The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

CHIEF OF MISSION 101 EER TIPS PROMOTING DEMOCRACY

AFSA ANNUAL REPORT INSIDE

$3.50 / MARCH 2007 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS

AN UNEASY PARTNERSHIP The Foreign Service & the Military

CONTENTS March 2007 Volume 84, No. 3

F OCUS ON W AR Z ONE D IPLOMACY F EATURE

PROMOTING DEMOCRACY IN THE ARAB AND MUSLIM WORLD / 61 The development of true democracy in the Middle East will be slow, painstaking, extremely challenging and, at times, violent. By Alon Ben-Meir

C OLUMNS D EPARTMENTS

21 / IRAQ PRTS: PINS ON A MAP PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 LETTERS / 6 What role, if any, can the Foreign Service play in active 2008 Budget Aspirations: CYBERNOTES / 10 war zones? Here is a look at the reality of service on Diplomacy Jilted Yet Again MARKETPLACE / 12 Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Teams. By J. Anthony Holmes FASTRAX / 13 By Shawn Dorman SPEAKING OUT / 14 AFSA ANNUAL 40 / THE VERY MODEL OF A MODERN … How to Measure an Ambassador REPORT / 67 An FSO serving in Jalalabad explains how the 12 U.S.-led By J. Michael Cleverley AFSA NEWS / 77 Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Teams function. BOOKS / 84 By Danny Hall FS KNOW-HOW / 18 How to Read and Write an EER INDEX TO 48 / AND NOW IRAQ: By John J. Eddy ADVERTISERS / 90 A FORMER FSO REMEMBERS VIETNAM The Provincial Reconstruction Teams now in Iraq are a REFLECTIONS / 92 new incarnation of the Combined Operations Rural Mario’s Twin Brother Development Support program. By Dana Deree By John Graham

53 / EMBASSIES AS COMMAND POSTS IN THE WAR ON TERROR One result of the war on terror is the military’s increased presence in U.S. embassies around the world. Here are excerpts from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff report assessing the implications.

THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS OREIGN ERVICE Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published J O U R N A L F S monthly with a combined July/August issue by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profit Editorial Board organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent Editor STEVEN ALAN HONLEY TED WILKINSON, the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by Senior Editor CHAIRMAN e-mail. Journal subscription: AFSA Members - $13 included in annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, SUSAN B. MAITRA add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mail- Associate Editor KENT C. BROKENSHIRE ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign Service Journal, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. SHAWN DORMAN STEPHEN W. B UCK Ad & Circulation Manager 20037-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited ED MILTENBERGER ANTHONY S. CHAN manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein Business Manager JOSH GLAZEROFF does not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. ANDREW KIDD WILLIAM W. J ORDAN E-MAIL: [email protected]. WEB: www.afsa.org. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Art Director LAURIE KASSMAN Association, 2007. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., CARYN SUKO SMITH KAY WEBB MAYFIELD Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste. Editorial Intern JOHN K. NALAND E. MARGARET MACFARLAND JOYCE NAMDE CHRISTOPHER L. TEAL Cover and inside illustration by Hugh Syme

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3

PRESIDENT’S VIEWS 2008 Budget Aspirations: Diplomacy Jilted Yet Again BY J. ANTHONY HOLMES

With the return of power- mize its ability to achieve” its in prevention but continuing to provide sharing to Washington as the highest goal, is the news that significant real increases for defense Democrats exert control in the requested operating ex- and homeland security. Congress, the national media pense level “reflects a 15-per- The other striking element of the focused in February on the cent cut” (sic) from two years budget request is its lack of the key, still administration’s defense of its ago. That means a lot fewer missing ingredient necessary for the Fiscal Year 2008 budget re- people. But hey, no problem, short-term success and long-term insti- quest presented early in the because there will be less tutionalization of Secretary Rice’s month. While the staggering cost of the work to do. “transformational diplomacy” initiative. war in Iraq attracted much attention, In account after account the admin- While virtually everything in the few noticed the short shrift given to istration makes huge reductions in its request’s narrative is cloaked in a TD diplomacy in the budget request. foreign assistance requests. For exam- justification, and the initiative serves as After months of soothing assurances ple, the key development assistance a convenient though ill-defined excuse about greater emphasis on diplomacy, account, long the backbone of our to gut many foreign assistance one might have expected more. But efforts to promote sustainable long- accounts, only parts of it are being the request for the State Department term economic growth, got chopped by implemented. Well advanced is the was amazingly modest. When inflation 31 percent from the actual appropriat- “global repositioning” exercise, in is reckoned in, State’s budget will essen- ed level of two years ago. At the macro which positions are being shifted from tially be flat for the third year in a row. level, the FY 08 budget request avoids developed to key developing countries. Although there are some important sil- looking disastrously low mainly because The request also contains the first ten- ver linings, with meaningful increases it contains requests for major increases tative steps in establishing the initial for security upgrades, the “secure bor- in two areas: to $3 billion for the “American Presence Posts” in impor- ders” elements of consular work, and Millennium Challenge Corporation tant non-capital cities. additional IT infrastructure, core diplo- and $4.15 billion for global HIV/AIDS Singularly lacking, however, is a matic programs continue to be treated prevention/treatment — and because it request for funded programs that will as anything but genuine priorities. The includes $4.5 billion in Foreign Military allow the repositioned diplomats to department does ask for 254 new posi- Financing in our aid totals. Given that actually engage their host populations tions, yet these barely exceed the 240 it domestic electoral politics has led both and promote democratic change, eco- requested but did not receive in FY 06 political parties to try to improve their nomic reform and growth, and pursue and 07. It is also important to keep in budget discipline credentials, Congress the other values-based agendas that the mind that these are requested funding can be expected to grant far less than Secretary enumerated in her seminal levels. Congress will likely grant con- asked for in both accounts — particu- speech on transformational diplomacy siderably less. larly for the MCC, where the political 13 months ago. If she doesn’t want At USAID, things are even worse. commitment is noticeably declining. more reporting, then what are the new Much worse. Right there in the widely After a couple of years of scrimping, people in these 300 repositioned posi- distributed budget “summary and high- another year of leanness (if not actual tions to do without such programs? lights” document, in striking jux- cuts) will exacerbate our already declin- The department’s failure to provide the taposition to a reference to the need ing ability to do what we need to do tools necessary to do their jobs raises for changes so the agency can “maxi- around the world. That is easily ratio- fundamental questions, despite the nalized by our political leaders, though ample rhetoric, about how serious it is J. Anthony Holmes is the president of the no one frames the issue in terms of the about implementing the core of the American Foreign Service Association. shortsightedness of cutting investments transformational diplomacy vision.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 5 LETTERS

Transportation to the “Mall” in the corridor, such as the Iraq on providing the best support we can. In response to your January AFSA Orientation and In-Processing Center, This includes keeping the service corri- News Briefs item regarding moving to the mall concept. Our goal is a dor in the location where elements of it the Transportation Office, let me first “one-stop shop” for our employees at have served people well for 40 years. say that the Bureau of Administration all stages of their careers. Separating it from the rest of the build- and State Department management at We will also be consulting with ing would reduce our ability to serve all levels fully endorses the 1995 AFSA, AAFSW and others on the and support hundreds of transferring Strategic Management Initiative rec- details of this new mall as the plan pro- employees for years to come, and ommendation to “cluster all aspects of gresses. This will be a multiyear effort would not be a positive legacy for the foreign transfers and other employee and, like all projects at State, it is current management team. services in a single ‘mall’ location.” dependent on budget resources. But Creating a service mall in SA-1 is of The operational realities of today’s we are committed to the mall concept little value — especially when a func- State Department, however, reinforce and convinced that it will ensure a tioning system already exists. The the fact that this mall does not have to more family- and employee-friendly original recommendation back in 1995 be in the Harry S Truman building. consolidated service environment. was to expand what was then called The Office of the Director of Foreign Raj Chellaraj the Foreign Service Lounge, but to Assistance, cited in your news brief, is Assistant Secretary of State leave it in place — not move it. just the latest example of new, unantic- for Administration On the current service corridor, ipated space requirements. Washington, D.C. nine offices assist transferring em- We intend to fulfill the 1995 rec- ployees, including the Transporta- ommendation and provide a reliable Transportation Move: tion Office, which receives 4,000 drop- platform from which employees and Bad Idea in consultations annually. For em- families are able to address their needs The January AFSA News contained ployees who work in HST and who while still being able to attend to the an item titled “AFSA Urges State Not try to prepare transfers during a lim- needs of the nation during this trans- to Move Transportation Office.” The ited lunch hour, the advantages of not formational time. To accomplish this, director general, the Associates of the leaving the building are obvious. It we plan to move those elements of the American Foreign Service Worldwide, would be an enormous waste of time existing HST Service Corridor that the Family Liaison Office and many to have to run over to SA-1 every time interface with employees and their FS employees strongly object to mov- they need travel or transportation ser- families to join MED in Columbia ing Transportation out of the HST vices. Plaza (SA-1). By consolidating in SA- Service Corridor. The expense and hassle of moving 1, this new mall would be in a build- Recently, a new proposal was made an entire corridor of offices to SA-1 ing that, while very close to HST, — to move the entire service corridor also makes it questionable. Further- offers the additional advantages of to SA-1. Management has said that we more, the move would be incomplete, commercial parking, proximity to should provide employee support because there are no plans to reassem- Metro and, potentially, drop-in child 24/7, but what this proposal really says ble all the offices providing services for care (to be negotiated with Diplotots). is: “Employee services and support are transfers to the new mall. Why not just We have started the planning not important enough to be in HST.” move newcomers into vacant space? process and will coordinate with the This unspoken message is not consis- The proposal to move the service affected offices on the timing and lay- tent with State Department values and corridor may be couched in glowing out of the new mall. Doing so will also culture. We are asking our employees terms of creating a wonderful new mall. offer us an opportunity to perhaps add to take on new, more difficult and even However, it does not seem to be based some additional offices not currently dangerous tasks, and we set a premium on an understanding of how the trans-

6 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 L ETTERS

fer process really works. HST is our everyone’s suggestions. She wants to explained the complexities and chal- corporate headquarters. Support ser- know what you know, and she wants lenges of PD, a term that seems to vices are so important that they should you to tell her the truth. Before enter- have come of age since 9/11. As a 32- remain in the headquarters, where they ing her office, I respected her from afar year veteran of USIA, I particularly are now conveniently situated. for the task she had agreed to under- liked the article by Kushlis and Sharpe, Mette Beecroft take. After being here five months, I “Public Diplomacy Matters More President Emerita can understand the admiration and Than Ever,” because of the examples Associates of the affection that her staff feel for her. of successful PD efforts, among other American Foreign We just wound up the Global astute observations. Joe Johnson’s arti- Service Worldwide Public Affairs Officer Conference cle put public diplomacy challenges in Washington, D.C. (Jan. 8-10), attended by 171 officers the current communications environ- from around the world. U/S Hughes ment in perspective. Consider Keeley was outstanding. She gave hours of Because these five articles so excel- on the Middle East her time to interact with the PAOs lently cover the subject, one would Thank you for Robert Keeley’s during numerous breakout sessions, think that republication of them in excellent contribution to the Journal’s where she solicited questions and pamphlet form would be of great value December issue (“Toward a New ideas, and encouraged criticism — to students and scholars of PD, espe- Foreign Policy Agenda”). It is as sen- with the goal of continuing to improve cially at schools where it is taught. sible and simply put a statement on our public diplomacy efforts. She is Allen C. Hansen Middle Eastern affairs and needs as it always searching for the new and inno- USIA FSO, retired is rare. The Journal deserves congrat- vative, while continuing unstinting Falls Church, Va. ulations for presenting it, for the “poli- support to our tried and true program- tics” of Palestine/Israel seldom receives ming. Her support for the Foreign PD Lessons such treatment in the American media. Service, and for those of us in it, is Shawn Zeller’s account of Karen However, one may reasonably wonder clear-cut and often voiced. Hughes’ foreign trips (October) whether his proposals will ever be As U/S Burns noted in his address might leave the impression, if one given any serious official consideration. to the PAOs: Karen has chosen to be rushed to judgment, that they were Lee Dinsmore here — an extraordinary resource for unmitigated disasters. However, it FSO, retired us all — revitalizing the world of R, should be obvious that, at the very Elcho, Wis. and instituting legacy programs that least, much can be learned from will not depend on her strong bond them. For example, the incidents More Kudos for Karen Hughes with the president, but that will live on highlight one of the most important Very senior officers, including in embassies around the world, what- public diplomacy functions of any Under Secretary Nicholas Burns, sent ever the administration. And she has embassy: to do everything possible to in letters regarding the comments made the public diplomacy cone one assure that the visit of an official who made about U/S Karen Hughes in the of the most exciting and desired is going to meet the public will be as October issue (Shawn Zeller, “Dam- among incoming officers. productive as possible and to try to age Control: Karen Hughes Does I feel particularly privileged to have assure that the visitor will not be PD”). Both letters referred to mid- been chosen for this position and to embarrassed. This requires a judi- level Foreign Service officers on her count myself one of the team in R. cious choice of venues for encounters staff, of whom I am one. Karyn Posner-Mullen with the public and the selection of I began in the Bureau of Public FSO, Special Assistant to the audiences who will treat the visitor Affairs (R) as a special assistant this Under Secretary for with respect, however much they dis- past August, and I can assure you that Public Diplomacy and agree with the views expressed. it is one of the most inspiring places to Public Affairs In most countries, it would not be be in this building. There is no one Washington, D.C. wise to program a visitor to speak in a with the commitment, enthusiasm, stadium open to the general public. charisma, humor, energy and loyalty to Republish the PD Issue An alternative might be a televised the department that I have observed The October Journal, with its five meeting with a limited number of in U/S Hughes. She genuinely wants articles on public diplomacy, was out- representative students. For that to learn and listen, and is open to standing in the way the writers option to be maximally effective,

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7 L ETTERS

embassy personnel should know the tenure as under secretary? U.S. would have to bend to India’s invitees or know about them. James H. De Cou demands for what they were already Knowing local people is a primary USIA FSO, retired calling “The Nuclear Deal.” There objective of skilled practitioners of Le Vesinet Cedex, France were other demands, too, including public diplomacy. The best public more working visas for Indians and the diplomacy practitioners are deeply Dealing with India establishment of a new American con- convinced that effective communica- Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes’ sulate or consulate-general in Hydera- tion is vital to American security and reference to the way the nuclear deal bad (a worthwhile step, in my view). world peace. President Dwight was rolled through Congress, in con- Personally, however, I think it would Eisenhower was similarly convinced by trast to the ball-dropping on overseas behoove India to provide better eco- his experiences in war and peace, and locality pay (President’s Views, Janu- nomic conditions at home for her as a result created the now-deceased ary), brought to mind my experience many talented citizens rather than U.S. Information Agency. in India during President Bush’s visit insist that we or other countries pro- Public diplomacy will always profit last year. My wife and I were there vide opportunities. by learning from successes and fail- when the presidential team arrived. Of course, the nuclear deal, as ures. Sometimes, ironically, what may The visit momentarily grabbed the described then and as put into law initially be perceived as a failure may Indian headlines away from the bird- recently, really was a break with conse- prove in time to have been a blessing, flu frenzy. crated U.S. nuclear policy. I wondered if it contributes to enlightenment. Prior to Mr. Bush’s arrival, Indian how it would be possible and what quid Shouldn’t we all hope that such is the newspapers and television displayed pro quo we might receive. I supposed case when it comes to Karen Hughes’ great chutzpah by asserting that the we would try to coax the Indian gov-

8 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 L ETTERS

ernment into freeing up troops to help with our pacification of Iraq and Afghanistan. Indeed, President Bush made reference to both countries being victimized by terrorism. Certainly it would be worthwhile to try to wean India away from Russia and other possible suppliers. But on Jan. 25, the Washington Post reported that India had made new agreements with Russia for the construction of nuclear facilities. Have we been “dealt out” of “The Deal?” Concerning possible benefits for the U.S., at least in public, the presidential team apparently tried to con- vince India to take a hard line with Iran, her major oil supplier. I believe Indian Prime Minister Singh parried this deftly. There were reports that the U.S. was trying to cozy up to India so as to be a counterweight to China. However, those two countries seem to be seeking better relations, not con- frontation. The net result is hard to calculate. Now that Russia’s back in the game, will the American nuclear industry see a boom in orders? Prime Minister Singh’s coalition depends upon Com- munist Party support. Might the com- rades prefer Russia? Louis V. Riggio Former Foreign Service officer Hollywood, Fla.

Corrections In the February Journal, the last word in “A Bleak Outlook” by Dennis Jett (p. 28) was omitted as the result of a printer error. The article concludes on p. 35: “That is destined to go down in history as Bush’s most enduring legacy.” In the same issue, author identification for Joshua Muravchik (“A Sound Strategy,” p. 29) was inadvertently omitted from his article. Muravchik is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. We regret the oversight.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9 CYBERNOTES

In a Pinch, Call in a Diplomat Latins’ anger, whether by seeming to Edelman, another respected, long- “Conservatives may love to bash condone a coup against Hugo Chavez time diplomat who stabilized the posi- the State Department; but when their or appearing to meddle in Bolivian tion of under secretary of defense for policies fail, they always turn to Foggy elections.” policy after several years of turmoil. Bottom to pick up the pieces,” writes Kurlantzick also cites the cases of What accounts for this curious special correspondent Joshua Kurlant- John Negroponte, a career diplomat behavior on the part of conservative zick in a Jan. 25 post to The New Re- brought in to serve as the first director administrations? FSOs tend to be lib- public Online (https://ssl.tnr.com/p/ of national intelligence, and Eric eral, Kurlantzick says. “State Depart- docsub.mhtml?i=w070122&s=kurl ment officials, because they serve antzick012507). The Web-only arti- longer in the field than political want today to pay tribute to cle helps to set the record straight at a appointees and witness the difficulty time when a new round of the blame the many civilians who on a involved in actually carrying out policy game threatens to erupt over Iraq. Idaily basis see mortar attacks initiatives, are also often more reticent Highlighting the recent White against their positions, who travel to embrace transformative foreign House appointment of veteran FSO in convoys that are dodging policy, including the Bush administra- Ryan Crocker to replace political attacks. ... When it comes to tion’s transformative policies,” he ex- appointee Zalmay Khalilzad as ambas- the need to get Foreign Service plains. “Yet, I’ve met no sour-faced, sador to Iraq, Kurlantzick avers that personnel out to the field, we’re bitter Foreign Service officers trying the president knew what he was doing: to undermine U.S. foreign policy, as “Only someone like Crocker, who doing that. ... We are fully staffed [Newt] Gingrich has charged. ... speaks Arabic and understands inter- in our PRTs. ... We are fully “More important, because of their necine Iraqi politics, could even begin staffed not just in places like long service, State officials tend to to solve the mess in Baghdad.” Baghdad, but also Kabul and have insight into potential catastro- Crocker’s previous tours include Bei- Islamabad and Sudan and difficult phes. When it comes to fighting fires, rut; Saddam-era Iraq, where he was posts of those kinds, and we knowing what worked — and didn’t ... under round-the-clock surveillance; already have people volunteering work — in the past, is essential. Pakistan; and Syria, where, in 1998, “Career diplomats also possess in large numbers for the follow- angry mobs attacked the embassy, skills that simply cannot be filled by trapping Crocker’s wife in a safe room on service. It’s a very, to me, political appointees,” Kurlantzick inside. courageous thing for civilians states He cites FSO William Davnie’s However, Crocker is “only the lat- to do because they are not war observations [in the Foreign Service est fireman for conservatives’ fiascos,” fighters; they are political officers Journal, November 2006] that “politi- Kurlatzick notes, recalling other, and linguists and economic cal-appointee ambassadors coming recent clean-up missions. In Latin officers, and yet they have from domestic U.S. politics tend to America, where the U.S. is now highly gone to this fight. have skills in crushing the opposition, unpopular, “the White House has rather than engaging a broad segment brought in Thomas Shannon, another — Secretary of State of a public, which is what’s needed in a longtime FSO, to calm tensions as Condoleezza Rice, foreign country. Appointees coming assistant secretary of State for the House Committee on from the private sector have difficulty Western Hemisphere,” Kurlantzick adjusting to the bureaucratic nature of Foreign Affairs hearing, points out. He adds that the previous diplomacy, where ambassadors cannot Bush appointees to Latin America, Feb. 7, www.house.gov. just give orders like CEOs.” such as Otto Reich, “had only fueled “The careerists’ strengths often go

10 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 CYBERNOTES

unnoticed. Unlike many political ap- untraceably post government and president of Whistleblowers Australia. pointees, career diplomats like Crock- other secret documents. As she told the Jan. 20 Sydney er do not have much of a constituency The idea behind Wikileaks is to Morning Herald, the Web site pro- in Washington,” Kurlantzick con- provide governmental transparency vides an opportunity for stories to cludes. But whenever the political while protecting whistleblowers; the reach an international audience in a appointees’ best-laid plans implode, site is designed to be impervious to timely manner. Dr. Sawyer believes they always know whom to call. censorship from both legal and politi- the anonymity of the site is one of its — Susan Maitra, Senior Editor cal quarters. A “wiki” system, as is chief assets because whistleblower used at Wikipedia, allows for online protection laws are, in her opinion, A Wikipedia for collaboration from all over the world. largely superficial. Wikileaks would Whistleblowers The site was created by a diverse provide a safe environment for would- The international movement for group, including Chinese dissidents, be whistleblowers who fear legal or corporate and governmental trans- mathematicians and technologists political retribution. parency is about to get a powerful from start-up companies. At the time Wikileaks also has its detractors. boost. Modeled after the do-it-your- of this writing there are 22 volunteers The same Herald article relays con- self online encyclopedia, Wikileaks is on the Wikileaks team from the U.S., cerns over the sharing of “frivolous designed to assist whistleblowers from Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South complaints,” whistleblowers inadver- “oppressive regimes in Asia, the for- Africa. An advisory council for the site tently putting themselves in danger, mer Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa, is comprised of Russian and Tibetan and the harmful disclosure of things and the Middle East,” according to the dissidents, reporters, cryptographers such as national defense plans and Web site’s mission statement (www. and a former U.S. intelligence analyst. strategies. Wikileaks expects to be wikileaks.org). The site makes it The Wikileaks team’s mission of operational by March. possible for people from these regions, transparency has won supporters such — E. Margaret MacFarland, along with anyone else who wishes to as Kim Sawyer, associate professor at Editorial Intern expose perceived wrongdoing, to the University of Melbourne and vice Whether Military or Civilian, Families Serve Too e, of course, appropriately and often recognize the sacrifices and Frequent moves. Children who have spent more of their lives overseas valor of U.S. military personnel in Iraq, and rightly so. But we than in the United States. A deployed Wshould not forget the dedication and determination and courage spouse. Is this a State Department the members of the U.S. Foreign Service and civil servants have displayed family or military family? The diplo- in Iraq. State Department personnel are accustomed to hardship matic and the military sides of govern- assignments, which are now becoming almost the norm in the world, and ment service overseas each have their these mostly unarmed individuals are working hard in Iraq in the most own challenges, but their organiza- dangerous of circumstances. My colleagues and I appreciate the U.S. tions share the critical need to provide support for service members and their Foreign Service and their families and the civil servants at the State families to cope with a peripatetic Department for their unique efforts in Iraq and around the world. lifestyle. — Sen. Russell Feingold, D.-Wisc., Senate Foreign Relations Committee The State Department established the Family Liaison Office in 1978 to hearing, Feb. 1, www.senate.gov. support FS families, and the office has developed an array of resources and

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 11 C YBERNOTES

50 Years Ago... Something which struck me, in perusing the November issue, was the considerable number of women’s names. Quite a change from 15 or 20 years ago! — (Mrs.) R. Steiger, Letters to the Editor, FSJ, March 1957.

services (www.state.gov/m/dghr/ shops called “Webinars.” The Webin- flo/). In recent years, with the rise of ars can feature any topic from debt terrorism and the challenge of more management to holiday stress or dangerous, unaccompanied postings adjusting to middle age; and they and tours in combat zones, these ser- allow military families to view presen- vices have become even more critical, tations online and interact with other and FLO has hired staff specifically to Webinar attendees by telephone, in- assist families of FS members on stant messaging and polling. Webin- unaccompanied tours. ars are also accessible from the Mili- Because the Department of De- tary OneSource homepage. fense has much more experience sup- While every service branch offers porting service members — who far online support to family members, outnumber the Foreign Service — the Army has developed its own par- and their families overseas, a look at ticular Internet tool: Virtual Family what they do, and how they do it, pro- Readiness Groups (www.armyfrg. vides food for thought. In particular, org). Family readiness, or the idea the extent and variety of online ser- that the well-being of the families vices available to Armed Forces mem- affects the success of the mission, is a bers and their families are eye-open- key component of every service ing. branch. Within the Army, Family DOD’s Military OneSource is, as Readiness Groups are official organi- its name suggests, a one-stop shop for zations sponsored by unit comman- service members of every branch and ders. FRGs consist of family mem- their families (www.militaryoneso bers, soldiers, volunteers and com- urce.com). As stated in “About munity members, and are designed Military OneSource” (accessible from to facilitate communication between the homepage), the site provides tele- the chain of command, family mem- phonic, online and in-person support bers and the community at large. to military personnel and their fami- The vFRG site does something lies on a range of issues, “[w]hether it’s similar, as its opening page explains, help with child care, personal fin- connecting “the deployed soldiers, ances, emotional support during de- their families, the FRG leader, the ployments, relocation information or unit commander, the rear detach- resources needed for special circum- ment, and other family readiness per- stances.” sonnel on their own controlled-access In addition to consultation, Mili- Web system to facilitate the exchange tary OneSource provides information of information and provide a sense of on various services available in com- community.” To learn more about the munities, referrals to both military and vFRG and how it works, go to www. community resources, online videos armyfrg.org/skins/FRGPat/display. on topics germane to military couples aspx. and families, and live online work- The vFRG site also contains help-

12 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 C YBERNOTES

ful links for spouses and family mem- are posted on the Web site. The site bers, including TRICARE, which also features online classes on Army provides health insurance to military life and Family Readiness Group personnel and dependents (www.tri- training. care.mil); Army Knowledge Online, The Army is hardly unique, howev- an online information sharing site and er. Each service branch has its own e-mail provider available to soldiers, online community designed to pro- their families, and Department of the mote the sharing of information on Army civilians (www.us.army.mil); numerous topics and between differ- and My Army Life Too (www.my ent groups (spouse-to-spouse, service armylifetoo.com). branch-to-spouse, etc.): Air Force Designed specifically for Army Crossroads at www.afcrossroads. families, My Army Life Too starts with com; Lifelines (Navy) at www.life the basics, providing online training lines.navy.mil; Marine Corps Com- for new spouses on the institutional munity Services at www.usmc-mccs. structure, benefits and support org; and National Guard Family options available to them. Tips on Program at www.guardfamily.org. deployment, relocation, child care, — E. Margaret MacFarland, finances, job hunting and volunteering Editorial Intern

Site of the Month: LibrarySpot

Do you need information on government libraries? How about film libraries? Are you wondering where to find the nearest public library? The answers to these and many other questions can be found at www. libraryspot.com. LibrarySpot functions as a reference site for information on libraries themselves, but also fulfills many of the functions of a traditional library. The Web site was created to help the average Internet surfer find the very best online research tools. Each listing is personally selected and reviewed by Library- Spot’s editorial team for, as they put it, “exceptional quality, content and utility.” The site’s library database provides access to over 5,000 libraries worldwide. The researcher can search card catalogues at various libraries, make interlibrary loan inquiries, read full-text articles, or even find the nearest library. There is also a Must-See Sites feature, a regularly updated compendium of high-quality library and reference sites. The site’s Reference Desk has information on the best sites for business and government information, as well as encyclopedias, calculators, maps and phone books. In the Reading Room, there are over 50,000 book reviews available, online texts for 3,500 international newspapers, full-text journals and author biogra- phies. A Librarian’s Shelf provides information on industry-specific resources, and On Exhibit gives information on library exhibits around the world. LibrarySpot is user-friendly and an excellent resource for researchers and curious individuals alike. The site has received numerous accolades from such organizations as Forbes magazine, “Good Morning, America,” CNN and the Washington Post. — E. Margaret MacFarland, Editorial Intern

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 13 SPEAKING OUT How to Measure an Ambassador

BY J. MICHAEL CLEVERLEY

he debate over politically ap- verbal skills than managerial and lead- pointed ambassadors is a per- No matter how well ership qualities. In today’s Foreign Tennial one, especially popular ambassadors “talk Service, there may be a tendency for among career members of the For- the talk,” if they career officers to short-sell the impor- eign Service, for obvious reasons. tance of mission management, some- William Davnie’s recent Speaking Out neglect “walking the how assuming, consciously or not, that column, “Political Appointees: A Cost- walk” they lessen one’s ability to argue the issues is more Benefit Analysis” (November 2006), the likelihood of important than sailing the ship. made some excellent points on why reaching diplomatic Senior officers may also be remark- many appointees fail in their jobs. objectives. ably short on experience in managing However, the argument is not a simple an organization. I still remember ar- one. Having worked for over a dozen riving for a yearlong detail at the ambassadors and served as DCM to National War College as a newly mint- five of them, both career and appointed FS-1 who had never supervised an ed, during my 30-year Foreign Service ous, is serving as captain of the ship we American employee. In sharp con- career, I have seen firsthand how both call a diplomatic mission. The crew, trast, my military colleagues were all appointees and career officers handle with its resources, orders and charts, old hands at running large units. This the demanding job of ambassador. sails a foreign sea that, however placid deficit of management expertise can But what constitutes success and it may seem, is potentially treacherous be compounded if an ambassador failure? How do you measure them? and, more often than one would like, advanced through the service more via There is no simple answer, nor, I unknown. The ambassador is in Washington tours than through emb- believe, a single standard. There charge of the vessel and ultimately assy experience. Mission direction in should be a measure, however, one responsible for its fate. the field is full of challenges distinctly that newly appointed chiefs of mission The job is often likened to that of a different from those one encounters are aware of and that the State CEO, who oversees from a manage- domestically. Department can use to evaluate their ment pinnacle all aspects of the corpo- performance in meeting American ration: effectiveness of purpose, The Importance of Feedback objectives in their countries and mis- human resources, finances, training, Compounding these and many sions. morale, profitability, security and so other problems is a system that does In my experience, there are at least on. However, the diplomatic opera- not offer smooth feedback mecha- three distinct fields in which most tional environment is normally less nisms to its local executive. Washing- chiefs of mission operate on a day-to- defined than that of a firm and the ton often is not in a position to follow day basis. An ambassador can succeed chief shareholder, Washington, is a full closely an ambassador’s management (or fail) in any one of the three, quite participant. style. Locally, the gulf between the independently of how he or she per- It is not uncommon to see ambas- ambassador and DCM, on one hand, forms in the others. In fact, it is rare sadors struggling to fulfill this role, and the rest of the mission is a wide to find an individual who masters all whether they are political appointees one. The staff’s tendency to play up to three skills completely. — for many of the reasons Mr. Davnie senior managers, or to be intimidated, explained in his previous column — or can easily leave a front office in a bub- Leading the Mission career diplomats, who come from a ble of false impressions, misplaced The first of these, and most obvi- corps known more for intellectual and confidence and even hubris.

