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1 the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR HOWARD B. SCHAFFER Interviewed by: Thomas Stern Initial interview date: March 10, 1997 Copyright 000 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born and raised in Ne York City Harvard University% Columbia University U.S. Army - )orean War Japan visits Private business ,ntered Foreign Service - 1.55 A100 course )uala 1umpur2 3alaysia - 4ice Consul5,conomic Officer 1.56-1.58 ,nvironment Independence - 1.57 Consul :eneral )enneth Wright Chinese community Tunku Abdul Rahman Selection of ruler Ambassador Homer Byington Segregation Seoul2 )orea - Political Officer 1.58-1.60 Ambassador Walter 3cConaughy 3arshall :reen ,nvironment Democratic Party Syngman Rhee dictatorship U.S. security interests Corruption ,lections - 1.60 Anti-government demonstrations - 1.60 Chang 3yon (John Chang) Foreign Service Institute - Hindustani 1anguage Training 1.60-1.61 1 Ne Delhi2 India - ,conomic Officer5Political Officer 1.61-1.67 AID Ambassador John )enneth :albraith C. Tyler Wood Politics Congress Party Jacqueline )ennedy visit U.S.-India relations )ashmir visit Theft from Srinagar shrine Richard Critchfeild?s )ashmir report Farooq )ath ari )ashmir environment India-Pakistan War - 1.65 Punjab issue Punjab Suba Opposition parties Communist Party U.S. military assistance India-China ar U.S. military presence 4ietnam issue Ambassador Chester Bo les ,mbassy staff Svetlana Stalin?s defection Author: AChester Bo les: Ne Dealer in the Cold WarB Nehru?s health ,mbassies Delhi and )arachi relations Working for Ambassador Bo les Caste system Calcutta Indo-Pak War U.S. missionaries )ennedy?s death State Department - India Desk Officer 1.67-1.6. Department reactions to Bo les State?s vie of India importance Indo-Pak relations )enneth )eating Dinesh Singh visit Bureaucracy U.S. aid program 3rs. :andhi NiCon?s India visit 2 Princeton University - Woodro Wilson School 1.6.-1.70 State Department - N,A - Personnel 1.70-1.74 Assignment process :1OP Women and minority issues Religion issues Tandem assignments Islamabad2 Pakistan - Political Counselor 1.74-1.77 Tandem assignment A1ocalitisB ,nvironment Ambassador Byroade C,NTO Prime 3inister Eulfikar Ali Bhutto U.S. policy Simla agreement Indo-pak relations )ashmir issue India?s nuclear test Nuclear program )issinger visit Bangladesh ,lections - 1.77 3oore-Shaffer AinterferenceB accusations AThe Party Is OverB controversy French nuclear involvement ,mbassy staff Ne Delhi2 India 1.77-1.7. Atmosphere changes since 1.67 Consular post reporting ,mbassy staffing 1anguage abilities Rene al of contacts Janata Party Congress Party Political situation Premier Desai Foreign 3inister Atal Behari 4ajpayee India?s A:ood NeighborB policy Carter administration policies Carter visit ADelhi DeclarationB )ashmir dispute 3 Nuclear fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty - 1.68 Sino-Indian relations U.S.-China relations Prime 3inister Charan Singh COD,1s Ambassador :oheen Other embassy contacts India government failures 3rs. :andhi State Department - N,A - India2 Nepal2 and Pakistan - Director 1.7.-1.82 ReorganiGation of bureaus Contacts Afghanistan invasion Clark Clifford?s India visit Cancun conference - 1.81 3rs. :andhi-Reagan meeting Tarapur Po er Plant Fibs to Pakistan India and Afghanistan U.S.-India relations )ing of Nepal?s visit 4IP visit scheduling Sir 1anka issues President Jaye ardene?s U.S. visit Nepal?s Ambassador Bhekh Thapa Jane Coon State Department - N,A - Deputy Assistant Secretary 1.82-1.84 Congressional briefings Representative Stephen SolarG Representative Jim 1each Assistant Secretary Richard 3urphy Assistant Secretary Nick 4eliotes Bangladesh (Dacca) - Ambassador 1.84-1.87 Ambassador?s course - Foreign Service Institute (FSI) AID program Staff USIS operation CIA station ,conomic policies :arment eCport U.S. policies Pakistan-Dacca relations 4 Foreign assistance programs Politics :eneral H. 3. ,rshad A ami 1eague ,lections - 1.86 Relations ith Soviets AIlliberal democracyB Cyclones and floods Comments on tour Diplomat in Residence - :eorgeto n University 1.87-1.88 Comments State Department - N,A - Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia 1.88-1.8. Afghanistan Working :roup :eneva Accords 3ujahideen activities A)alashnikovB culture )abul embassy closure issue President BenaGir Bhutto 3rs. Bhutto?s U.S. visit U.S.-Pakistan relationship U.S. military assistance to Pakistan Nuclear issues Indo-Pak relations )ashmir Sri 1anka Nepal Assistant Secretary John )elly FSI - Center for the Study of Foreign Affairs 1.8.