stantly inspired and encour-

She not only established CUNNINGHAM KAY MARY OF COURTESY aged each other to maintain the tradition of an elaborate (Above) Mary Kay Cunningham with local antique vendor Mir during a CLO- the energy to make it all hap- Fourth of July celebration, sponsored Friday bazaar. (Below) The 2014 Kabul Water Bottle Boat Races pen. It is very heartwarming but orchestrated dancing energized the community. to know that our efforts made sessions, special dinners, a difference to so many.” performances and lectures Cunningham and her hus- that were all well attended. ningham arranged oppor- tions in Afghanistan. band began their “Foreign She also collaborated with tunities for individuals to Cunningham also knew Service adventure,” as she the Afghan business com- grieve by holding memorial that, in the aftermath of trag- calls it, 10 years ago. They munity to set up bazaars and services and made provi- edy, the CLO had to bring the have lived in Baku, Dar es events that helped stimulate sions for people to receive community together; and she Salaam and Kabul. She is the local economy. timely information, whether organized activities, such as currently in Texas while her In response to the deaths they were assigned to the the 2014 Kabul Water Bottle husband serves in Islam- of mission members, Cun- embassy or in remote loca- Boat Races, to do so. abad. n

64 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

AFSA EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE AWARDS: THE AVIS BOHLEN AWARD FOR A FOREIGN SERVICE FAMILY MEMBER Making a Difference in Mexico City

When Kari Osborne arrived in grant, which the Hogar Dulce holiday party, which brought Mexico City with her husband, Hogar (Home Sweet Home) the local community even a political officer, she was orphanage used to replace an closer to the embassy and struck by the poverty she saw archaic electrical system. The those who work there. and the huge gap between the orphanage supports approxi- “Over the years we have living conditions of the rich mately 70 displaced children provided aid to many different and the poor. who typically come from the orphanages, senior homes, With two daughters of her streets or shelters. shelters for victims of human COURTESY OF KARI OSBORNE OF COURTESY own, she found the plight of trafficking and pet poor children especially hard adoption agencies,” says to accept. “It is the children Osborne. of Mexico who captured my “Each event we held heart and pushed me to act helped make a posi- on their behalf,” says Osborne, tive impact in our local winner of this year’s Avis community. For me, the Bohlen Award. smiles of pure joy on Osborne’s dedication to the faces of the Mexican volunteerism and leadership children have made the has made a real difference in hard work all worth it.” the lives of many in Mexico Kari Osborne and City. Soon after arrival at post, her husband, Matthew she joined the embassy’s Osborne, have two Charities and Activities Com- daughters, ages 12 and mittee and later became vice KARI OSBORNE OF COURTESY 9. They have lived in Lux- president for activities and (Top) Kari Osborne leads a craft with the children at Fundación Hogar Dulce Hogar embourg, Switzerland in Mexico City. (Above) Osborne, second from left, and friends at Fundación Hogar membership. Dulce Hogar. (Below) Embassy volunteers plant flowers at Fundación Dar y Amar. and Spain. Osborne says Her first task for the CAC she was always active in was to assist with the Major the volunteer community League Soccer Ambassador’s Through CAC, Osborne wherever she has lived. Cup Tournament and Clinic worked with Fundación On being recognized by in August 2012. This event Dar y Amar, a home for AFSA, Osborne says: “I am gave children from five area at-risk girls, where she honored and humbled to orphanages a chance to be coordinated the creation receive AFSA’s Avis Bohlen trained and coached by for- of a vegetable and herb award. But I must share the mer U.S. national soccer team garden. She also aided the credit with the many oth- players over three days. “Angel Trees” campaign ers who have volunteered to “It was amazing to see the to provide disadvantaged serve with me on the Chari- camaraderie of the teams and families with gifts for ties and Activities Committee spirit of competition through Christmas. in Mexico City. The true win- the shared love of soccer,” The annual Holiday ners are the adults, children Osborne recalls. Bazaar raised funds to and animals of Mexico City Her application to the J. bring orphans of Fun- that we have helped through Kirby Simon Foreign Service dación Eugenia to the our fundraising and service Trust resulted in a $3,000 ambassador’s house for a efforts.” n COURTESY OF KARI OSBORNE OF COURTESY

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 65 AFSA NEWS

Exemplary Performance AFSA Welcomes Awards Runners-Up New Staff Member

THE NELSON B. DELAVAN AWARD AFSA is pleased to welcome Brittany RUNNERS-UP DeLong to the staff. Brittany is the Edito- rial/Publications Specialist with The For- CAROL R. JOHNSON, EMBASSY ACCRA eign Service Journal. She recently earned Carol R. Johnson organized a holiday dinner for the local her master’s degree in publishing from embassy security force in Accra to let the 350 employees The George Washington University, with know how valuable they are to the mission. Johnson found a a track in technology and electronic local caterer and helped devise a menu incorporating popular publishing. She has contributed to vari- local dishes. The guards had never before received such a ous publications in the D.C. area and tribute from the embassy community and were truly grateful. has worked as an editor for an online university press in West Virginia. A native MARIAM H. ABDULLE, EMBASSY BAGHDAD of northern Virginia, Brittany became interested in writing at Mariam H. Abdulle sustained morale at Embassy Baghdad a young age and was first published in a local sports maga- during the termination of the Police Development Program, zine in high school. She went on to graduate from George part of a general drawdown of the embassy’s security staff. Mason University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and Abdulle personally managed the acting chief of mission’s pro- she continues to write on topics of health and wellness in her gram recognizing more than 150 individuals departing Iraq in spare time. She completes the newly-reorganized publications the wake of these changes, preparing letters and certificates division at AFSA, and we are thrilled to have her on board. of appreciation for presentation at farewells.