14 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 S PEAKING O UT

I have seen, as have many others in ous experience as a DCM can make all and exerted great energy in delivering the Foreign Service, how isolated the difference. effective demarches, selling American chiefs of mission can be from candid products, negotiating new bilateral feedback. They never find out that Advocating U.S. Interests commercial agreements, and promot- their management style is ineffective, This is the second facet of being a ing American views in the media. that the American staff bridle at the chief of mission. Serving as the per- More than one political appointee for way they are treated, or that the sonal representative of the president, whom I worked was well enough con- national staff consider them dilettante the U.S. government with all its agen- nected to senior administration lead- Americans who never learned their cies and national interests, especially ers to get attention at the very top for local employees’ work, their worth or commercial ones, an ambassador pro- an issue just when it was badly need- even their names. Of course, an motes and defends American posi- ed. unwillingness to listen to what feed- tions. More than serving as a conduit back the system does afford only exag- for dialogue between Washington and Building Relationships gerates this divide. foreign leaders, he or she sells ideas It may sometimes be easy to In my experience, the most suc- and products, sometimes in both believe that advocacy and articulating cessful chiefs of mission understand directions. Training and years of expe- an argument are what being an ambas- the value of choosing and working rience make this job easier, but the sador is all about. Certainly those are closely with a good DCM. The often- more articulate an ambassador is, the key parts of the job, but by no means noted division of the ambassador’s more successful. The Foreign Service all of it. Ambassadors who “talk the executive role vis-à-vis the DCM’s has produced many outstanding diplo- talk” well, but neglect “walking the operations job, where the DCM mats who have promoted American walk” — instilling confidence and assumes responsibility for day-to-day interests effectively. It has also pro- credibility, forging alliances and build- operations of the mission, is, in fact, an duced others who should have been ing local constituencies — lessen the effective one. The ambassador is free better than their record ultimately likelihood of reaching diplomatic to spend time in the other two fields showed. objectives. There is much more to while the DCM stays atop mission Political appointees sometimes diplomacy than laying out the best direction, depending on his or her remain short on expertise helpful for arguments. One senior European competence in assuming operational meeting this key responsibility. I Union diplomat once told me that the control and adequate communication remember being a junior officer and logic of a particular American position and oversight in the ambassador- accompanying an appointee ambas- didn’t matter. What did was how his DCM relationship. sador’s call on a Cabinet minister. parliament reacted to the issue in I remember one ambassador, in After the ambassador struggled question. In fact, the United States’ particular, who’d had my job as DCM through the issues under discussion, to status as the hegemonic superpower in an earlier assignment. His aware- my embarrassment, the minister often complicates the job rather than ness of how best to use a deputy, and began to address me rather than the simplifying it, as we sometimes mis- his resistance to the temptation to do ambassador. (To this day, I am not cer- takenly expect. both our jobs, made for a tight ship tain the ambassador realized how awk- There is an art as well as a science and a successful mission. ward the situation was.) As one senior to diplomacy — perhaps more art Conversely, I have seen cases foreign official once told a young than exactitude in this very human where an ambassador chose a DCM embassy officer, “The problem with affair. An ambassador needs to influ- on a basis other than the individual’s your appointees is that after we ence the political and economic elites management skills, thus reinforcing explain our position, we often have to of a country, and doing this may often the ambassador’s own strengths but explain the U.S. position!” have less to do with cogent argument leaving the executive office short on This is not always the case, howev- than social skills. In today’s world, operational expertise. The entire mis- er. One of the strongest ambassadors where U.S. public diplomacy seems in sion suffered. DCM selection and the I ever served was a political appointee a perpetually defensive, reactive terms of empowerment are crucial, as with extensive academic and policy mode, getting our message out often is the chief of mission’s ability to work experience, who bested anyone on the requires the ability to touch people on smoothly with the deputy. In the staff in articulating American positions the ground. In the multilateral con- selection process for a career chief of in all their nuances. And I’ve worked text, it means building a well-func- mission, the candidate’s having previ- for others who were quick learners tioning rapport with representatives

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 15 S PEAKING O UT

from countries that do not easily side with the United States. Succeeding at this endeavor in today’s still very traditional diplomatic environment, requires social skills as much as any others. One ambassador I served under in Finland was a Reagan-appointed rancher from the West. His substan- tive experience in international affairs was limited, but he spoke the language fluently and possessed superb interpersonal abilities. He also knew his weaknesses and exploited his strengths, particularly by criss-cross- ing the country to meet people. An exuberant chairman of a local city council remarked to me that in all his years in politics, he had never had a discussion in his own language with an American ambassador. This appointee and his family eventually became bigger celebrities in the country than virtually anyone else, appearing almost daily in the media, and particularly in large-circulation magazines that covered movers and shakers. In Lapland, the ambassador amazed the Sami population at a rein- deer round-up when he lassoed one of the animals properly by the right leg. Twenty-five years later, they still talk about the American diplomat who was interested in them and their culture. Ultimately, it did not matter that he was not always at ease advocating detailed positions. The country’s president came frequently to the residence for evening chats in front of the fireplace with his shoes off. That relationship had an effective political pay- off for American interests. For any diplomat, there is a temptation to mingle only with the rich and elite — for whom being seen with the American ambassador is a big social plus. But winning friends and influencing people requires targeted social interaction and accomplished representation at all levels of society. One political appointee I worked with

16 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 S PEAKING O UT

understood this well. He attended a other key components of the job to different church each Sunday, saying concentrate on the role that is most that he met all kinds of people he In today’s Foreign congenial. would never have had an opportunity Organizationally, it is hard to to meet otherwise. Another ambas- Service, there may be a believe our diplomatic missions will sador, a career officer, regularly took as ultimately be any better than the indi- many American staff as he could to tendency for career viduals who lead them. Representing participate in on-the-ground humani- America requires the finest ambas- tarian projects, such as painting a shel- officers to short-sell the sadors our nation can produce in order ter for street children. Many ambas- to hone our diplomacy to its most sadors are superb at reaching out in importance of mission effective. this people-to-people manner, but others are not. Many have succeeded management. J. Michael Cleverley was a Foreign or failed on the basis of how they inter- Service officer from 1976 to 2006. His acted with — and influenced — their many overseas postings included tours host nations. as DCM in Helsinki (1996-1999) and Running a mission smoothly, argu- Athens (2000-2003) and as deputy ing convincingly on behalf of on all levels, but that is quite rare. permanent representative in the U.S. American interests, and influencing More commonly, successful chiefs of Mission to the U.N. Organizations in the host society on its own ground are mission excel in one area and work Rome (2003-2006). He now consults challenges every ambassador faces. conscientiously to improve in the oth- and teaches contemporary U.S.-Euro- The very best can be equally effective ers. The danger lies in neglecting the pean relations.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 17 FS KNOW-HOW How to Read and Write an EER

BY JOHN J. EDDY

hough retired for some years change: “He stood there like a black- now, I can easily recall the anx- Is the moaning that smith watching automobiles go by.” Tiety caused by the annual cycle all EERs read alike of employee evaluation reports. The Achieve; Don’t Just Perform tension was even worse in those anti- exaggerated? Not if True, we should not think of EERs quarian days, which I remember, you’ve heard the as a fine-arts exercise. The stuff of when the officer was not allowed to thud of a thousand evaluations is performance, not the see the report. Secrecy greatly re- feet “hitting the artistic or literary ability of the rater. duced the inhibitions of the rater, who Yet surely there is room to jump a lit- never got to feel the rage of the eval- ground running.” tle higher. uated officer upon reading criticism I prefer the word “achievement” to of his wife’s martinis. “performance.” The latter term con- These days, of course, we live in jures up for me the hum and reliabili- the high, fresh sierra of openness. ty of a toothpick-sorting machine, But now that we have left the tuber- whereas “achievement,” described cles of insensitivity behind in the “management ability” — an approach with sufficiently decorous drama, can swamps below, many EERs nowadays that sometimes gives EERs the look evoke the shuddering force of Rocky still seem drained of all life. Most are of a probation officer’s report. He Balboa’s right. as pureed as Gerber peas. They are repeatedly won, and richly merited, If we are to keep the word, perfor- certainly less interesting than in the commendations for his evaluations by mance should not merely signify days when poison flowed. following Ezra Pound’s recommenda- working hard, surviving staffing gaps, These thoughts are personal, natu- tion to young writers: “Make it new.” meeting visitors at the airport, beating rally. Reading EERs while on thresh- Is this moaning over the undiffer- deadlines, or keeping on good terms old and senior promotion boards and entiated nature of EERs exaggerated? with everyone — worthwhile as all while carrying out inspections, I con- Not if you’ve heard the thud of a thou- those jobs are. “All of these things the stantly encountered the sameness that sand feet “hitting the ground run- gentiles do.” Performance, it seems you see in those little Nutcracker dolls ning.” Not if you’ve stood in the street to me, is achievement rooted in strong at Christmas. What always seemed and tried to wave your flag to the conceptual ability and charged with missing was flesh and bone. dirge of an endless procession of sane energy. A graceful, insightful EER cover- supervisors “leading by example.” Ambition is also important, of ing the required six competencies is Fortunately, most raters are capa- course. A drama teacher in elemen- possible, but it is as noticeable as ble of better writing and some show it tary school asked my youngest son Bill Rudolf Nureyev bounding onto the in the following extracts. (All quota- what kinds of parts he liked. “Big stage at a third-grade dance recital. tions are approximate, based on my parts,” he replied. An exception was a DCM in Paris memory and notes.) Someone has suggested that in who presented the reader with a “He prepared an outstanding order to be a water-walker, you first painting from life. You knew that he report on beer marketing, establish- have to find a post with water. That’s was busy, yet it was obvious that he ing that GNP growth was trickling true. As Dr. Samuel Johnson ob- had thought about employees as per- down to the countryside.” served: “To discover great talents, it is sons throughout the year. His EERs “He throws out ideas like a high- necessary to have great exigencies that flowed in one liquid essay, not hacked speed pinwheel. Some just go phifft.” call them forth.” There is no point in up into itemized competencies like Addressing an officer unwilling to cursing a selection board just because

18 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 FS KNOW-HOW

it is impressed by the power of a officers continues to limp. A political would the rater consider amending telling performance in large events. officer may be a writing fool, but if the the words or simply dropping the sen- Board members are as susceptible as officer intends only to be a reporter tence in which they occur? If the anyone else to posing the question, and never a manager, he or she will rater acknowledges that the implied “Who cares?” suffer career limitations. Those criticism was intended, the rated One officer acts in matters of great employees who view themselves pri- employee might then ask that the crit- moment to the United States, pushing marily as analysts are entitled to their icism be made more explicit as an through a trade agreement with a temperaments, but unless they learn inducement to growth. In this way, at major trading partner, influencing the to systematize and supervise, they will least one of the two participants in the creation of a new financial institution, not, generally speaking, add enough process is acting honorably. warning correctly of an unexpected value to the system to justify making Sometimes worse than faint praise change in government. A second offi- them seniors. is a sub-category that we might call cer, in a jungle outpost, stays late and “inferential ellipsis.” A thought that “designs his own kitchen cabinets.” Destructive Criticism might initially be considered compli- The top ranks of the Foreign No one likes to give or receive crit- mentary is not taken to its final, fatal Service are thick with officers who icism, so it rarely shows up in EERs conclusion: “He doesn’t appear to went where they were told to go, serv- outside of the “Areas for Improve- search for the biggest piece of meat, ing at unpromising posts where they ment” box. One of the most common but it always seems to end up on his were assigned unglamorous tasks. entries there is “failure to delegate.” plate.” Some can be said merely to have sur- For example: “The DCM’s micro- Selection boards refer to the vived this career test. Others, recog- management resulted in a continuing employee’s statement as the “suicide nizing that it was not enough just to heavy burden on his own schedule box.” One employee described as meet the demands of the job, created and a relaxation of staff ef- showing manic tendencies, but not their own demands. For example, forts.” I believe I noticed, however, quite clinical mania, tended to con- they might make the impoverished that those not subsequently promoted firm the reader’s worst fears by writ- host country a model for some previ- were often accused of a lack of asser- ing a 10-page statement of refutation. ously unthought-of route to economic tiveness or even expression: “His only Instances of intemperance abound: development. deficiency is that he is not forceful “Morale improved noticeably when Others, against all odds, were lifted enough in insisting upon his judg- the office management specialist out of anonymity by a political or nat- ments and thus earning the dividends departed on her broomstick.” “Yes, ural cataclysm. The boss of a one- of being proved correct.” I’m late for meetings — because I run person post in Indonesia received The bland criticism found in that into so many people in the halls want- much praise in official documents for section sometimes cuts closer to the ing to discuss his faults.” the extraordinary compassion, energy bone than is realized, however — In most instances, criticism is best and efficiency he displayed when the especially if it is repeated. One of the accepted gracefully in the employee’s 2004 tsunami struck near his modest most damaging pieces of evidence in statement while he or she focuses on office far away from the embassy. the eyes of a selection board is the the positive — or is simply ignored Much has been made of the pri- reappearance of the same criticism, altogether. Most criticism is far from macy of “management” as a qualifying however minor, year after year. fatal and is thus better looked upon as skill for rising to the top, and there- Raters often employ faint praise in a pesky fruit fly than a rodent devour- fore as important material for an lieu of direct criticism. It is usually a ing the entire performance. EER. I’m a convert to this view, sign of evasive pusillanimity. Words though not a zealous one. Managers like “fine” and “good” find themselves Damning with Faint Praise are not necessarily leaders or even gasping for air like a mackerel on the EER inflation, though rampant, conceptualizers. Managers can orga- dock next to the sharks of “brilliant” or seldom threatens a board’s judgment. nize, oversee, discipline and motivate “sparkling,” overused as these gamy Even the most sympathetic, enthusi- subordinates, but may not electrify fish may be. astic rater cannot manufacture a per- them. That is the province of leaders, In dealing with apparent criticism, formance where none exists. “Nemo who may be weak managers. the rated employee might ask the dat quod non habet” (No one gives The “law partner” analogy as a rater if he or she actually intended the what he doesn’t have). The worst basis for the promotion of political statement to reflect negatively. If not, examples of inflation amuse rather

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 19 FS KNOW-HOW

than sway a board. One reviewing Florence): “No praise is equal to that officer, an ambassador, wrote: “I wish of his own name.” I had more space to write about this One of the most Of George Washington: “If you truly remarkable human being.” He require a monument, look around.” then left a quarter of the page blank. damaging pieces of And my absolute favorite: Unmerited praise demeans both Of Shakespeare (by Macaulay): the giver and the recipient. Yet there evidence in the eyes of a “He had no equal and no second. Of should probably be more compli- faults he had none, unless it be the ments in EERs, not fewer — of the selection board is the slight tedium evoked by his reiterated genuine variety, that is. Because the splendor.” Foreign Service as an institution is not reappearance of the used to commendation, especially John Eddy, a Foreign Service officer from outsiders, too much praise might same criticism, however from 1966 to 1994, served in Caracas, have an emetic effect. But it is still San Salvador, Bogota, Nairobi, better to err on the side of generosity. minor, year after year. Bridgetown, Dhahran and Bombay. Behaviorists say that the average His Washington, D.C., assignments person needs some sort of affirmation included a tour as senior special assis- every 15 minutes. Yet supervisors tant to the director general. Since erroneously fear that too much praise great performance deserves full-bore retiring from the Service, he has con- will soften the spine and cause subor- praise. Consider the following exam- tinued to conduct occasional inspec- dinates to lean back on their oars. ples: tions overseas and in the department The opposite is more likely true, for a Of Machiavelli (on his tomb in as a senior inspector.

20 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS ON W AR Z ONE D IPLOMACY

IRAQ PRTS: PINS ON A MAP Hugn Syme

WHAT ROLE, IF ANY, CAN THE FOREIGN SERVICE PLAY IN ACTIVE WAR ZONES? HERE IS A LOOK AT THE REALITY OF SERVICE ON IRAQ PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS.

BY SHAWN DORMAN

n November 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Mosul to inaugurate the first Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Team. “I know that it is not easy work,” she said, while announcing the official opening of this latest diplomatic outpost in the capital of Ninawa province. “I know that it is, at times, dangerous work. I just want to assureI you that it is understood in America that it is also really, really important work. Indeed, it is work that is crucial to our own freedoms.” And yet, as Iraq Provincial Action Officer Robert Pope, an FSO who was serving there at the time,

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 21 F OCUS

recalls, “The PRTs were rolled out Diplomats are Program in Iraq,” from the Office of before they were ready for prime time. the Special Inspector General for Iraq They didn’t know what we were sup- accustomed to danger Reconstruction, Stuart W. Bowen Jr., posed to do.” was especially useful. Since then, another nine teams and hardship, but have been established: Erbil, Iraqi The Iraq PRT Mission Kurdistan (the one Regional Recon- they are not soldiers. Iraq Provincial Reconstruction struction Team, led by a South Korean Teams, known as PRTs, are civilian- ambassador, covering the provinces of military organizations that are being Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah); Ramadi, Anbar created to support provincial government capacity devel- province; Hilla, Babil province; Baqubah, Diyala opment. The plan to establish PRTs in Iraq was intro- province; Tikrit, Salah ad Din province; Kirkuk, Ta’mim duced in a joint statement issued by Embassy Baghdad province; Nasariya, Dhi Qar province (Italian-led); and the U.S.-led Multinational Force Iraq (known as Basrah, Basrah province (British-led); and Baghdad. MNF-I) in October 2005. The mission, as spelled out by President Bush recently raised the profile of civilian National Coordination Team Chief of Staff Rob Tillery in service on such teams when he called for a “doubling” of an Oct. 9, 2006, Baghdad press briefing, is: “to assist Iraq’s the PRTs in his State of the Union address. At least eight provincial governments with developing a transparent and more PRTs are planned, five of which will operate in the sustained capability to govern, promoting increased secu- Baghdad area, two more in Anbar province, one in Balad rity and rule of law, promoting political and economic and a possible 19th in Najaf. development, and providing provincial administration Duty at Iraq PRTs represents a new reality for the necessary to meet the basic needs of the population.” The Foreign Service. Diplomats are accustomed to danger idea was that “as the provincial governments demonstrate and hardship, but they are not soldiers. So it is not an increased capability to govern and manage their security unreasonable question to ask what role (if any) the environment, thereby reducing the role of coalition forces Foreign Service should have in active war zones. The in the provinces, then each PRT would transition to a tra- PRTs are the administration’s answer to that question. ditional USAID training program to develop local gover- But how they operate, what they try to accomplish and nance capacity.” what they actually can accomplish is an evolving story — The PRTs are loosely modeled on the Afghanistan and one that is not the same for each PRT. PRTs, though those are military-led, with a State compo- In trying to tease out the reality for the Foreign Service nent. The Iraq PRTs are civilian-led, and fall under the behind the rhetoric concerning the PRTs, the Journal cast responsibility of the National Coordination Team in a wide net. Over a dozen Foreign Service members serv- Baghdad, which is part of the Iraq Reconstruction and ing at PRTs in seven Iraqi provinces provided input for Management Office there. IRMO was established in 2004 this report, some on the record and some on background. by executive order under 5 U.S.C. 3161 as a “temporary We spoke with State Department officials in the Office of organization” with authority to hire temporary employees, the Iraq Coordinator. The Office of the Director General called “3161s.” IRMO and the NCT are staffed primarily provided responses, with input from the Bureau of by 3161s, non-Foreign Service personnel. Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Near East Affairs, The PRTs are comprised of some 35 to 100 personnel, to additional personnel and security-related questions. A most of whom are from the military. In most cases the U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team commander currently team leader is a State Department Foreign Service officer serving in Anbar offered his own comments about work- and the deputy team leader is a military officer. The ing with the State Department. And the Oct. 29, 2006, teams, when fully staffed, also include personnel from report, “Status of the Provincial Reconstruction Team USAID and its contractor for the Local Governance Program, RTI International; the Department of Justice; Shawn Dorman, a former Foreign Service officer, is asso- the Foreign Agricultural Service; civilian contractors; local ciate editor of the Foreign Service Journal and editor of employees; and military personnel, including civil affairs the AFSA book, Inside a U.S. Embassy. personnel.

22 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

Establishing the teams in Iraq has been challenging, in or less success depending on the personalities involved part because of high-level wrangling between State and and the acceptance, or lack thereof, of the civilian pres- the Defense Department over who would provide securi- ence by the U.S. military. ty, support and funding. Initially, DOD was skeptical of A common refrain from Foreign Service members the program and there was much confusion about how speaking about their experiences in new PRTs is that they the PRTs were supposed to function and exactly what the have felt like “pins on a map,” sent out so officials in teams were supposed to do. No memorandum of under- Washington could say they were there. They felt “cut off,” standing was in place to delineate each agency’s responsi- and were not given clear instructions on their role or on bilities. By many accounts from those who were sent out how the chain of command between military and civilian to the first PRTs, the process has been ad hoc, with more members was to be defined and function. Support from

Working at PRT Anbar By Angela Williams, Public Diplomacy Officer

Heading to my new post, dressed in 30-pound full metal body armor with helmet, I met my military escort officer at Embassy Baghdad at 10 p.m. to leave for my hook-up to Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi, in Al Anbar province. We left the embassy and walked over to the launch site to take our flight. Once there, we checked in with the Marines on duty and they wrote on my hand with a black marker the code to Blue PRT Anbar members, from right: U.S. Navy Diamond so that if there were any questions as to Commander Geoffrey Schuller, PRT Administra- tor Sam Foursha, Angela Williams, Locally Em- where I was going, I could show the Marines piloting the Black ployed Civil Engineer and Translator Jamal Refat, U.S. Hawk or Chinook helicopter my hand (over the noise) and Navy Commander James Lee and USMC Colonel and keep it straight where I was to be dropped. They jokingly Deputy PRT Team Leader John Ewers. called this “using my palm pilot.” Life is pretty hard and dangerous at PRT Anbar, definitely I have six telephones, including a Blackberry, but none not for everybody. Living conditions are spartan; when I work where I am stationed. The satellite phone supplied by arrived at the 10x10-foot portion of my hooch (trailer), it con- the office does work, but only for a three- to five-minute contained only a wooden bed and a chair. I had to put one of my nection. Communications are one of our greatest challenges. abayas up to the window to keep out light and prying eyes. I Keeping in touch with Baghdad, Washington, or even our local share the trailer with a female Marine corporal. We have mice contacts, is hard! Contacting other PRT team members is in the trailer and in the offices, and they found nests of cobras also difficult. hibernating underneath our hooches. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger in the 1970s. The There are no roads in the location of our hooches and conditions of the PRT remind me of those times; however, the when it rains, we must tread through thick mud to get back conditions here are even more difficult. In Niger the most and forth from work. It is the cold season right now, but I remote village would still have been a luxury post compared understand that when it gets hot, it really gets hot! We will be to PRT Anbar. swarmed by mosquitoes at night and flies in the morning. Working here at this time is fulfilling and historic, in spite You can’t be too fussy about bathroom facilities. Often of the dangers and the hardships and isolation. I wanted to there are no wet toilets, so we must use port-a-johns; often work where I could use my knowledge of Arabic, cross-cul- the toilets are communal (men and women), so you might tural and interpersonal skills, and my knowledge of public need to arrange your time to go. Hot showers are a luxury, in diplomacy programming. This is the perfect job for me, and short supply and great demand. an opportunity to make a difference and do real diplomacy!

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 23 F OCUS

Embassy Baghdad and Washington has been, for many that sentiment, “Everyone is so policy-focused — get PRTs, inadequate. PRTs up and running in all 18 provinces — that they are In somewhat typical State Department fashion, the not aware of, or even care if they are aware of, the reali- mandate to staff PRTs came down from above and the ties on the ground.” Foreign Service had to respond — without an influx of In October 2005, Robert Pope went to Iraq “a believ- sufficient funding, training or personnel. (Some have er,” feeling optimistic that he would be able to do good compared it to the opening of embassies in all the new work and make a contribution. He served in Mosul until post-Soviet countries in the early 1990s, although those September 2006 as an Iraq provincial action officer dur- missions were not being established in active war zones.) ing the transition of the mission from a regional embassy office to PRT Ninawa. “Unfortunately, I had a major cri- The PRT Rollout sis of faith when I saw the waste and incompetence and “It was like, ‘Okay, here you go, the Secretary wants sheer stupidity of what was happening over there,” says this to happen,’” explains a recently returned FSO who Pope. He describes visits to reconstruction projects that served in an Iraq PRT and asked not to be identified. “We had been carried out earlier with no oversight or account- don’t know how, but go ahead and figure it out because we ability. A school built six months earlier was already falling don’t have time to do it for you.” Another FSO currently down, and roads built in October were gone after January serving in a PRT, who asked not to be identified, echoes rains because they were not built to standard.

Bidding Advice from PRT Anbar By Horacio Ureta, Iraq Provincial Action Officer The key to your success, and sub- Marine Expeditionary Force.) I’d recom- sequently contributing to our mis- mend you start learning military acronyms sion’s success, is a good attitude. and ranks if you haven’t already. You’ll not Expect to learn a lot, relearn old things, be living alongside a military culture; you’ll and do many new things in ways you be living in the military. never imagined. PRT Anbar is like Actual locations for us can vary. I can’t nothing you have ever experienced! say for sure where my “home” will be in 30 PRT living is dirty, dangerous, days, except that it’ll be somewhere in exhausting, exciting, boring, dynamic, Anbar province, with occasional trips to Ureta visiting Kirkuk. fluid, dusty, muddy, hot, cold, dry, wet, Baghdad. There are no weekends here. challenging, frustrating, dangerous (notice that I repeat that Expect to work seven days a week. Not that it’s an 18-hour one), high-profile, serious, fun, fascinating — and the most day every day. Sometimes you’ll have free time to work out, rewarding assignment you can have. It’s the most “real” work nap, read, watch movies, socialize with troops, etc. But you in the State Department. It has the attention of the world, and are in a war zone with constant activity, so you have to be is under a magnifying glass from Washington. available, even though you’re not immediately accessible at I came here from a year in Embassy Baghdad’s political- your desk. (Actually, I don’t have a desk; I have a table with a military section. Baghdad is a five-star resort compared to State laptop I brought out here). That’s the way it is. here (which doesn’t mean Baghdad is that great). However, I You’ll live either in a beat-up trailer or a beat-up building, much prefer the PRT, because I get out so often. For me, it and you go outside to use the latrine or shower. Flush toilets goes from slow to fast and furious. Still, work and the condi- are few and far between when you’re embedded. tions we face are not for the faint-hearted. Take everything I’ve said positively. This is a great assign- PRT Anbar is in a Marine Forward Operating Base (called ment and a magnificent life experience where you are truly FOB Blue Diamond) just north of Ramadi. The Anbar PRT serving our country. Look at it that way, and all the “inconve- leader is in Fallujah, where the “MEF HQ” is. (MEF stands for niences” of a war zone truly fade away (they do for me).

