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AVALON CORPORATE APARTMENT HOMES ARE A MORE SENSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVE TO A HOTEL ROOM. • Located minutes from • 2 miles from NFATC Pentagon, Washington, DC and National Airport. • Controlled access entry throughout building. • Luxurious one and two bedroom apartments • Our amenity package completely furnished and includes: outdoor pool, accessorized with fully and spacious Nautilus equipped gourmet fitness center. kitchens and washers and dryers. • Minutes from Ballston Metro. • Free cable TV. • Free underground parking. • Within walking distance of department stores, • Cats welcome. specialty shops and Washington Towers restaurants. • 5p.m. check-in time. • Washington Towers is • 30-day minimum stay. adjacent to bike/jogging trail. Avalon at Ballston No matter which Avalon location you choose, you will be impressed,! Washington Towers 4650 N. Washington Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201 703-527-4409 or Fax 703-516-4369 Quincy Towers 1001 North Randolph St., Arlington, VA 22201 703-528-4600 or Fax 703-527-2356 Vermont Towers 1001 North Vermont St., Arlington, VA 22201 703-522-5550 or Fax 703-527-8731 CONTENTS June 1998 I Vol. 75, No. 6 C OVER C O L U M N S Focus ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 Who Started Those AFSA Awards? 16 / WHEN CULTURES COLLIDE By Dan Geisler Economic Forces Draw the U.S. and Japan Ever Closer, But We Still SPEAKING OUT /13 Don’t Understand Each Other. Needed: A Revolution in Consular Affairs Bi/ Ellen L. Frost By Kevin D. Stringer 24 / WHAT DIDN’T WE KNOW, AND POSTCARD FROM ABROAD / 60 WHEN DIDN’T WE KNOW IT? This Old Stone House U.S. Government Agencies Failed By Johnnie Prather To Report Adequately on the 1997 Asian Financial Debacle. Here’s Why. Focus Bi/ Robert Fmiver A ESA AWARDS 32 / THE FSO WHO DID IT ALL Page 16 How Lariy Eagleburger Rose from Junior Officer to Secretaiy of State, With a Few Detours Along the Way By Bob Guldin 34 / THE WINNERS Photos of AFSA Winners at Their Posts DEPARTMENTS SCHOOLS SECTIoN LETTERS/7 NATIVE LUNCH / 42 An Anthropologist’s Advice on CLIPPINGS / 10 Sending Your Kids to Foreign Schools BOOKS/ 61 By Gail Benjamin INDEX TO ADVERTISERS / 67 Cover and inside illustrations by Art Valero THE MAGA7ANE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0015-7279), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published Editor Editorial Board monthly by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profit organization. Material appearing BOB GULDIN EDWARD MARKS, Chairman herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Managing Editor ELIZABETH SPIRO CLARK Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries are invited. Journal subscription: AFSA Members - $9.50 included in KATHLEEN CURRIE MITCHELL A. COHN annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail $36 per year. Periodical Assistant Editor THEODORE CRAIC postage paid at Manchester, N.H.. and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign EVA-LOTTA JANSSON AURELIUS FERNANDEZ Service Journal, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 200.37-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Advertising 6- Circulation Manager DAVID I. HITCHCOCK Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising ED MILTENBERC-ER KATHERINE INEZ LEE inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the services MARY LEWELLEN AFSA NEWS Editor or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. E-MAIL: [email protected]. WEB: www.afsa.org. TELE¬ POLLY GILBERT ROBERTA MAHONEY PHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Association, 1998. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address MARK MATTHEWS Editorial Intern changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. HELDER GIL CAROLINE MEIRS JUNE 1998/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 In 1974, your car cost about $4300, your motel room around $2,0, and your wardrobe...well, we won’t go into that. In that same year, your AFSA personal property floater cost you 75<f per $100 of coverage. 111,, N» The good news is that you have long since abandoned those groovy threads. And your AFSA personal property floater still costs only 75c per $100 of coverage. The AFSA Personal Insurance Plan NAME will insure you and your effects ADDRESS no matter where you go outside the United States. And that protection comes at the same low For more information and an application, return this fonn via mail or fax, or call our AFSA desk directly for immediate answers to your questions. rate everywhere, world-wide. AFSA DESK • THE HIRSHORN COMPANY 14 EAST HIGHLAND AVENUE • PHILADELPHIA, PA 19118 PHONE: 215.242.8200 // 800.242.8221 // D.c. AREA: 202.457.0250 • FAX: 215.247.6366 The AFSA Insurance Plan. No exceptions, no excuses. The AFSA Personal Insurance Plan PRESIDENT’S VIEWS The Giver and the Gift BY DAN GEISLER In this issue of the Foreign Service their best and most frank advice. Journal, you can find out who won A few years later, Secretary of State the six A FSA named awards in The ferment of the Henry Kissinger arrived to preside 1998. These awards promote AFSAs over the annual ceremony, asking his goal of fostering liigh standards for ser¬ Vietnam War staff aide what the awards were for. vice and integrity in the Foreign The reply: “For disagreeing with your Service. On this page you can find out spawned AFSA’s policies, Mr. Secretary.” who is to thank for the existence of The other three AFSA Awards are those awards. awards for for extraordinary service. In 1982 In addition to the named awards, Pamela Harriman established the Avis this year’s award for Lifetime constructii'e dissen t. Bohlen Award in memory of the Contributions to American Diplomacy, spouse of Charles E. Bohlen, U.S. which is sponsored by AFSA itself, ambassador to France from 1962 to went to a member of the Foreign 1968. The Harriman and Bohlen fami¬ Service family, Larry Eagleburger. lies were close friends. This award rec¬ Eagleburger is the only career FSO to Union and to the United Kingdom. ognizes a Foreign Service family mem¬ have become secretary of State. Harriman strongly encouraged career ber for volunteer service. Former National Security Advisor officer's to give their frank views to their More recently, in 1990 groups of Brent Scowcroft is scheduled to pre¬ politically appoirrted masters, and Foreign Service secretaries around the sent the award to Eagleburger at endowed die award for junior officer's world banded together to discuss and AFSAs June 23 ceremony. through a family foundation. promote measures to further their The six named awards fall into two William R. Rivkin was a dynamic recognition and professional advance¬ categories. Three awards are for con¬ lawyer from the Midwest who brought ment. The}' requested AFSA to estab¬ structive dissent. The ferment of the a passion for truth and fairness to the lish an award for secretaries, and the Vietnam War spawned the establish¬ task of representing tire United States Governing Board established this ment in the State Department of the first in Luxembourg (1962-65), and award with funding from the Delavan Dissent Channel for disagreeing with drerr itr Senegal, where he was felled Foundation, established by the parents existing policy. In AFSA, the turmoil by a heart attack iir 1967. The Rivkin of Ann Harrop, spouse of Ambassador led to the creation of $1,000 annual family agreed to provide annual sup¬ William C. Harrop. awards for constructive dissent by a port for the mid-level dissent award, Finally, Jon Clements, president of junior, mid-level and senior officer. and has done so for three decades. the well-known insurance firm Averell Harriman’s distinguished William Rivkin’s widow presents the Clements & Co., in 1994 offered to career included domestic service as gov¬ awar d personally each year.