M. JUANITA GUESS AWARD RUNNER-UP AFSA CATCHES FIFA FEVER Reveling in World Cup fever, AFSA opened its doors to members for TRICIA J. CANTON, EMBASSY CAIRO two exciting matches this summer. Food and drinks were provided to a large crowd of AFSA members and staff who came out to Following the ordered departure from Mission Egypt in July support the U.S. in its vital match against Germany on June 26, and 2013, more than 600 people were scattered across the United again on July 1 as the team battled Belgium. Both events were well States and Europe. CLO Tricia J. Canton created comprehen- attended, and everyone was in high spirits. They cheered the U.S. to advancement into the Round of 16 and celebrated a remarkable sive contact lists and built a sense of community with scat- World Cup run by the U.S. Men’s National Team. tered mission members through weekly newsletters, activities and personal emails. When personnel were allowed to return to post in November, Canton helped with visa applications and organized orientation sessions and social events to put the mission back on normal footing.

AVIS BOHLEN AWARD RUNNER-UP

JAVIER DARIO ARAQUE, CON GEN TIJUANA Javier Araque’s volunteer work for several organizations aided disadvantaged children. At Ciudad de los Niños, a refuge for abandoned children, he established trust among children who had had little experience with caring adults. He volunteered at Eunime por Tijuana, an orphanage dedicated to children with HIV and AIDS. And he assisted in educational workshops at AFABI, A.C., a nonprofit binational organization that provides support and information for victims of HIV/AIDS in Tijuana SIGFÚSSON AFSA/ÁSGEIR and San Diego.

66 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

New Members Join AFSA’s Governing Board

Over the summer, new mem- his first assignment with earned a Superior Honor bers joined the AFSA Govern- the Foreign Service was to Award. Following a two-year ing Board as other members Almaty as an eligible family consular tour in Bogota, she rotated off to new assign- member. returned to Washington to ments. AFSA is very pleased Catipon is a recipient of join the Bureau of Population, to welcome Ronnie Catipon, State’s Heroism Award and Refugees and Migration’s Homeyra Mokhtarzada and a number of Superior and Office of Multilateral Coordi- Neeru Lal. Meritorious Honor Awards, nation. and he holds degrees from Prior to joining the Foreign The Ohio State University, Service, Mokhtarzada worked The George Washington for CNN for six years and, University and the U.S. Army from 2002, for the Inter- War College. He is married national Foundation for dedicated executive prepa- to a former FSO, and they Electoral Systems. There she ration at FSI and National are the proud parents of four managed programming for Defense University, where children. Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt and she earned the chief infor- Yemen. mation officer certificate for She received her bach- completion of the Advanced elor’s and master’s degrees Management Program and the University of Maryland, is currently working on her College Park, and also master’s degree in govern- completed a fellowship at ment information leader- Georgetown University. ship. Ronnie Catipon joined Neeru Lal is a career She holds a bachelor’s the Foreign Service in July Foreign Service Information degree in business admin- 1997 as a Diplomatic Security Technology Officer, who has istration information sci- Special Agent. He is currently served in Ouagadougou, ences from the University of the regional director for New Delhi, Tri-Mission Brus- Maryland and speaks French, Afghanistan and Iraq in the sels and Tri-Mission Rome. Italian and Hindi. DS Directorate of High Threat She is currently serving in AFSA sincerely thanks Posts. the Bureau of Information outgoing State Representa- Previous assignments Homeyra Mokhtarzada Resources, Public Affairs and tives Michael D. Thomas, E. with DS include The Hague, joined the Department of Communications Office. Alex Copher, Lillian Wahl- Kabul (two tours), Kyiv, State in August 2010. Her Lal recently graduated Tuco and David Zwach for Tbilisi, Manila and the Sec- first assignment was on from IRM’s Executive Devel- their stalwart service on the retary’s Protective Detail; the Turkey Desk, where she opment Program, a year of Governing Board. n

Call for 2015 AFSA Award Nominees nomination for a colleague or even for oneself. Do you know someone who has worked constructively within Please visit the AFSA website to read more about the the system to change policy? Has someone in your com- award categories (http://www.afsa.org/awards). Details on munity made an extra effort in service or volunteerism or how to submit nominations differ for each award and are shown exemplary performance? Have you? Recognize these listed within each category. achievements with a nomination for an AFSA award! The awards are administered by Perri Green, the coordi- Nominations for the 2015 AFSA awards will be accepted nator for special awards and outreach. She can be reached at any time through Feb. 28, 2015. Anyone may submit a at [email protected] and (202) 719-9700.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 67 AFSA NEWS

AFSA’s Sharon Papp Wins Equality Award

AFSA’s General Counsel Sec. Kerry also thanked Sharon Papp received the guest of honor Masha Ges- 2014 Equality Award at the sen for her perseverance Pride event held by Gays and and advocacy. “When all the Lesbians in Foreign Affairs repressive anti-LGBT laws in Agencies on June 19. Russia threatened literally to GLIFAA’s annual celebra- break apart her family, she tion of LGBT Pride month put up a fight,” he said. took place in the State He hailed the courageous Department’s Benjamin work performed during times Franklin Diplomatic Recep- of discrimination by GLIFAA tion Room. It featured a key- and other organizations and note address by Secretary individuals—acknowledg- of State John Kerry as well ing AFSA and spotlighting as remarks by noted LGBT Sharon Papp. activist, Russian-American Following Kerry’s address, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE/MICHAEL GROSS STATE/MICHAEL OF DEPARTMENT U.S. journalist Masha Gessen. McCutcheon returned to the AFSA General Counsel Sharon Papp (right) accepts the 2014 GLIFAA President Robyn podium to present the 2014 Equality Award from GLIFAA President Robyn McCutcheon. McCutcheon opened the Equality Award to Sharon program by highlighting Papp for her work to protect Affairs Manual that banned sought, successfully, to per- GLIFAA’s priority issues. As the rights of LGBT Foreign discrimination based on suade the American Foreign the first transgender Foreign Service employees dating other protected classes (e.g., Service Protective Associa- Service officer to transi- back to the early 1990s. The sex, race and religion). tion to seek OPM approval tion on the job overseas, Equality Award has been Papp also worked with for inclusion of transgender McCutcheon noted that she given in past years—notably State’s Office of Civil Rights coverage in the Foreign Ser- has witnessed the growing to Hillary Clinton in 2011—but to draft the Foreign Affairs vice Benefit Plan. shift in acceptance of lesbian, only when an outstanding Handbook provisions that During her 22 years at gay, bisexual and transgen- candidate is identified. permit LGBT employees AFSA, Papp has worked on der issues in the Foreign Papp, who is AFSA’s gen- to file informal complaints many cases dealing with Service. eral counsel, did not know of discrimination (3 FAH-1 LGBT issues but noted that Sec. Kerry detailed the she was getting the honor. H-1520) and with the Bureau she is not alone at AFSA in State Department’s commit- “Receiving the award was a of Diplomatic Security’s working on these issues. “I ment to LGBT inclusiveness, complete shock to me,” she Office of Personnel, Security, would like to recognize the both at home and abroad. said. “I am surprised and and Suitability on the written others on the labor manage- “The State Department has extremely honored to be Personal Investigation Proce- ment staff who have worked always been at the forefront presented with the Equality dures that govern interviews on more recent GLIFAA of equality in the federal award.” with employees and sources issues,” she said. government,” he said. He Papp began working with about an employee’s sexual “Before coming to AFSA, I commended McCutcheon GLIFAA in 1992 and was behavior. was a civil rights lawyer, so I for not only getting through instrumental in ensuring that More recently, AFSA don’t necessarily see this as a difficult period during her written confirmation of the staff has been engaged on courageous or brave,” Papp transition but for “turning prohibition against discrimi- issues relating to the FAM said. “When I see something it into a precedent-setting nation based on sexual orien- provisions for Members of wrong, it’s just in my nature event, and as a result she tation, issued in 1994 by then Household and Same Sex to do whatever I can to fix made it a lot easier—or at Secretary of State Warren Domestic Partners. AFSA was i t .” n least a little easier—for those Christopher, was included in also proud to lend its strong —Adrian Rios, who follow.” each chapter of the Foreign support to GLIFAA, which Labor Management Intern