24 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

“We might have been better off “The unstable security Marez, which would serve as the if we’d loaded up C-130s [transport base for the PRT. planes] with $20 bills and dropped environment in Iraq State and DOD were arguing them out, because at least some of it about a memorandum of under- would have gone to locals, not all to touches every aspect standing right up to the date of the contractors and scam artists,” Pope move, according to Pope, causing says of what he found on the ground of the PRT mission.” confusion about who was respon- in Ninawa. sible for what. The move resulted Before the November 2005 es- — Special IG for in a general loss of State Depart- tablishment of PRT Ninawa, FSOs Iraq Reconstruction ment support. Administrative and in Mosul were part of the regional security personnel from the REO embassy office working out of U.S. were transferred out of Mosul, Forward Operating Base Courage, supported by State and the remaining Foreign Service members lost phone Department security and administrative personnel on and computer connections, with no communication sys- site. They had operational phone lines and computer con- tem available except borrowed, intermittently function- nections to Embassy Baghdad and Washington. The al, military links. Contractor KBR (formerly known as Foreign Service staff of the REO were protected by a Kellogg, Brown & Root) conducted the expensive phys- dedicated Blackwater (private contractor) personal secu- ical transfer of office equipment and furniture from the rity detail. In May 2006, when FOB Courage was trans- REO to the PRT. Much of the furniture and equipment ferred to the Iraqis, personnel were moved to FOB was destroyed during the relocation, according to Pope.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 25 F OCUS

The move also shifted security responsibility for fluid and uncertain,” says a recently returned FSO who guarding Foreign Service members from the dedicated served at a PRT and asked not to be identified. “That Blackwater PSD to the U.S. military. Once they showed uncertainty led to quite a bit of confusion as to what our up at the new base, the FS contingent became com- jobs and tasks were. … We all had to work together, and pletely dependent on the military for all life and work we tried pretty damn hard, but at times it was extremely support. “We were essentially abandoned by the State frustrating. I went from having at least one convoy a day Department,” Pope says. FS team members opened at my disposal to perhaps getting out once a week, when Yahoo e-mail accounts in order to reach the State possible.” His reporting dropped accordingly, as it Department, as did FS members of many other PRTs became more difficult to connect with Iraqi contacts. who found themselves similarly disconnected. “Despite all these setbacks, and after several months of “In the early days of the PRT, the concept was quite infighting within the PRT, our civilian and military leaders

On the Ground in Babil sister organization in Anbar province, the By Chuck Hunter, Team Leader Sunni region west of Baghdad where the insurgency has been especially deadly, in At a time when news reports from hopes that Babil’s successful training Iraq often paint an unrelenting picture of model can generate employment and death and despair, the Babil PRT is oper- income in Anbar. ating quietly but effectively to help Iraqis That is not to say that all is sweetness build their future. The team brings and light here — especially not light, as together State Department diplomats, the citizens of Babil continue to do with- specialists from USAID and its partner out electricity for well over half of every organizations, a representative of the Chuck Hunter (right) with A’ad Hatif day. The PRT is overseeing several Jabr, the chief judge of Babil province, at Department of Justice, a Seabee engi- power transmission projects that will the groundbreaking ceremony for the neer, reservists from a Civil Affairs unit ease the problem, ideally before demand federal courthouse that is being con- based in Knoxville, Tenn., and a variety structed with U.S. funds in Al Hillah. peaks for air conditioning in the summer. of contract personnel, including Ameri- During the cold winter months, however, can and Iraqi-born experts in engineering, the rule of law and there is little we can do to make up for short supplies and high business. We cooperate closely with the U.S. military, and prices of heating fuels. Whenever we feel sorry for ourselves even share our compound with part of a Special Troops because of occasional mortar or rocket fire in our direction — Battalion from the 25th Infantry Division. resulting only in a handful of non-life-threatening injuries to On any given day, Babil PRT members might be consulting date in the well-heated and well-lit compound — we put with officials about which irrigation canals need cleaning most things in perspective by remembering how difficult daily life is urgently, evaluating operations at a water-purification plant, for Iraqis “outside the wire.” advising a judge on case management and evidence-tracking The chance to make a difference brought PRT members procedures, reviewing current project status and future prior- here in the first place and gives us a common purpose. Seeing ities through a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee, or working on justice done, helping democracy take root, improving the qual- increasing citizen participation in governance. ity of life of people who have suffered too long — these aims Babil’s economic base is largely agricultural, so earlier this form a tall order. Ultimate success is not a given, especially if year the PRT gave guidance on what to plant to maximize the security environment worsens. On its own the Babil PRT profits. Corn production in the province tripled compared to will not defeat the terrorists or give everyone electricity 24 2005; next year’s yields of this and other crops should hours a day. But while the debate over U.S. policy, troop lev- increase still further, thanks to modern seed cleaners the team els and the definition of “civil war” rages on in Washington, this is providing. Honey being another money-maker, the PRT team and others like it are doing their best to bring America and helped put the Babil Beekeepers Association in contact with its Iraq closer to victory, one modest step at a time.

26 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

had a meeting of the minds,” this FSO adds. “I believe PRTs need “babysitting” and are just there for “tea par- what was clear was that each person — military and civil- ties.” Foreign Service officers are “weenies.” And the one ian — was dedicated to making a difference over there, so Foreign Service members least appreciate: a perception working together was recognized as crucial. With time, that they have not “stepped up” to serve in Iraq. suspicions were laid to rest and collaboration became While testifying on the Hill in February, Secretary of stronger. Maybe the difficult living and working condi- Defense Robert Gates took a swipe at Secretary of State tions helped contribute to the eventual cohesion, but once Condoleezza Rice for not being able to quickly fill the it occurred we had a lot of people really ‘drinking the civilian surge positions that are to accompany the military Kool-Aid,’ so to speak, even though our overall mission surge in Iraq, claiming that State was not stepping up. and Washington’s expectations remained uncertain. I Press reports highlighted the possible start of a public have a lot of respect for our military colleagues working blame game over losing Iraq. But the criticism was mis- over there, and appreciated their help.” (Note: The placed; only about 10 of the civilian surge positions are for phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” is often used by Iraq vet- State diplomats and about 10 more for USAID — and erans to refer to unquestioning support for the mission.) most have been filled. The rest require specialists in pro- fessions not found in the Foreign Service. Warriors and Poets When making arguments about “stepping up,” it is also Joining military and civilian personnel together for a critical to look at scale. The personnel and budget joint mission is a tall order requiring, among other things, resources of the State Department and other foreign the bridging of cultural divides. First come the stereo- affairs agencies are miniscule when compared to the types from some in the military: diplomats serving in the Pentagon’s $400 billion budget and the 2.5 million mem-

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 27 F OCUS

bers in the combined uniformed armed forces and On the Ground in Iraqi Kurdistan reserves. State employs only about 6,500 active-duty By Jennifer Mergy, Iraq Provincial Action Officer Foreign Service officers, about the size of one military brigade, and these officers staff all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. State does not have a reserve corps or barracks from which to deploy: State employees are forward-deployed. Filling a new FS position in Iraq means a job somewhere else in the world needs either to be vacated or left unfilled. And yet, over 1,500 from the State Department have volunteered to serve in Iraq, out of an active-duty pool of just over 10,000 (including State specialists). There are currently close to 200 State Foreign Service members serving in Iraq, about 50 of them at PRTs. Mergy visiting a school in Iraqi USAID has only about 1,000 Foreign Kurdistan. Service employees total. About 25 per- The most rewarding moments here as cent of USAID FSOs have served in a part of the Regional Reconstruction Team critical-priority country (Sudan, Afghan- in Erbil are in the field. I enjoy the intera- istan, Pakistan and Iraq) over the past five gency cooperation and the direct contact years and more than 70 are currently with Iraqis. One such trip was to areas hit serving in Iraq. by flash floods in Iraqi Kurdistan’s From the other side come some civil- Sulaymaniyah province. The day trip in- ian perceptions that the military is all volved logistics and security arrangements Jafati Valley, about “breaking down doors,” possessing with multiple parties — U.S. Civil Affairs, Sulaymaniyah a “shoot-’em-up” mentality. “Warriors and poets” is Pope’s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Iraq summary of the differences. “We were told to learn to Reconstruction Management Office, USAID, the Regional Secur- play nicely with each other, even though State was not ity Office, Public Affairs, the South Korean coalition partner, the very well regarded by several of our high-ranking col- governor of Sulaymaniyah and the local mayor. leagues in the military,” says one PRT veteran who asked When we arrived at the flood-damaged site, the villagers and not to be identified. He adds that there were “many local officials met our group and expressed their concerns. I inherent biases between the two organizations. This ten- was able to talk with the women about their emergency coping sion was exacerbated by whatever relationship State and strategies and, more broadly, about their role in the community. Defense officials had or did not have at the highest level.” As a follow-up to the trip, I was part of the preliminary eval- The good news appears to be that many cultural barri- uation committee that reviewed the flood-relief project propos- ers between the services are being overcome and cooper- als. As an RRT officer, I also coordinated with international ative work is now going on in many PRTs. Yet it is a fluid organizations, including the United Nations, to ensure these situation in each team, because personalities and individ- efforts were not duplicated and there was a balance among food ual perceptions still matter and conditions and relation- items, non-food items and infrastructure initiatives. ships change when civilian and military personnel rotate The whole experience was professionally gratifying because out. Still, the Special Inspector General for Iraq it combined demonstrating our sympathy for the plight of the Reconstruction’s October 2006 status report concluded flood victims and working toward an emergency assistance that “in general, the civilian and military organizations package. Personally, I was touched by the interaction with vil- within the PRTs are effectively working together, coordi- lagers who lived far from the region’s politics and appeared to nating their activities, and synchronizing their efforts with view American military personnel and diplomats simply as peo- coalition stability operations in the provinces.” ple making a sincere effort to help others in need. Several PRT veterans point to one key difference between Foreign Service and military personnel: the mil-

28 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

itary takes a shorter-term view than the Foreign Service, Province PRT leader Kiki Munshi, a retired FSO who which looks at the longer-term payoffs from institution left Iraq in January. “In fact, it is not possible to separate building. “The main point of divergence is in the time kinetic from non-kinetic because winning this ‘war’ is as horizon,” says FSO Chuck Hunter, team leader for PRT much political as military. … Our missions overlap in a Babil, “with the military focused on short-term effects and more functional way. The military has the control of fair- State/USAID concerned more with long-term outcomes. ly vast resources in the form of CERP [Commander’s The main overlap is in the recognition that security and Emergency Response Fund] monies, while the PRT has stability are essential for any of the other things we want no money. If the military’s vision of how these funds to build.” might best be used fits in well with the PRT’s vision, it’s This view was reiterated by Dr. Barbara Stephenson, great. On the other hand, if the military thinks it can do deputy senior adviser to the Secretary of State and deputy something we believe won’t work or doesn’t think what coordinator for Iraq, who says that diplomats have longer we want to do is important, we’re up a tree.” time horizons than the military. “It’s about relationships,” From PRT Anbar, FSO public diplomacy officer she says, “knowing who’s a moderate.” And the longer the Angela Williams and Iraq Provincial Action Officer Foreign Service is on the ground in a province, the more Horacio Ureta both report good relations with the U.S. chance for success there, because the relationships can be military. Williams tells us, “I work closely with their pub- sustained. lic affairs office and am able to be a contributing member “Theoretically, the military pursues the ‘kinetic’ (i.e., of their work and team efforts. I also work closely with fighting) mission and the PRT addresses the ‘non-kinet- the U.S. military in their civil and social affairs division on ic’ (i.e., everything else) portion,” says former Diyala the Iraqi Women’s Engagement Program.” Ureta ex-

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 29 F OCUS

plains that being embedded with military units “is the tion Team there, describes a close working relationship only way we can function, as they have all the assets — with the military’s civil affairs team and corps of engineers Humvees, helos, security, etc. Otherwise, we have no to identify and implement essential infrastructure pro- way to engage with the locals.” IPAO Jennifer Mergy, jects. who spoke with the FSJ from Erbil several weeks before First Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armor Division the Feb. 2 official opening of the Regional Reconstruc- Commander Colonel Sean MacFarland in Al Anbar offers his thoughts on the civilian/military differences in cultures and work styles. Since forming the PRTs, he says, “things have gotten better, but there is still a long way to go. … Even at full manning, this organization [PRT Anbar] does not suffice for such a large province.” The State Department “needs to work with the military at every level down to brigade,” he adds. “State should help form a clear strategy for the war, which POTUS [the president] approves and then resources with congressional approval. Then we execute.” There has been major progress in settling interagency differences over the PRTs, according to Stephenson, and there has now been “buy-in” from the Department of Defense for the PRT program. One solid accomplish- ment Stephenson points to is the Security Supplemental Agreement, signed in November 2006, which gives DOD responsibility for protection of civilians serving at PRTs based on Forward Operating Bases. Sec. Rice has asked Congress for new funding to support the activities and the security for the PRTs.

Who Gets the Security Detail? Apart from the broader civilian-military issues, day-today operations on the ground for PRT members are complicated by the reality of an increasingly dangerous environment. “The unstable security environment in Iraq touches every aspect of the PRT mission,” the Special IG for Iraq Reconstruction’s report says. “Because of security concerns, face-to-face meetings between provincial government officials and PRT personnel are often limited, and in some cases do not occur. PRT members are at particular risk when traveling to and from their engagements with their Iraqi counterparts, as are provincial government officials and local Iraqi staff working with the PRT. If identified as cooperating with the U.S. government, all are at risk of threats and attacks by anti-coalition elements. Despite these conditions, some PRT members frequently find ways to interact with their Iraqi counterparts.” Unlike most of their colleagues at the PRT, Foreign Service members who are not from the Diplomatic Security Bureau are not authorized to carry weapons. No

30 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

Foreign Service member travels It can take days to get out accomplishments of the PRTs to outside “the wire” anywhere in Iraq date have been due to “heroic ad without a personal security detail or of a PRT locale, even to hoc” efforts by FS members. military movement team. The “Existing relationships allow more impact of the requirement to travel reach Baghdad — and to get done than you would think,” with armed guards for conducting Stephenson says. “We get great diplomacy is profound. The DS then days to get back reporting from the PRTs. They do force protection rules are fairly uni- manage. That’s what FS people do.” form for the entire country, to the PRT. although local conditions vary great- Tripwires? ly. Even in the so-called garden In recent months, the security spot of Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, FS members cannot trav- situation in a number of the PRTs has gotten increas- el outside the secure compound without a personal secu- ingly dangerous. In most U.S. missions around the rity detail. world, deciding whether or not to attend a meeting does Thus one constant question for personnel at all the not usually feel like a life-or-death decision; but in many PRTs is “Who gets the PSD?” Plans generally have to be PRTs, it does. In Mosul, for example, a regional securi- made several days in advance, and may be cancelled at the ty officer and three security contractors were killed by a last minute. While security restrictions do limit the oppor- vehicle-based improvised explosive device in tunities to engage with Iraqis and cause frustration for FS September 2005 while advancing a meeting between members who need to meet with Iraqis to do their jobs, FSOs and provincial government officials. PRT mem- none of the FS members who spoke with the FSJ suggest- bers must constantly evaluate conditions and risks, not ed the restrictions should be eased. They know they are only for themselves but for those who protect them and targets in an extremely dangerous security environment. for the Iraqis who may put themselves in danger by Depending on the PRT, security details are provided meeting with them. The deteriorating security situation either by a contractor (usually Blackwater) or by the mili- in a number of provinces has led to a loss of Iraqi staff, tary. Contractor-provided security is more expensive to some of whom have faced threats and worse for work- the U.S. government than DOD-provided security. ing with Americans. Having fewer Iraqi staff members, However, several FSOs who served on PRTs point out in turn, means even less access to the local population. what they see as a critical difference between contractor- In response to questions about “tripwires” in Iraq — provided PSDs and military-provided security: the prima- the lines that mark the point at which conditions warrant ry job of contractor-provided PSDs is to protect the a drawdown or evacuation of civilian personnel — no one “asset” (the FS member), while military personnel have offered a clear answer, perhaps by design. The oft-repeat- the dual role of protecting the civilian and also engaging ed observation from all corners of the Iraq discussion — the enemy. The military movement teams tend to have “If the security situation in Iraq was present anywhere less PSD experience and less training for PSD work. The else, we’d have either drawn down or shut down the shift of security support from a designated PSD to the embassy” — is answered with, “Iraq is different.” military at one PRT — as well as the removal of regional According to this view, Iraq is the U.S. administration’s security officers from field offices where PSD support has policy issue number one, so the Foreign Service has to be been shifted to the military — was the subject of a Dissent there. But what level of risk is too high, and how large a Channel message in 2006 (one of very few dissent mes- civilian presence is appropriate? sages sent to the State Department that year). The official response to a request to the State “It’s not a one-size-fits-all model,” explains Stephenson. Department director general for a description of the “Originally, we thought you can’t work if you can’t get out. security conditions for FS PRT members was answered … We have creative folk out there; they find a way,” she by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security: “Security of U.S. says. Some meetings can be conducted by cell phone or missions is a top priority for Diplomatic Security. We even outside of the province or the country altogether, in a have a robust security program at each post tailored to safer locale. Stephenson acknowledges that many of the each mission’s specific needs. Our regional security offi-

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 31 F OCUS

promoting democracy. We are in a war zone, where you cannot walk around at dark without your Kevlar and helmet on and where all the staff can differentiate between a rocket, mortar and RPG [rocket- propelled grenade], with no formal training.” The Special IG report noted the unstable security situation in the southern provinces, concluding that “we question whether the continued deployment of PRT personnel to Anbar and Basrah … makes operational sense at this time.”

Mosul from the air. The Pencil Problem In addition to the restrictions cers are constantly evaluating and re-evaluating all posed by security conditions, the PRTs have faced the aspects of security at our facilities worldwide and making more mundane, but also challenging, issues of how to adjustments as needed.” It is worth noting that in those obtain the tools and set up the infrastructure they need to Iraq PRTs where security is provided by the military, DS work. Many new PRTs were established without basic does not play a direct role in managing the day-to-day support systems in place and without office supplies — security for Foreign Service personnel. and in some cases without offices. Lacking desks, com- In response to the question, “Are there tripwires in puters, phones, and even paper and pens, team members place for the Iraq PRTs?” DS responded that “tripwires had to solve what has been called “the pencil problem” on are a normal part of emergency planning for all overseas their own. posts. In every post, they are under constant review and “The PRTs lacked funding and logistical supply re- change as circumstances require.” sources,” according to the Special IG report. “Opera- To date, PRT Basrah is the only one to have been tional budgets initially were not authorized for the PRT drawn down. In late 2006, some members of the team program. Accordingly, they functioned without dedicated were relocated to Kuwait because conditions got too dan- operating budgets that were needed for purchasing basic gerous. A U.S. contractor working for the regional office supplies or sundry items for official functions. … embassy office, on the same compound as the PRT, had They also functioned without any access to using the base been killed in his living quarters in September. The num- logistics system. … An inordinate amount of their time ber of mortar attacks and rocket fire into the compound and attention was devoted to solving support issues as was increasing month by month. Here’s how FSO opposed to substantively engaging with their Iraqi coun- Andrea Gastaldo, serving in the REO in Basrah, des- terparts. … The consensus among the interviewed PRT cribes conditions in early January, following their return: leaders was that no PRT should be started until the req- “We have been sleeping in our offices for months. In the uisite operational and infrastructure support were in spring we had a rocket attack once in six weeks. Now, place.” we’ve had 129 rockets and mortars over the wall in Foreign Service PRT members who spoke with the October, 104 in November, 134 for December, and 18 FSJ reiterated these concerns. “I have spent most of my today alone. We are not looking for glory but for some time in Iraq (nearly nine months) fighting for resources sort of recognition that we are in the hardest hit of all and funds rather than being out working with Iraqis,” says diplomatic compounds in all of Iraq, yet we are still here Diyala Team Leader Kiki Munshi. “Until recently, we had trying to accomplish the task of engaging the Iraqis and no operating budget. The motto of the PRT was, ‘If it’s

32 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

not nailed down, it’s ours,’ because we filched stationary, come as the PRT program is expanded and new teams are pens, chairs, whatever. Also, we have no project money, established. so we must search for money in order to do anything, and it is very difficult to obtain resources for projects in a time- The Baghdad Disconnect ly manner. I have been forced by our bureaucracy to join Foreign Service PRT members express serious con- the long list of Americans who promised things to Iraqi cern — and in some cases, anger — over the lack of a sen- contacts but never delivered.” sibly structured and sustained connection between Angela Williams, at PRT Anbar, among the most dan- Embassy Baghdad and the PRTs. The helpful links to gerous neighborhoods in Iraq, tells us that her PRT cur- Baghdad have tended to come from personal connections rently has no locally engaged staff and they are very much rather than through the institutional support system, sev- on their own: “You have to make everything happen your- eral PRT members assert. self; it’s almost as if you have to make even the paper.” She “There is a huge disconnect between Embassy remains optimistic about the team’s role in Anbar, but Baghdad and the field,” says an FSO currently serving at would like to see more support by way of public diploma- a PRT, who asked not to be identified, “and an even larg- cy resources that she believes can make a difference. er disconnect between Washington and the field.” Stephenson says that the department is working on a Another officer who served at a PRT and declined to be “lessons learned” paper that can be shared with anyone identified says, “I felt like I was completely left off the face heading out to a PRT. It would start with “How I Got of the earth when trying to work with Baghdad and Pencils.” These lessons will continue to be needed, given Washington.” that the rollout phase is going to be in play for months to According to several PRT members, the embassy has Home Suite Home

The next time you’re going to be in DC for an extended stay, make yourself at home at Georgetown Suites. With our discounted monthly rates and large, comfortable suites, you’ll feel right at home. Plus we’re near the State Department. Call today! Georgetown Suites

www.georgetownsuites.com 1-800-348-7203 [email protected] the fun place to stay in DC

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 33 F OCUS

tended to be very focused on the capital. PRT members declared that the number of Provincial Reconstruction would like to see more Baghdad-based FS members con- Teams would be doubled in an effort to speed up recon- centrating on keeping up with the provinces as well as struction of Iraq. The “civilian surge,” to accompany the providing assistance to the teams. much more publicized military surge, has been Difficulties with communications and transportation announced with an expanded mission that still emphasizes have also left civilian PRT members fairly cut off from capacity building but also includes a counterinsurgency their home agencies. Because travel anywhere in Iraq component. Phase I of the expanded PRT program is to depends on security conditions and military air transport, be completed in March, with new PRTs to be established it can take days to get out of a PRT locale, even to reach in Anbar and Baghdad. Phase II is scheduled for June Baghdad. And then, it can take days to get back to the and Phase III for September. PRT. The objectives of the “Expanded PRT Mission” were According to the State Department, support and com- laid out in the testimony Secretary Rice presented to the munication links are improving significantly, however. A Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 11. The new training course is in development, according to the mission is defined as follows: “Build Iraqi capacity and DG’s office, to “help newly assigned PRT employees to accelerate the transition to Iraqi self-reliance; help the manage successful progress in their unique and challeng- Iraqi government expand its reach, relevance and ing circumstances.” resources beyond Baghdad; and decentralize U.S. government efforts to expand our reach in support of strate- Civilian Surge: The Expanded PRT Mission gic priorities to promote reconciliation, bolster moderates On Jan. 10, 2007, in his address to the nation on Iraq through political engagement and targeted assistance, and policy and the “New Way Forward,” President Bush support counterinsurgency efforts.”

On the Ground in Diyala Province By Kiki Munshi, Team Leader It’s time to prepare for my meeting with the governor. Put ic skills and techniques to do the things USIA used to do and notebook in book bag, don body armor and helmet, climb into USAID gives contracts to do, but all of it is hard to do in a war the Humvee with angles my hip surgeon said would never be zone. It is difficult to work with a provincial council that hasn’t possible again, put on eye protection, put on ear protection, say managed a quorum in two months. There is no economic a short prayer … development when everyone is busy moving out of town. It is Wait a minute! Diplomats don’t pray. Or if they do, they heart-wrenching when your locally-engaged staff member don’t talk about it in public. weeps over the telephone because his brother has just been I now understand the power of that statement, “There are no killed. atheists in foxholes.” Let’s resume. Short prayer for the safety We roll into the government center, and there is a collective of my team. On with the warlock, machine gun swiveled to hidden sigh of relief. Off with the armor, on with the headscarf, three o’clock, and we roll through the gate. Out of the wire and as much to hide the mussed-up hair as to respect Muslim sen- on to the road to Baquba. sibilities. Helmets don’t do much for hair. “Salaam alei kum, Our PRT is on Forward Operating Base Warhorse so we peace be with you.” The governor and I sit down to talk. “Now depend on the Army for protection. They do a good job, al- about the Project Coordination Center …” Outside there is an though the RSO would have kittens if he saw what we do, or if explosion and the rattle of machine-gun fire. “… I’d like to sug- I drew his attention to the fact that we have been in convoys hit gest we think of …” by IEDs [improvised explosive devices] seven times and found What we think of is peace. Security. We pretend that it will ourselves in two firefights. The question isn’t, though, as many happen soon and forge ahead. “… having a meeting with the think, as much our safety, but the safety of those we deal with. directors general and others involved.” Outside there is sudden What we do isn’t traditional diplomacy. It is using diplomat- silence.

34 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

“Our decentralization effort in Iraq will require a more everything else. The Foreign Service brings the strategic decentralized presence,” explained Sec. Rice in her testi- vision to the picture.” mony. “We must continue to get civilians and diplomats out of our embassy, out of the capital and into the field, all Staffing PRTs across the country. The mechanism to do this is the PRT. The civilian surge plan calls for about 390 civilians to We currently have 10 PRTs deployed across Iraq, seven “augment” the current PRT program. The initial American and three coalition-led. Building on this exist- announcement sent shock waves through the Foreign ing presence, we plan to expand from 10 to at least 18 Service, causing employees at all levels to wonder where teams. For example, we will have six PRTs in Baghdad, an additional 390 Foreign Service members would be not just one. We will go from one team in Anbar province found to staff such positions, given the already over- to three — in Fallujah, Ramadi and al Qaim. These PRTs stretched personnel system. will closely share responsibilities and reflect an unprece- The reality of the civilian surge plan will be less dra- dented unity of civilian and military effort.” Summing up matic for Foreign Service personnel, however. There will the goal of the expanded mission, she said that “Our be a Foreign Service component to the surge, which for expanded PRT presence will be a powerful tool to most of the 10 new PRTs will consist of one Senior FS or empower Iraq’s reformers and responsible leaders in their FS-1 level officer from State to be team leader and one struggle against violent extremism.” officer from USAID to be a senior development adviser. When asked about the role of the Foreign Service in Initially, USAID, which is to play a greater role in the next counterinsurgency efforts, Stephenson said that coun- phase of PRT development, was to provide about 90 of terinsurgency work is “20 percent military and 80 percent the new PRT members, but as the plans have evolved and

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 35 F OCUS

until you had existing PRTs, and they got to know their provinces well enough to say this is what would make a difference here.” The Iraq Service Recogni- tion Package offers significant benefits to State Department PRT volunteers, including 35-percent danger pay plus 35-percent post differential. Regional rest breaks are offered several times during a one- year assignment. PRT volunteers receive an extra boost, “enhanced possibility for promotion for cred- itable and exemplary service.” Perhaps the most significant benefit for PRT volunteers only is guaran- teed assignment to “one of the employee’s top five choices for Mosul, Ninawa Province. onward assignment, as long as these jobs are at-grade and in-cone or in- details about just what kinds of professionals are needed specialty and do not require a language waiver.” USAID, for the new positions have been spelled out, that number which has its own, similar benefits package, also offers has dropped to about 11 officers. PRT volunteers a top-five choice for onward assignment. Most of the new team members will be specialists from As for filling the new PRT positions, as well as finding outside the Foreign Service. They will be oil engineers, replacements for the FS members already serving their city planners, medical professionals, agricultural special- one-year tours in PRTs, Stephenson explains that “our fill ists, veterinarians and industry experts, among others. rate is high.” Current FSO positions in PRTs are 98-per- State is even floating the idea of hiring non-Americans for cent filled, she says. She noted that there were more qual- some of the specialist positions. Providing security for ified bidders for the PRT team leader positions than posi- each new specialist is extremely costly, and one reason tions open during the last bidding cycle. For the summer non-Americans may be considered is that they may be 2007 bidding cycle (still ongoing as we go to press), she able to do the job without being as visible a target and thus says the positions were 87 percent filled by early would require less protection. February. Most of the new PRTs will be embedded with Brigade Combat Teams. These will be smaller teams than the Concerns Persist existing PRTs, and they will probably have a shorter-term Despite this optimistic view of staffing, there is con- mission than the existing PRTs. cern among FS members that the demands for staffing “It’s important to be clear that the numbers and the Iraq — the PRTs plus Embassy Baghdad — could lead to skill sets are the result of a ground-up review by existing a shortage of people to fill the jobs. There is already a sig- PRTs,” explains Stephenson. “The teams were asked to nificant worldwide deficit of mid-level (FS-2) generalists take a look at their province and take into account Iraqi that will only be exacerbated if many more positions are capacity to absorb the assistance. What skill sets did they established in the PRTs. But for now at least, State man- need on their teams in order to make the biggest differ- agement does not have plans to direct anyone to serve in ence? So this won’t come as a surprise to the PRTs; they a PRT. actually generated it. And, of course, you couldn’t have Other concerns, from inside and outside the Foreign done that kind of specialized, individualized, tailored look Service, are that not all FS members who do volunteer for

36 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

Iraq PRT positions have the neces- “We must continue to and DOD] shared a common sary experience or skills to be effec- understanding of their respective tive. Some entry-level officers are get civilians and roles and responsibilities.” already being sent to PRT jobs, and Foreign Service members at many personnel serving in Iraq do diplomats out of our PRTs operate in an extremely dan- not speak Arabic. gerous and challenging work envi- In addition to FS and military embassy, out of the ronment, in many cases still without personnel, Iraq PRTs are staffed by sufficient resources and support, civilian contractors working in a capital, and into the field, while the security conditions in number of capacities, from security most places become worse. Some to local governance to public affairs. all across the country.” locations have become so danger- Many of them are “3161s,” hired to ous that it is extremely difficult for staff temporary organizations such — Secretary Rice FS team members to arrange for as the Baghdad-run Iraq Recon- off-base engagements with Iraqis, struction and Management Office which has an impact on effective- and the National Coordination Team under it. ness, no matter how creative the individuals. This is the Some Foreign Service members express concern that case in Basrah, where, at last check, FS PRT members while many contractors have needed expertise, they can were unable to leave the base at all. In some cases, FS also cause difficulties for the mission because they are not team members are located outside the province they familiar with the procedures, chain of command and cul- cover (leading to the informal title “virtual PRT”) and ture of the agencies for which they work. One FS PRT access to the province is extremely limited due to travel member, who asked not to be identified, says, “We’ve got restrictions based on the security situation. And covering so many 3161s running around, which presents a whole provinces that no longer have a U.S. military presence can different set of issues — contractors rating FSOs, not be almost impossible for FS PRT members because of knowing anything about how the State Department func- access problems. This will be an issue to watch as more tions, operational security issues, etc.” Several FS PRT provinces transition to Iraqi military control. members pointed out that there are 3161s serving as Iraq As one PRT leader who asked not to be identified provincial action officers, in the same positions as Foreign reflects, “The PRT concept came late to the party. More Service officers, yet without the diplomatic training or often than I’d like to admit I’ve looked at things we’re experience — and for double the salary. doing now and thought to myself, ‘Shouldn’t we have got- In some cases, Foreign Service employee evaluation ten started on this before we ended the CPA [Coalition reports are being completed by 3161s from the National Provisional Authority] and told the Iraqis that they would Coordination Team. This can cause problems, as Andrea be running the country themselves again?’ Gastaldo explains, because they “are not versed in State- “Some of what we bring to the table now no longer speak; nor do they understand the core precepts that will gives us the ability to shape events the way we once could, help JOs move along in their careers.” sometimes as recently as six months ago,” this team leader continues. “American reconstruction funds amount to Too Little, Too Late? perhaps 10 percent of what provinces will get from the “On balance, the PRT experience in Iraq demonstrates central government in 2007; in some cases we’re just individual successes arising from individual efforts and redoing work that was either done badly or not complet- improvisations, which allowed some PRTs to move for- ed by coalition forces and their contractors over the past ward with their capacity-development mission,” the several years. Gradual redeployment of U.S. forces has Special IG report concludes. “Lessons learned from the eliminated or greatly reduced our presence on the ground PRT experience in Afghanistan showed that the lack of in key areas. That trend will continue as more provinces specific guidance led to confusion about civilian-military transition to provincial Iraqi control. Our training and roles at PRTs. Similarly, executing an effective PRT pro- capacity-building programs may find their appeal start to gram in Iraq would have been greatly enhanced if [State wane with local governments, which now have been in

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 37 F OCUS

power for two years even though new provincial elections try. Economic activity is virtually at a standstill.” should have happened months ago.” Going on, Munshi says, “Every mission is a trade-off between risk and reward. If the amount of risk is accept- The Risk-Reward Equation able when weighed against the reward, yes (we should be For some, the experience has been so frustrating that here). If not, no. In my province, we are moving very it has led to the conclusion that a U.S. diplomatic presence close to ‘No.’ This applies to all civilians, not just to is not productive. There may be a point at which the secu- FSOs.” rity risks and the security restrictions make doing the job Bob Pope sums up the Iraq PRT program this way: impossible. Team Leader Munshi got to this point in “The PRT concept is both too early and too late — too January, and has this to say about the situation in Diyala: early because you can’t do development and institution- “There has been a steady deterioration in the security sit- building in live-fire zones and too late because, four years uation since my arrival in April 2006. It has virtually halt- into this war, it’s way past the time when we have any ed our work. We are able to get out to meet people hope of winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqis. They because of our military movement team support, but have been disappointed too many times to believe much many of the Iraqis with whom we work don’t have the of what we say. After hundreds of millions, if not billions, same support and don’t come to work. A fair number spent on a laundry list of projects, most Iraqis still don’t have been killed or kidnapped, or have fled the area/coun- have potable water, reliable electrical service, operational

Suggestions from the Field

Foreign Service members serving in PRTs were asked for instance, and how hard are we prepared to push to get that suggestions for improvements that would enable the Foreign outcome? What level of outside influence (Iranian, Saudi, Service to function more effectively in the PRTs. One PRT etc.) are we prepared to tolerate? How bold can we be in leader, who asked not to be identified, offered a list of sug- making assertions about connections between elected offi- gestions that reflects themes cited by many of the people cials (or at least their parties) and militias? Such questions who contributed to this report. are vital for gauging how to interact with key interlocutors at • Clear lines of authority vis-à-vis the embassy. PRT the provincial level. leaders report to the chief of the National Coordination Team, • More reliable transportation between Baghdad and the who reports to the head of the Iraq Reconstruction PRTs. Civilian members of all PRTs except Baghdad get back Management Office. Within a PRT, though, the IRMO rep and forth to post only by air. It’s not uncommon because of reports to the PRT leader. It would be clearer if the PRT team flight schedules or availability for someone to be stuck in leaders reported to the deputy chief of mission, or at least to Baghdad for days on end in order to conduct a few hours’ someone who does. worth of business there. We have to count on a minimum of • Clear lines of authority vis-à-vis the military in-the- two days to return from or reach Amman or Kuwait (the two ater. Though the hope is for an increasingly civilian face to points through which travel to or from Iraq originates). the transition to Iraqi control, our military brethren (who are Priority in military-run air movements understandably goes more numerous and have greater ease of movement) interact to uniformed personnel, but both operationally and for regularly — sometimes more often than we do — with morale, it would be desirable to have more certainty on in- provincial political leadership, tribal sheiks and the popula- country travel. tion at large. If there’s good coordination our contacts get the • Project/program money. Though we can’t and should same messages from the civilian and military sides, but that’s not take the place of the local and national government in not always a given. building a new Iraq, the ability to seize targets of opportunity • Clearer policy guidance from Baghdad and or to make meaningful gestures with civilian U.S. govern- Washington. Exactly how clear-cut an idea do we have of ment funding would raise our credibility considerably. how we want the federalism question to turn out, for • More experienced officers and more Arabic-speakers.