-1..0 Comments Work on book State-)u ait Task Force 1..0 Retirement 1..0 INTERVIEW Q: Let me start with the usual question. (here were you born and where were you educated) SCHAFF,R: I as born in Ne York City. I attended public schools in Hueens2 5 graduating from Forest Hills High School. I then ent to Harvard here I majored in American history and literature. I graduated in 1.50. There had been no previous involvement in international affairs in my family2 hich as essentially a Ne York business family. Both branches--my father?s and my mother?s-- had been in business. To my kno ledge2 none had ever taken a professional interest in national affairs2 let alone foreign affairs. In 1.512 I as drafted into the Army after the )orean War broke out. ,ventually2 I as assigned to Japan2 in t o different conteCts. I as part of the occupation forces2 but my unit2 hich as an anti-aircraft battalion2 as also a back-up for forces fighting in )orea. We ere stationed in )yushu. It as during this tour that I began to have some interest in a foreign affairs career because I as enjoying living in a foreign environment. I approached the American consulate in Fukuoka and talked to a clerk--never got to see anyone as important as consul (I as2 after all2 only a sergeant at time). I just anted to have some information about U.S. government activities abroad% I got a little information2 but nothing orld-shaking. I traveled a great deal around Japan and as fascinated by the country. Of course2 Japan of the early 1.50s as considerably different from that of today or even of the last 20-I0 years. I remember it as quite poor2 still sho ing great evidence of the ar?s destruction. Americans ere treated ith considerable respect% :Is ere for the most part treated ith good humored affection. I came a ay ith a thoroughly positive vie of Japan and of the Japanese. I did visit Hiroshima% that made a very strong impression. I had been a senior in high school hen atomic bombs ere dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 1ike other Americans2 I as very much affected by those events. So hen I got to Japan2 I anted very much to see Hiroshima so that by looking at the actual scene I could visualiGe in my o n mind hat had actually happened. That as a shock. On the other hand2 so much had been ritten about these events2 starting ith the John Hersey book2 and so many thousands of photographs had been taken. So it as not quite the shock it might had been had I not seen and heard so much about it before. I pursued my ne interest in a foreign affairs career hen I returned to the United States early in 1.5I as a sergeant first class. Needing a job2 I ent to ork for 3cCann- ,rickson--an advertising agency--in their marketing research section. By that time2 I had made up my mind to take the Foreign Service entrance eCamination. The eCam in those days as much longer than it is today. It tested the candidates? detailed kno ledge of history2 political science2 economics2 and current affairs as ell as a broad variety of more general subjects. So2 much more than is the case ith the current form of the eCamination2 you could usefully study for it and ere ell advised to do so. I began to prepare for the eCamination hich as to be given that Fall (1.5I). For one thing2 I tried to refresh my rather shaky kno ledge of economics-- hich had not been my strong suit in academia. As I said2 I had majored in history and literature2 although I had 6 taken some economic courses at Harvard. But I felt that it as most important to become more familiar ith economics. I also read ne spapers assiduously--more so than I ould have had I not been preparing for the eCam. I also began to revie French-- hich I had taken in college--because in those days the language eCam as given as part of the over- all ritten test. But I kne that even if I did not pass the language test2 I ould have an opportunity to take it again. So I focused mostly on economics2 current affairs2 American history-- hich I kne ould be an important part of the eCam--and current international developments. At the same time2 I as pursuing other professional interests. I regarded these as fall-backs in case the eCam proved to be too much for me. I took the ritten eCam in 3anhattan in a mob scene. There ere lots and lots of aspiring Foreign Service officers taking the test in a decrepit federal building in the do nto n area--a thoroughly unpleasant environment. The proctors ere tough% it reminded me very much of college days. It as a tremendously grueling process that lasted three and a half days. At the end2 I as so eary that I decided to hit the open road and hitchhike--I had done a lot of that hile in college. I hitchhiked to upstate Ne York% that as a relief after the eChausting eCam. I should add a comment here about that eCamination. I remember that during one of the three-hour essay sections of the eCamination2 I looked up from my desk after about t o hours to see other candidates leaving the eCamination.
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