68 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

AFSA AND FSI INAUGURATE NEW CAPITAL BIKESHARE STATION

On July 24, AFSA, in collaboration with the Foreign Service Institute and Capital Bikeshare, inaugurated the new Capital Bikeshare station located outside the FSI campus in Arlington, Va. Director of FSI Transition Center Ray Leki (above left) and AFSA State VP Matthew Asada (above right) officially cut the ribbon on the new station. AFSA, FSI and Capital Bikeshare collaborated for more than two years on getting the new station installed at the Arlington Boulevard entrance to the FSI campus. The expansion of Capital Bikeshare to FSI is in accordance with the department’s wellness program and AFSA’s Strategic Plan to improve the quality of work/life across the Foreign Service (AFSA has also been working to have showers installed in all department facilities, which would especially benefit employees after their bike rides to work). The new station services more than 3,500 students, faculty and staff at FSI, in addition to the general public. It is the 322nd station in the program and the 71st in Arlington. The Bikeshare station at FSI is ready for public use. Bike on! –Adrian Rios, Labor Management Intern

LUNCHTIME SERENADE AFSA/DEBRA BLOME AFSA/DEBRA On June 11 and 23, AFSA hosted the State Department’s choral ensemble, the T-Tones (including the Journal’s own Steve Honley), as they performed concerts of English music from the Elizabethan era. The half-hour lunchtime concerts featured madrigals and sacred music, all a cappella except for the finale: a movement from William Croft’s “Ode for the Peace of Utrecht,” written in 1713.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 69 AFSA NEWS

New York City High School Students Visit AFSA In early July, a group of New York City high school students from the Interna- tional Youth Leadership Institute visited AFSA to learn more about the State Department and the Foreign Service. AFSA State VP Matthew Asada and Aroosha Rana, a State Department public diplomacy officer, discussed a wide range of topics with the students, including the importance of learning new languages in a multilingual world, the role of U.S. missions overseas and educational pathways that could lead to a future in diplomacy. Asada and Rana also related personal and professional experiences, noting that

as immigrants, like many of the visiting HIGGINS JASON students, their own families’ first inter- From left to right: IYLI group leader Irijah Stennett; FSO Aroosha Rana; and students Safiya Noel, Jazmyn Blackburn, Malakai Lomax, Yemane Charles and Terrell Lewis; and AFSA State action with the State Department was VP Matthew Asada. through an embassy’s visa section. The students later said their visit to ship Institute at http://www.iyli.org/ and on Twitter @ AFSA was one of the highlights of their trip to Washington, iyli2010.) D.C. (Learn more about the International Youth Leader- –Lindsey Botts, Labor Management Executive Assistant

AFSA Associate Members Add Value to Diplomacy

One of the American Foreign play a great role in increasing members have coordinated Anniversary of the U.S. For- Service Association’s critical interest in the U.S. Foreign and hosted special events eign Service.” missions is to raise public Service, and we appreciate paying tribute to the 90th Copies of the May 2014 awareness of the importance all they do to support AFSA anniversary of the U.S. For- 90th-anniversary edition of of diplomacy for national and the Foreign Service,” says eign Service. The Foreign Service Journal security and prosperity. Janet Hedrick, director of On May 22, in conjunc- were distributed and U.S. AFSA’s associate mem- member services at AFSA. tion with AFSA associate Secretary of State John bership program plays an Associate members member Maria St. Catherine Kerry sent a recorded video important role in this regard. provide a pool of talented McConnell, the Massachu- greeting to the event. You can Associate members add speakers and panel experts setts State House Historical see Kerry’s recorded mes- voices to the more than for AFSA events. They con- Society hosted “A Massachu- sage at www.state.gov. n 16,000 AFSA members who tribute to The Foreign Service setts State House Tribute to –Cecilia M. Daizovi, actively participate in U.S. Journal as writers and often Commonwealth Statesmen, Communications Intern foreign affairs and diplomacy. as regular advertisers. During Stateswomen and Diplomats “Our associate members the past year, AFSA associate on the Occasion of the 90th