38 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

sewer systems, jobs, a functioning economy or, most meeting off-base with the governor, on hold for the nec- important, personal security. Building a few more wells essary security conditions and support for the trip. She and creating a few more short-term cleanup projects will believes the meeting is worth the wait. When she heads not impress these people.” out to the meeting, she’s wearing her black abaya. Over Offering another view, one FS PRT member in a par- her abaya — which doubles at night as a curtain in her ticularly dangerous province, who declined to be identi- muddy shared trailer — she wears a full metal jacket, a fied, says: “We need to do everything we can to ensure helmet, protective goggles and gloves. the PRTs can do their work. When we succeed, the Unarmed diplomats flanked by armed personnel on Iraqis can run the country themselves and we can go military teams in active combat zones, outside of an home. We are, in a sense, the exit strategy.” embassy structure, in the Iraqi provinces — these may Angela Williams and Horacio Ureta, both serving in be the faces of the “expeditionary Foreign Service” that Anbar, argue that the Foreign Service has a critical role to is called for by Secretary Rice. But while the Foreign play in Iraqi provinces. “Anbar is extremely dangerous Service is expected to “step up” and serve in Iraq, they and difficult due to al-Qaida in Iraq. However, we, the should, in turn, be able to expect to be sent only to PRT, must be here,” says Ureta. Williams tells us that “At places where they can actually do their jobs and meet some point, we have to pick up the pieces and put a non- with key interlocutors, where there is a chance that they military face on it. We are the non-military face.” Her can play an effective, meaningful role. They should be face is particularly effective, because she is an Arabic- able to expect that they will not be used simply as “pins speaking Muslim woman, one with more than 15 years of on a map” for PowerPoint presentations back in public diplomacy experience. She waits for days for a Washington.

our search is over, choose a hotel where the federal Y per diem rate is available year-round.* State Plaza Hotel 2117 E. St. NW Washington, DC 20037 Telephone: (800) 424-2859 (202) 861-8200 Parking Available Luxurious Suites Full service restaurant 1 Rated /2 by AAA All rooms with full size Parking available www.stateplaza.com kitchen & stove tops Across from Main State Fitness center White House, The Mall, E-mail: Complimentary and Metro Foggy Bottom [email protected] in-room coffee station (blue & orange lines) within walking *per night, single or double Accommodations distance occupancy subject to availability

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 39 F OCUS ON W AR Z ONE D IPLOMACY

THE VERY MODEL OF A MODERN …

AN FSO SERVING IN JALALABAD EXPLAINS HOW THE 12 U.S.-LED AFGHANISTAN PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS FUNCTION.

BY DANNY HALL

y first few months I also know that he was an airman, not a soldier. as the sole State Department representative on the I am the sole State Department official here, but Provincial Reconstruction Team here in Jalalabad were have lots of company. There are 83 military personnel prettyM rough. I felt like I never really knew what was — 32 from the Air Force and 51 with the Army. The going on, where I was supposed to be, what my role civilian contingent is much smaller: John Minnick, our was, or if I even had one. In particular, I didn’t speak very active agricultural representative, is a civil servant either language that I needed: Pashtu or military. For from USDA, and Brian Bacon, our energetic USAID instance, soon after I arrived last August, a really nice Alternative Livelihood Program coordinator, is a con- soldier came to my office to tell me that “There will be tractor who covers several provinces and a multitude of an OpOrd at 1300 in the Force Pro B Hut.” I got the projects. (Another USAID officer position is currently gist of the message — in much the way that beginning vacant.) We also have two civilian engineers from the language students at FSI do — but nothing more. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and several full-time Now, just a few months later, I am busy and active, interpreters, contracted out of Bagram Air Base. In and feel like a valued part of the Jalalabad PRT. I addition, there are a number of Afghan laborers and understand milspeak reasonably well, and can easily craftsmen who work on the base, as well as locally hired decode messages like the one that visitor brought me. interpreters who attend our meetings and go out on missions with us. Danny Hall joined the Foreign Service in 1989. A man- This is basically the model for all 12 American PRTs agement officer currently with the Provincial Recon- throughout Afghanistan, no matter how big the struction Team in Jalalabad, he has previously served in province: approximately 80 military personnel, one State Santo Domingo, Paris, Ljubljana and Washington, D.C. representative and three or four other civilians. Virtually Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Hall was a Peace everyone is on a one-year tour of duty and extensions are Corps Volunteer in the Philippines for four years; he is rare. The military personnel I work with all trained also a registered architect. together in the U.S., arrived last April, and will depart

40 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

together this April. Four months after manager who has been here since There used to be three Dyncorp last April, he understands the com- contractors here, working with our arriving in Jalalabad, plexities of the Third World. He also military Police Technical Assistance appreciates the role and contribu- and Training team, but they all left I am busy and active, tions of civilian agencies and is very and haven’t been replaced. The committed to the idea of interagency Bureau of International Narcotics and feel like a valued cooperation, going to great lengths to Affairs and Law Enforcement spon- include my civilian colleagues and sors two compounds of Dyncorp part of the team. me in all PRT activities and issues. contractors: about 40 police mentors Local Afghans respect him and come are based at the Regional Training to him with a multitude of questions Center Annex, across the street from the Provincial and problems; both the provincial governor and the Police Headquarters in Jalalabad, and six or so trainers head of the Provincial Council consider him a close are stationed at the actual RTC (a police training center friend and ally. outside town, literally in the desert). INL also has advis- The Jalalabad PRT has a single mission to which we ers at the RTC with the Justice Sector Support Program all contribute in different ways. Our three objectives who conduct surveys and do training, and the bureau are to promote security, encourage development and sponsors a Poppy Elimination Program that operates increase governance. Am I able to do my job effective- out of the provincial governor’s compound. ly? The simple answer is yes. But the more complex Finally, because Jalalabad is a large city, and one is that “my job” is very difficult to define. I see my Nangarhar province is relatively peaceful, there are role as twofold: serving as the Embassy Kabul represen- numerous NGOs and international organizations here, tative on the PRT, and the PRT representative back at including the United Nations Assistance Mission in the embassy. I provide “reach-back” by knowing who in Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commission for Kabul can provide our team with assistance. Refugees, the National Democratic Institute, the By the way, it is ironic that when I served in the International Committee of the Red Cross and others. European Bureau’s executive office last year, the con- There are also Indian and Pakistani consulates here. cept of “transformational diplomacy” dominated our However, I seldom see any of the people not working lives. Yet during my time in Afghanistan, I assigned to the PRT, even though nearly all of them are have literally never heard the phrase mentioned. about 10 minutes away from me at most. Cell phones The 51 Army soldiers who provide our force protec- work only sporadically, and I only leave our small com- tion are from two reserve units — one from Connecti- pound to attend previously scheduled meetings at spe- cut and one from Washington state. I have never told cific locations. any of them my age, as I am probably older than most Besides the 12 American teams, there are 12 other of their parents. Many of them are great guys, though PRTs in Afghanistan under European leadership some are quite disappointed that they are in (German, Canadian, Spanish, British, Italian and sever- Afghanistan, protecting and escorting us rather than al others), each different in size and composition. For “fighting the enemy.” instance, the German PRT in Kunduz has over 500 peo- The 32 officers are all from the Air Force, and they ple alone, many times the staffing of an American team. have a distinctly different subculture from their Army colleagues. I had no idea of the differences before com- Military Culture(s) ing here, but now am very familiar with them. The working relationship between the State rep and Another division is between those who approach this the military personnel at each American PRT varies extremely difficult situation with enthusiasm, and those considerably, depending on the location, the personali- who have become cynical as a result of the many chal- ty and experience of the commander, and the security lenges, especially the pervasive corruption. I gravitate situation in the province. Fortunately, our commander, toward the enthusiastic ones, particularly the comman- Lt. Col. Dave Naisbitt, is awesome. A good leader and der, the medic, the intelligence officer and the lead

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 41 F OCUS

he briefs visitors, “We did X yesterday, or maybe it was last week or last month. The days all run together.” Because it is easier to get to Jalalabad than many other PRTs, and because we have a very articulate and active commander, we get lots of visitors — from the military, Congress, our embassy and other U.S. agencies, as well as from NGOs, other countries and aid organizations. Some of our more noteworthy visitors have included the supreme allied commander of NATO forces and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We were scheduled to have eight U.S. governors Left: Commander Dave come one weekend, including Gov. Naisbett, First Sergeant Danny Pataki from New York, but their trip Hall Jackson, FSO Danny Hall, to Jalalabad was canceled at the last and Civil Affairs Director Tom Peters serving dinner at the minute because the clouds were too PRT on Christmas Day. low for the helicopters to fly. Center: Danny Hall in the back seat of a Humvee. Right: Hall with the district prosecu- tor from Nazyan, who was visiting the PRT compound. (Afghans hold hands a lot.)

mechanic. But I understand the cynicism of the others. This is a very difficult place to be, especially when you are young and have families and small children waiting for you back home. In addition, a number of the soldiers and airmen were called up from the reserves, and some have even been called up from the Individual Ready Reserves — so they no longer participate in exercises or receive benefits. On base, I have a single room, which is very nice, with But there is at least one thing nearly all the troops around-the-clock electricity and central air and heat. here have in common: chewing tobacco, a habit I still Also (amazing for a PRT) I have my own private bath- haven’t gotten used to! room with a shower. I also have a private office in a dilapidated building on the compound. But otherwise, A Day in the Life daily life here is like being back in a “college dorm” sit- We work all day, seven days a week. Friday is sup- uation, which I personally find very difficult. The “no posed to be a “day of rest,” so we don’t schedule missions alcohol, no sex, no pets” rule at all American PRTs does or meetings outside the base. However, we have regu- not help, either. (I really miss my cat!) larly scheduled internal meetings at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., My office is 55 seconds in one direction from my and also often receive visitors or taskings from people room, and the cafeteria is 45 seconds in the other direc- outside Afghanistan who don’t know that Friday is sup- tion. These are really the only three places I can be, posed to be “Sunday.” In addition, because Afghans unless I am on a mission or at a meeting. In my room, I don’t take American holidays or weekends, and our con- can either sleep or watch my DVDs, but I find that the tacts in Washington don’t know when it is an Afghan hol- stress here is so great that I cannot handle any movie or iday, there are always lots of activities and work to do — TV program that has more drama than what is encoun- virtually every day. As our commander often says when tered on the TV show “Friends.”

42 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

I wake up in the morning based on the time of our forks and paper plates, and people come in and eat, first meeting or departure — sometimes as early as 5 watch football on TV (with the sound turned way up), a.m. — and go to bed between 9 and 11 p.m. (There is and leave. This used to drive me crazy, after many years really nothing to do in the evening.) I have to say that of elegant meals and lovely dinner parties. But at least this is the first time in my life that one of my considera- now I have some buddies with whom I can sit and joke tions when getting dressed in the morning is whether my around for a few minutes. However, if none of them are clothes could be easily spotted by snipers. Several times, around when I enter the dining hall, I take my meal back my military friends have suggested that I not wear a to my room and eat on the bed in front of the TV. brightly colored or patterned shirt that I had put on In contrast to this, my State colleague at the Spanish- before going out on a mission with them. run PRT reports that the meals are so fantastic that if the Every meal is served in the mess (dining hall). All the base were overrun by insurgents, the Spanish soldiers food is chosen and provided by the military, and it’s all would protect the cook first. They actually drink wine cooked in some other country, then flown in and reheat- with lunch and enjoy aperitifs in the afternoon. ed in our kitchen three times a day. It doesn’t help that meals are served only at specified times, and the menu Meanwhile, Back in Kabul is based on what day of the week it is (Tuesday lunch is There is no easy way to describe relations between turkey cutlets). One of my soldier friends here is count- our PRT and the embassy. For one thing, neither entity ing the time left by the number of “Tuesday Pizza is monolithic; each institution’s role is complex, and each Nights” he has left (12, as of mid-January). Dinner is group of people reflects a mix of personalities and grap- served from 5 to 7 p.m., cafeteria style. We use plastic ples with multiple issues and goals. Certainly I’ve found

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 43 F OCUS

my PRT commander to be very responsive to any Reconstruction Teams would be to have the wonderful request from State officials. However, we are obviously OpenNet Everywhere system to connect us to the State a military organization, first and foremost, so he reports unclassified computer system. When I worked in to his headquarters, not to the embassy. EUR/EX, I had a ONE key fob that would provide a I formally report to the PRT office in the embassy, code I could use to access the State system from any which is extremely active and supportive of the State computer, anywhere in the world — my condo in reps at the 24 PRTs around the country. The complexi- Washington, a hotel in Germany, a friend’s house in ty of what each of us is doing on our respective teams England, or even a place like Jalalabad. also gives us an indirect reporting relationship with To be sure, there has been real progress with com- other sections, particularly the political section, but also munications during my time here. When I first arrived, with our public diplomacy, economic and USAID col- the Internet went down with the sun (our computers are leagues. not solar-powered, so I never understood that correla- However, those of us out in the field are seldom able tion!). Even when the sun was up, it only worked about to maintain close contact with Kabul. Phone service is half the time. Communications are better now, but I irregular, and travel is not a routine matter. Though the only have a connection to the commercial Internet, and journey from Jalalabad to Kabul would take less than even that frequently goes out. So I can’t read cables or three hours by road, we don’t travel overland due to post reports, look up e-mail addresses, get salary state- security concerns. To get to the capital, we have to wait ments, or do any of the multitude of tasks that are now for a helicopter from Bagram Air Base or a plane from done on the State intranet by colleagues both in PRT Air, which has two small airplanes that are con- Washington and at other posts. tracted to fly us in and out of the PRTs. They have a pro- During bidding season, those of us at PRTs were supposed schedule (they will come to Jalalabad on Sundays posed to be priority bidders, but I felt like we were actu- or Wednesdays), and we make a formal request for them ally disadvantaged without access to the State communi- to come here when we actually need to travel. There are cation system. We couldn’t see current bid lists, find no instruments at the Jalalabad Air Field, so I now know names and contact info for people to lobby, or even more about aviation than I ever wanted to! Aircraft can enter our selections in the HR system, without assis- only land if the clouds are at least 12,000 feet above tance from someone else. I was fortunate to have won- ground level (and if PRT Air remembers to request derful friends and colleagues in Washington who helped landing clearance at least 24 hours in advance, which me, and I have been paneled into my first choice for doesn’t always happen). Travel is difficult, and I have onward assignment, as a management officer in London. only been to Kabul twice in the whole time I have been I have proposed that ONE be provided to PRTs in here. messages sent via the DG Direct pipeline, in requests The challenges our dedicated colleagues in the for e-Diplomacy grants, and by personally lobbying the embassy face are different, but no less compelling or DCM and our very energetic and responsive manage- overwhelming than those we face at the PRTs. Like us, ment officer back in Kabul. Everyone has said it’s a they work very long hours; I received e-mails from the good idea, but so far no one has been able to make it embassy on Christmas Day. Many of my colleagues in happen. the capital are recently tenured mid-level officers who joined the State Department during the Diplomatic A Deteriorating Security Situation Readiness Initiative. As unit chief for the entry-level As you might expect, security is the dominant factor career development office a few years ago, I already in everything we do. At some PRTs, my State col- knew them all, and am proud to be associated with them leagues walk around alone in town, or drive their own now as colleagues. vehicles, without military escort. State has generously provided me with a beautiful new Toyota Land Cruiser; Looking for the ONE unfortunately, the commander will only let me drive it One thing that I believe would greatly improve our within the confines of the PRT — about 200 feet in any ability to act as State representatives on Provincial direction. To leave the base, he requires that an armed

44 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

soldier drive and Humvees accom- Because it is easier to restaurant, someone’s home, or any pany us. place that isn’t the location of an While Nangarhar province is get to Jalalabad than official meeting. As a former Peace more peaceful than some places, Corps Volunteer, this is very disap- particularly the southern provinces, many other sites, and pointing, for I would like to simply it is much less peaceful than others, walk around town and talk to peo- especially those in the north. The because we have a very ple. However, our commander’s situation has deteriorated since I highest concern is for our safety, arrived in August, with an increase articulate and active and I will never challenge his deci- in the number of incidents and sion or authority over what is, or is attacks, so we limit travel as much commander, we get lots not, safe. as possible. Normally, we only Even with this very limited leave the base to attend a meeting of visitors. scope of activities, I find every mis- or ceremony or to inspect a project sion we go on, or meeting we site; we travel in a convoy with a attend, very interesting. Traveling minimum of three Humvees and nine armed soldiers. through the desolate but beautiful landscape, filled with And we all wear body armor and helmets whenever we sheep, goats, nomads with camels, snowcapped moun- are “outside the wire.” tains and vast, rocky deserts, I often feel like I am in Jalalabad is a big market town of approximately half National Geographic magazine. a million people, but I have never been to the market, a We also have many Afghan visitors come to the PRT

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 45 F OCUS

every day. We encourage this, as it is much easier for that country is still benefiting from the work of the people to come see us than for us to go see them (in an Thomasites, a group of pioneer American teachers armed convoy). Often they request material assistance, sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines in or ask if we can address an injustice. Each PRT is August 1901 to establish a public school system. meant to be the face of the United States in its province, While that may have been done for the wrong reasons and in our case, the commander is very well known and (to exert our influence by establishing an American respected by Afghans all over the province. school system), the rewards and benefits have been Because we are besieged with valid and urgent great, as the country has a highly educated work force requests for assistance, many more than we can fulfill, that sends professionals and skilled workers all over there is always a need to prioritize. Lack of electricity, the world. Certainly there are still many problems in lack of employment, lack of education, lack of health the Philippines, but education is not one of them. So care, lack of roads, lack of decent housing, lack of secu- I believe that providing funding and security to send a rity, etc., etc. How does one decide which needs are multitude of teachers here would benefit Afghanistan most important and most urgent? for years to come. Despite the frustration of our not being able to Making a Difference help everyone in Jalalabad, I can list many different What would I do differently regarding U.S. involve- accomplishments: district centers, roads, schools, ment in, and support for, Afghanistan? First of all, I flood control projects, agriculture cooperatives, etc. would place more emphasis on education. When I was But, the “crown jewel” is the Construction Trades a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines, I saw how Training Center, which is a model for USAID/PRT

46 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

cooperation. PRT funds built the This is the first time in in either alerting someone to the facility and USAID funds hired problem, or at least letting them the staff and developed the pro- my life that one of my know that “Americans are watch- grams that train locals in the con- ing and interested.” struction trades — plumbing, car- considerations when As during my four years in the pentry, electricity, etc. We now Peace Corps, I find that the phys- use these skilled workers on our getting dressed in the ical hardships are the easiest thing other projects, not only as the to adjust to here. It’s the cultural actual builders but also for quality morning is whether my differences, and never being sure control that was lacking before how to act or what to do or where this center was operating. clothes could be easily to be, that are the most difficult. Less easily quantifiable suc- In particular, adjusting to life in cesses are those where our team spotted by snipers. the military was as hard as adjust- has influenced people to change ing to Afghanistan itself. But as I their behavior, encouraged them approach the halfway mark of my to work harder or more responsibly, or resolved an time here, I can say that I am more convinced than injustice. There are numerous cases in which people ever that the U.S. should be here helping the people of have come to request our assistance to resolve a prob- Afghanistan, and that the satisfaction of knowing that lem or dispute or mistaken arrest. The PRT has access I’m part of it is worth all the personal hardships and to provincial officials, and can often make a difference sacrifices.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 47 F OCUS ON W AR Z ONE D IPLOMACY

AND NOW IRAQ: A FORMER FSO REMEMBERS VIETNAM

THE PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS NOW IN IRAQ ARE A NEW INCARNATION OF THE COMBINED OPERATIONS RURAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT PROGRAM.

BY JOHN GRAHAM

was one of hundreds of U.S. pushing me up the State Department’s promotion lad- Foreign Service officers who served in Vietnam during der. Yes, those motives were shallow, but that’s who I the 1960s and 1970s. While many of us were ordered to was at that time. The irony is that what I saw and did in go, I wentI as a volunteer. Fresh from an assignment in Vietnam 35 years ago deepened my life more than any Libya during the revolution there, I wanted another big other experiences I’ve ever had. adventure; I wanted to be in a war, and Vietnam was the Like most FSOs in Vietnam, I was attached to only war we had. I also knew that another good perfor- CORDS, a countrywide command of American civilians mance in a difficult and dangerous place would keep and military, described back home as the “pacification program.” The acronym stood for Combined Opera- John Graham, a Foreign Service officer from 1965 to tions Rural Development Support; our standing joke was 1980, served in Liberia, Libya, South Vietnam, that the “R” had meant “Revolutionary,” until some Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. mission to the United Pentagon flack decided that term made us sound too Nations. He is now president of the Giraffe Heroes much like the Viet Cong. Project, a global nonprofit rallying people to take on pub- The CORDS command structure alternated between lic problems and giving them the tools to succeed civilian and military. I had the equivalent rank of major (www.giraffe.org). He is the author of Stick Your Neck and worked for an Army lieutenant colonel, who in turn Out: A Street-Smart Guide to Making a Difference in reported to the province senior adviser, a senior FSO. Your Community and Beyond (Berrett Koehler, 2006) The military participants in the program were almost all and of a recently completed memoir, Sit Down, Young Army, while the civilians came from the State Stranger. Versions of this article have appeared in the Department and the U.S. Agency for International Washington Post and at www.truthout.org. Relevant Development. We all dealt with the inevitable culture documents and diaries can be found in the John Graham clashes, mostly with good humor (though I can still recall Collection of The Vietnam Project at Texas Tech my spit-and-polish boss choking on his breakfast when a University (www.vietnam.ttu.edu). young USAID officer on my staff showed up for work in

48 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

a bowling shirt). But I think we all came to respect and withdrawal while shifting blame to the South Vietnamese appreciate what each side brought to a very tough job. for the debacle that would follow our leaving. This strat- The “job” varied, depending mostly on how close you egy was called “Vietnamization,” and it cost at least were to the shooting war. CORDS built infrastructure — 10,000 more American lives, and countless more like schools, roads and fishponds — provided supplies, Vietnamese ones, plus billions of dollars over the next ran training sessions on everything from public adminis- several years. tration to farming and “advised” South Vietnamese offi- It was a rigged game from the start. All but the wildest cials who were often a decade our seniors. While the dreamers in Washington knew that the South Vietnamese CORDS teams that trained local militias were made up would not and could not meet our benchmarks — espe- entirely of American military, CORDS civilians helped cially our demand that they create a stable central gov- provide security assessments and, especially in exposed ernment that would attract popular support strong and areas, supported counterintelligence efforts and often broad enough to control the rivalries that had ripped the coped with military threats. Those threats got more seri- country’s fabric for a thousand years. During the 18 ous as U.S. combat troops (whom we rightly regarded as months I was in Vietnam, I met almost no Americans in our protectors) began to go home. the field who regarded Vietnamization as a serious mili- I got to Vietnam in early 1971, at the midpoint of the tary strategy with any chance of success. In fact, more withdrawal process. I wasn’t there to fight, but I quickly years of American training could not make a difference in learned that the word “noncombatant” didn’t mean much the outcome of the war because the core missing element where I was posted, in Hué, a provincial capital just 50 was not South Vietnamese combat or leadership skills, or miles south of the Demilitarized Zone. A week into my supplies of arms, but belief in a nation worth fighting for. tour, a sniper’s bullet whistled past my ear on the main The White House hoped that Vietnamization would highway. Joe Jackson, the burly Army major who was dri- keep the house of cards upright for at least a couple of ving, yelled at me to hold on and duck as he zigzagged his years, providing what CIA veteran Frank Snepp (quoting jeep to spoil the sniper’s aim. a Kissinger memo) famously called a “decent interval” Snipers or not, it was the U.S. government’s policy not that could mask the American defeat by declaring that to issue weapons to civilian CORDS advisers in Vietnam, the fate of South Vietnam now was the responsibility of even to those of us in distant and dangerous outposts. the South Vietnamese. If they didn’t want freedom badly The reason was not principle, but PR — and here begin enough to win, well, we had done our best. the lessons for America’s war in Iraq. To make this deceitful drama work, however, the pull- out had to be gradual and easily explained to the Shifting to “Vietnamization” American people. The U.S. training/advisory force left Sometime in 1969 the White House, faced with unre- behind also had to be large enough and exposed enough lenting facts on the ground and under siege from the to provide visual signs of our commitment on the evening public, had quietly made the decision that America news. Part of that force were U.S. military officers couldn’t win its war in Vietnam. attached to South Vietnamese Army (known as ARVN) President Nixon and his national security adviser, units. The rest of it was comprised of CORDS person- Henry Kissinger, didn’t put it that way, of course. nel. Pictures of unarmed American advisers like me America was a superpower, and it was inconceivable that shaking hands with happy peasants in the countryside it could lose a war to a third-rate nation whose soldiers would support the lie that Vietnamization was serious and lived on rice and hid in holes in the ground. So the White succeeding. House conceived an elaborate strategy to mask the U.S. By June 1971 the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, sta- defeat: slowly withdraw combat troops over several years, tioned just outside of Hué, had all but stood down from while focusing the remaining Americans on training the active fighting. The 101st had provided much of the South Vietnamese to fight the war — and build a viable security that allowed CORDS teams to travel more or nation — on their own. As a key part of this strategy, we less safely in the province that surrounded Hué, building gave the Saigon government a series of performance schools and roads and training local officials. Even as that benchmarks which, if unmet, would trigger a total U.S. protection ebbed, we were still expected to go into rural

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 49 F OCUS

districts that were becoming more I quickly learned State Department sent me to dangerous by the day. Stanford for a year after Vietnam, for In late June, I drove with Graham that the word months I walked down the shad- Fallon, a Navy doctor, out to Nam owed sides of the streets in Palo Alto Hoa, the westernmost — and least “noncombatant” to avoid sniper fire.) secure — district in the province. In late April 1972, North Viet- My purpose was to inspect a CORDS didn’t mean much namese forces swept south across the housing project, while Fallon was DMZ, scattering the ARVN defend- going to check on a new health clin- where I was posted, just ers in Quang Tri and pushing toward ic. The dirt road to Nam Hoa went Hué. By May 2, the battle line arced north from Hué for a few miles, then 50 miles south of the 15 miles to the north and 10 miles followed the Perfume River up- west of the city. To the east was the stream as it bent toward the moun- Demilitarized Zone. South China Sea and to the south, tains. Fallon decided to stop for a the road to Danang — Hué’s last cigarette at a viewpoint where the ground link to the outside world. road hairpinned through a set of low hills above the river. 200,000 refugees poured into the city. There was no He’d barely lit up when we heard three quick shots. One shelter for them and almost no food. Hungry people of the bullets ricocheted off the boulder where he was sit- fought for scraps of garbage and looted houses and shops. ting, missing him by an inch. I ran for our truck and start- Among the refugees were hundreds of deserters from the ed the engine. When Fallon threw himself in the other ARVN divisions shattered in Quang Tri, still wearing their side, I gunned the truck down the small hill in front of us uniforms and carrying their M-16s. Key city officials and out of range. abandoned their posts, gathered their families and fled south. Law and order collapsed; gangs of deserters The Policy Collapses smashed storefronts and looted at will. A mob of drunk- Things got worse, especially when public pressure for en ARVN soldiers torched the main market at Dong Ba; total withdrawal increased and the rest of the American the city’s firemen had long since fled, and the fire quick- “force protection” troops went home. That left the day- ly threatened to engulf the surrounding acres of shacks to-day safety of most CORDS teams up to local South and small shops. The black smoke did not rise but hung Vietnamese militias, a shaky shield at best. In addition, in a pall over streets now jammed with terrified people military participants in CORDS, by some inscrutable and echoing with the sounds of gunshots and shattering logic, were being sent home as part of the overall troop glass. withdrawals — so the more dangerous Hué became, the With my three civilian CORDS colleagues, I stared at more the CORDS team stationed there became a civilian the melee, stunned. We had spent the entire day moving operation. CORDS advisers became easy targets for about the panicked city, trying to find enough South assassination or abduction anytime the Viet Cong chose Vietnamese officials to form a martial law government to to take us out (FSO Steven Miller had been killed in Hué replace the regular city government that had collapsed and during the Tet Offensive in 1968). fled. At any point we could have been killed by ARVN CORDS civilians quickly learned ways to get the deserters who wanted our trucks. Now there was nothing weapons our government refused to issue us. I kept a more we could do but watch the shouting, shoving mass of case of grenades and an Army radio under my bed. I people stream past us toward the Danang road. The slept with an M-16 propped against the bedstead and ground shook as bombs from U.S. Navy F-4s fell on North practiced rolling off the bed and grabbing it without rais- Vietnamese Army columns less than 10 miles away. As ing my head. My FSO housemate, Howard Lange, and I night fell, the main bridge over the Perfume River was built sandbag walls against the windows with firing ports backlit by flames from the burning market. Silhouettes in the middle. We had our own dubious army of four moved slowly across — cars and trucks piled high with Vietnamese houseguards who (we hoped) would at least people and furniture, and walking figures pushing wheel- fire a warning shot before they ran away. (When the barrows or balancing shoulder poles.

