MURDER IN MALABO FS FICTION ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATIONS AFSA ISSUE BRIEF DEBUTS! PAGE 70 $3.50 / OCTOBER 2007 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS THE U.S. BORDERS Has NAFTA Made Us Better Neighbors? CONTENTS October 2007 Volume 84, No. 10 F OCUS ON THE U.S. BORDERS FS FICTION 13 / BRIDGES, BARRIERS OR BOTH? BEST SERVED COLD / 49 THE U.S. BORDERS By Robert Gribbin By Leslie Bassett 17 / A VIEW FROM THE SOUTH F EATURES By Manuel Suárez-Mier A FOREIGN SERVICE MURDER / 51 23 / CULTURAL QUIRKS & TASTY TREASURES: THE TWO LAREDOS By Len Shurtleff By Jennifer Ludders CONDEMNED TO ENDLESS STRUGGLE? / 56 26 / THE GREAT TIJUANA EXPERIENCE THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT By May G. Baptista By Rafael Reuveny 29 / CONSULATE NOGALES’ DEADLY DESERT AFSA NEWS By Jim Bredeck AFSA’S PROTEST LEADS TO NEW HEARING / 61 33 / EMBRACING CHANGE ON ESSAY CONTEST INTRODUCES FS TO STUDENTS / 61 THE EXICO ORDER U.S.-M B AFSA MEETS WITH SEC. RICE / 61 By Elizabeth Martin BRIEFS: FS WOMEN’S FORUM / 62 35 / ONTARIO & THE U.S.: VP STATE: SUPPORT FOR SEPARATED FAMILIES / 63 CLOSE TIES, VP RETIREES: TAKING A FRESH LOOK / 64 COMPLEX ISSUES LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE / 65 By Aaron Honn and VP USAID: PENNY WISE, POUND FOOLISH / 66 John Nay AFSA ESTABLISHES LEGAL DEFENSE FUND / 69 ISSUE BRIEF: TRAINING DIPLOMATS / 70 38 / A VANCOUVER VIGNETTE By Lewis Lukens 40 / FOREIGN ASSIGNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES C OLUMNS D EPARTMENTS By Mary Speer and Brad Kirbyson PRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5 LETTERS / 6 44 / CANADIANS: A BORDER PEOPLE The Cinderella Service CYBERNOTES / 9 By Charles F. Doran By John K. Naland BOOKS / 77 AD INDEX / 82 REFLECTIONS / 84 Slava in Mexico By Stanley A. Zuckerman 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 Editor organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent 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 JOSEPH BRUNS SHAWN DORMAN ing offices. 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LAURIE KASSMAN ANNA WONG GLEYSTEEN Advertising Intern YVETTE N. MALCIOLN LOES WIERSTRA AL PESSIN Cover and inside illustration by Josh Dorman OCTOBER 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 PRESIDENT’S VIEWS The Cinderella Service BY JOHN K. NALAND History never repeats itself found that State is 900 This imbalance between resources exactly, but sometimes the story positions short of what it for the Pentagon and funding for line is ominously familiar. Over needs to create the “training diplomacy and foreign assistance is the past decade, the State De- float” needed to give Foreign driving a growing militarization of partment has come almost full Service members the know- policy, as highly trained and well- circle. Between 1998 and early ledge, skills and abilities that resourced members of the U.S. armed 2001, seven blue-ribbon panels are essential to foreign policy forces increasingly take on tasks once detailed a hollowed-out State development and implemen- assigned to diplomats. That is not a Department nearing a state of crisis tation. The report noted that budget criticism of America’s can-do military, due to underfunding and inadequate requests in Fiscal Year 2006 and 2007 which is only stepping in to get the job staffing. Armed with those reports, to narrow the staffing gap were not done. However, if left unchecked, this Secretary of State Colin Powell took funded by Congress. While the State trend could reduce America’s options charge and made extraordinary pro- Department has requested 254 ad- when responding to foreign chal- gress in convincing the White House ditional positions in its pending FY-08 lenges. As the saying goes, “If the only and Congress to provide an infusion of budget submission, the prospects for tool you have is a hammer, then every resources to restore America’s diplo- full funding are in doubt. problem looks like a nail.” matic readiness. As was the case during the late Unfortunately, the last three years 1990s, it falls to AFSA and like-minded have witnessed serious backsliding as AFSA is working hard organizations to make