70 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS

AFSA ON THE HILL Panel Discusses Diversity in the Foreign Service

AFSA joined with the Con- includes geographic and gressional Black Associates religious diversity, gender to host a panel discussion, equality, and age and linguis- “Diversity in the Foreign tic diversity. Service,” at the U.S. Capitol “Foreign policy has to Building on June 12. represent all of us,” said State Designed to increase the Department FS member Rob- participation of minority ert Bacon, citing the diversity groups in the U.S. Foreign of the United States that Service, five Foreign Service should be present in the For- members from State and eign Service. Susan Reichle, USAID spoke about their own USAID agency counselor, experiences and then took discussed the growing num- questions. ber of women in the Foreign AFSA State Vice Presi- Service. “Women have come dent Matthew Asada, who is a long way, but we’ve got a a fourth-generation Japa- long way to go,” she stated. nese-American, keynoted Asada declared that the event. “The diversity diversity would allow the conversation is not hap- Foreign Service to be taken pening in isolation,” he said. seriously; a group of individu- “The Foreign Service is more als with varying perspectives diverse than ever.” and experiences will be more Former Ambassador to effective in implementing Argentina Lino Gutierrez foreign policy. drew on his Cuban-American “We have to tell people heritage to discuss the For- who we are as Americans,” eign Service’s need for more said Croshelle Harris- diversity. Hussein, a division chief in “Racial, ethnic, geo- USAID’s Office of Strategic graphic. It needs people Planning and Operations. from off the beaten path “And a diverse set of Foreign [because] the Foreign Service officers is the way to Service represents the U.S., do that.” and the U.S. is all of those —Aishwarya Raje, things,” he told an audience Editorial Intern of mostly young people from diverse backgrounds. Each panelist pointed out the importance of remem- bering that the term “diver- sity” does not solely apply to racial classifications, but

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 71 IN MEMORY

n Donald Y. Gilmore, 90, a retired After undertaking several trips to North In 1953, Mr. Hoshal began work as a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Africa, he lectured on the rock art of the diplomatic courier in what would become Information Agency, died on June 17 at Sahara Desert. a 32-year Foreign Service career. His Havenwood-Heritage Heights Nursing Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore loved the moun- wife, Jean, whom he married in 1970, Facility in Concord, N.H. tains and climbed most of the “Four-Thou- says he lived the life he had dreamed of. Born on Sept. 14, 1923, in Charlot- sand Footers,” a group of 48 mountains Mr. Hoshal’s overseas postings included tesville, Va., Mr. Gilmore grew up in in New Hampshire. They also hiked in Panama City, Frankfurt (where both of his Providence, R.I., where he graduated Switzerland and the Grand Canyon. children were born) and Manila. from Providence Country Day School in Mr. Gilmore is survived by his wife, In carrying messages too sensitive 1941. He attended Middlebury College in Norma; three daughters, Deborah Gilmore to be transmitted by cable, Mr. Hoshal Vermont, and received an M.A. in interna- of Voorhees, N.J., Shelly Barton of Laconia, encountered many dangerous situations, tional affairs from The Fletcher School of N.H., and Katherine Sheils of Potomac, including traveling by rail behind the Iron Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Md.; a son, Jefferson Gilmore of Denver, Curtain and being stranded for six weeks During World War II, Mr. Gilmore was Colo.; four grandchildren, Paul Howard in India when war broke out. a naval aviator and flight instructor in Pen- of Prides Crossing, Mass., Sarah Howard According to a Duluth News Tribune sacola, Fla. He joined the Foreign Service of Waltham, Mass., Allison Cronin of article, Mr. Hoshal’s daughter, Ann, recalls in 1951. Washington, D.C., and Ian Gilmore of a story of her father drinking tea on the Mr. Gilmore’s overseas assignments Denver, Colo.; and a sister, Jeanne O’Brien fourth floor of a hotel in Saigon while the included Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, of Cambridge, Mass. city was being shelled during the Vietnam Belgium, India and Colombia. He served Donations in Mr. Gilmore’s name may War. for several years as director of French lan- be made to the Union of Concerned Sci- There were also less hazardous mis- guage broadcasting at the Voice of America entists (www.ucsusa.org/memorial), Two sions, like the time he was assigned to and, later, as a deputy assistant director of Brattle Square, Cambridge MA 02138. deliver moon rocks to the National Air and USIA in Washington, D.C. Space Museum. A friend of the curator, He was accompanied on his Foreign n Wayne D. Hoshal, 86, a retired Mr. Hoshal decided to instead deliver a Service postings by his wife, Norma (Nicki) Foreign Service diplomatic courier, died on slab of blue cheese as a joke. Kerr Gilmore, a former State Department Jan. 16 at Grand Itasca Hospital in Grand Mr. Hoshal retired from the Foreign employee. Three of their four children Rapids, Minn. Service in 1985 as chief of the Diplomatic were born in North Africa during assign- Born on April 8, 1927, in Sioux Falls, Courier Service. He and his family moved ments there. N.D., Mr. Hoshal grew up in Calumet, to Minnesota, the state he so loved for its From retirement in Meredith, N.H., Minn., where he graduated from Green- impressive forests and natural beauty. and later in Concord, N.H., Mr. Gilmore way High School in 1945. He immedi- He spent time in outdoor activities, such served as a contract escort-interpreter for ately enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was as counting loons for the Department of State Department cultural exchanges, and stationed on Kwajalein Island in the Pacific Natural Resources, and continued such arranged conference programs for the during World War II. After the war, he sports as downhill skiing until his health Fletcher School and the Television Confer- returned home, completed his studies at declined last spring. ence Association. Itasca Junior College and graduated from Mr. Hoshal was predeceased by his par- He also became interested in archaeol- the University of Minnesota. ents; two brothers, Julian and Earl Hoshal; ogy and attended summer field schools. While on a study break in the library, Mr. and a sister, Colleen Peters. He was elected president of the New Hoshal read an article about a diplomatic He is survived by his wife of 43 years, England Antiquities Research Association, courier. It was then that he decided what he Jean; a daughter, Ann Hoshal of Brainerd, serving for six years. wanted to do with his life, but he had to wait Minn.; a son, Neil Hoshal; grandchildren, In 1998, Mr. Gilmore co-edited a book for two years to meet the age requirement Alex and Alyssa Chinn; two brothers, for NEARA, Across before Columbus?, for the job, 25. In the interim, he worked as Dale (and his wife, Carla) and Gary (and which explored evidence for transoceanic a bellhop and doorman at luxury hotels in his wife, Robin) ; two sisters, Allene (and contacts with the Americas before 1492. Florida, Maine and New York. her husband, Patrick) Quinn and Donna