50 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

As far as anyone knew, the battle As in Vietnam, three more years, pictures on the raging just north and west of Hué evening news showed not happy that night — May 2, 1972 — could the “surge” policy is peasants but terror and carnage as have been the turning point of the the country collapsed. entire war. If the city fell, the road to meant to provide Danang, and perhaps Saigon, was And Now Iraq open to the NVA. political cover for a The pictures from Iraq 35 years The consequences would also be later are no different. The Bush personal. The machine guns we had defeat, and to lay the administration is “surging” troops set up on the roof of CORDS head- into Baghdad to try to quell the vio- quarters were an empty gesture. groundwork for blaming lence, but the essential U.S. mis- None of us Americans believed we sion, according to the president’s would be pulled out in time if the the loss on the Iraqis. Jan. 10 speech, remains the training city fell. We knew that Vietnamese of Iraqi forces. The president will desperate to escape would mob any double the number of Provincial choppers sent to save us. We are alive today because Reconstruction Teams (Iraq’s version of CORDS) to try American carrier jets caught the advancing North to rebuild essential services for the Iraqi people. Vietnamese at daybreak and all but obliterated them. Meanwhile, Washington has imposed benchmarks The interval we bought in Vietnam was never designed to force the Iraqis toward a political resolution “decent.” While the final defeat would not come for of their civil strife — conditions which, if unmet, will trig-

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 51 F OCUS

ger the end of American support. The pictures from equipped will join the militias. This policy is Vietnamization in At home, political pressures to get all but name. Its purpose is not to Iraq 35 years after out of Iraq completely will increase win an unwinnable war, but to pro- rapidly as the violence gets worse. vide political cover for a defeat, and the collapse of The surge will be reversed. The mil- to lay the groundwork for blaming itary force left behind to protect the the loss on the Iraqis. “Vietnamization” are no Provincial Reconstruction Teams Very few accept the president’s will be drawn down to — or below assurances that a temporary surge of different than the scenes — a bare minimum, further increas- troops will make any difference — ing the dangers for the Americans except to the toll of Americans and I experienced firsthand. who remain. Iraqis who will die or be maimed. Our benchmarks won’t be met. Increased training will make no dif- As the situation gets worse, whatever ference either, for what the Iraqi remains of a central government in military and police need is not just technical skill but unit Baghdad will be even less willing or able to control cen- cohesion and loyalty to a viable central government, turies of sectarian and tribal hatreds. The civil war will which is nowhere in sight. spiral out of control, giving us the justification we need to When U.S. troops pull back from fighting the insur- get out — blaming the Iraqis for the mess we’ve left gents, violence and chaos will increase across the country. behind. More of the soldiers and police we’ve trained and But the world will know whose mess it is.

52 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS ON W AR Z ONE D IPLOMACY

EMBASSIES AS COMMAND POSTS IN THE WAR ON TERROR

ONE RESULT OF THE WAR ON TERROR IS THE MILITARY’S INCREASED PRESENCE IN U.S. EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD. HERE’S AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLICATIONS.

rotecting Americans from terror- range of counterterrorism activities. Under the direc- ist attacks within the United States depends, to a great tion of Chairman Richard G. Lugar, Senate Foreign extent, on U.S. success overseas. The task is vast and Relations Committee majority staff visited selected worldwide.P It requires enlisting host-country police to embassies in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle track and capture terrorists, uncovering terrorist financ- East, as well as the headquarters of four combatant coming, sharing intelligence with foreign partners, strength- mands, to focus specifically on the civilian/military nexus. ening border surveillance in remote and unpopulated He asked staff to assess whether the State and Defense regions, and building partnerships with foreign mili- Departments are working together overseas in a way that taries. In the longer run, it requires convincing entire contributes to overarching U.S. foreign policy goals in societies to reject terrorist propaganda and recruitment. the individual countries and in the regions. ... A successful counterterrorism policy depends on strong relationships with foreign governments and the people A New Role for the U.S. Military residing in countries on every continent. The U.S. military has taken on numerous new tasks in Embassies are on the front line in the overseas cam- the war against terror that are resulting in its having paign against terror and demands on ambassadors, staffs, greater presence in embassies. Following the Sept. 11 and physical facilities have increased exponentially. attacks, combatant commanders were directed by the Since Sept. 11, 2001, embassies have hosted a continu- Secretary of Defense to develop plans within their areas ing influx of interagency personnel tasked with the full of responsibility that would identify and eliminate terrorists, as well as identify and influence regions suscepti- Editor’s Note: The above is excerpted from the Senate ble to terrorist influence. Some tasks are traditional Foreign Relations Committee staff report, “Embassies as boots-on-the-ground military missions. Some of the new Command Posts in the Anti-Terror Campaign” (S. Prt. tasks have military content, but are not necessarily war- 109-52), issued on Dec. 15, 2006. The entire report can fighting. For example, there is a new security assistance be accessed online at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/ program intended to boost recipient nations’ ability to cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_senate_commit partner with the U.S. military in the war against terror. tee_prints&docid=f:31324.pdf. Still other new tasks go well beyond what one would nor-

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 53 F OCUS

mally consider to be a soldier’s job; for example, digging and Iraq the executive branch requested, and the legisla- wells, building schools and providing public affairs pro- tive branch granted the Department of Defense, the gramming. authority and funding to train and equip the militaries The defense attaché has long been an important and police forces in both countries without going through member of the embassy team. He serves as the ambas- the State Department. The Department of Defense also sador’s adviser on military issues and the contact with the received authority to reimburse coalition partners for host nation’s military. Depending on the quantity of mil- logistical and military support provided in Iraq and Af- itary assistance, the embassy also hosts an Office of ghanistan. Subsequently, the executive branch requested Defense Cooperation, which is the in-country coordina- that these train-and-equip authorities be extended world- tor of such programs as the Foreign Military Financing wide. Program; the Global Peace Operations Initiative, a train- Department of Defense officials, uniformed and civil- and-equip program for international peacekeepers; and ian, argued that the department needed the new author- the International Military Education and Training Pro- ity for time-sensitive and urgent terrorism threats to the gram. FMF, GPOI and IMET are funded in the civilian United States that could not wait for the normal budget foreign affairs budget, directed by the Secretary of State, process applicable to the traditional programs under and carried out by the Defense Department. State Department authority. They also argued that the The level of assistance available in the foreign affairs additional amounts necessary in a post-9/11 world would 150 account for security assistance is a consistent source not be possible from the strapped 150 account foreign of frustration for Defense Department officials. Euro- affairs budget. pean Command officials pointed out that only $6 million In response, the legislative branch granted but cir- in FMF funding was available for their entire region of cumscribed the requested authority in the 2006 National responsibility in Africa. There has been a longstanding Defense Authorization Act. Called Section 1206 assis- question as to whether such security assistance programs tance after its place in the bill, the amount of the assis- should be funded from the civilian foreign affairs budget tance was limited to $200 million, as opposed to the $750 or the military budget. When the issue has arisen in the million requested, and [was] allowed only for training and past, the decision has been made both in the executive equipping military rather than police forces. It mandat- and legislative branches that they should remain in the ed that the president direct the Secretary of Defense to 150 foreign affairs account under the authority of the conduct the programs, in order to ensure interagency Secretary of State. This is rooted in the fundamental vetting overseen by the Office of Management and belief that determinations as to what countries should Budget. The law also requires that the Secretaries of receive U.S. military equipment and training, and the Defense and State “jointly formulate” any program and extent and type of such training, are fundamentally a for- that it be “coordinated” with the Secretary of State in eign policy decision. implementation. The law also requires that the Section Section 1206 Security Assistance. In Afghanistan 1206 program comply with various laws generally applic-

54 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

© 2007, The Washington Post Writers Group. Reprinted with permission. able to the provision of military assistance. Special Operations Forces. The Special Opera- In the most recent defense authorization bill, again tions Command takes the lead for planning, synchroniz- hard-pressed by the Defense Department, members of ing and, as directed, executing global operations against Congress dropped the requirement that Section 1206 terrorists and their networks. Beyond its instrumental assistance be provided only upon direction by the presi- role in Iraq and Afghanistan, the command has provided dent and gave the authority directly to the Secretary of to regional commands some 1,000 special operations Defense. The amount was increased to $300 million. troops for service in 50 different countries. Its baseline Section 1206 security assistance is now being extend- budget has increased since 9/11 from $4 billion to almost ed to some 14 countries: Algeria, Chad, the Dominican $8 billion. According to Commander General Bryan D. Republic, Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Brown, the special forces are expected to grow by some Pakistan, Panama, São Tome & Principe, Thailand, 13,000 personnel over the next five years. Yemen, Senegal and Sri Lanka. A number of the 2006 Special operations forces are part of the new mix of projects focus on strengthening recipient countries’ coast military personnel at U.S. embassies and provide infor- guard equivalents or navies. Thailand, Indonesia, Sri mation to their relevant combatant commanders. They Lanka, Nigeria, São Tome & Principe, the Dominican also undertake military-to-military training, specifically Republic and Panama are receiving 1206 funding for for counterterrorism. Joint Combined Exchange maritime surveillance and communications equipment Training teams arrive for short duration training of some and training. The administration continues to seek part- one to three weeks and Joint Planning and Assistance ners willing and able to participate in the Proliferation teams are embedded for long-term training, with U.S. Security Initiative, an American-led multilateral effort to trainers rotating on a six-month schedule. coordinate and develop procedures for intercepting Development and Humanitarian Assistance. In smugglers of unconventional weapons. Gaining greater Afghanistan and Iraq, the military has often had to take control of maritime transportation routes can reduce on emergency reconstruction tasks. There has been an drug and gun trafficking, exploitation of human beings, effort to create a more robust civilian capability to work pirating and other illegal activities. Other programs in in hostile environments, but the State Department-orga- Yemen and in the trans-Sahara focus on increasing the nized effort is still nascent and civilian agencies, especial- recipient nations’ ability to secure land borders and track ly USAID, are still cobbling together ad hoc teams that, and attack terrorist networks. while talented and dedicated, are limited in number. As Overall in fiscal year 2006, $200 million in funding was a result, military civil affairs teams have built bridges, appropriated. Only $100 million of that amount has been schools and hospitals, organized local political councils, obligated, an indication that the initially claimed urgency and provided humanitarian relief. for the funding was questionable. In the 2007 budget, Much of the funding came from the Commander’s $300 million has been authorized for Section 1206 fund- Emergency Response Program, initially supported by the ing and a request of $750 million is expected for 2008. hundreds of millions of dollars found in Saddam

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 55 F OCUS

Hussein’s secret caches throughout Iraq. Subsequently, highly critical of the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ the Congress appropriated funding from the Depart- radio and TV broadcasting into Iran. In embassies, mili- ment of Defense budget for the CERP, and included tary teams of three or four persons are being sent to key funds for firefighting, repair of damage to oil facilities and countries to carry out informational programs. There are related infrastructure, and medical assistance to Iraqi currently 18 such deployments, expected to rise to 30 children. countries if current plans are realized. Building on the experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Defense Department requested and received author- Reactions from the Field ity to broaden a previously existing Combatant Ambassadors in every country pursue a wide-ranging Commander Initiative Fund to allow combatant com- agenda running the gamut from managing the overall manders to carry out such projects in any countries relationship with the host country to resolving trade dis- where military operations are being conducted. putes and rescuing Americans in trouble. All ambas- Combatant commanders are now funding joint military sadors interviewed by the staff, with the exception of [the exercises, military education and training, and humani- one in] Thailand, reported an increase in military per- tarian and civic projects that include medical and veteri- sonnel in their embassies since 9/11. One ambassador nary care, construction of transportation systems, wells, heading a small embassy in Africa reported that sanitation facilities and landmine clearance and educa- American uniformed personnel may outnumber civilian tion. personnel within the year. Such an expansion of military-provided humanitarian All ambassadors interviewed see the war on terror as a and civic assistance is nowhere more evident than in the top priority and the military components of the embassy Horn of Africa. The U.S. Central Command oversees as one tool that can be used to address it. For the most some 1,800 troops stationed at Camp Lemonier, part, ambassadors welcome the additional resources that Djibouti, who are tasked with building health clinics, the military brings and they see strong military-to-mili- wells and schools in remote areas where government tary ties as an important ingredient in a strong bilateral influence is weak and terrorists are known to be recruit- relationship. Nonetheless, State and USAID personnel ing. In an effort to provide evidence of alternatives to often question the purposes, quantity and quality of the religious extremism, small military teams train local expanded military activities in-country. forces, gain access and gather information, and provide Ambassadors are the president’s personal representa- practical assistance in an attempt to improve the lives of tive and top U.S. official in-country. Every ambassador local residents in areas that terrorists may be targeting. has country-clearance authority. Often permission to Staff found that country teams in embassies with a work at the embassy is granted routinely to interagency USAID presence are far more capable of ensuring suffi- personnel coming on either permanent or temporary cient review of military humanitarian assistance projects assignment. But every ambassador has the power to deny than those that have no USAID office. Budgetary cut- clearance or to suspend it once granted. As one U.S. backs at USAID, affecting both personnel and programs, ambassador stated, “The rule is, if you’re in-country, you are repeatedly cited as a deficiency in the U.S. campaign work for the ambassador. If you don’t think you work for against extremism in susceptible regions of the world. the ambassador, you don’t get country clearance to come Public Information. The Defense Department has in.” taken on the additional mission under the direction of the In most cases, ambassadors seemed informed about Secretary of Defense to counter terrorist propaganda in U.S. military activities in-country and appeared willing key regions and countries of the world. The purpose is to and able to provide leadership. In three embassies visit- discourage sympathy for terrorists and their efforts to ed, however, ambassadors appeared overwhelmed by the recruit, marginalize radical Islamic ideology, and increase growing presence of military personnel and insistent popular support for U.S. operations and multilateral requests from combatant commanders. Neither were counterterrorism activities. In one of its most recent for- the ambassadors as knowledgeable on the breadth of mil- ays into the civilian world of international public affairs itary activity in-country as they should have been. In one broadcasting, the Pentagon has produced a report that is case, an ambassador to a country that is receiving Section

56 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

1206 funding had not heard of the Special operations forces reservations and questions. program. In several cases, embassy Decisions to take action against staff saw their role as limited to a are part of the new mix terrorists in-country require the review of choices already made by approval of the Secretary of “the military side of the house.” of military personnel at Defense and “are coordinated with” There are successes to report the ambassadors, according to that can provide models to new U.S. embassies and Department of Defense guidelines. ambassadors. The ambassador to The State Department perspective Yemen appears to have developed provide information to is that ambassadors have full one of the best procedures for initi- authority over all U.S. government ating Section 1206 requests. The their relevant combatant activities in-country. While such embassy’s Office of Defense nuanced differences may seem Cooperation works closely with the commanders. obscure, they are bound to cause Yemeni Ministry of Defense to problems. One route toward clarity identify needs. The ODC vets would be the inclusion of new mili- these requests through the country team, discussing tary elements under the National Security Decision them with the deputy chief of mission, the political sec- Directive–38 process. This would “regularize” their pres- tion chief and a political officer who covers counterter- ence in-country, specifically placing them under the rorism issues full-time. The ambassador approves the ambassador’s authority, allowing diplomatic privileges submission to Washington. and immunities to be requested for them, and authoriz- In Thailand, though all military assistance has been ing routine compensation from the Department of suspended due to the Sept. 19 [2006] coup, the ambas- Defense for their administrative expenses. The sador’s deputy chief of mission previously served as a Department of Defense has argued against this process, political-military officer, so the ambassador reports a noting that some military components are part of the rel- “front office that has a good degree of background knowl- evant combatant command. edge about and sensitivity to the military dimensions of Some but not all ambassadors have insisted on having the bilateral relationship.” Another ambassador warned memoranda of understanding signed with the regional against delegating oversight of military programs and combatant commander to clarify lines of authority. The activities to the defense attaché or other military compo- situation should not be left for resolution in the heat of nents of the embassy. “The front office must be kept the moment. All ambassadors should pursue MOUs on informed, must know when key decisions need to be military presence that reports to the combatant comman- made, and must make them,” he said. der and on the broader issue of military action in-country. An ambassador to an African country described the Or the Department of State should pursue a more sys- situation in his embassy in this way: “We are a small num- temic solution offered by a global memorandum of ber of people, in a tight community, with a clear hierar- agreement between the Secretaries of State and chy. The military respects hierarchy and clarity.” He Defense. But it is important to get lines-of-authority reports that when he has objections to programs or activ- questions sorted out before directives from the ambas- ities, he says no. EUCOM has a lot of the money to sador and the combatant commander conflict in an spend “and the atmosphere is that we want to do some- urgent situation. thing with it. My attitude is, ‘The first principle is do no Authority is one issue. Value-added is another. harm.’” He recently suspended country clearance to one Civilian embassy staff in a number of countries expressed military official. The person was gone the next day. skepticism about the need for and the potential for error by new military personnel. While those sent to work in Problems and Challenges embassies are expected to be seasoned and experienced Despite the welcome arrival of new money and other professionals, some are seen as poorly trained in infor- resources to the country team, the increase in military mation gathering and only rarely have regional or linguis- presence and activities has created challenges and raised tic expertise. Rotational tours of only six months limit

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 57 F OCUS

expertise acquired on the job. In All ambassadors boats making their way to the several countries, embassy officials United States through Caribbean say that the time required to bring interviewed by the staff, waters. In this case, as in others, it military personnel up to speed, is clear that Section 1206 funding, monitor their activities, and prevent with the exception of [the while useful to address drug-traf- them from doing damage is not ficking and a future potential ter- compensated for by contributions one in] Thailand, reported rorist threat, is not the [kind of] they make to the embassy team. time-sensitive, urgent need that There are notable exceptions to an increase in military cannot wait for the normal budget such criticism. In Lebanon, new process. military components in the embassy personnel in their There is evidence that some provided information on appropri- host-country nationals are ques- ate routes in connection with the embassies since 9/11. tioning the increasingly military emergency evacuation of several component of America’s profile thousand Americans during the overseas. In Uganda, a military conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in the summer of civil-affairs team went to the northern part of the country 2006. to help local communities build wells, erect schools and On the issue of Section 1206 funding, regional pro- carry out other small development projects to help miti- grams initiated by the combatant commands are not gate the consequences of a long-running regional con- receiving the same embassy input as bilateral programs. flict. Local NGOs questioned whether the military was In the case of the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism there to take sides in the conflict. In Ethiopia, military Initiative, at least one embassy did not realize that its humanitarian action teams were ordered out of the country had been selected to receive assistance until well region near the Somali border due to Ethiopian sensitiv- after the president announced it in May 2006. The ities that their presence could spark cross-border hostili- ambassador subsequently objected to the assistance and ties. Whether the humanitarian task force should try to prevailed. In the case of the Gulf of Guinea Initiative, the return is still a source of disagreement within embassy embassy team that covers São Tome & Principe did not team discussions. In Latin America, especially, military know that its participation was being considered until well and intelligence efforts are viewed with suspicion, mak- into the process. EUCOM briefed the ambassador a ing it difficult to pursue meaningful cooperation on a month after the president’s announcement and gained the counterterrorism agenda. ambassador’s support. (Preliminary findings of a GAO Some ambassadors alluded to problems with broad report on 1206 funding are to be completed in January implications for the role of the Department of State. 2007.) Further, Equatorial Guinea, a problematic coun- One ambassador lamented that his effectiveness in rep- try that is situated in the strategic Gulf of Guinea, was on resenting the United States to foreign officials was the original presidential list of Section 1206 countries beginning to wane, as more resources are directed to before being removed following congressional scrutiny. special operations forces and intelligence. Foreign offi- Whether the mix of military and civilian foreign assis- cials are “following the money” in terms of determining tance is appropriate is another issue. In the Caribbean, which relationships to emphasize, he reported. A prob- for example, there will be some $7.5 million in Section lem cited throughout every region is the understaffing 1206 funding for the Dominican Republic for interceptor of the civilian side of embassies, a situation corroborat- boats and maritime communications and training, while ed by Government Accountability Office findings only $800,000 in U.S. funds is going into public diploma- (“Department of State: Staffing and Foreign Language cy. If the terrorist threat is the transit of people and Shortfalls Persist Despite Initiatives to Address Gaps,” equipment across the island and into the United States, August 2006, GAO–06–894). The military has signifi- Senate staff questioned whether it would be wiser to cantly more money and personnel and is so energetic in spend as much money on public information and an pursuing its newly created programs and in thinking up informants’ program as on trying to intercept a couple of new ones, that maintaining a management hand on mil-

58 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 F OCUS

itary activities is increasingly difficult, according to one ified for the sensitive and important post-9/11 role of U.S. ambassador. In posts throughout the world, civilian ambassador. staff point to the “Iraq tax” and cite instances of civilian • In considering the president’s nominees, the Senate job slots emptied and remaining unfilled as personnel Foreign Relations Committee, and subsequently the full and resources are funneled into the effort in Iraq. … Senate, should renew a commitment to insist on the qualities of experienced judgment, knowledge of interagency Recommendations missions and activities, and a solid grounding in the cul- Role of the Ambassador. In the campaign against ture and politics of the region to which the candidate is terror, the leadership qualities of the U.S. ambassador expected to be assigned. have become a determinative factor in victory or fail- • The SFRC, during the confirmation process, should ure. make it clear that members will hold the regional assis- • It is imperative that the U.S. ambassador provide tant secretaries and the ambassador accountable for strong leadership, steady oversight and a firm hand on mishaps or setbacks that could have been avoided the component parts of all counterterrorism activities in through informed and engaged leadership in-country. U.S. embassies overseas. This includes the authority to • Ambassadors should be charged with the decision challenge and override directives from other government whether to approve all military-related programs imple- agencies in Washington to their resident or temporary mented in-country. That would include Section 1206 staffs in the embassy. security assistance, humanitarian and development assis- • The president must send to the Senate as nominees tance, and other programs and operations. In countries for ambassadorships only those candidates who are qual- with MISTs (Military Information Support Teams), the

SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE AMERICA SINCE 1971 2007 represents our 37th year helping to maintain America’s fleet of vehicles throughout the world. All of us at D & M consider it an honor to have worked with all of you through these years.

We are aware of the importance of your official and private vehicles, forklifts, generators, tools and equipment. We look forward to continuing this service in a professional manner. We are here to help, just ask! Gary Vlahov www.dmauto.com (516) 822-6662; FAX: (516) 822-5020; E-mail: [email protected]

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 59 F OCUS

ambassador must similarly approve or Some but not all fying both civilian and military coun- disapprove all military-produced in- terterrorism priorities overseas, formational material and MIST per- ambassadors have assigning appropriate roles, missions sonnel should work under the direc- and divisions of labor among federal tion of the country team’s public insisted on having agencies, and requesting robust fund- affairs officer. ing to achieve those priorities. • In the case of special forces, the MOUs signed with the • The legislative branch should ambassador’s authority over military fund the civilian foreign affairs agen- activities in-country should be made regional combatant cies, particularly the State Depart- clear in a memorandum of under- ment and the U.S. Agency for Inter- standing with the relevant regional commander to clarify national Development, at a minimum combatant commands. Such authori- to the level requested by the presi- ty would include approving any mis- lines of authority. dent. Continuing to deny the presi- sion, monitoring its implementation, dent his foreign affairs budget by bil- and terminating it if necessary. An lions of dollars below what he requests alternate, more systemic solution would be a global is undermining U.S. national interests. The current 12:1 memorandum of agreement covering all special forces ratio of military spending to spending on the diplomatic activities in-country, signed by the Secretaries of State and civilian foreign aid agencies risks the further and Defense. encroachment of the military, by default, into areas where Organizing Foreign Assistance. Some countries civilian leadership is more appropriate because it does not are now receiving between a quarter and half of their create resistance overseas and is more experienced. U.S. foreign assistance in the form of security assistance. • The administration should develop a comprehensive In one country visited, security assistance is the only form budget for foreign assistance that incorporates economic, of foreign aid being provided by the U.S. government. development, humanitarian, security and military assis- Section 1206 assistance, with the exception of Lebanon tance. All foreign assistance programs should be funded and Pakistan, is not addressing threats to the United through the foreign assistance accounts, as administered States that are so immediate it cannot be included in nor- by the Department of State. If foreign assistance is, con- mal budget processes. trary to this recommendation, to be funded through both • The Secretary of State should insist that all security the 150 foreign affairs account and the 050 defense assistance, including Section 1206 funding, be included account, the Secretary of State should retain primary under his/her authority in the new process for rationaliz- authority over its planning and implementation. ing and prioritizing foreign assistance. Country team Otherwise, there is the risk of undermining the Secretary meetings organized by the Director of Foreign of State’s role both in Washington and in embassies as the Assistance at the State Department should include mili- manager of bilateral relationships and as the chief arbiter tary representatives in cases where the country is a recip- of foreign policy decisions. ient or potential recipient of military funding. Otherwise, Regional Strategic Initiative. The Secretary of there is no guarantee that the mix of civilian and military State should regularize and expand the department’s assistance will be effectively balanced to most directly Regional Strategic Initiative — comprised of regional address the terrorist threat. meetings of ambassadors, regional assistant secretaries Rationalizing Missions and Money. The current and senior interagency personnel, including the combat- budgets of the civilian foreign affairs agencies do not ant commands — to focus specifically on the terrorism reflect their key role in the conduct of the war against ter- threat and appropriate counterterrorism responses. With ror. In fact, it can be argued that the disparity in the ratio the rapid expansion of counterterrorism activities and the between investments in military versus civilian approach- increasing need for interagency agreement in the field on es threatens U.S. success. strategies as well as tactics, such meetings should occur at • The executive branch should undertake a disci- the most senior level possible, with ambassadors them- plined, coordinated and transparent approach to identi- selves actively engaged and involved.

60 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 PROMOTING DEMOCRACY IN THE ARAB AND MUSLIM WORLD

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRUE DEMOCRACY IN THE MIDDLE EAST WILL BE SLOW, PAINSTAKING, EXTREMELY CHALLENGING AND, AT TIMES, VIOLENT.

BY ALON BEN-MEIR

resident Bush’s twin notions that democ- ical data to support the claim of linkage between existing ratizing Iraq will have a ripple effect on authoritarian regimes and terrorism. An annual study con- the rest of the Arab world, bringing pros- ducted by the State Department, “Patterns of Global perity and peace to the region, and that Terrorism,” shows that between 2000 and 2003, 269 major democracy is the panacea for Islamic ter- terrorist incidents occurred in free nations, 119 in countries rorism, are unsubstantiated as well as considered partly free, and 138 in countries with authoritar- grossly misleading. Even a cursory ian regimes. The study also reveals that during the same review of the Arab political landscape indicates that the rise period there were 203 international terrorist attacks within Pof democracy will not automatically translate into the estab- India, a democratic state, while there were none in China, lishment of enduring liberal democracies or undermine ter- which does not meet most standards of a free society. rorism in the region. The same conclusion may be applied These findings, of course, do not prove that democracies generally to the Muslim political landscape. attract more terrorist incidents than do dictatorial regimes. In fact, given the opportunity to compete freely and fair- But they do suggest that while mature democracies are ly in elections, Islamic extremist organizations will most like- more stable and generally avoid fighting one another, politi- ly emerge triumphant. In the most recent elections in cal freedoms in themselves do not automatically create a Lebanon and Egypt, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brother- shield against violence and terrorism. France’s centuries- hood, respectively, made substantial gains, and in Palestine, long tradition of democracy did not prevent fast-spreading Hamas easily won the national parliamentary elections. urban unrest in 2005; until recently, Northern Ireland con- That they did so is both a vivid example of today’s political stituted another glaring example. Unless elections are pre- realities and an indicator of future trends. And if current ceded by the building of democratic institutions and the sentiments in the Arab states offer a guide, any government effective encouragement of social and economic develop- formed by elected Islamist political parties will be more ment, they will produce illiberal democracies akin to author- antagonistic to the West than the authoritarian regimes still itarian regimes. in power. In addition, there are no indications that democ- Even if one grants the existence of a correlation between racy is a prerequisite to defeating terrorism, nor any empir- the democratic zeal of the Bush administration and the number of acts of terror committed during the same period, Alon Ben-Meir is professor of international relations at the the administration’s efforts to fight terrorism by also pushing Center for Global Studies at New York University and for democracy have failed miserably. A study on terrorism directs the Middle East Project at the World Policy recently released by the State Department indicates that the Institute. This essay is based on the author’s direct number of terrorist incidents reached a new record of more involvement in Middle Eastern affairs as both a researcher than 11,000 attacks in 2005. and mediator. Considering the dubious rationale for the war in Iraq and

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 61 its continuing, enormous cost to the ernments, a step the Bush administra- American and Iraqi people, the Arab tion has often advocated. In the con- public cannot see any justification for Any government formed text just described, such a policy is not the war in the name of democracy. simply counterproductive; it is dan- Last year’s parliamentary elections by elected Islamist gerous. The Shiites in Iraq still and the ratification of a new constitu- remember how, left to their own tion in Iraq have neither diminished political parties will be devices after they rose up against the insurgency nor the intense ill feel- Saddam Hussein in 1991, they ings and hatred that Iraqis and Arabs more antagonistic to the endured horrible persecution. The in general harbor against the United U.S. overthrow of Saddam, accompa- States. Not only are they cynical West than the nied by pushing democracy down the about the United States and contemp- throat of Iraqis during the second Iraq tuous of it, but they reject the notion authoritarian regimes War, has similarly proven a dismal fail- that democracy “American style” ure. should be shoved down their throats still in power. Iraq, with its long tradition of sec- with a gun. tarian conflict and tribalism, was not Still, regardless of their specific and is not ready for an American- national identity, Arabs and Muslims style, democratic form of govern- do not reject democratic reforms in ment. The Iraqis should have been principle. On the contrary, tired of given a much longer transitional peri- despotism, corruption and human and because of tribalism and sectari- od in which to adjust to the regime rights abuses by those in power, they anism based on religious or cultural change and to build in its place a civil seek some political reforms — as long orientation, most Arab and Muslim society anchored in strong democratic as these reforms correspond to their societies prefer gradual rather than institutions. But even if Shiites, values and are adopted at a pace con- radical reform. Another complicating Sunnis and Kurds had all adopted the sistent with the social make-up and factor that needs to be taken into principles of political pluralism, political conditions of their respective account is the traditional loyalty to the democracy still would not have blos- communities. family and to the tribe, which natural- somed in Iraq, or anywhere else for ly erodes the importance of such prin- that matter, according to Mr. Bush’s Pursue Gradual Change ciples of democratic government as timetable. However, the United Because the Arab states have advice and consent and majority rule. States and its allies should still offer much in common — religion, lan- In country after country — e.g., help and guidance along with other guage and history — and the Muslim Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Morocco — incentives, essentially allowing each world shares a strong bond with them, most people say they want slow and country to develop its own home- there are four core measures that can incremental change to reduce resis- grown form of democracy. and must be pursued in the region to tance to democratic ideals, eventually effect democratic reforms. Those win over skeptics, and prevent a seri- Provide Economic Incentives reforms, in turn, will promote ous backlash that could stifle future The United States, along with the progress and stability in place of vio- progress. (Sitting governments natu- European Union and Japan, should lence and political turmoil. But the rally perceive such reforms as a threat offer most Arab regimes economic Western world, especially the United to their power base and tend to react incentives in exchange for democratic States, must facilitate them not harshly against them.) reform. These rewards should not, through coercive regime change but Gradualism allows these regimes however, be offered government-to- through a long-term commitment and to be part of the reform process pre- government with no strings attached, investment in the region, based on a cisely because they can control events for the money may well end up in pri- careful consideration of each coun- better once they realize that reforms vate accounts in Swiss banks. Instead, try’s unique political, social and tradi- provide hope, especially to the young, the money should fund sustainable tional environment. and, as such, are a prerequisite for projects through various international Due to their long history of sub- maintaining public calm. agencies and nongovernmental organ- mission to authoritarianism — during The West must stop the practice of izations. which Islam was (and, to a great encouraging the people of the Middle The idea is to ensure that local extent, remains) a dominant factor — East to rise up against their own gov- communities are involved in the

62 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 design and implementation of the sions about the resources it will take development projects. Indigenous to make a real difference in the life of reconstruction has been remarkably The idea is to ensure the communities spread across the successful in communities around the Arab and the Muslim world. world, because local people have a that local communities Developing democracy in this strong incentive to maintain projects fashion cannot be accomplished on that address their particular needs in are involved in the cheap. The West must be pre- education, health, business, agricul- pared to commit billions of dollars ture and environmental conservation. the design and toward sustainable development to In most of these instances, local asso- plant the seeds of democracy. Ulti- ciations formed by members of the implementation of the mately, each Arab and Muslim coun- community manage projects and try, depending on its economic power implement new ones. development projects. and the pace of its development as it New ties of cooperation form follows this broad policy, must when neighboring communities join become part of the global economy. together to create projects beneficial Yes, it’s a long-term proposition, but to their entire area. The United then again, neither the evolution of States needs to recognize that this democracy nor the war on terrorism is type of “bottom-up” development is Broad participation in the reconstruc- a short-term project. based on democratic procedures. tion of communities is pluralist demo- After all, two fundamental elements cracy in action, because it strengthens Develop Democratic in pluralist democracy are the disper- the capacities of local peoples to man- Institutions sion of power toward the interior age their own development. To address the need for the devel- (localities) and the inclusion of all If the Bush administration chooses opment of specific institutions that social groups in decisionmaking. to go this route, it should have no illu- sustain long-term democracy, the Executive Lodging Alternatives Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE” [email protected] Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 63 West must, when invited, devote Although most countries through- more resources to the development of out Latin America have successfully four areas: a free press, liberal organi- The biggest challenge the democratized, last year the Organi- zations, a fair judiciary and human zation of American States over- rights. Although the Arab states are West faces in promoting whelmingly rejected an American awash with print and electronic proposal to create a new mechanism media, most of these are official or democracy in the Arab to monitor governmental compliance semiofficial organs. While there has with democratic norms. been a recent increase in the number and Muslim worlds is The leaders of all of these coun- of independent media (electronic and tries were able to do this with print), the traditional government suspicion that these impunity because there are no tradi- treatment of unfavorable reporting tional democratic institutions in place still inhibits the truly free and unim- efforts are not genuine. or viable political parties to oppose peded airing of opinions and open- their usurpation of power. Only the ended debate. Without freedom of emergence of liberal political leaders expression, democracy has no legs to and institutions with a legitimate stand on. chance to compete without fear will Arab media have been notoriously permit democracy to grow real roots. anti-American and anti-Israeli and are now both better organized and far Equally critical is the develop- have prohibited or repressed free more pervasive. In scores of coun- ment of fair and impartial judicia- discourse or opposing views that are tries in South America, Africa and ries. The United States and other not endorsed by the government. Eastern Europe (including Russia), democracies can provide substantial The West can help to change this by elected leaders have gradually help and guidance in building legal using incentives to persuade Arab amassed more and more dictatorial systems that, while consistent with regimes of the importance of chang- powers, leaving these countries the unique character of each society, ing the tone of the media, not so democratic in name only. remain free, fair and equitable. The much to improve the West’s dismal Russian President Vladimir Putin experience of the Western nations in image on the Arab streets as to per- has criticized NGOs working on training judges and enhancing the mit a freer, more responsible press to human rights and pushed through a judiciary system in Iraq can be flourish as a staple of democracy. new law requiring that they inform duplicated in other Arab and Mus- The second focus should be on the the Russian government of any new lim countries. development of liberal organizations project before they undertake it. In Here too, however, the tradition of and political parties (which may Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov a fair and impartial judiciary can only require years of nurturing) as a new has rewritten the constitution to evolve over time, and thus constitu- political force. It should by now be extend his term in office, and is in the tional safeguards must be established abundantly clear that by themselves, process of closing down most Western to protect the integrity and safety of free elections neither create nor con- democracy initiatives. And in Belar- judges and the entire judicial system. stitute democracy. In fact, when they us, President Alexander Lukashenko The ongoing disturbances in Egypt precede the building of democratic has forbidden political challengers to over the judiciary’s independence institutions and other prerequisites appear against him and stifled the illustrate the importance of these that sustain democracy, elections are development of an independent civil measures. No legal system can func- more likely to produce instability and society. tion equitably and impartially if it upheaval, especially in countries pre- In Africa, the same pattern of becomes in any way subservient to viously governed by authoritarian crushing democratic initiatives is on government manipulations. regimes. the rise. In Zimbabwe, President Finally, the rights of the individual The West, with the United States Robert Mugabe has cracked down on should be enshrined constitutionally in the lead, should first assist and the political opposition and signed as a prerequisite for the development encourage the development of liberal legislation prohibiting local NGOs of true democracy. The fact that in organizations in each state in the from receiving foreign aid. Eritrea most Arab societies the rights of the region to the point where they will be has also enacted new laws prohibiting collective generally supersede the in a position to compete successfully local NGOs from engaging in any rights of the individual adds another with extremist Islamic groups, which work other than relief activities. impediment to implementing demo-

64 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 cratic reforms. That said, even dictatorial leaders, because of their fear of international ostracism, are willing, at least formally, to grant full human rights to their citizens. The problem lies in implementing these rights, and here is where regularly applied international pressure often prevents wan- ton abuses. By careful use of such pressure, the United States and other Western powers can help many Arab regimes to move in a positive direction.

Reform Educational Systems Although Arab and Muslim governments are aware that their educational systems need massive overhauling, most of the region has not made nearly enough effort to adapt to a fast-changing world. Tens of thousands of madrasahs, funded mostly by Saudi money and scattered throughout the Arab and Islamic worlds, teach Koranic studies that are based on a Sunni Wahabism laced with poisonous teachings against the United States and Jews. Left unchecked, these schools will not turn out scholars but the next gener- ation of terrorists. Pakistan, for example, has thousands of such Saudi-funded schools, because the government does not have the resources to educate its large and growing population. What Arab kids are learning today and how that affects their view of the world are immensely important for the future of democratic reform. Therefore, helping Arab states to modernize existing schools or to build new ones, moderate religious studies, and modify or delete anti- American materials is essential, however daunting a project it may seem. The United States and other Western nations can help by persuad- ing the Saudi government to re-evaluate the teaching requirements and temper course content in these schools; providing direct assistance to

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 65 Pakistan and other Arab and Muslim interest-guided policies. So, no mat- countries so that national education ter how sincere, all the enthusiasm in programs become less dependent on The development of the White House about the spread of funding from regimes that dictate democracy in Iraq, Palestine and course content; encouraging other true democracy in the Afghanistan only reinforces cynicism donor nations to offer special assis- among many in the region. tance for education to needy coun- Middle East will be slow, The development of true democ- tries, such as Egypt; and lobbying racy in the Middle East will be slow, Arab governments to review their his- painstaking, extremely painstaking, extremely challenging tory texts and modify them to reflect and — at times — violent. Not only more objective accounts. challenging and — the West, but Arab and Muslim states, must learn from the mistakes Be Patient at times — violent. the Bush administration has made in The biggest challenge the West Iraq. Artificially accelerating the faces in promoting democracy in the process and forcing democratic Arab and Muslim worlds is the fact reforms on Iraqis have created terri- that most people in these countries ble turmoil with no end in sight. do not believe that these efforts are A far better strategy would be for genuine, undertaken to benefit them despotic (e.g., Saudi Arabia) to their the United States and its allies to rather than to serve Western or U.S. own devices. They further accuse allow political maturity to evolve in strategic interests. They accuse the the United States of trying to pro- such countries by fostering political Bush administration of using democ- mote a democracy of convenience, at and economic development. Appro- racy as a ploy to target regimes it does a time and place of its choosing, priate assistance will strengthen the not like, such as in Iraq, Syria or Iran, regardless of the aspirations of the basis for sustainable democratic while leaving governments no less people affected by such narrow, forms of government.

66 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 AFSAAmerican Foreign NEWSService Association • March 2007 Annual Report 2006 AFSA Defends the Foreign Service During Hard Times 2006 brought an across-the-board only slightly above attrition means employee-friendly measures, but deterioration in the working environment that we likely have plateaued for the difficult budget environment of the Foreign Service. Budget coping mea- a while. The association’s 27 has meant that anything with a sures were in place across agencies, hiring employees continue to be excep- price tag is a tough sell. Our leg- was limited to attrition, program funding tionally well-led, at both the islative priorities in 2007, in was stagnant, and morale reeled. The senior and department head lev- addition to OCP, will be enhanc- demand for personnel to serve in war zones els, where longevity of tenure has ing the “death gratuity” to elim- continued to rise, as did the relentless search provided continuity and institu- inate the bias against specialists for volunteers to serve in them and at all tional memory that offer many J. Anthony Holmes and more junior employees, and unaccompanied posts, which exceeded 25 advantages and serve our mem- to liberalize the rules on retiree percent of the positions filled. The impact bers well. WAE employment. We also continue to of the war in Iraq was felt throughout the Financially, we have well over half-a- press management to fix the numerous foreign affairs agencies as managements year’s working requirements in reserve, and problems in the security clearance sus- struggled to cope with the trade-offs our scholarship fund’s endowment sur- pension/revocation process and improve required. New policy directions placed con- passed $4.7 million. The AFSA head- the conditions for members of household siderable stress on Foreign Service personnel quarters building is in serious need of ren- at overseas missions. as jobs were globally repositioned and the ovation, a costly proposition. An initiative ever-closer amalgamation of USAID and begun by the previous board to explore ASSIGNMENT SYSTEM CHALLENGES State brought wholesale change to our for- development of our small but prime AFSA’s aggressive defense of the indi- eign assistance regime. Evidence of polit- headquarters property did not reveal sig- vidual members and the FS overall led to ical influence weighing on personnel issues nificant advantage, so this board initiated significant accomplishments in the area of grew. a major renovation to begin this summer. assignments. We have succeeded so far in AFSA worked extremely hard to miti- walking the fine line between allowing non- gate the impact of these factors on our BREAD-AND-BUTTER ISSUES FS personnel to fill vacancies for which there members and made tangible progress in a We fought hard and made substantial is no FS employee available — a fairly com- number of areas, though we were bitterly progress in 2006 on our top-priority mon occurrence given the ongoing imbal- disappointed that months and months of issue, overseas comparability pay, only to ance between people and positions system- intensive effort failed to achieve our goal see near-tangible success evaporate at the wide, and the huge and still growing of eliminating the overseas pay disparity. last minute of the lame-duck session in demand for volunteers for unaccompanied We remain focused in 2007 on our long- Congress. The administration’s insistence and war-zone service — and allowing the term objectives of advancing the interests that elimination of the overseas pay disparity politicization of our ranks. The threat of of our members, promoting the FS to be tied to a conversion of the entire FS to directed assignments continues to hang Congress and the public, and fostering a an inherently politically controversial “pay over our heads, but skillful use of our influ- heightened esprit-de-corps within our for performance” personnel system great- ence has helped avoid that so far, though ranks. ly complicated our task, which will now the overall shortage of personnel remains become even more difficult with the shift a serious problem. We also initiated an SOUND OVERALL CONDITION in control of Congress this year. We were exceptional action to reverse an egregious AFSA continues to operate on a fun- able to achieve a small but important leg- case of assignment abuse, an initiative that damentally sound financial and member- islative victory by getting the education we not only won on its merits but were able ship basis. Total membership has surpassed allowance expanded, and we continue to to institutionalize into changes in the over- 13,500. The impact of two years of hiring press the State Department on a variety of all system.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 67 A F AFSA Annual Report 2006 S YEAR IN REVIEW A

By the end of the year, more than 300 people Appraisal System and precepts and related N JANUARY will attend these one-day events, performance-management issues. E AFSA invites Secretary of State offered at AFSA headquarters. AFSA Retiree Coordinator Bonnie Brown Condoleezza Rice to meet with the Subjects include Iraq, the Middle W releases the first Retiree Newsletter of the year; Governing Board; she declines, but East, Afghanistan, failed states S the bimonthly newsletter provides informa- Under Secretary Nicholas Burns and the war on terror. tion about federal benefits and legislation and comes in her stead in March. In a highly popular issue, the department policies and procedures. AFSA President Tony Holmes Journal features the varied writes to the Under Secretary for accomplishments of Foreign Management expressing serious con- Service retirees and spotlights MARCH cern about the security clearance sus- issues related to retirement. pension and revocation process, and As it had done in March 2004 and 2005, proposes a series of meetings with the the Journal once again focuses on Iraq: Diplomatic Security Bureau to improve the FEBRUARY specifically, on Foreign process; DS senior management decline to Service personnel meet. AFSA engages with M/MED to get Tamiflu there, both in supplies shipped to posts in light of the spread Baghdad and else- Labor-Management works with the DS of bird flu to Africa. where. The issue Training Center to improve the implementa- draws wide atten- The Labor-Management team meets with the tion and operation of the newly instituted tion, including a staff of the School of Applied Information Student Performance Review Committee. half-page excerpt Technology to discuss changes to the Skills in the Washing- AFSA meets with the career development Incentive Program for information manage- ton Post. office to discuss the initial implementation of ment specialists. As a result, the department the Secretary’s Global Repositioning Initiative. agrees to extend the deadline for IMS special- AFSA proposes AFSA communicates its concerns on the pro- ists to become recertified. four important changes to Chapter 11 of the Foreign Service Act to posed addition of a “360 degree” feedback AFSA/USAID successfully negotiates a solu- improve the operation of the Foreign Service procedure to the evaluation process; the pro- tion to the first of three grievance cases, each Grievance Board. The department declines to cedure has not been implemented. of which is resolved with a much less severe support these changes. AFSA/FCS representatives and AFSA penalty than originally proposed. The Labor-Management team meets with the Legislative Affairs Director Ken Nakamura AFSA arranges an interview for Ambassador department concerning the latter’s position in meet with staff from the offices of Thomas Dodd to explain U.S. diplomacy in a “scope of duty” case concerning a principal Representatives John Mica, R-Fla., and Latin America on the PBS program, officer overseas who was involved in a motor Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., regarding their pro- “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.” posed bills on the Foreign Commercial accident. The appeals court subsequently Service, promoting foreign trade and the AFSA/FCS meets with the Office of Foreign rules in the FSO’s favor. Service Human Resources at Commerce Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee. In cases where Foreign Service members are regarding review and reform of the called for military duty, AFSA proposes that AFSA/Elderhostel begins its program year Management Planning and Performance with a “Day of Discovery” program on Iraq. the department pay for the transport of

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

68 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 A AFSA Annual Report 2006 F S YEAR IN REVIEW A employees, their families and their possessions has not yet implemented them. to the location where they have been called up N AFSA agrees to a special time-in-class/time- to serve, rather than to Washington, D.C. E in-service extension for SFS and FS-1 officers The department has not yet implemented this at critical-needs posts, and proposes that this W suggestion. cover all FS-1s who have opened their win- S AFSA protests the department’s handling of dow. The department agrees. cases where employees had no prior knowl- A change in the Foreign Affairs Manual is the edge of their referral to a Performance subject of an AFSA proposal to management. Standards Board, and meets with HR to dis- AFSA proposes that Eligible Family Members cuss improved procedures for the future. employed at normally unaccompanied posts AFSA writes to Under Secretary for receive post differential. The department Management Fore in support of an “equaliza- agrees to review this recommendation. tion fund” to facilitate employment of Eligible AFSA continues discussions with the depart- Family Members overseas at U.S. salaries. ment on the regulations and implementation diplomats — and instill in legislators an AFSA registers its opposition to the proce- schedule for the new Cybersecurity Program, awareness of the critical role played by the dures for granting educational allowances securing some important changes to the pro- Foreign Service. when a school at post changes from “inade- posed FAM. quate” to “adequate.” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Amb. AFSA/USAID successfully resolves two long, Holmes preside over the AFSA Memorial More than 100 members attend AFSA’s arduous cases following a federal court win. Plaque Ceremony, held as part of Foreign Town Hall meeting in Washington. Each case involves separation of an untenured Affairs Day on May 5. Family members, dis- employee. Both employees are retroactively AFSA/USAID successfully concludes negotia- tinguished guests and Foreign Service col- restored to the employment rolls to the date tions with management on a new system of leagues gather at the solemn event to honor of their improper separation. Both are also rules for tenure at USAID. those killed overseas in the line of duty during promoted and awarded legal fees. Former AFSA President Marshall Adair and the past year. Four names are added to the An AFSA delegation led by Amb. Holmes, Ginger Adair establish the first perpetual AFSA Memorial Plaque, bringing the total to accompanied by FCS VP Donald Businger, endowed gift to the Fund for American 222. Three of the fallen were killed in Iraq, FCS Rep. Will Center and Legislative Director Diplomacy in memory of Marshall’s parents, and one was killed in Pakistan. Nakamura, presents testimony to the House Caroline and Charles W. Adair. Committee on Small Business. Amb. Holmes AFSA arranges for four senior retirees to argues for a stronger role and much better explain the importance of the Foreign Service funding for commercial diplomacy to help as part of the Johns Hopkins University support small business exporters in the global “Evergreen” continuing education series. competitive marketplace. AFSA/FCS tables three midterm bargaining Amb. Holmes delivers the keynote address at issues for consideration by management: a luncheon hosted by the Foreign Service Senior Foreign Service pay policy reform; Retiree Association of Florida in Pembroke improvements in the Work Plan and Pines. Appraisal Form (ITA-723); and the proposal FCS VP Businger addresses non-management AFSA writes to, and subsequently holds for a Standing Committee, including AFSA, members at the Regional Conference of the discussions with, officials of the State on MPPAS and precept reforms. East Asia and Pacific Senior Commercial Department Federal Credit Union concerning AFSA/Elderhostel offers the first of three Officers in Los Angeles and at the Regional banking facilities for overseas members. weeklong programs in Washington, D.C. Conference of the Western Hemisphere SCOs AFSA agrees to a package of incentives to A total of 135 people attend these programs, in Colorado Springs. encourage bidders on positions at Iraq which include a revamped presentation on Provincial Reconstruction Teams, including the “new Europe.” Speakers include limited changes to the procedural precepts for Ambassadors J. Anthony Holmes, Robin MAY the promotion boards. Raphel and Richard Beecroft. During AFSA’s “Day on the Hill” on May 4, AFSA writes to M/MED concerning the pay- the day before Foreign Affairs Day, staff and ment of medical expenses for a dependent APRIL officers take retirees from nine states and the child suffering from PTSD in the wake of the District of Colombia to Capitol Hill to meet Nairobi embassy bombing. M/MED AFSA writes to the department concerning its lawmakers and their staffers. Retirees lobby responds favorably, granting a one-year lack of procedures for pay equalization when for AFSA’s legislative proposals — including extension. granting the extra 22 days of military leave overseas comparability pay, full funding of the AFSA commences a lengthy dialogue with authorized by 5 USC 6323(b). The depart- international affairs budget and other mea- HR on the proposed bill to modernize the ment agrees that procedures are required, but sures benefiting both active-duty and retired

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 69 A F AFSA Annual Report 2006 S YEAR IN REVIEW A

Foreign Service compensation system by insti- At the AFSA awards ceremony, Director FCS VP Businger addresses the Regional N tuting a uniform pay scale across the world General George Staples presents a special Conference of the Africa/Near East/South E and tying this to a pay-for-performance sys- award of appreciation to retiring Senator Paul Asia Senior Commercial Officers in W tem. Sarbanes, D-Md., for his many achievements Philadelphia. on behalf of the Foreign Service. Retired S For their academic and art accomplishments, Amb. Holmes travels to San Francisco on the Ambassador L. Bruce Laingen is recognized 22 Foreign Service high school seniors receive invitation of the Foreign Service Association for his many years of dedicated service to $26,500 in AFSA scholarship funds. of Northern California. He meets with local AFSA as chairman of the Awards & Plaque press to speak about the Foreign Service role Amb. Holmes meets with International Trade Committee. in defending and advancing U.S. interests. Administration Under Secretary Frank Lavin The AFSA Lifetime Contributions to to explain the need for greater cooperation American Diplomacy Award is presented to between Commerce Department manage- Ambassador Morton Abramowitz by Dr. ment and AFSA, noting that AFSA supports a JULY James Schlesinger. strong career Foreign Commercial Service AFSA’s National High School Essay Contest integrated into ITA. Holmes also expresses AFSA proposes the implementation of a winners are honored at the 2006 Youth concern about funding shortages that could Home Marketing Incentive Program to assist Awards Ceremony at the State Department. lead to cutbacks or closures and the slow deci- DS Agents who relocate within the U.S. sion-making process within Commerce to AFSA again proposes an increase in the sepa- address issues like SFS pay and pay for perfor- rate maintenance allowance to accompany mance. efforts to encourage AFSA representatives attend the U.S. Postal employees to serve at Service ceremony to unveil the unaccompanied posts. Distinguished American Concerns about the Diplomats series of quality and durability stamps at the 2006 World of Kevlar vests issued Philatelic Exhibition in to DS agents for use Washington, D.C. AFSA in dangerous areas is was instrumental in pushing the subject of an AFSA for a diplomat stamp series. communication to management. AFSA meets with Secretary Rice to discuss Results of a survey of 230 staffing issues, overseas comparability pay and AFSA protests the assignment of a Senior AFSA/FCS members, posted on the Web site transformational diplomacy. Executive Service (Civil Service) employee to and circulated, show very strong support for fill the Foreign Service position of chief infor- AFSA submits its “wish list” to the DG, the fight for overseas locality or comparability mation security officer in the IRM Bureau. covering a variety of personnel issues. The pay, as well as for the view that overall work- Human Resources Bureau reviews and works ing conditions for the FCS are worsening. on these issues over the year. Amb. Holmes speaks to the Foreign Affairs Concern about the bidding process for Retirees of New England at a luncheon in employees with restrictive (Class 2) medical Wells, Maine. clearances is the subject of an AFSA communication to management. AFSA/FAS meets with the Board of JUNE Examiners to review possible changes to test- AFSA’s annual awards ceremony takes place ing procedures for new applicants. on June 22 at the State Department, co-spon- USAID Vice President Bill Carter retires sored by Director General of the Foreign Stacy Session, a rising senior at Florida A & M, after three years with AFSA. USAID Service George Staples. Awards are presented is chosen as the 2006 AFSA/Thursday Representative Francisco Zamora takes on the for constructive dissent as well as for extraor- Luncheon Group summer intern, and begins VP job, and Mike Henning assumes the rep- dinary contributions to effectiveness, profes- work in Embassy Nairobi’s management resentative position. sionalism and morale. office. AFSA arranges for AFSA/FAS hosts a reception at the global Ambassador Richard attachés conference in Crystal City, Va. Holbrooke to explain the key role of the Foreign Service in the Middle East to the Washington Foreign Law Society.