the case for new Foreign Service staffing demands to build and sustain a expanded funding for the Foreign in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere national consensus for Service. Without begrudging the re- have far outpaced funds for personnel. sources being given to our military Today, as in the late 1990s, there is a strengthening the “stepsisters,” we must speak up for our growing deficit between the State diplomatic element of Cinderella Service. Department’s mission and the re- national power. Toward that end, on p. 70 you will sources available to carry out that find an “AFSA Issue Brief” that makes mission. The same is true for the U.S. the case for a robust training float. Agency for International Development, This poor outlook for funding for This would permit expanded Foreign where hiring lags behind attrition and diplomacy stands in stark contrast to Service education and training to meet operating budgets are on a downward the situation at the Pentagon, which is the challenges of the 21st century trend. proceeding to expand the armed facing U.S. diplomacy. A task force report issued by the forces’ permanent rolls by 92,000 by The goal of that essay, and of nonpartisan Foreign Affairs Council 2011. Note that the 1,100 needed new parallel efforts, is to build a consensus last June highlighted the fact that the Foreign Service positions amounts to to prompt the executive branch and State Department currently has over just about 1 percent of the military Congress to act decisively, as they did 200 unfilled Foreign Service positions. expansion. That is barely a rounding during the Powell years, to strengthen More importantly for the long-term error when compared to the additional the diplomatic element of national success of U.S. diplomacy, the report resources being dedicated to the power. You can expect to hear a lot Department of Defense, which al- more on this topic over the next few John K. Naland is the president of the ready has more musicians than the years, both within these pages and American Foreign Service Association. State Department has diplomats. elsewhere. I OCTOBER 2007/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 5 LETTERS PTSD and the FS proverbial sardine can. British Embassy). Jean Bowskill, Well, Steve Kashkett was spot on • At the Carmel Market, fruits and wherever you are, “Thank you, thank again in his VP Voice column in the vegetables were splattered among the you, thank you.” July/August AFSA News, “PTSD and carnage after a suicide bomber blew it Lee Ackermann the Foreign Service.” Post-Traumatic up, killing numerous people. Information Programs Stress Disorder is a physical ramifi- • The Park Hotel was destroyed Officer cation of the personal and professional during a passover seder when a sui- Embassy Damascus pressures Foreign Service employees cide bomber struck, killing 27 people experience daily, and not just in Iraq who were only celebrating their faith. Iraq Service Reward? and Afghanistan. Throughout that period, those of The State Department has a How about the stress caused by us posted in Israel received no danger special obligation to Foreign Service terrorist attacks and car bombs in pay. No differential. No cost-of-living members who have volunteered to Syria and Saudi Arabia? And let us allowance. At the time, it was serve at our most dangerous outposts not forget the two embassies de- politically incorrect to say it was in Iraq. Here is my reward for ser- stroyed in Africa in 1998. dangerous to live and work there. The vice in Iraq. I was assigned to Embassy Tel attitude of the department and em- In October 2005, while serving as a Aviv from late 1999 through late bassy seemed to be that because the provincial action officer in Basrah, I 2002. During that period we experi- suicide bombers’ attacks were not received a handshake on an onward enced the intifada uprising by the directly aimed at Americans, there assignment as a public diplomacy Palestinian people and violent attacks was no problem. officer at USNATO Brussels. But, in from Hamas and Hezbollah against Instead we got restrictions from January 2006, this and 27 other posi- the government of Israel.