72 SEPTEMEBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Mae (and her husband, Frank) Weis; and served as political adviser to General David n Joseph E. (Jay) Lake Jr. , 49, the son numerous nieces and nephews. C. Jones, commander of the U.S. Air Force, of retired FSO Ambassador Joseph E. Lake, Europe, in Wiesbaden. His earlier experi- died on June 1 at his home in Milwaukie, n Robert H. Kranich, 100, a retired ence in NATO was instrumental in this Ore., five days before his 50th birthday, fol- Foreign Service officer and Army colonel, assignment, and he became part of Gen. lowing a six-year, hard-fought battle with died on May 14 at Winchester Medical Jones’ international planning team. colon cancer. Center in Winchester, Va. Col. Kranich retired from the Army Mr. Lake was born on June 6, 1964, in Born in Bucyrus, Ohio, Mr. Kranich Reserve in 1966 and from the Foreign Taipei, during his father’s first Foreign Ser- received a B.A. from Heidelberg College in Service in 1974. After retirement, he and vice tour. He accompanied his father and 1934, and went on to attend the University his wife, Chloris, settled in Strasburg, Va., stepmother, Jo Ann Kessler Lake, on tours of Chicago from 1935 to 1937. He married on a large farm. in Dahomey (now part of Benin), Taiwan, Chloris Coates in Chicago, Ill., in 1941. There, Mr. Kranich designed and Nigeria and Bulgaria. Mr. Kranich was a teacher with the Chi- constructed one of the first solar-powered He graduated from the Plan II Honors cago Board of Education and held various homes in Northern Virginia and became Program at the University of Texas at Aus- other positions until joining the U.S. Army involved in volunteer activity on behalf of tin in 1986 and pursued work in advertis- in 1943, serving until 1946. environmental and other causes. ing and marketing in the IT industry. He From 1946 to 1948, he served as a In 1988, he co-founded The Friends of holds a patent for a system to manage captain and international aid officer for the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, a multimedia communication and had the Department of the Army. In the private nonprofit organization that advocates for another pending for a system for managing sector from 1950 to 1958, he was president improved water quality and protection of leases of property. of an export-import firm and a consultant the North Fork and its tributaries. In 1993, Mr. Lake married Susan to the Department of Agriculture. In 1990, he founded Job Opportuni- Mendes. The couple added daughter Bron- On July 12, 1950, Mr. Kranich joined ties Boost Shenandoah, a local volunteer wyn Ariadne Qiu Ju Lake to the family in the State Department, where he served agency that attempted to link job seekers 1998, when they adopted her from China. as a foreign affairs officer in the Office of with employers. He was also a founder of A prolific writer, Mr. Lake made his European Regional Affairs. In 1954, he the Cedar Creek Fish & Chowder Society publishing debut in the science fiction and was appointed head of the North Atlantic and a contributor to the Free Press, writ- fantasy genre in 2001. He published more Treaty Economic and Military Assistance ing environmental and political columns than 300 short stories and 10 novels, with Affairs Office. under the pen name “B. Cyrus Kidd.” more underway at the time of his death. In 1955, he served as an aide to Secre- For the last several years of his life, Mr. His writing has been translated into many tary of State John Foster Dulles and was Kranich was a resident of Westminster languages and garnered acclaim reviews in commissioned as an FSO. He was detailed Canterbury in Winchester, Va. Publishers Weekly and Booklist. to the National War College for the 1955- Mr. Kranich was predeceased by his Mr. Lake was a first-place quarterfinal- 1956 academic year. first wife, Chloris; a daughter, Chloris; ist in the Writers of the Future Contest in His first overseas posting was to Bonn, and a son, William. He is survived by 2003, and he received the John W. Camp- where he served as first secretary, then his daughter, Robin; his wife of 10 years, bell Award for Best New Writer in 2004. He international relations officer (1957-1961). Roberta Hinkins Kranich, and her son, documented his experiences with disease In 1963, Mr. Kranich was seconded George Hinkins III. He is also survived by and wrote about topics ranging from pho- to the Arms Control and Disarmament a step-daughter, Nicki Furlan de Medici, tography to politics on his popular website Agency at the State Department, where he the daughter of his wife of two years, Mary and top-25 science fiction blog. served until 1969, having become chief of Furlan Kranich, and her two daughters, Diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008, the Political Affairs Division. During this Laura Bentley and Marina de Medici; his Mr. Lake utilized his writing ability to blog period, he helped to negotiate the Strategic sister-in-law, Gloria Kranich; a nephew, about the emotional and psychological toll Arms Limitation and Nuclear Non-Prolif- James Kranich Jr.; and nieces, Christy of a terminal diagnosis, and his journey eration Treaties. Kane and Frances Ellen Kranich and their through traditional chemotherapy and In his last overseas posting, Mr. Kranich families. experimental immunotherapy treatments