70 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 A AFSA Annual Report 2006 F S YEAR IN REVIEW A

The Labor-Management team holds several AUGUST meetings to negotiate and subsequently agree N AFSA agrees to several changes to Foreign on changes in the precepts to allow the E Service assignment rules and procedures, but Broadcasting Board of Governors to hold W does not agree to the DG’s proposal to scale promotion and performance pay boards for S back the 6/8 year rule for service in their Senior Foreign Service. Washington, D.C. AFSA suggests measures to enhance the “DS Labor-Management finally resolves a griev- Fitness Program.” DS agrees to implement ance dating from 1995 concerning payment many of the sug¡gestions, and AFSA and DS AFSA/Elderhostel offers three weeklong pro- of overtime to an information management representatives meet at the DS Training grams in Washington, D.C. Themes include specialist who is now retired. Center to discuss details. the Middle East, U.S. diplomacy and a Strategizing to assist passage of H.R. 6060 to brand-new presentation on China and its Labor-Management holds a brown-bag lunch modernize the Foreign Service pay system is neighbors. Speakers include Ambassadors meeting with career development officers in the focus of frequent meetings between AFSA Marc Grossman, Beth Jones and John W. the entry-level division to discuss assignments and department officials in both August and Limbert. and, in particular, the cases of several officers September. Though ultimately the bill is not who entered under the Critical-Needs AFSA/USAID settles one of three financial passed by the 109th Congress, these meetings Language program. grievances for mission directors. A combined establish a valuable collaborative tool for use total of $20,000 is restored to these employees, In a case involving separation for cause, in the 110th Congress. after the funds were improperly withheld as AFSA/USAID negotiates a resolution short of AFSA/USAID successfully negotiates with punishment. the management-proposed action. The USAID management to revamp the agency’s employee is able to stay on the rolls until pen- AFSA arranges for Ambassador Marc recruitment programs, creating a new junior sion eligibility begins. Grossman to keynote the George Mason officer program that retains the positive University’s “Learning in Retirement” series AFSA/USAID resolves a grievance at the aspects of the previous mechanism but on American diplomacy. agency level involving an improper board streamlines all processes in favor of appli- review. USAID grants most of the requested cants. A new FSJ department, “In Response,” remedies. debuts, giving representatives of offices in Fall semester need-based AFSA Financial Aid the State Department and other foreign The AFSA Scholarship Fund receives a Scholarships totaling $62,500 are bestowed on affairs agencies a forum for replying to $157,905 bequest from the Brockman M. 53 undergraduates. critical articles. Moore Charitable Reminder Trust to be The Journal hires Andrew Kidd as its new added to his late wife’s financial aid scholar- Amb. Holmes travels to Prague to participate Business Manager, replacing Mikkela ship, now to be called the Marcia Martin and in the 2006 European Bureau entry-level Thompson — the first staff change in over Brockman M. Moore Memorial Scholarship. employee conference. four years. Amb. Holmes is interviewed by Business Week AFSA/USAID negotiates a settlement for an AFSA/FAS meets with management to discuss for “Diplomacy — A Dream Career.” employee who is allowed to retire on a med- the potential outcome of the current agency ical disability rather than be separated for FSJ coverage of the state of public diplomacy reorganization. cause. after Karen Hughes’ first year as under secretary attracts media attention (including a story in the Washington Post) and continues to gen- SEPTEMBER OCTOBER erate a lively correspondence extending into Labor-Management writes several times con- early 2007. Over 3,400 State Department members cerning individuals affected by disruptions worldwide respond to an AFSA survey, ensur- The AFSA Governing Board holds a mini- and delays in the production of personnel ing that AFSA is up to date on employee con- retreat to discuss ideas for 2007. actions and travel orders, and subsequently cerns and priorities. meets with the director of the Assignments AFSA/FCS submits midterm bargaining pro- Division on measures to cut the backlog. AFSA files an institutional grievance over the posals, including: a recommendation on assignment of a mid-level Civil Service Senior Foreign Service pay policy and reform, AFSA writes to the DG concerning contact- employee to a Senior Foreign Service position including access for AFSA/FCS to the so- reporting requirements, and the confusion as director of the public diplomacy hub in called “technical briefings” of the board; a caused by having two different FAM sections Brussels. request that Commerce adhere to the letter with different instructions. The department is and spirit of the FAM with regard to at last convening a working group to resolve Amb. Holmes follows the grievance filing Residential Transaction Allowance benefits; this decade-old problem. with a letter to Sec. Rice protesting assignment and a request that the Personnel Audit system abuse. The case is later resolved with a Reports be revised to better reflect where offi- curtailment of the assignment and agreement cers actually are and what they are doing. to institutionalize the changes to protect the system.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 71 A F AFSA Annual Report 2006 S YEAR IN REVIEW A

In 2006, AFSA/Elderhostel supervises 23 pro- N NOVEMBER DECEMBER grams in five states, hosting 1,200 participants. E AFSA’s Labor-Management team meets with AFSA protests the appointment of a non- Plans for 2007 include 19 programs and a W members of Commissioning and Tenure Foreign Service employee as public affairs offi- new program location, San Francisco. S Boards to get feedback on the criteria and cer in Baghdad. The individual subsequently procedures of recent boards, and on recent resigns from the position. candidates. AFSA’s Labor-Management team meets with AFSA meets with the director of the retire- the head of the medical office and staff to dis- ment office to hear about plans to increase the cuss the medical clearance process, and agrees staffing of HR/RET. to further meetings as needed. Labor-Management writes again concerning AFSA meets with the department’s Iraq coor- an amendment to the FAM to allow visitation dinator on the mission and staffing of travel for children under the legal guardian- Provincial Reconstruction Teams. ship of an FS employee overseas. AFSA meets with HR/REE to discuss the pro- AFSA protests the proposal to move the posed changes to the Foreign Service entry Transportation Division out of Corridor 2 process, and expresses AFSA’s opposition to (the Service Corridor) in the Harry S Truman any possible mid-level entry program. Building to an offsite location. AFSA signs the settlement agreement that AFSA/USAID sends out a survey to gauge the curtails the incumbent Civil Service employee sense of the membership regarding a number from the PD hub director’s position in of issues facing the U.S. Agency for Brussels. International Development. The response is AFSA favorably negotiates a settlement for a quick and voluminous. Results are released in State Department employee who had been January 2007. Despite our aggressive effort to mobilize and identified for selection-out. This employee is maximize AFSA’s unique strength and stand- At the suggestion of the restored to the rolls with very favorable settle- ing, the 109th Congress ends without passing AFSA Education Committee, ment terms. legislation to address overseas comparability the Governing Board decides The AFSA Fund for American Diplomacy pay. A provision regarding dependent travel that AFSA Financial Aid Annual Appeal yields $15,595. and educational benefits is passed. The presi- Scholarships can now be dent signs this bill into law on Jan. 11, 2007. bestowed on undergraduates Spring 2007 semester need-based Financial attending overseas schools. Aid Scholarships totaling $61,750 are dis- The FSJ sets a new record for total annual bursed to 52 Foreign Service undergraduates. advertising revenue, topping $520,000. AFSA publishes guidance on the class-action suit settle- AFSA/FAS continues to work with manage- Retiree Coordinator Bonnie Brown assists ment involving unused annual leave, and ment to reach agreement on performance more than 400 retiree members during the gives former USIA employees instructions on management changes that would include year, primarily with problems involving how to initiate and become involved in a changes to the Selection Board precepts, com- annuities, getting the department to respond companion class-action suit that is now pend- petencies, etc., and is currently preparing for to retiree requests, death, federal health insur- ing. the opening of full-term contract negotiations ance benefits, Medicare B and Social Security. in 2007. AFSA/USAID sounds the alarm on a faulty AFSA welcomes 31 new life members in 2006. travel system being tested in one of the agen- In 2006, AFSA public affairs efforts and retiree Emphasis on encouraging retirees to use the cy’s bureaus. With AFSA’s input, the system contributions place 70 articles promoting U.S. annuity deduction for AFSA membership appears to have been vastly improved. diplomacy in leading media outlets nation- increases total number of deductees to 863. wide, including the New York Times, The year’s last Retiree Newsletter provides Retiree membership climbs to 3,972. Washington Post, Associated Press and major information about open season for health TV networks. During 2006, AFSA hosts 15 recruitment lun- benefits (FEHB and Dental and Vision cheons for incoming Foreign Service employ- Programs), as well as 2007 changes in AFSA programs a record 520 speaker events ees. Over 85 percent of these employees join Medicare B and Social Security. during the year to explain the importance of AFSA as full members. Membership totals U.S. diplomacy to some 34,500 attendees in AFSA President Tony Holmes travels to 13,700 at year’s end. 43 states and Washington, D.C. Most of the Arizona to address students at Arizona speakers are Foreign Service retirees. AFSA assists hundreds of individual FS mem- University, Arizona State University and the bers by year end. Thunderbird School. He also hosts Tucson- Eleven Department of State employees are area FS retirees, updating them on changes in selected as winners of the Matilda W. Sinclaire the Foreign Service. Language Award for outstanding accomplishments in the study of a hard language.

72 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 A AFSA Annual Report 2006 F S AFSA Governing Board 2006 A N Seated, from left: Andrea Tomaszewicz (State E Rep.), Joyce Winchel-Namde (State Rep. and Liaison W to the Editorial Board), Sandy Robinson (State Rep.), Andrew Young (State Rep.). Standing, from left: S Leonard Baldyga (Retiree Rep.), Michael Henning (USAID Rep.), Francisco Zamora (USAID VP), J. Anthony Holmes (President), Alan Misenheimer (State Rep.), David E. Reuther (Retiree VP), Andrew Winter (Treasurer), Randy Steen (State Rep.) Not pictured: Steve Kashkett (State VP), Don Businger (FCS VP), Will Center (FCS Rep.), Hugh Neighbour (State Rep.), Daphne Titus (State Rep.), F.A. “Tex” Harris (Secretary), Larry Lesser (Retiree Rep.), Roger Dankert (Retiree Rep.),

Gil Sheinbaum (Retiree Rep.), Al Pessin (IBB Rep.) SHAWN DORMAN

The Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board www.afsa.org ON THE WEB at www.afsa.org The total number of visitors to the AFSA Web site climbed to 300,000 in 2006, an increase of 33 percent from 2005. Month after month visitors returned to the site, with consistent

SHAWN DORMAN favorites being the Foreign Service Journal and AFSA’s Scholarship Program. In 2006, we opened up the posting of the current issue of the Foreign Service Journal to the public (it Front row, from left: Governing Board Liaison Joyce Winchel-Namde, Kay Webb had been members-only for the month of publication), which Mayfield, Laurie Kassman, Anthony Chan. Middle row: Kent Brokenshire, Stephen resulted in increased Web readership. Buck, Chairman Ted Wilkinson. Back row: Christopher Teal, William Jordan. Pages on the Web site devoted to issues of interest to Not pictured: Josh Glazeroff and Crystal Meriwether retirees increased in popularity. Page hits indicate the increase can be partially attributed to the Dental/Vision Care and Class Action Suit: Unused Leave pages. The AFSAnet listserv continues to grow. With over 8,500 subscribers and growing, the AFSAnet remains a great way to keep current with Foreign Service news. To sign up for the AFSAnet listserv, go to www.afsa.org/forms/maillist.cfm.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 73 A F AFSA Annual Report 2006 S A Membership by Constituency Membership by Function USAID 6.6% N FAS .9% Associate 1% E IBB 0.2% W S

Retiree 28.4% Retiree 28% Active-Duty Generalist 40%

State 61.3% Active-Duty FCS 1.3% Specialist Associate 1.3% 31%

Total Membership 1990 to 2006 14,000 Record High 13,700 Members 13,000

12,000 AUDIT REPORT 11,500 for AFSA 11,000 AFSA’s audited financial statements for 10,500 2006 will be available

10,000 on the AFSA Web site (www.afsa.org) in May. 9,500

9,000

8,500 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2006 Budget in Brief

INCOME ...... $ EXPENSES ...... $ Dues ...... 2,312,000 Membership Programs...... 1,258,044 Foreign Service Journal Advertising ...... 519,000 Foreign Service Journal...... 874,664 Insurance Programs...... 25,000 Legislative Affairs...... 202,758 Legislative Action Fund ...... 55,000 Professional Programs and Outreach ...... 380,505 Other ...... 54,140 Scholarships ...... 359,708 Professional Programs and Outreach ...... 234,132 Administration...... 445,588 Scholarships ...... 372,547 Contribution to Endowment and Reserves...... 50,552 TOTAL ...... 3,571,819 TOTAL ...... 3,571,819

74 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 A AFSA Annual Report 2006 F S Staff A N Finance and Administration Outreach Programs E - Accounting Public Outreach W - Financial - Speakers Bureau S Management - Elderhostel - Staff Recruitment & - Memorial Plaque Supervision - Foreign Service Day - Building - Diplomats Online Administration - AFSA Awards

SHAWN DORMAN - Board and

SHAWN DORMAN Congressional Affairs Controller Twee Nguyen Committee Support From left: Executive Assistant to the President - Lobbying and Accounting Assistant Austin Tracy, Retiree Coordinator Bonnie - Tracking Legislation Jon Reed. Inset: Executive Brown, Congressional Affairs Director Ian - Hill Testimony Director Susan Reardon Houston and Director of Communications - Grassroots Campaigns Tom Switzer. Not pictured: Professional Retiree Services Foreign Service Journal Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger and - Member Inquiries Elderhostel Coordinator Janice Bay - Retiree Newsletter - Editing - Retiree Directory - Writing - Design - Advertising - Subscriptions and Sales Member Services - Inside a U.S. Embassy - Member Recruitment AUSTIN TRACY - Post Reps From left: Advertising & Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger, - Insurance Programs Senior Editor Susan Maitra, Business Manager Andrew Kidd, - Address Changes Associate Editor Shawn Dorman and Editor Steve Honley. - AFSAnet Not pictured: Art Director Caryn Suko Smith - AFSA Web Site SHAWN DORMAN Labor-Management From left: Administrative Assistant Ana Lopez, Membership Director Janet - Negotiations Hedrick and Membership Representative Cory Nishi - Protecting Benefits - Grievance Counseling - OIG & DS Scholarships Investigations - Member Inquiries - Financial Aid - Informing the - Merit Awards

SHAWN DORMAN Field - Art Merit Awards Front row, from left: Office Manager Christine Warren, General Counsel - Committee on Education Sharon Papp and Grievance Attorney Neera Parikh. Back row, from left: Labor Management Specialist James Yorke, Grievance Attorney Charles Garten, Labor Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich and USAID/AFSA Office Manager Asgeir Sigfusson. Not pictured: USAID/AFSA Senior Labor Management Adviser Doug Broome SHAWN DORMAN Scholarship Administrator Lori Dec

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 75 A F AFSA Annual Report 2006 S AFSA BY THE NUMBERS IN 2006 A 4 Names added to the AFSA Memorial Plaque during Foreign Affairs Day 31 New Lifetime AFSA members AFSA Core Values 70 AFSA articles and letters placed in media nationwide N 104 AFSAnets sent in 2006 THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE E 143 Embassies and missions overseas that have an AFSA rep to serve members ASSOCIATION W 400 Retirees who received AFSA’s direct assistance Established in 1924. S 985 New active and retired members 520 AFSA speaker programs nationwide 1,200 Number of Elderhostel participants MISSION 5,660 Copies of Inside a U.S. Embassy sold this year To make the Foreign Service a more effec- 8,558 Subscribers to AFSAnet tive agent of United States international 13,700 AFSA members at year’s end leadership. 34,500 Attendance at AFSA speaker programs nationwide 152,500 Financial Aid Scholarship dollars awarded to 75 students VISION 157,900 Dollar amount of scholarship fund donation from the Brockman M. Moore Charitable Reminder Trust We work to make the Foreign Service a 300,000 Number of visitors to the AFSA Web site better-supported, more respected, more satisfying place in which to spend a career Benefits of AFSA Membership and raise a family. LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS: AFSA negotiates the regulations affecting employees’ careers. We work to make the Foreign Service a better place in which to work, live and raise a family. Our network of AFSA post representatives provides on-site assistance to overseas members. CONGRESSIONAL ADVOCACY: AFSA is your advocate before Congress on issues affecting the careers of active members and the annuities of retired members. OMBUDSMAN: We work to resolve member problems with pay, allowances, claims, annuities, health care and many other issues. VOICE OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE: As the professional association of the Foreign Service since 1924, AFSA works to strengthen our profession and is ever vigilant for threats to the career Foreign Service. GRIEVANCE REPRESENTATION: AFSA’s legal staff provides hands-on assistance with grievance proceedings when your rights are violated. OUTREACH: AFSA communicates the views of the Foreign Service on professional issues to the news media and directly to the general public. FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL: Our monthly magazine offers provocative articles that will keep you current on developments in the foreign affairs profession. AFSA NEWS: AFSA’s monthly newsletter, inside the Foreign Service Journal, highlights issues — RESPONSIVENESS: We listen to our affecting your daily life. members and actively promote their AFSA WEB SITE: Our online member area includes a member directory and member forums. interests. AFSANET: Regular e-mail updates keep you current on issues of importance to the Foreign Service — EFFECTIVENESS: We act with a sense of community. LEGAL SERVICES: We offer free legal advice and representation on employment issues, includ- urgency, get results and make a difference. ing security and OIG investigations, discipline cases and security clearance proceedings. — INTEGRITY: We demonstrate openness, INSURANCE PROGRAMS: You can choose among competitively priced insurance programs honesty and fairness in everything we do. designed for the Foreign Service community, including professional liability insurance, accident, — EFFICIENCY: We carefully expend our dental and personal property/transit. resources where they can have maximum AFSA SCHOLARSHIPS: Approximately 100 merit-based and financial-need scholarships are granted every year to Foreign Service family members. Since 1926, AFSA has awarded approx- impact. imately $4,450,000 in scholarships. — COMMUNITY: We foster teamwork, AFSA AWARDS: This unique awards program honors constructive dissent and outstanding respect each other, and enjoy our time performance. together. RETIREE NEWSLETTER: This bimonthly newsletter is exclusively for retired members. — COURAGE: We encourage responsible DIRECTORY OF RETIRED MEMBERS: This invaluable annual listing, by state, of contact information for retired members is provided to all retired AFSA members. risk-taking in order to achieve results. MAGAZINE DISCOUNTS: AFSA members are eligible for special discounts on subscriptions to — PATRIOTISM: We are faithful to the major foreign affairs journals. grand and enduring ideals that gave our ESPRIT DE CORPS: We work to build a sense of common cause and professional pride among nation birth. all Foreign Service members: active and retired; officer and specialist; entry- to senior-level. — EMPOWERMENT: We trust each other AFSA MEMORIAL PLAQUE: Established in 1933, and maintained by AFSA, the plaques in the Truman Building lobby honor members of the Foreign Service who lost their lives overseas in to give our best efforts guided by these core the line of duty. values.

76 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 A F V.P. VOICE: STATE BY STEVE KASHKETT S A N E Overhauling the Foreign Service Exam W S larms sounded throughout the Foreign Service when almost no special regard for their word leaked out several months ago that the Department expertise and experience in foreign Aof State was considering far-reaching changes to the writ- affairs, but instead on the basis of their tested score on a gen- ten exam and the entry process for FS generalists. The rumors eral knowledge exam. It makes sense to give people a certain spread quickly: the test would be shortened, standards would amount of credit for, say, possessing a Ph.D. in internation- be lowered, the personality traits and political connections of al relations, speaking three obscure foreign languages or hav- applicants would be factored in, etc., etc. ing spent five years working successfully in a difficult overseas This reaction in many quarters highlighted the deep attach- environment. ment that most of us feel to the notion of the Foreign Service What we at AFSA and most of our members are determined as an elite, high-caliber group of people who must win a tough to avoid is any politicization of the process. We must make competition in order to join our ranks. It sure that the selection panels that review these also revealed suspicion that short-term standardized resumés take no account of an concerns about staffing Iraq and other unac- What we at AFSA applicant’s political leanings, connections to companied and “transformational diplo- are determined to certain partisan institutions, or recommen- macy” posts might drive the department to dations from “prominent” people. We must create a test designed to bring in more peo- avoid is any politicization never return to the days when entering the ple whose primary qualification is eagerness of the process. diplomatic service depended on coming from to fill those particular types of jobs. the right family, the right university or the AFSA has been involved from the begin- right political milieu. ning in the consultations surrounding these proposed mod- The one proposal which AFSA rejected — and which we ifications to the FS generalist exam/entry process, and we are understand is not being developed at this time — is to create convinced that these fears are exaggerated. The department, a mid-level entry program for applicants with certain special in developing these proposals, drew on the recommendations skills or foreign languages that happen to be in short supply that emerged from a careful study conducted by a private man- within the Foreign Service at the moment. We believe that agement consulting firm. The underlying idea is to modern- bringing certain people in at a higher grade than others to ize the system for joining the Foreign Service, to streamline address short-term needs would be detrimental to our Service it, and to make sure it attracts the best and brightest people and our esprit de corps. who can handle the unique challenges facing us overseas today. As FS generalists, our career is highly hierarchical. We The two most significant changes being implemented will acquire many of our special diplomatic skills through on-the- address those goals. First, the Foreign Service written exam job training during our apprenticeship years as entry-level offi- will be administered at electronic testing centers on a more cers. Performing important consular work, serving as con- frequent basis throughout the year. This makes a lot of sense. trol officers for high-profile visitors, experiencing the pleasures Under the current system, a prospective candidate who decides of late-night embassy duty, handling our first representational in May to take the exam must wait 11 months before having responsibilities at diplomatic events — these are all rites of pas- the opportunity to take it the following April. This cumber- sage for all FS generalists during their entry-level years. Bringing some, one-shot-per-year approach costs us good people. in people at higher levels who have not had these crucial devel- Second, the written exam score will now be accompanied opmental experiences, but who would presumably be super- by a standardized electronic resumé in which applicants can vising more junior but more seasoned officers, would erode describe their educational background, work history and over- morale, fairness and efficiency within the Service. seas experiences that might be relevant to a Foreign Service We can be proud of the extremely high caliber of those career. entering the Foreign Service today. Considering that out of In principle, it certainly seems logical to factor in these per- tens of thousands who take the FS written exam every year sonal attributes along with the applicant’s exam score. We are only a few hundred join our ranks, there is little danger of los- the only country in the world that hires our diplomats with ing the elite quality of our Service. Let’s keep it that way.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 77 A F S WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED A USAID Members Respond to Opinion Poll N BY FRANCISCO ZAMORA, AFSA USAID VICE PRESIDENT E total of 368 of the 914 USAID AFSA members responded staff differentials, travel benefits, student loan reimbursement and W to our December 2006 survey — a very respectable 40-per- USAA membership. S Acent response rate. About 81 percent were stationed over- Most members agreed (40 percent) or strongly agreed (28 per- seas. Respondents answered 29 questions about their concerns and cent) that officers who serve in critical-priority countries such as priorities for the agency. They were fairly evenly divided by rank: Iraq and Afghanistan should get some “extra credit.” Still, a sig- 42 percent were FS-3 and below; 47 percent were FS-1 or FS-2; and nificant 32 percent disagreed with this. AFSA’s stance is that pres- 10 percent were Senior Foreign Service officers. ence alone in a CPC should not be the sole determinant for pro- When asked what AFSA’s top priorities should be, members said motion; it must be accompanied by outstanding performance. they would like AFSA to continue pursuing locality pay and bet- Although many FSOs mentioned disagreement with the cur- ter benefits (65 percent), closely followed by fighting for fairness in rent policy (50 percent), separation from family (64 percent) was the assignment/promotions area (63 percent). In fact, 95 percent the principal reason why officers would choose not to volunteer for of the respondents wanted AFSA to pursue overseas locality pay an assignment in Iraq. Many expressed concern about security (53 “vigorously.” This will remain AFSA’s major initiative as the new percent). Those who have served or would be willing to volunteer Congress settles in. (28 percent) are most attracted by the extra pay and benefits (63 The third-highest priority (57 percent) was to ensure equal ben- percent) and the adventure and challenge (54 percent), as well as efits for members of all the foreign affairs agencies, as there are cur- the possibility for career enhancement (45 percent). rently some glaring inequalities. Among them are disparities in com- In other areas, respondents highlighted their biggest concerns pensation for language training between assignments, difficult-to- as the apparent lack of fairness of the assignment system (44 per-

By what means do you get information on AFSA activites and If you have served in Iraq or would be willing to serve there, efforts? (Check all that apply.) what are the motivating factors? (Check all that apply.)

AFSAnet e-mails 88 Patriotism 37 ALDAC cables 13 Career Foreign Service enhancement 45 Journal 71 Adventure/ AFSA News challenge 54 AFSA Web site 24 Extra pay and benefits 63 Post AFSA rep 9 Living up to The USAID worldwide 42 AFSA VP Blog availability (www.afsa.org/ 14 Other, usaid) please specify 37 Word of mouth 27 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

What would you like to see as AFSA’s top priorities? Highest priority How would you rate the job that USAID Administrator Please rate the following in terms of importance Medium priority Low priority Randall Tobias is doing? to you. Should not pursue How would you rate the efforts of Ambassador Tobias when

Lobbying for overseas it comes to securing resources for the agency and its people? locality pay and better benefits. 66 29 5 1 100%

Fighting for fairness in 90% assignment/promotions. 63 31 52 Assisting members 80% with individual labor management problems, 70% concerns, inequities, 47 43 8 2 disciplinary issues, grievances, etc. 60% Providing services 48 (awards, scholarships, 50% insurance, etc.) 3 36 52 9 Defending the reputation of the Foreign Service and 40% 34 its role on the foreign 34 45 17 5 45 policymaking process 30% 26 Publishing the Foreign Service Journal 6 44 41 9 20% 25 Ensuring equal benefits for 20 all foreign affairs agencies 56 33 8 3 10% 1 1 0% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Excellent Good Fair Poor

78 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 A F cent) and a desire for more family-friendly policies (44 percent). judging him higher. Only one-fifth of the staff (21 percent) believed S This shows the increased importance that current officers give to a that the administrator was doing a good job in securing resources A satisfying personal life. for the agency and its people, although another 45 percent felt his There was also good news to report. Relationships between FSOs efforts were fair and 33 percent thought they were poor. and Foreign Service Nationals were overwhelmingly good (32 per- Here’s a sampling of quotes from some of our members: N cent) to excellent (64 percent). This confirms our appreciation of • “AFSA should be monitoring and ensuring that the integra- E one of USAID’s most valuable resources, our overseas FSN colleagues. tion of USAID into State is done in a fair and equitable manner.” W On the other hand, agency morale overall is suffering, with near- • “The FS Limited program and how it allows non-FSOs to leap- S ly half (48 percent) of the officers indicating that it is low to poor. frog over FSOs who are working their way up [is unfair]”. Only one person thought it was excellent, and only 12 percent judged • “We now have an administrator who works for State, not it to be good. This is something that our administrator must pay USAID.” special attention to given all the stresses that employees are experi- • “[We need] equal benefits for members of household.” encing as the reorganization proceeds. • “AFSA should be in the lead fighting for a humane materni- Not everyone is happy about the significant changes currently ty/paternity policy. The workforce has changed in its gender com- underway. Many respondents were critical of the “stealth merger” position and the workplace has not kept up — shame on us.” apparently taking place between USAID and State. The most sur- • “I am very concerned that the Senior Management Group assign- prising response was that 67 percent of the respondents believe that ment process is flawed. There are no established criteria, which leads overall conditions of work are worsening! This should be cause for to poor selection and a lack of transparency.” concern, especially because the administrator has repeatedly We want to be responsive to the needs and priorities of the mem- affirmed in video and print messages that most people are “on board” bership. About 77 percent of you were satisfied with AFSA’s efforts. with his changes to the agency. However, we are still concerned that 23 percent are not. Most offi- The USAID administrator’s job rating was mostly fair (48 per- cers (76 percent) want us to be more vocal and assertive and see cent) and poor (24 percent) with less than one-third (28 percent) AFSA as both a labor union and professional association. A majority (58 percent) believe that AFSA as a whole should pay more attention to USAID-specific issues. We are listen- Please indicate your level of concern over the Very concerned following additional issues that AFSA has addressed Somewhat concerned ing to you and will increase our efforts to be more respon- Slightly concerned during the past year. Unconcerned sive. Thank you for your honest input. We welcome addi- N/A tional comments by e-mail or via our Web log (www. Low promotion afsa.org/usaid, click on blog link). numbers 30 38 21 9 2

Effectiveness and fairness of the AEF form 34 38 17 9 2

Fairness in the assignment system 44 38 12 5 1 Service in hardship posts should Strongly agree result in “extra credit” during Agree Family-friendliness within Disagree the Foreign Service 43 30 7 19 1 performance and promotion panels. Strongly Freedom to express disagree dissent 35 35 22 8 1

Proposed conversion of the Lafayette 25 Federal Credit Union 26 19 18 30 7 28 40 8 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

At the present time, do you Improving How would you judge current Excellent How would you rate the agency’s Excellent Worsening Good believe that the overall conditions agency morale? efforts to facilitate employment Good Remaining Fair Fair of work for the professional the same Low for Eligible Family Members Poor Foreign Service are improving, Poor overseas? worsening, or remaining the same?

4 6 17 12 34 23 27

31 39 68 39

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 79 A F S A AFSANEWSBRIEFS N E SAVE THE DATES! W Day on the Hill: May 3 S Foreign Affairs Day: May 4 Join AFSA for Foreign Affairs Day, the annual homecoming for State Department Foreign Service and Civil Service retirees, on May 4 at Memo of the Month the State Department. Secretary of State Under Active Consideration Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to deliver the keynote address and preside over the AFSA Memorial Plaque Ceremony. From: Career Development Officer Invitations will be mailed out in early To: FS Bidder March. If you would like to request an invita- As you are aware, over the past few weeks HR/CDA has been reviewing lists of Summer 2007 tion, please send an e-mail to foreignaffairs bidders who have not yet been paneled into an onward assignment. Your name is one of many [email protected] and include your full name, being considered for one of the department’s most difficult yet very high-priority Summer 2007 retirement date (month and year), street assignments. You are actively being considered for ______. Your experience and your language address, e-mail address and phone number. skills were key factors that led to your being included for consideration for these jobs. For more information about the AFSA events We should know very shortly whether the _____ Bureau will select your name from the list as for that day, contact Professional Issues a leading candidate for this position and whether you will be asked to volunteer for this job. I’ll Coordinator Barbara Berger at [email protected]. be back to you within the next few days with more details on the selection process. ... Day on the Hill — the day AFSA escorts In the meantime, I am unable to record any handshake you might receive in FSBid, as the HR Foreign Service active-duty and retiree mem- Bureau has asked that we suspend such actions for those under consideration for the 40 high- bers to Capitol Hill — will be held May 3. priority jobs noted in State 7387 of January 19 [2007]. Please consider participating in this impor- Please contact me with your questions. I’m not certain that I’ll have all the answers, but I want tant activity and help the voice of the Foreign to keep you as informed as possible. Service reach members of Congress. For more information, contact Austin Tracy at [email protected].

AFSA Welcomes Life in the Foreign Service BY BRIAN AGGELER New Controller In January, Twee Nguyen joined AFSA as controller, replacing Steven Tipton. For the past four years, she worked as an accountant for the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (now Veterans for America), and before that, spent 20 years as an accounting manager for an electronic manufacturer/distributor headquartered in Switzerland. She immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1980s from Vietnam, and lives in Germantown with her fiancé and two daughters (both seniors, one in high school, the other in college). She is fin- ishing up an MBA at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. You can reach her at [email protected] or (202) 338- 4045, ext. 512.

80 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 A F FSO REUNION S The Demography of an A A-100 Class, 1961 The A-100 Basic FSO Class of the summer of 1961 N held a 45th-anniversary reunion in November at DACOR E House in Washington, D.C. Class members Ted W Wilkinson and Dale Alan Diefenbach organized the S event and thought it might be of interest to readers to note the sociological makeup of that A-100 class as compared with those entering the Foreign Service today. Diefenbach notes that “Institutions do change.” Of the 38 original members of the class, 29 survive, and four have served as ambassadors: John Blacken, Stephen Bosworth, John Davison and the late Jack Summer 1961 A-100 Class Reunion at DACOR Bacon House. From left: Roy Thiel, Davison. Approximately 60 percent of the class stayed Robin Porter, Kitty Kelly, Ron Woods, Ed Kelly, Dick Burnham, Judith Woods, in the Service until retirement. Many of those who did Ted Wilkinson, Alan Diefenbach, Xenia Wilkinson, Tony Freeman, Christine Bosworth not stay in the Foreign Service became academics. and Steve Bosworth. Gerry Studds became a congressman. The bio stats from the class are as follows: 36 men and two women; one minority member, an Asian-American; the oldest was 31 and the youngest 21; exactly half had served in the military (the draft was in effect); nine had gone to prep schools; 17 had Ivy League degrees, undergraduate and/or graduate (five attended Harvard Law); six went to Georgetown University and three to the Fletcher School; six had attended non-English-speaking universities and three studied in England. CLASSIFIEDS

LEGAL SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES

ATTORNEY WITH 27 years’ successful WILLS/ESTATE PLANNING by attorney ATTORNEY, FORMER FOREIGN SER- experience SPECIALIZING FULL-TIME IN FS who is a former FSO. Have your will reviewed VICE OFFICER: Extensive experience with GRIEVANCES will more than double your and updated, or new one prepared: No charge tax problems unique to the Foreign Service. chance of winning: 30% of grievants win for initial consultation. Available for consultation, tax planning and before the Grievance Board; 85% of my M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, P.C. preparation of returns: clients win. Only a private attorney can ade- 307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180. M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, P.C. quately develop and present your case, Tel: (703) 281-2161. Fax: (703) 281-9464. 307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180. including necessary regs, arcane legal doc- E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (703) 281-2161. Fax: (703) 281-9464. trines, precedents and rules. Call Bridget R. E-mail: [email protected] Mugane at Tel: (301) 596-0175. E-mail: [email protected] TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES Free initial consultation. FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS: PROFESSIONAL TAX RETURN PREPA- Kirkpatrick and Eisen Group, RBC Dain RATION: Thirty-five years in public tax prac- EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS REPRE- Rauscher, Washington, D.C. For information, tice. Arthur A. Granberg, EA, ATA, ATP. Our SENTING FS officers in grievances, perfor- please contact team member and retired FSO charges are $85 per hour. Most FS returns mance, promotion and tenure, financial Stephen Thompson at (202) 408-4563, or take 3 to 4 hours. Our office is 100 feet from claims, discrimination and disciplinary actions. [email protected], RBC Dain Virginia Square Metro Station, Tax Matters We represent FS officers at all stages of the Rauscher, Member NYSE/SIPC. proceedings from an investigation, issuance Associates PC, 3601 North Fairfax Dr., of proposed discipline or the initiation of a Arlington, VA 22201. Tel: (703) 522-3828. grievance, through to a hearing before the Fax: (703) 522-5726. ROLAND S. HEARD, CPA 1091 Chaddwyck Dr. FSGB. We provide experienced, timely and E-mail: [email protected] Athens, GA 30606 knowledgeable advice to employees from Tel/Fax: (706) 769-8976 junior untenured officers through the Senior E-mail: [email protected] FS, and often work closely with AFSA. VIRGINIA M. TEST, CPA: Tax service • U.S. income tax services Kalijarvi, Chuzi & Newman. specializing in Foreign Service/overseas con- • Practiced before the IRS Tel: (202) 331-9260. tractors. Contact info: Tel: (804) 695-2939. FIRST CONSULTATION FREE E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (804) 695-2958. E-mail: [email protected] WWW.ROLANDSHEARDCPA.COM

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 81

A F S A CLASSIFIEDS N E W TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES TEMPORARY HOUSING TEMPORARY HOUSING S FREE TAX CONSULTATION: For overseas personnel. We process returns as FULLY-FURNISHED, 2-STORY town- received, without delay. Preparation and rep- house in Arlington, Va. 2 bedrooms and 2.5 resentation by Enrolled Agents. Federal and baths, private parking, deck, washer, dryer, all states prepared. Includes “TAX TRAX” dish washer, disposal. 5-minute walk to the unique mini-financial planning review with rec- Metro (Ballston), 1 minute to bus stop. 10- ommendations. Full planning available. Get minute drive to downtown on Route 66. Rent the most from your financial dollar! Financial $2,500, plus security deposit, utilities not Forecasts Inc., Barry B. De Marr, CFP, EA, included. No smoking, pets only with addi- 3918 Prosperity Ave. #230, Fairfax, VA 22031 tional security deposit. Suitable for small chil- Tel: (703) 289-1167. Fax: (703) 289-1178. dren. Short- or long-term lease available E-mail: [email protected] starting March 20. E-mail: [email protected] CAPITOL HILL, FURNISHED housing: TEMPORARY HOUSING 1-3 blocks to Capitol. Nice places, great location. Well below per diem. Short term OK. REAL ESTATE WJD MANAGEMENT IS competitively Tel: (202) 544-4419. priced, of course. However, if you are con- Web site: www.capitolhillstay.com JOANN PIEKNEY/RE/MAX REALTORS: sidering hiring a property management firm, Complete professional dedication to resi- don’t forget the old saying, “You get what you dential sales in Northern Virginia. I provide pay for.” All of us at WJD have worked for you with personal attention. Over 25 years’ other property management firms in the past, FURNISHED HOUSE RENTAL. Mid- real estate experience and Foreign Service and we have learned what to do and, more May to October, minimum three months. overseas living experience. JOANN PIEKNEY. importantly, what not to do, from our expe- Beautiful, sunny, 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, Tel: (703) 624-1594. riences at these companies. We invite you detached house in North Arlington (Lacey Fax: (703) 757-9137. to explore our Web site at www.wjdpm.com Woods). Fully equipped. Walk to Ballston E-mail: [email protected] for more information, or call us at Web site: www.movetonorthernvirginia.com (703) 385-3600. Metro, seven minute drive to FSI. Within per diem. No pets or small children. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]. CORPORATE APARTMENT SPECIALISTS Abundant experience working with Foreign LOOKING TO BUY, sell or rent proper- Service professionals and the locations to best ty in Northern Virginia? This former FSO serve you: Foggy Bottom, Woodley Park, GOING TO FSI? Enjoy the comfort and understands your needs and can help. Cleveland Park, Chevy Chase, Rosslyn, Ballston, ambiance of a private five-bedroom, four-bath David Olinger, GRI Pentagon City. Our office is a short walk from residence 15 minutes from the campus. Two Long & Foster, Realtors NFATC. One-month minimum. All furnishings, large furnished bedrooms, each with private Tel: (703) 864-3196 housewares, utilities, telephone and cable bath and plenty of storage are available for Fax: (703) 960-1305 included. Tel: (703) 979-2830 or (800) 914-2802. FSI students. Maid service, Internet, cable E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (703) 979-2813. TV, and private parking are included. Short- E-mail: [email protected] and long-term rates are within the USG lodg- Web site: www.corporateapartments.com ing allowances. E-mail [email protected] ANNAPOLIS, MD. AREA. Water for more information and availability. Privileges! 4-BR, 2.5-BA, Single-Family Home PIED-A-TERRE PROPERTIES, LTD: with 2-MBR & 2-Fpl. Large yard, communi- Select from our unique inventory of fully-fur- ty beaches, docks/boat launches and more, nished & tastefully-decorated apartments & SHORT-TERM RENTALS $424,900! Convenient to Ft. Meade, WDC, townhouses all located in D.C.’s best in-town TEMPORARY HOUSING Baltimore. Ready now! Photos and virtual neighborhoods: Dupont, Georgetown, Foggy tour at www.alysiaintili.com/AA6266530. Bottom & the West End. Two-month mini- Alysia Intili at Champion Realty. mum. Mother-Daughter Owned and Operated. WASHINGTON, D.C. or NFATC Tel: (410) 507-0956 or (410) 956-7373. Tel: (202) 462-0200. Fax: (202) 332-1406. TOUR? EXECUTIVE HOUSING CON- E-mail: [email protected] SULTANTS offers Metropolitan Washington, Web site: www.piedaterredc.com D.C.’s finest portfolio of short-term, fully-furnished and equipped apartments, town- CHARLESTON, S.C. — INVESTORS homes and single-family residences in wanted. Make a solid investment, real estate. Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. FULLY-FURNISHED APARTMENTS: AARP has named Charleston, S.C., one of five In Virginia: “River Place’s Finest” is steps Arlington, Va. Two blocks to Rosslyn Metro. dream cities for retirees. Now is a great time to Rosslyn Metro and Georgetown, and 15 Short/long-term rental. Everything included. to buy. Call today for further information on minutes on Metro bus or State Department $1,700 Studio, $2,000 1BR. Includes all util- investment opportunities in the greater shuttle to NFATC. For more info, please call ities and a parking space. Please contact Charleston area. Maggie Curtis - Broker (301) 951-4111, or visit our Web site: Theodore at (703) 973-9551, or e-mail: Associate - Century 21 Properties Plus www.executivehousing.com [email protected] Tel: (843) 884-4884.

82 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007

A F S CLASSIFIEDS A N E REAL ESTATE VACATION TRANSPORTATION W S WILLIAMSBURG ST CROIX, U.S. Virgin Islands. Two home-leave cottages for rent right on beach. Wireless Internet, high-thread-count linens. FIND OUT WHY Money Magazine Sleeps 2 to 6. Proceeds for orphans living rates Williamsburg among the five with AIDS. $900 and up. best places to retire. E-mail: [email protected]

Home to College of William & Mary, Colonial Williamsburg and historic Jamestown. A TRANQUIL CARIBBEAN VILLA. superb quality of life enhanced by a vibrant Vieques, Puerto Rico. Gorgeous ocean view, cultural scene, international programs at empty white sand beaches, 3-BR/3-BA, PET MOVING MADE EASY. Club Pet W & M and year-round golf on premier cours- $1,200/week. International is a full-service animal shipper es. It is a short drive to D.C. and the nearby E-mail: [email protected] specializing in domestic and international trips. Va. and N.C. beaches. Discover the endur- Club Pet is the ultimate pet-care boarding ing charm of this wonderful community. PROVENCE, FRANCE: Old Stone facility in the Washington Metropolitan area. House. Vacation Rental in Luberon hamlet, Tel: (703) 471-7818 or (800) 871-2535. Contact Lore Michael, REALTOR ®, a former sleeps eight. Four bedrooms, three baths, E-mail: [email protected] FS spouse, who is a highly qualified agent swimming pool. Web site: www.clubpet.com with extensive overseas living experience. E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.clavie.com PET SHIPPING WORLDWIDE : Over 25 Tel: (757) 784-2759. years experience, free estimates, no deposits E-mail: [email protected] required, military veteran, 24-hour availability. BARBADOS: LUXURIOUS WEST Coast Tel: (304) 274-6859 or (888) 234-5028. sea-view home (sleeps 6). World class beach- BOOKS E-mail: [email protected] es, golf, cricket, restaurants, shops, activities. www.actionpetexpress.com Low season: $1,250/week; $3,750/month. WHAT DO THESE EMBASSIES HAVE High season: $1,750/week; $4,750/month. SHOPPING IN COMMON? E-mail: [email protected] for details. Baghdad, Moscow, Madrid, Amman, Kabul, Panama City, Caracas, Beijing, Doha ... Each CRAVING GROCERIES FROM HOME? has ordered multiple copies of Inside a U.S. Visit www.lowesfoodstogo.com. We ship Embassy, a valuable outreach tool for the BUZZARD'S BAY WATERFRONT, near non-perishable groceries to you via the Dulles Foreign Service. Shouldn’t your embassy have Wareham, Mass. Completely renovated two- mail-sorting facility or your choice of shipping copies, too? bedroom cottage, shares beach and 30 acres facility. For more information, with family home. May 15 through October, E-mail: [email protected] Only $12.95. Discounts available for quantity weekly rentals from $1,500 to $1,800, orders. Go to www.afsa.org/inside for more depending on week. information and to order, call (847) 364-1222 110 / 220 VOLT STORE or fax (847) 364-1268. Send questions to Tel: (202) 663-6368 MULTI-SYSTEM ELECTRONICS E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]. TRANSFORMERS/AVRS, Appliances, Multi-System TV/DVD/VCRs, etc. SCHOLARSHIPS PRINTING We ship APO, Dip Pouch, Despatch, and Airfreight Worldwide EMBASSY SHOWROOM STATE DEPARTMENT FEDERAL Credit BUSINESS CARDS PRINTED to State Department specifications. 500 cards for as 5810 Seminary Road Union’s scholarship competition has begun! Falls Church, Virginia 22041 Pick up an application at any SDFCU branch little as $37.00! Herron Printing & Graphics. Tel: (301) 990-3100. Tel:(703)845-0800 office or print one out online at E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] www.sdfcu.org. All application materials must WebCatalog: be received by April 13, 2007, 3 p.m. EST. SERVICES www.shopembassyusa.com

VACATION RETIRING? Don’t forget to transition PLACE AN AD your automatic deduction for AFSA mem- SKI WHITE MOUNTAINS: Spacious bership by filing Form SF-1187A for annui- PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: $1.25/word 2-BR condo across the street from Bretton tant deduction so we can keep you on our (10-word min). First 3 words bolded free, Woods Resort, N.H. Many, many amenities rolls. additional bold text $.75/word. Header, box, plus those of historic Mt. Washington Hotel 10- For a copy of SF-1187A, call AFSA at shading $10 each. Deadline: 20th of the min. walk away. Easy flight with Southwest (800) 704-2372 or (202) 338-4045, or go to month for publication 5 weeks later. Airlines to Manchester, N.H. Long ski season, www.afsa.org/mbr/SF1187A.cfm Ad Mgr: Tel: (202) 944-5507. reasonable rates. You can fax the form to (202) 338-6820 Fax: (202) 338-6820. E-mail: [email protected] or mail it to AFSA. Don’t forget to sign it! E-mail: [email protected]

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 83 BOOKS

Plus Ça Change … merce with France and its territories Both books are while inserting a loophole (popularly Toussaint’s Clause: known as Toussaint’s Clause) authoriz- The Founding Fathers and well worth the time ing the president to suspend the the Haitian Revolution of anyone who embargo where trade was deemed Gordon S. Brown, University safe — i.e., with Haiti. Brown Press of Mississippi, 2005, $32.00, is interested in reminds us that the United States hardcover, 321 pages. Latin American owes much to the rebels: by frustrat- Plunging into Haiti: ing Napoleon’s attempt to reoccupy Clinton, Aristide and the history. Haiti, they precluded the landing of Defeat of Diplomacy French forces at New Orleans, facili- Ralph Pezzullo, University Press tating the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. of Mississippi, 2006, $45.00, A few years later, Haiti was politi- hardcover, 312 pages. cally free, economically devastated, and of minimal interest to the U.S. It REVIEWED BY RICHARD MCKEE ty and independence from France. would take more than half a century He draws on diplomatic dispatches, before Abraham Lincoln established The dust jackets of these two fine debates in Congress and the French diplomatic relations with the black diplomatic histories bear similar illus- Assembly, private correspondence republic following the southern states’ trations. A heroic Toussaint L’Ouver- and newspapers to delineate the secession. Another half-century on, in ture, elegantly dressed and wielding domestic tensions that influenced the 1915, Woodrow Wilson sent Marines an epée, leads ragtag insurgents; 200 American, French and Haitian lead- to occupy corruption-ridden, bank- years later, a stern Haitian soldier in ers’ decisions. rupt Haiti; Franklin Roosevelt with- camouflage uniform and mirrored As he explains, the leaders of the drew them in 1934. Although sunglasses, holding a machine gun, weak new American republic sought Haitians resented rule by foreign restrains demonstrators. The images to avoid entanglement in the ongoing blancs (whites), they would later recall reflect the constants of Haitian life conflict between Britain and France nostalgically the domestic tranquility that American diplomats confront in while protecting U.S. commerce, par- their presence had fostered. both these books: race, violence and ticularly the immensely lucrative For his part, Ralph Pezzullo poverty. exchange of American staples for recounts the Clinton administration’s In Toussaint’s Clause: The Found- Haitian sugar. Americans’ empathy efforts to forge agreements among ing Fathers and the Haitian Revolu- for the Haitians, admiration for Haitian leaders to permit democrati- tion, retired Ambassador Gordon Toussaint and hope for commercial cally elected President Jean-Bertrand Brown concentrates on three linked gain were all greatly tempered by Aristide, ousted and exiled by a mili- revolutions from the late 18th and reports of the slaughter of the white tary coup, to regain and retain power early 19th centuries: the primarily colonial elite, and fear that such an peacefully in 1994. The author’s pri- political American war for indepen- example would influence slaves in the mary sources are his father, Lawrence dence from England; the political and southern states. Pezzullo, Secretary of State Warren social French upheaval of a decade To prevent and protest French Christopher’s special envoy; Amb. later; and the Haitians’ violent racial seizures of American merchantmen, Pezzullo’s deputy, FSO Michael Ko- struggle for political and social equali- the United States embargoed all com- zak; Argentine diplomat Dante Cap-

84 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 B OOKS

uto, representing the moral and legal in its treatment of its chosen subject. policy for Robert Harris’s master- (if not material) clout of the United Ralph Pezzullo did not (and perhaps piece, Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Nations and the Organization of could not) interview Haitian military Rome — and not just because I stud- American States; his deputy, Leandro figures, or Aristide’s Haitian partisans ied Latin for six years. Despouy; and (sometimes) Haitian and American lawyers; for that reason, When Tiro, the confidential secre- Prime Minister Robert Malval. their views (as related by the author’s tary (and slave) of a Roman senator, Pezzullo gives us an insider account sources), appear distorted in some opens the door to a terrified stranger full of frustrations. Both in Washing- instances. Pezzullo also misspells on a cold November morning, he sets ton and Port-au-Prince, some detested Haitian names throughout Plunging in motion a chain of events that will Aristide as a populist authoritarian into Haiti. Brown’s book evinces sim- eventually propel his master into one who incited the poor and was desper- ilarly lax proofreading: to cite but one of the most suspenseful courtroom ate to attack and kill his opponents, example, the French “exclusif,” refer- dramas in history. The stranger is a often by placing tires around their ring to a ban on other states’ trading Sicilian, the latest victim of the necks, filling them with gasoline and with Haiti, is often rendered as “excul- island’s corrupt governor, Verres, and igniting it. Others admired him as a sif.” the senator is none other than Marcus charismatic leader who, having sur- Despite such lacunae and errata, Tullius Cicero — an ambitious young vived three assassination attempts, however, both books are well worth lawyer and spellbinding orator who, sought to rid Haiti of the thievery and the time of anyone who is interested at the age of 27, is determined to thuggery of holdovers from the two in Latin American history, or who attain “imperium” — supreme power Duvalier regimes. Caught in the mid- seeks lessons applicable to our rela- in the state. But the obstacles in his dle, Haitian politicians and military tions with other small countries. way become more and more danger- officers eschewed compromises and ous, as Pompey, Caesar, Crassus and avoided taking responsibility, looking A former FSO, Richard McKee is the many other famous (and infamous) to Pezzullo’s team to craft scenarios to executive director of Diplomatic and Romans contend for power. resolve crises. Consular Officers, Retired, Inc., and Compellingly written in the voice Meanwhile, Aristide played hard to the DACOR Bacon House Founda- of Tiro, the inventor of shorthand and get and reneged on commitments. tion. He wishes to note that both author of numerous books, Imperium He threatened to abrogate the pact these books were published in the is a re-creation of his biography of his empowering U.S. ships to intercept Diplomats and Diplomacy series of master (lost in the Dark Ages, alas). Haitian refugees at sea (which he crit- the Association for Diplomatic The novel — the fourth by Harris, a icized as racist compared to the treat- Studies and Training and DACOR. television correspondent with the ment of Cubans), forcing them to land These views are his own. BBC and a newspaper columnist for or wash up on Florida beaches. The The London Sunday Times and The entire delicate framework soon fell Daily Telegraph — is full of great apart. Pentagon officials, smarting A Cautionary Tale lines, many taken from Cicero’s from the Mogadishu debacle of the speeches, and detailed observations of year before and bluffed by dockside daily life in Rome that are grounded in demonstrators, ordered the USS Imperium: A Novel of meticulous research yet never bog the Harlan County not to disembark the Ancient Rome reader down. All in all, the novel is military and police trainers authorized Robert Harris, Simon & Schuster, one of the best works of historical fic- by the January 1994 Governors Island 2006, $26.00, hardcover, 320 pages. tion I have ever encountered. Accord, the Pezzullo team’s great Even so, some of you are doubtless achievement. As a result, Pezzullo REVIEWED BY STEVEN ALAN HONLEY wondering why the Journal is review- quit, Clinton changed course, and a ing it. To answer that question, I first multinational force occupied Haiti. Except in our annual compilation need to reference a historical event Aristide’s tactics attained his goals: the of books by Foreign Service-affiliated that occurred offstage, if you will, just destruction of the military junta and a authors (“In Their Own Write”), the before the period in which Harris sets virtually unconditional (if short-lived) Foreign Service Journal seldom his tale. return to power. reviews fiction. However, I am happy In the autumn of 68 B.C., the Neither book is entirely satisfactory to make an exception to that informal Roman Republic — the world’s only

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 85 B OOKS

military superpower — was dealt a which included building a fleet of 500 profound psychological blow by a dar- ships and raising an army of 120,000 ing terrorist attack on its very heart. Imperium functions infantry and 5,000 cavalry. Such an Its port at Ostia was set on fire, the accumulation of power was unprece- consular war fleet destroyed, and two well both as a work dented, and there was literally a riot in prominent senators, together with the Senate when the bill was debated. their bodyguards and staff, kid- of historical fiction Once Pompey put to sea, it took napped. Like al-Qaida, the pirates him less than three months to sweep who committed this aggression were and as a political the pirates from the entire Mediter- loosely organized, but able to spread a ranean. As Harris dryly noted in a disproportionate amount of fear commentary on Sept. 30, 2006, New York Times op-ed among citizens who had believed piece laying out the parallels: even themselves immune from attack. our times. allowing for Pompey’s genius as a mil- So great was the ensuing panic, in itary strategist, the suspicion arises fact, that the Romans were willing to that the pirates could hardly have compromise their centuries-old rights posed such a grievous threat in the in return for promises of security. first place, if they could be defeated Taking advantage of the opening, the so swiftly. greatest soldier in Rome, known to us law (the “Lex Gabinia”) that gave him But it was too late to raise such as Pompey the Great, was able to nearly unlimited authority and questions. Pompey stayed in the manipulate the Senate into passing a resources to pay for a “war on terror,” Middle East for six years, establishing puppet regimes throughout the region, and turning himself into the richest man in the empire in the process. Less than a decade later, Julius Caesar was awarded similar, extended military sovereignty in Gaul and, like Pompey, became immensely wealthy and used his treasure to fund his own political faction. In 49 B.C., the system collapsed completely, Caesar crossed the Rubicon — and the rest, as they say, is history. Perhaps the parallel Harris proposes here is a fallacy, or perhaps the Roman Republic was doomed for other reasons. Or both. Still, Im- perium makes a compelling case that the disproportionate reaction to the raid on Ostia unquestionably has- tened the republic’s collapse, weak- ening the restraints on military adventurism and corrupting the political process. To use a favorite State Department locution, only time will tell whether the United States is repeating that fatal error.

Steven Alan Honley is the editor of the Journal.

86 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 REAL ESTATE

Specializing in PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Property Specialists, Inc. A professional and personal service tailored to meet your needs in: • Property Management • Sales and Rentals • Tax-deferred Exchange • Real Estate Investment Counseling Our staff includes:

Susan Alexander Sally Duerbeck Anne McClelland Joan Bready Les Glad Fabiola Moron Cynthia Dejesus Marian Hughes Colleen Sheppard Linda DeFina John Logtens Judy Smoot Donna Courtney Thomas Logtens 4600-D Lee Highway Arlington, Virginia 22207 (703) 525-7010 (703) 247-3350 E-mail: [email protected] Web address: propertyspecialistsinc.com Serving Virginia, Maryland and D.C.

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 87 REAL ESTATE

88 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 REAL ESTATE

Leasing and Management of Exceptional properties in upper Northwest DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, McLean and Great Falls

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 89 REAL ESTATE

u REGULAR INSPECTIONS u ENJOY PEACE OF MIND u u u RENT TS Who’s taking care of your home AL SER while you’re away? VICES REGULAR REPOR u

u No one takes care of your home like we do! 24 HOUR ON-C

While you’re overseas, we’ll help you manage your home without the hassles. No panicky messages, just regular reports. No unexpected surprises, just peace of mind. ALL SUPPOR YEARS EXPERIENCE

Property management is ER 24 rson G V ye rou our full time business. O e p

, T M I Let us take care u e n h c. of the details. u T EXCELLENT REFERENCES ANCE

Call us today! TE MAINTEN A (301) 657-3210

6923 Fairfax Road u Bethesda, MD 20814 COORDIN email: [email protected] u u u PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS u

ADVERTISING INDEX When contacting one of our advertisers, kindly mention you saw their advertisement in the Foreign Service Journal.

AUTOMOBILES Executive Lodging MISCELLANEOUS REAL ESTATE & D&M Auto Parts Alternatives / 63 AFSA Legacy / Inside PROPERTY Corporation / 59 Georgetown Suites / 33 Back Cover MANAGEMENT Diplomatic Automobile / 8 Korman Communities / 4 American Military Attache Property Martens Volvo / 16 Oakwood / Inside University / 29 Management LLC / 45 Front Cover COEUS International Executive Housing FINANCIAL, LEGAL Remington Hotel, The / 27 School / 52 Consultants / 89 AND TAX SERVICES State Plaza Hotel, The / 39 Cort Furniture / 2 Hagner, Ridgway and MCG Financial Planning / 45 Suite America / 63 Day on the Hill / 47 Jackson / 91 State Department Federal Virginian Suites / 16 Electronic Land, Inc. / 35 McEnearney Associates / 89 Credit Union / 25 Foreign Affairs Day / 46 Meyerson Group, Inc. / 90 INSURANCE Inside A U.S. Embassy / 51 Peake Management, Inc. / 90 HOUSING AFSPA / 9 Middle East Journal / 43 Promax / 89 Accommodations 4 U / 52 Clements International / 1 Speakers Bureau / 65 Property Specialists, Inc. / 87 BridgeStreet Worldwide / 17 Cigna Dental / 9 Texas Tech / 51 Prudential Carruthers / 88 Capitol Hill Stay / 59 Hirshorn Company, The / RE/MAX / Piekney / 87 Corporate Apartment Outside Back Cover Stuart & Maury Inc. / 91 Specialists, Inc. / 35 Jannette Embassy Plan, Washington Management The / 20 Services / 87 W.C. & A. N. Miller / 88 WJD Management / 91

90 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007 REAL ESTATE

E-mail: [email protected]

MARCH 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 91 REFLECTIONS Mario’s Twin Brother

BY DANA DEREE

ivid images come to mind Over the months, we learned more when I think about Nicaragua: The future of about how Mario came into the Frys’ Vpeople selling writhing iguanas Mario’s brother is lives. Mario’s mother had given birth on the side of the road, the monkey to twins at a hospital in Matagalpa. that jumped from a tree onto our boat, tied to the prospects After being discharged, she gave one old yellow school buses painted with for Nicaragua. baby to an unidentified woman and religious icons side-by-side with Mario to a teenager who was visiting a Woody Woodpecker. But for the rest relative who had just had his appendix of my life, it will be hard to think of removed. Mario was soon at Divino Nicaragua without pondering the fate As much as they still wanted a girl, Rostro. Despite a concerted search of Mario’s twin brother. Mario stole their hearts. after the Frys said they would adopt My wife, Stephanie, and I met He stole our hearts, too. Stephanie both children, the other baby has Mario at “Divino Rostro” (Servants of and I eagerly offered to foster him never been found. the Divine Image) orphanage in Man- during the adoption process. My fam- The future of Mario’s brother is tied agua, where we took off our shoes, got ily, our domestic staff, even our dog to the prospects for his country. Des- down on a padded mat, and spent an enjoyed our time with Mario, the gen- pite taking so many blows, self-inflict- hour playing with a swarm of crawling tle giant (he is a big boy!). With two ed and otherwise, Nicaragua still has infants. boys of our own, we were prepared for great promise. From natural resour- We were there because our friends the long nights that usually come with ces to pristine beaches and wilderness, Rusty and Krissi wanted to adopt a having a baby in the house, but were and boasting an entrepreneurial spirit baby girl, and asked us to help. They pleasantly surprised. We would put like I’ve seen nowhere else, this coun- wanted a sister for their son, Jackson. Mario to bed at 7:30 p.m. and have to try has so much to offer its people. I Mario, however, was all boy as he wake him up in the morning: what remain hopeful that one day it will pulled at my hair and tried to steal my baby sleeps like that? realize that potential. At the same glasses. I couldn’t resist putting the Mario stayed with us until we left time, rampant corruption, poverty and smiley lad on the list of potential for my next assignment. Krissi then the desperation of people with so little adoptees along with five girls. came down to take care of her new son hope that some would hand off a child I gave our list to the Family and see the tumultuous Nicaraguan to a stranger grieve my soul. Ministry. Soon our friends learned adoption process through to the end. I am very happy for my “nephew” that Mario was the only one of the six It wasn’t easy. Eventually, Krissi spent Mario, and look forward to watching who had truly been abandoned, and almost six hard months in Nicaragua him grow and thrive in a loving envi- Krissi, Rusty and Jackson flew to away from Rusty and Jackson back in ronment of plenty. Yet I am aware that Nicaragua to make his acquaintance. Arkansas. She lived economically, as Mario begins his new life as an renting small apartments usually used Arkansan, his twin stays behind. If Dana Deree joined the Foreign Service by short-term church mission teams. nature prevails over nurture then the in 2001. He has served in London and She suffered through the constant brother has a fighting chance, for the Managua, and is currently a watch offi- blackouts, petty crime and lack of air gene pool he shares with Mario makes cer in the Operations Center. He has conditioning that come with the terri- him inherently charming and inquisi- been assigned as deputy chief of Ameri- tory in Managua. But James “Mario” tive. Still, my hopes and concerns for can Citizen Services at Consulate Gen- Fry, as he was to be called, was worth Nicaragua will always be reflected in a eral Tijuana beginning this summer. the effort. face that looks just like Mario’s.

92 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/MARCH 2007