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 73 at the National Cancer Institute. He also In 1952, she married a newly minted Conakry, Guinea, in November 1970, Por- raised money to have his entire genome Foreign Service officer from Iowa, Donald tugal launched an invasion of that country. sequenced for study of potential future Norland, and the couple headed by ocean Mrs. Norland provided shelter and food in cancer treatments to help others. liner to Europe and their first assign- her home for embassy personnel and to Mr. Lake’s battle with cancer is ment in Rabat, Morocco. They would go help calm families. recorded in a Waterloo Productions docu- on to posts in the Ivory Coast, France, In their few months before evacuating mentary, “Lakeside”, which was released Netherlands, Guinea, Botswana, Lesotho, N’Djamena by French military transport in in early 2014. The film follows a year in the Swaziland and Chad until 1981, when March 1980, Pat Norland taught English at life of Mr. Lake from his initial remission to Ambassador Norland retired. the University of Chad. She recalled a stu- his subsequent re-diagnosis. The mother of three children who dent whose essay lamented his country’s Mr. Lake is survived by his wife, Susan; graduated from Georgetown University’s civil war, in which “brothers fight brothers, daughter, Bronwyn; partner and caregiver, School of Foreign Service and themselves cousins fight cousins.” Her account of the Lisa Costello; mother, Sarah Bryant; father, became diplomats, Mrs. Norland found ordeal, “Evacuation from N’Djamena,” was Joseph Lake; stepmother, Jo Ann Kessler; representing the United States abroad a featured in the July-August 1980 FSJ. a brother, Michael Allen (and his wife, joyful and rewarding privilege. After her husband’s death in 2006, Mrs. Ksenia) Lake; a sister, Mary Elizabeth Lake; In keeping with the prevailing practice Norland kept up her travels as an envoy of niece, Delaney Otteman; and a legion of of the era, Amb. Norland’s performance America. She lived with her daughter on family and friends. in the field was evaluated in part on Mrs. diplomatic assignment in Vietnam and In lieu of flowers, memorial donations Norland’s ability to represent the United Laos, countries where seeing an elder par- may be made to the Clayton Memorial States as a hostess and philanthropist. She ent share an American’s home surprised Medical Fund, P.O. Box 5703, Portland OR excelled in these endeavors. and delighted friends and colleagues. 97228. She embraced chances to reflect the In 2012, she moved to Tbilisi, to live American spirit in different ways across with her son, Richard, the U.S. ambassador n Patricia B. Norland, 94, wife of the distant nations. In 1960, she entertained to Georgia. She died under hospice care late retired FSO and ambassador, Donald hundreds of guests in the heat at a Fourth at his residence. A breast cancer survivor, R. Norland, died peacefully on May 20 at of July party in the Ivory Coast with the aid Mrs. Norland had been diagnosed with the home of her son, Ambassador Richard of only one small refrigerator. While the Alzheimer’s disease. Norland, in Tbilisi, Georgia. spouses of diplomats today fly to major On her death, the prime minister of Born in Miami, Ariz., Patricia Bamman cities to have a baby, she delivered her Georgia wrote to Richard Norland graduated with a degree in English from youngest in a fan-cooled room in a French personally about her inspirational life: Wellesley College in 1942. She began her clinic in Abidjan in 1959. “I would like to pay tribute to Mrs. Nor- career in Norfolk, Va., working as a clerk Friends remember her as a gentle and land’s remarkable life and accomplish- typist at the Naval Air Station and Norfolk graceful practitioner of the art of person- ments. She contributed greatly through her Army Base and as secretary of publicity for to-person diplomacy. She enjoyed meeting work and her parenting to the promotion the Office of Civilian Defense from 1943 to people from around the world and finding of international understanding in the 1946. cultural affinities that created mutually many lands where she accompanied your After World War II, she moved to Wash- enriching personal bonds. father and your family.” ington, D.C. to work on the legislative staff She volunteered with the Red Cross in Mrs. Norland’s passion for public ser- of Senator Sheridan Downey, a Democrat Botswana alongside Lady Ruth Khama, vice and her 62-year diplomatic career is from California, from 1939 to 1951 and, wife of the country’s late president, Sir captured on the tombstone she shares with briefly, for his successor, Senator Richard Seretse Khama, in the late 1970s. In that her husband, which reads: “Together, a life Milhous Nixon. She also worked with the capacity, she quietly reinforced U.S. ties devoted to the Foreign Service.” State Department’s Educational Exchange with a non-racial government bordering Mrs. Norland was predeceased by her Service, where her duties included arrang- the apartheid regime of South Africa. husband, Donald. She is survived by her ing visits of foreign dignitaries to Blair Adventure was a regular theme in Mrs. children: Richard, a career FSO and U.S. House. Norland’s life. While she was living in ambassador to Georgia; David, a former

74 SEPTEMEBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FSO who is now in the private sector; elevated to the associate director position, and Patricia (Kit), a career FSO presently then the senior career post in USIA. He serving in the Bureau of Educational and retired from the Foreign Service in 1974. Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C. ; After retirement, Mr. Roberts was grandchildren, Daniel, Kate, Paul, Tim and appointed director of diplomatic studies at Annie; and great-grandchildren, Ellie and Georgetown University’s Center for Strate- Camden. gic and International Studies. There he was to serve as executive director of a panel on n Walter R. Roberts, 97, a retired For- international information, educational and AFSA Scholarship eign Service officer with the United States cultural affairs (also known as the Stanton AFSA.org/Scholar Information Agency, died on June 29 at his Panel, after its chairman). residence in Washington, D.C. However, in 1975, he was called back AFSPA Born in Austria on Aug. 26, 1916, into government to serve as executive AFSPA.org Mr. Roberts was a graduate of the Uni- director of the Board for International versity of Vienna and earned a Ph.D. at Broadcasting, which oversaw Radio Free Clements Worldwide Cambridge University. A research assistant Europe and Radio Liberty. clements.com at Harvard Law School from 1940 to 1942, Following his second retirement from he joined the Office of War Information in the U.S. government in 1985, Mr. Roberts Embassy Risk Management embassyrisk.com 1943, serving as a researcher, analyst and was appointed diplomat-in-residence at writer until 1945. The George Washington University and The Hirshorn Company After eight years of service with the taught a course on “Diplomacy in the hirshorn.com/USFS nascent Voice of America, he was assigned Information Age” for the next 10 years. to the State Department’s Austrian desk In 1991, President George H. W. Bush Inside A U.S. Embassy and then, in 1953, as deputy area direc- appointed him to the U.S. Advisory Com- afsa.org/Inside tor for Europe in the newly created U.S. mission on Public Diplomacy, and Presi- Information Agency. In 1955, as a member dent Bill Clinton reappointed him in 1994. Senior Living Foundation of the American delegation to the Austrian In 2001, Mr. Roberts co-founded The SLFoundation.org Treaty Talks, he contributed to the treaty Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global that ended the occupation status of Austria Communication and the Public Diplo- WJD Management and restored its independence. macy Council at The George Washington wjdpm.com In 1960, Mr. Roberts was named University. In 2005, Mr. Roberts created an counselor for public affairs at Embassy endowment in his name for the Institute. Belgrade. During this time he interacted Mr. Roberts received the Distinguished with President Josip Broz Tito, the Yugoslav Honor Award from USIA in 1974 and revolutionary and communist leader. the Voice of America “Director’s Special His experiences in Yugoslavia led him Recognition Award” in 2009. He was a to publish a highly regarded book, Tito, member of the Council on Foreign Rela- Mihailovic and the Allies, 1941-1945 (Duke tions, the Washington Institute of Foreign University Press Books, 1987). Affairs and the American Foreign Service In 1966, he was assigned as diplomat- Association. in-residence at Brown University in Provi- Mr. Roberts was predeceased by his dence, R.I., and in 1967 he was transferred wife, Gisela Katherine. He is survived by to Geneva to serve as counselor for public three sons, William, Charles and Law- affairs at the U.S. Mission to the United rence; daughters-in-law, Patricia, Valerie Nations. In 1969, he was appointed deputy and Shavaun; seven grandchildren and associate director of USIA and in 1971 was two great-grandchildren. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 75 BOOKS

Documenting a she also traveled to roads are often no more Vanishing Art different parts of than tracks; where public the country, from sleeping accommodations Silver Treasures from the Land of the mountainous are usually not available; Sheba: Regional Styles of Yemeni regions of the north where foreigners may be Jewelry to the remote oases kidnapped by local tribes Marjorie Ransom, The American of the southeast, to to make a point with the University in Cairo Press, 2014, $49.50, seek out the elderly government; and, perhaps hardcover, 246 pages. Yemeni artisans most important of all, where Reviewed by Andrea Rugh who alone could tell distrust of outsiders has to the story of this dying art form. be overcome. Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba Along the way, she was passed almost To undertake it, one must, like Ran- is the first book ever written about the literally from silversmith to silversmith som, have trust in the natural hospital- silver jewelry of Yemen, showing the rare and from woman to woman, each show- ity and generosity of the local people, diversity and exceptional skills of crafts- ing her their personal pieces of jewelry as well as the ability to disarm their men in this small country nestled at the and contributing to the recorded history suspicions with appropriate documents tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Not only of this unique craft. and explanations. One part of this is, of does the book document a disappearing The difficult and diverse terrain gives course, to conduct oneself through dress, art; it gives us a sense of the craftspeople an idea of the difficulties silversmiths etiquette and mannerisms in ways local who produced the jewelry and the faced in marketing their wares and people understand. Yemeni women who wore it. acquiring the resources they needed to The author joined the Foreign Service in 1962, but had to resign when she mar- ried David Ransom, another FSO. Their Venturing out with a trusted driver, she also traveled to different first post was Yemen (1966-1967), when parts of Yemen, from the mountainous regions of the north to that country was relatively untouched the remote oases of the southeast, to seek out the elderly Yemeni and it was possible to become deeply involved with the local people. She artisans who alone could tell the story of this dying art form. returned to the Foreign Service in 1974; and they again served in Yemen (1975- Anyone familiar with the region or pursue their art. Robert Liu’s exquisite 1978), as the first State Department the craft will appreciate the spectacular photographs illustrate in beautiful detail tandem couple in the Arab world. contribution the book makes to preserv- the signature aspects of each silver- In 1999 Mrs. Ransom was nominated ing and documenting the heritage of this smith’s work. to become ambassador to Yemen, but little-known part of the world. Without In its layout, content and comprehen- was one of 26 FSOs denied a confirma- exaggeration, this book is the culmina- siveness, the book is worthy of the craft tion hearing by Senate Foreign Rela- tion of about as perfect a match of author it explores. Most of the pieces have never tions Committee Chairman Jesse Helms and content as comes along in the pub- appeared before in print. Adding depth (R-NC). Her retirement in 2000 and lishing world. and poignancy are the stories of the the unexpected death of her husband Retired FSO Marjorie Ransom car- Yemenis and the generosity they showed prompted her to apply for a grant from ried out years of research to produce the author. Typically, museum catalog- the American Institute of Yemeni Studies Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba, ing of lost art does not involve such close to research Yemeni jewelry. including several trips to the country attention to context and the human It was the beginning of an extraordi- between 2004 and 2009. While there, she beings that produced it. nary journey, where her incomparable lived in the silver market of old Sanaa It is hard to overemphasize the ardu- knowledge of the language and coun- part of the time. ousness of this kind of research—the try, and her persistence in the face of Venturing out with a trusted driver, physical difficulty of traveling where so many obstacles, led to this striking

76 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL documentation of a world treasure that clearance due to his Post- skill he puts to use as the novel would otherwise have been lost. Anyone Traumatic Stress Disorder approaches its climax. The who reads this book will come away with and failure to seek treatment author’s explanation of how it’s a greater appreciation for this fascinating through authorized chan- done suggests that both he and country and its people. n nels. For this ambitious Alex would have made pretty young political officer, it decent GSOs. Andrea Rugh is a scholar at the Middle East is “a professional death Palmer’s characters are interest- Institute in Washington, D.C. She has been sentence” that renders his ing and clearly drawn, from spirited a technical adviser for USAID projects in the career prospects a “flat, Marie to the enigmatic militia leader, Middle East, South Asia and Africa. During featureless plain.” Manamakimba. All are fictional, right the course of 40 years of residence and work When Alex gets a call from up to the DRC’s president, who is in the Middle East, she has written several Howard “Spence” Spencer, a former men- something of an African archetype. books on local culture and society in the tor and now U.S. ambassador to the DRC, He is less successful, however, with the region. his career is swiftly resuscitated. Offered dialogue between them. Marie’s unlikely the plum job of political counselor, Alex use of American idioms (“Think you’ll get An FS Tall Tale in is off to Kinshasa. There he meets Marie lucky tonight?”) makes her predictable the Congo Tsiolo, the beautiful daughter of a tribal romance with Alex all the more cheap chief, who is defending her village from a and cloying. Throughout, Palmer relies The American Mission rapacious mining company. heavily on dialogue to propel the plot Matthew Palmer, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Soon Alex is caught up in Marie’s cru- forward, an approach that keeps him 2014, $26.95, hardcover, 432 pages. sade, pitting him against a villainous min- on top of his craft but drains the story of Reviewed by James P. DeHart ing executive—a Belgian, naturally—and ambiguity and nuance. eventually his own embassy leadership. That brings me to my main beef: For sheer scale and duration of man- Palmer sprinkles the novel with bits Palmer rarely misses an opportunity to made misery, it is difficult to match the of Foreign Service experience, but in fact inform the reader exactly what is going Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the there’s not much here that resembles real on. No chance here of getting lost! turn of the 19th century, the “Congo Free diplomatic work. Instead, Palmer has But while many readers will wish for State” owned and operated by King Leo- penned a classic adventure yarn, with a greater challenge, one suspects the pold II of Belgium was a place of mind- Alex conducting espionage, leaping from spoon-fed approach is the surest route to boggling cruelty, a rubber-fueled orgy of airplanes and ducking bullets in the dark. a movie deal. With its bold themes and slavery and murder that lopped 10 million As the story unfolds in dubious direc- set-piece scenes, The American Mission off the population. tions, Palmer nevertheless keeps it mov- seems tailor-made for the big screen. “The horror! The horror!” wrote Joseph ing at a brisk pace, balancing multiple If so, let’s hope the screenwriters don’t Conrad in 1899. Since 1996, back-to-back threads and tying them neatly at the end, share Alex’s view of the Foreign Service wars have claimed the lives of five million with a twist that makes for a satisfying as a place of unprincipled conspiracy and more, a Heart of Darkness that seems as finish. compromise. n relevant today as in Conrad’s time. Palmer has done his research. While Matthew Palmer, a 20-year veteran of not heavy on setting, Palmer’s Congo Jim DeHart, a Foreign Service officer since the Foreign Service and son of accom- feels like the real place. His descriptions 1993, is chair of The Foreign Service Journal plished author Michael Palmer, follows of industrial versus artisanal mining are Editorial Board. He has served as director of Conrad up the Congo River in his debut convincing and weaved gently into the a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Pan- novel, The American Mission. narrative. jshir and in Istanbul, Melbourne, Brussels His protagonist, Alex Baines, is a For- In Alex, he has created a likable and Washington, D.C. He currently directs eign Service officer with a topical problem character much handier than the average the Office of Afghanistan-Pakistan Programs in today’s era of forever wars: Diplomatic political officer; his hobby is building in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Security has stripped him of his security satellite receivers from old car parts, a Law Enforcement Affairs.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 77 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS

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84 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL REFLECTIONS

Sage Counsel, Fondly Remembered

BY FLETCHER M. BURTON

avid Newsom, who died in 2008, • Know U.S. interests was a colossus of his genera- and how they pertain tion in American diplomacy. to one’s post in a given DSuch was my view of him, in any country. event, when he invited me to his George- • Remember the For- town home on April 8, 1988, to share his eign Service’s main task: thoughts on the Foreign Service. representation of U.S. A mutual friend had brought us • Develop (through together. The contrast was stark: Newsom reflection, study and

was the veteran diplomat, an accom- interaction) a “sense a Changing World to Witness

plished professional who had risen sev- of the society” in one’s From David Newsom eral times to Secretary of State ad interim. posted country. And I was the novice, a grad student who • Acquire for- The real challenge was not to had just accepted an A-100 slot for June eign languages for of that year. “nuances”—if need keep them, but to keep faith Newsom was generous with his time, be, by waking an with them. almost a full hour on that cool evening, hour earlier—but . . . and gracious in his hospitality to a • Don’t fall into stranger. He spoke in a measured way to trap of British diplomat, “who knew six rial for some of my talks—for example, allow me to scribble a record as he went languages perfectly—and was a fool in with entry-level officers in the Foreign along. all six.” Service or with a fresh batch of Kosovor He did not recollect his postings so • Try to explore a new society to find ambassadors headed to postings in 2010. much as reflect on his experiences. He organizations, groupings, etc. (e.g., a youth The points are really quite good, even distilled decades into minutes. organization), which could be cultivated better than I realized starting out 26 years Later that evening, I went back over to promote better ties with the U.S. ago. Although my encounter with New- my notes and summarized his main • Avoid trap of associating exclusively som was limited to that one session, I can points as follows: with educated, Western, English-speaking sense a personality behind these thoughts, Conversation with David Newsom groups—a narrow perspective. presumably the authentic Newsom who April 8, 1988—Georgetown home The handwritten original of these notes served so ably in the Foreign Service. • Select small posts with big problems has accompanied me on all my postings That evening Newsom taught me for assumption of responsibility early on. over the years. The real challenge was not another lesson, though not set down in • Distinguish between power and to keep them, but to keep faith with them. the nine points. He concluded our talk and titles—the latter often mislead. They certainly made marvelous mate- politely excused himself, saying he was keen to catch “The MacNeil–Lehrer Report.” Fletcher M. Burton, a member of the A-100 class of June 1988, was until recently head of the Orga- That was the other lesson: Set priorities nization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. His previous and do not let anything—or anyone— postings include Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Saudi Arabia and Germany. stand in your way. n

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2014 85 LOCAL LENS

BY DEBRA BLOME n CAIRO, EGYPT

he highways surrounding Cairo teem with cars and cargo at Please submit your favorite, recent photograph to be all hours of the day and night. The camels in the back of this featured in Local Lens. Images pick-up truck seem unfazed by the roar of the surrounding must be high resolution (at least 300 dpi at 8 x 10”) traffic. I took this photograph in 2009 on Cairo’s Ring Road, T and must not be in print while driving back to the city after a trip to Giza Plateau to see the elsewhere. Please submit a short description of the scene/ pyramids. n event, as well as your name, brief biodata and the type of Debra Blome is an eligible family member who is currently in Washing- camera used, to locallens@ ton, D.C., where she is the AFSA News editor. She and her FSO husband afsa.org. and family lived in Cairo from 2008 to 2012 and, before that, were posted to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Tunisia and Kuwait. She took this photo with a Nikon Coolpix P80 27-486mm 18x optical zoom-Nikkor lens.

86 SEPTEMBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL