The Foreign Service Journal, June 2010

1 C-C 4_FSJ_0610_COV:proof 5/15/10 9:27 PM Page C1

SEMIANNUAL SCHOOLS SUPPLEMENT

$3.50 / JUNE 2010 OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L STHE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS

CONSULAR WORK TODAY Beyond the Lines 1 C-C 4_FSJ_0610_COV:proof 5/15/10 9:27 PM Page C2 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/15/10 9:36 PM Page 1 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/15/10 9:36 PM Page 2 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 3

OREIGN ERVICE FJ O U R N A L S CONTENTS June 2010 Volume 87, No. 6

F OCUS ON T HE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

THE CONSULAR REVOLUTION / 16 The basic qualities good consular officers possess — integrity and sound judgment — haven’t changed. But the tools they use have. By Ann B. Sides

AN INTERVIEW WITH ASSISTANT SECRETARY JANICE L. JACOBS / 21 A/S Jacobs provides a candid look at the changes CA has made since 9/11 and its planning for future challenges. By Rosemary Macray

WHY CONSULAR INTERVIEWS MATTER / 27 Cover and inside illustration Visa officers rarely meet applicants again once an interview is over. by Jeff Moores But sometimes they get to see that they’ve made a real difference. By Richard Silver RESIDENT S IEWS P ’ V / 5 WHEN GOOD OFFICERS GO BAD / 31 Treating Office Management The Consular Integrity Division uses lessons learned Specialists As Force Multipliers from past malfeasance to head off future incidents. By Susan R. Johnson By Robert W. Thomas PEAKING UT S O / 12 “WE’RE ON FACEBOOK” / 35 Diego Garcia: Freedom’s Footprint, As the face of the Department of State for countless people or Enduring Injustice? around the world, consular staff use social media in novel ways. By Gerald Loftus By William Bent

REFLECTIONS / 92 REMEMBERING MARY RYAN / 39 Where’s Home? The late CA assistant secretary’s 2002 dismissal was a transforming By Christopher Henze event in the modern history of the consular service. By Edward Alden

LETTERS / 7 WHY I CHOSE CONSULAR / 46 CYBERNOTES / 9 Seven Foreign Service employees offer insights into what makes consular work rewarding — if also, at times, frustrating. BOOKS / 60 INDEX TO S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT ADVERTISERS / 90 ONLINE EDUCATION: UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITIES / 62 Online education gives Foreign Service families the means to tailor their learning needs to their circumstances. By Kristi Streiffert

SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE / 73 Essential data on educational choices.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 3 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 4

OREIGN ERVICE CONTENTS FJ O U R N A L S

EWS Editor AFSA N STEVEN ALAN HONLEY Senior Editor NEGROPONTE INTERVIEW LAUNCHES LOCKHEED MARTIN SERIES / 49 SUSAN B. MAITRA Associate Editor FS CAREER SEMINAR DRAWS FULL HOUSE / 49 SHAWN DORMAN AFSA News Editor NNUAL WARDS EREMONY A AFSA A C / 49 FRANCESCA KELLY NEWS BRIEFS / AGGELER / 50 Ad & Circulation Manager ED MILTENBERGER VP STATE: WAIT A SECOND! THEY HAVE A BAND? / 51 Art Director CARYN SUKO SMITH VP RETIREE: HEALTH CARE REFORM / 52 Editorial Intern JENNIFER THOMPSON VP FCS: MORE GOOD NEWS / 53 Advertising Intern JOSERELDA BOON FSPS AND SICK LEAVE / 54 EDITORIAL BOARD LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: HEALTH INSURANCE / 54 TED WILKINSON Chairman THE LIGHTER SIDE OF FS HISTORY: ROADSIDE DIPLOMACY / 55 MAY G. BAPTISTA JOSEPH BRUNS CLASSIFIEDS / 56 STEPHEN W. B UCK JULIE GIANELLONI CONNOR JEFF GIAUQUE MARY E. GLANTZ GEORGE JONES LYNN W. R OCHE RIMA J. VYDMANTAS

THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly with a combined July-August issue by the American Foreign Service Associa- tion (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal sub- scription: AFSA members – $13 included in annual dues; others – $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045 FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEB: www.afsa.org; www.fsjournal.org © American Foreign Service Association, 2010. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to: AFSA Attn: Address Change 2101 E Street N.W. Washington DC 20037-2990 Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste.

4 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 5

PRESIDENT’S VIEWS Treating Office Management Specialists As Force Multipliers BY SUSAN R. JOHNSON

Nearly 20 years ago now, ment specialists themselves The mandatory training identified by Foreign Service Secretaries about the professional devel- flexible career development programs were reclassified as Office opment and in-service train- must be adequately funded — centrally, Management Specialists. This ing they need to meet the if need be. The current OMS grade cap change in nomenclature was CDP requirements. The goal at FP-3 and the number of positions at intended to recognize the re- should be a clear definition of that level both merit thoughtful review, ality that technological ad- the function, in sync with cur- especially as the Foreign Service un- vances and other factors were rent needs and realities, and dergoes what amounts to a reorganiza- altering the important work these indi- reflecting recognition that flexibility and tion involving a 25-percent increase in viduals were doing. It also, for the first agility are critical requirements for all personnel and exponentially more com- time, attempted to treat them as pro- effective institutions in today’s fast-mov- plicated missions. fessionals who deserve the same access ing, complex world. That will equip Some senior OMS positions clearly to training and career mobility as their us to deal sensibly with the numerous require highly developed and experi- FS colleagues have long enjoyed. issues that OMSs have consistently enced executive assistant skills. The ef- But did we get the name right? And raised: fective office management specialist is did we define the function clearly • Defining OMS career paths that like an air traffic controller, juggling enough that everyone understood and include a range of options to provide multiple tasks and issues, setting prior- respected the role office management greater career mobility for those who ities, anticipating needs, taking today’s specialists perform? want it and adjusting the Career Devel- accelerated operational tempo in stride Four years ago the State Depart- opment Program accordingly; and making the office run smoothly — ment’s Bureau of Human Resources is- • Providing adequate funding for and making all this look as if it is hap- sued a Career Development Program mandatory training; pening on its own. Yet this level of per- for office management specialists. The • Reviewing the current FP-3 grade formance is all too often taken for stated goal of the new guidelines (some cap and the number of FP-3 OMS po- granted within the Foreign Service. mandatory, others elective) was to de- sitions; and The highly competent, experienced fine the OMS function in a way that • Increasing language training op- “executive assistant” enables the fortu- maximizes its potential contributions to portunities for OMSs. nate principal to get much more done the Foreign Service’s operational effec- Addressing these concerns will give and to focus energy and thought on the tiveness while creating a more satisfying office management specialists a range of issues that need his/her attention. So is professional path for its members (cur- options for career development, which the FP-3 level really the right cap for rently more than 800). But in practice, is an important goal in its own right. But OMS professionals? Or should we the training opportunities called for in the compelling reason for doing so is make it possible for these force multi- the CDP have often not materialized. that OMSs are force multipliers for the pliers to spend more of their careers at It is time to consult office manage- State Department and the Foreign senior levels? Service. So affording them opportuni- As always, I invite you to comment Susan R. Johnson is the president of the ties for professional development and in- on these issues by writing me at American Foreign Service Association. service training benefits all of us. [email protected]. ■

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 5 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/15/10 9:36 PM Page 6 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 7

LETTERS

Apples and Oranges should be USAID that takes the lead spread some common sense through I appreciate Susan Johnson’s re- when it comes to development imple- his Speaking Out column (“A Real quest in her January President’s Views mentation. Turf always looms large, but Reset Button for U.S.-Russian Rela- column (“The State-USAID Relation- with a new administrator in place, per- tions”). And the focus section articles ship: Measure Twice, Cut Once”) for haps now is the time to set things right. by Charlie Duelfer (“Achieving Closure recommendations on how the Depart- John A. Patterson on Iraq’s Prewar WMD”) and Chas ment of State and the U.S. Agency USAID FSO Minister Freeman (“The Middle East: Forks in for International Development might Counselor, retired the Way Forward”) were gems. work together more efficiently. North Kingstown, R.I. I really think both of the latter I served with USAID from 1966 should receive wider exposure, and until 1994, in Afghanistan, Rwanda and Blatant Bias would encourage you to invite other Zambia. Back in Washington, I was I just received the April issue of the journals to reprint them. The Foreign also the USAID AFSA vice president Foreign Service Journal and was shock- Service Journal deserves the recogni- twice, in the 1970s and again in the ed by the evident bias toward the For- tion of other media. 1990s. eign Service shown in the article “Re- Dean Howells When we talk about development membering Those We Have Lost.” FSO, retired and diplomacy we also need to include Most of the piece was devoted to Vic- Kittery Point, Maine defense, because security is vital in hot toria DeLong, whose family clearly spots like Iraq and Afghanistan. The merits our thoughts and prayers. What Might Have Been three agencies have specific roles to But your failure even to name the It may have been easier to achieve play — the Department of Defense for locally engaged staff who died, never closure on Iraq’s prewar weapons of security, State for diplomacy and mind noting their contributions over the mass destruction if Charlie Duelfer’s USAID for development. years, is shameful. Also, I’m sure there revelation in his March FSJ article that Defense, State and USAID should was much more to be said about Mrs. there were no weapons of mass de- remain separate and distinct. Coordi- Wyllie and her contributions. struction in Iraq had denied President nation is crucial to be sure, but we’re The article perpetuates the stereo- George W. Bush a second term in of- talking about apples, oranges and tur- type of AFSA being a group that only fice. nips. The missions and roles of each or- cares about Foreign Service officers. Charlie Duelfer spent almost two ganization are different. Our other colleagues and the family years in Iraq looking for WMD, and Recruiting is also different and members who died deserve better. survived an attack that killed two of his should remain that way. USAID Judith Kaufmann bodyguards. He made his report to should be looking for specific develop- FSO, retired Congress in September 2004, in the ment and program skills, not diplo- Arlington, Va. midst of the presidential campaign and matic talents. Development strategies at a time when the war had gone sour. should be set by USAID in consultation A Terrific Issue Yet a January 2005 New York Times with State and, when appropriate, I just finished the March Journal editorial stated that 40 percent of DOD. and must congratulate you on a terrific Americans still believed there were When territory is relatively safe, it issue. It was nice to see Tom Buchanan WMD in Iraq. That same month Mark

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 7 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/15/10 9:36 PM Page 8

L ETTERS

Danner reported in The New York Re- view of Books that 73 percent of Re- publicans believed they were there. George Bush’s second term produced much of the disaster we are now working our way through. Had Du- elfer’s message been absorbed by the electorate in 2004, perhaps many of our difficulties would have been averted. Unfortunately, there is a lesson here for those of us in the foreign affairs community: the American public does not pay much attention to what we do. Alfred R. Barr FSO, retired Washington, D.C.

Enough with the Amateurs Judging by the record so far, Presi- dent Barack Obama may win the modern sweepstakes for naming the most political appointees to vacant embassies. Given his earlier rhetoric, this would seem a surprising outcome. The past 30 years have clearly proven that the requirement of the 1980 Foreign Service Act that all nominees, including political appointees, bring to the job concrete qualifications like language and area skills is a dead letter. Under the circumstances, I think we should finally reconcile ourselves to the reality that our career is doomed to see the best positions, both at home and abroad, given to often-unqualified amateurs. Sadly, diplomacy is simply not considered a profession in the U.S., and there are no signs that this will soon change. I’m not serious about this idea, but wouldn’t it be nice if someone could sue the U.S. government over its repeated violation of the Foreign Serv- ice Act? ■ Robert F. Illing FSO, retired Porto, Portugal

8 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 9

CYBERNOTES

State, Aspen Launch ith the first BlackBerry ground for finalizing both the PSD and “Partners for a New Beginning” a QDDR interim report. president, we discussed On April 27, the State Department W Instead — according to Foreign the power of new technology to and the Aspen Institute (www.aspen Policy’s Josh Rogin, who tracks this institute.org) announced a joint ini- empower activists and entrepre- issue in his blog, The Cable — sub- tiative, “Partners for a New Begin- neurs across Africa, part of a new stantial disagreement remained on a ning,” to realize the vision articulated rising generation that’s boosting number of issues. by President Barack Obama in his June growth and governance and There is frustration on Capitol Hill 4, 2009, speech in Cairo of “a new be- defying stereotypes. over the delay and a perceived lack of ginning between the United States and — Bono, commenting on consultation with the two teams. Muslims around the world, one based his April 30 meeting with “What is important about this is that on mutual interest and respect.” President Barack Obama, Congress isn’t waiting for the adminis- The announcement of the new ini- www.one.org/c/us/ tration to wade through the QDDR tiative was a highlight of the April 26- pressrelease/3312/ and PSD processes and come out with 27 Presidential Summit on Entrepre- its plan,” one Hill source who declined neurship (www.state.gov). The gath- to be identified told blogger Laura ering sought to identify ways to deepen that Aspen is already facilitating work Rosen (www.politico.com). “We ties among business leaders, founda- in emerging markets around the world. think foreign aid reform is essential to tions and entrepreneurs in the U.S. ensure funds get to the people who and the Muslim world, as Pres. Obama Waiting for the QDDR need them and is done right.” promised in the Cairo speech. Back in July 2009, the State De- In early April, the House Commit- Introduced officially by Secretary of partment and the U.S. Agency for In- tee on Foreign Affairs and Senate State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the ternational Development announced Committee on Foreign Relations re- PNB is chaired by former Secretary of the launch of the Quadrennial Diplo- leased a joint paper on “peacebuild- State Madeleine Albright, with Aspen macy and Development Review ing.” The HCFA expects to issue more Institute President Walter Isaacson (www.state.gov). Its release, origi- concept papers in the coming weeks, and Coca-Cola Company Chairman nally intended for early this year to in- followed by foreign assistance reform Muhtar Kent as vice chairs. fluence the Fiscal Year 2011 budget legislation during the summer. “The Aspen Institute’s Middle East process, is now slated for September. The Senate Foreign Relations Programs’ achievement in facilitating Meanwhile, Presidential Study Di- Committee has marked up the For- public-private partnerships will push rective 7, a review focused on “global eign Relations Authorization Act for forward a new beginning for the U.S. development policy” and viewed by Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 containing and the Muslim world by building mu- State as complementary to the QDDR, a clause mandating a national develop- tual interest and investment in entre- is under way at the National Security ment policy. However, it is likely that preneurship, science and technology, Council. The two groups have been substantive reform will have to wait education and cultural understanding,” holding regular consultations. The lat- until the 112th Congress convenes Isaacson stated at the launch, noting est, on April 23, attempted to lay the next year.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 10

C YBERNOTES

50 Years Ago... ost of all, it seems to me, the Service must learn to appreci- Mate individuality, even eccentricity, and to recognize that re- wards should not be for conformity, but for gumption and creativeness. … Conformity makes for a smooth-running, easily administered organization. But an organization of unimaginative and unassertive conformists, with all their personality corners smoothly rounded off, will never produce the diplomacy that will guide our country through the perilous times ahead. Furthermore, it will not even be permitted to try; as the recent Brookings Institu- tion report clearly foreshadows, more and more of the leadership in foreign affairs will be taken away from our department and lodged elsewhere. — Frank Hopkins, from “Individuality in the Foreign Service,” FSJ, June 1960.

That is also the conclusion of a Con- dan Troika” (including the U.K. and gressional Research Service report re- Norway), expressed regret that the Na- leased in April, “Foreign Aid Reform, tional Elections Commission did not National Strategy and the QDDR.” fully implement preventive measures against voter fraud and intimidation. After Sudan’s Election: But it applauded the Sudanese people What’s Next? for an election that was “peaceful and The April 10-15 multiparty elec- meaningful” and urged the authorities tions in Sudan, the first in 24 years, to “build on the progress made so far represented a landmark moment in to expand democratic space in Sudan the history of a nation torn by internal and ensure full respect for human factions and civil war. rights.” On April 26, the incumbent presi- The group added: “The Compre- dent of Sudan and head of the ruling hensive Peace Agreement [signed in National Congress Party, General 2005 between the NCP government Omar al-Bashir, was officially declared and the SPLM] remains essential for the winner, with 68 percent of the peace and stability in Sudan and the vote. Salva Kiir, head of the opposition region. We urge all parties in Sudan to Sudanese People’s Liberation Move- resume and accelerate work to comment, was elected president of semi- plete its implementation” (www. autonomous South Sudan, with more state.gov). than 90 percent of the vote. In an April 29 interview with the Though observers such as the Voice of America (www.voanews. Carter Center and others have ac- com), Hagmajid Swar, head of the Po- knowledged that the electoral process litical Mobilization Secretariat of Su- was not up to international standards, dan’s ruling NCP, said the party had the international community, includ- begun talks with the other political ing the U.S., appears to have accepted parties to resolve Sudan’s problems. the results. It is now turning its atten- The April elections were mandated tion to the critical January 2011 refer- by the CPA. That agreement estab- endum on possible independence for lished a coalition government between South Sudan. the NCP and SPLM, ordered devel- Washington, which leads the “Su- opment of democratic governance

10 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 11

C YBERNOTES

throughout the country and the sharing ternational community to maintain of oil resources (concentrated in the pressure on the Sudanese president south), and also set a timetable for a and ruling party concerning the Dar- referendum on possible independence fur crisis and the need to mediate be- for South Sudan. But relations between the north and south. tween the partners have remained U.S. Special Envoy Major General tense. Scott Gration emphasized in an inter- In an analysis prior to the April view with the New York Times follow- election, the International Crisis ing the April poll that preparation for Group warned that the Sudanese au- the January 2011 referendum in South thorities’ continued intransigence on Sudan and Abyei is critical (www.ny implementing the CPA was pushing times.com). Border demarcation be- the country toward violent breakup tween the north and south is in- (www.crisisgroup.org). complete; and though the south con- Critics fault Washington for not fol- tains substantial oil reserves, it is eco- lowing through on the CPA and for nomically and institutionally under- giving a pass to Pres. Bashir, who was developed. indicted by the International Criminal “If we don’t redouble our efforts, Court for crimes against humanity in and work hard, we know what the out- connection with his role in the Darfur come will be: it will be violence,” says genocide. Gration. ■ The critics fear that the election re- This edition of Cybernotes was com- sult may embolden Bashir to subvert piled by Senior Editor Susan Brady the upcoming referendum or even Maitra and Editorial Intern Jennifer start another war, and they urge the in- Thompson.

Site of the Month: Open Vault — The Vietnam Collection The Vietnam Collection, http://openvault.wgbh.org/collection/vietnam, is an online video library drawn from WGBH Boston’s 1983 landmark series, “Vietnam: A Televi- sion History.” The collection — released on April 30, the 35th anniversary of the fall of Saigon — makes available to the public hours of rare archival footage and in-depth interviews with key decision-makers and veterans on both sides of the Vietnam conflict and other valuable resources. Release of the Vietnam Collection also marks the relaunch of Open Vault, the Media Library and Archives of WGBH, America’s pre-eminent public broadcasting producer. With a redesigned interface and enhanced interactive tools, the Web site affords users more and better ways to explore and interact with the media. “This digital library of Vietnam-related material will provide an unparalleled learning opportunity to new generations of students and educators and extend the educational use of primary-source materials,” says Karen Cariani, director of the WGBH Media Library and Archives, who spearheaded the project. Intended as a model for future digital media archives drawing from assets from public television and similar sources, the Vietnam Collection is the product of a two- year collaboration among WGBH, the University of Massachusetts at Boston and the Columbia University Center for New Media Teaching and Learning. The CCMNTL is partnering with Columbia faculty to integrate the Vietnam Collection into their courses.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 11 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/15/10 9:36 PM Page 12

SPEAKING OUT Diego Garcia: Freedom’s Footprint, or Enduring Injustice?

BY GERALD LOFTUS

uring the last decades of the lands within the British Indian Ocean previous century, two iso- The U.S. lease Territory — known as Chagossians or Dlated archipelagos continued of the territory is Ilois — had to go. to fly the Union Jack thousands of based on a lie: British writer Mark Curtis devotes a miles from the mother country, out- chapter (“The Depopulation of the posts for a handful of British citizens. that the islands were Chagos Islands, 1965-1973”) to this Located near strategic territory, these never inhabited. shameful episode in his aptly titled repositories of precious resources re- book, Web of Deceit: Britain’s Real Role mained prized possessions even as the in the World (Vintage, 2003). Citing sun was setting on the rest of the em- declassified documents in the U.S. Na- pire. they were British citizens when they tional Archives — in which words like In one of the archipelagos, the were summarily removed from their “sanitize,” “swept,” “sterile” and, yes, Falkland Islands, Britain went to war homeland. Why were they evicted? “cleansed” crop up regularly — among to eject enemy forces that claimed the Because the United States wanted all other sources, he details how the territory. In the other, the Chagos Is- the islands depopulated. Chagossians were rounded up and ex- lands, the U.K. welcomed friendly for- iled to islands over a thousand miles eign troops, but exiled the islands’ A Lie Comes to Life away. By 1973, the islands had indeed inhabitants. We think of Diego Garcia — if we become “uninhabited,” except for U.S. Admittedly, the foreign troops only think of this remote mid-Indian Ocean Navy Seabee construction crews. became the enemy in 1982, when a outpost at all — as a reassuring sandy Over the years, a number of Amer- dictatorship sent them to grab the aircraft carrier of an archipelago, ready ican officials — from Foreign Service Malvinas, as Argentina still calls the to launch planes on missions to the officers in Mauritius and Pentagon Falklands. And in the case of Diego Middle East or to Southwest Asia. planners to members of Congress — Garcia (the principal island in the Cha- That role was conceived in the 1960s, have been aware of this injustice, but gos chain), the United Kingdom was a when London agreed to lease Diego have largely chosen to let Her full partner in making its territory avail- Garcia to Washington. And if both par- Majesty’s Government deal with the able to the forces of its closest ally, the ties are amenable to a renewal of the legal challenges by this group of people United States. lease prior to 2016, Diego Garcia might who live on society’s margins in Mauri- Even so, pressing the analogy, as well continue to serve this strategic role tius and Seychelles. Journalist David has been done in the British press and for the rest of the 21st century. Ottaway’s reporting in the Washington courts, leads one to a very disturbing But the original agreement was Post did prompt the late Senator Ted kernel of truth. In the Falklands, the based on a lie that wrecked the lives of Kennedy to conduct hearings in 1975. inhabitants are white, with implicit the families who had been living on the But virtually nothing has been done rights to protection as British citizens islands for generations: namely, that since then to raise awareness in the — while the inhabitants of the Chagos the islands were uninhabited. To make U.S. of the Chagossians’ plight. Islands, descendants of African slaves, this fiction a reality, the inhabitants of “Maintaining the fiction” of the sup- were black, and weren’t even told that Diego Garcia and the other Chagos Is- posedly uninhabited islands was the

12 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 13

S PEAKING O UT

title of a Foreign Office memo to related to that country’s longstanding Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s gov- arrangement with the British authori- ernment in the late 1960s. Ever since, Repatriating the original ties and the U.S. Navy to employ hun- governments from all major political dreds of civilian workers for main- parties on both sides of the Atlantic inhabitants of Diego tenance and housekeeping chores on have upheld it. the base. No one from the Chagos As recently as April, the Times of Garcia would go a long refugee community, which from time London detailed how expert recom- to time delivered protest letters to mendations in 2002 supporting Chagos- way toward showing that Embassy Port Louis, was recruited for sian resettlement on outer islands had work on Diego Garcia. Mauritians, been dropped from British govern- the U.S. military can yes, and Filipinos, too. But no Chagos- ment reports. Meanwhile, in the In- sians, who might deem themselves dian Ocean, the Ilois have led lives of coexist with civilians. “going home.” desperate poverty on the outskirts of Mark Gillem, a professor of archi- Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. tecture and an Air Force reserve offi- For another heartrending account cer, reports in his study of overseas of how the British and American gov- U.S. military bases, America Town: ernments cleansed the Chagos Islands down the late British Foreign Minister Building the Outposts of Empire (Uni- of their population, see John Pilger’s Robin Cook, who admits that “the versity of Minnesota Press, 2007), that Freedom Next Time: Resisting the Em- episode was one of the most sordid and American planners have traditionally pire (Nation Books, 2007). morally indefensible I have ever sought unoccupied “white space” Pilger, a prolific Australian docu- known.” And in 1972, during the ex- around their perimeter maps. In the mentary filmmaker, covered similar pulsions, then-U.S. Ambassador to case of Diego Garcia, this quest was territory in his 2004 movie, “Stealing a Mauritius William Brewer wrote to carried to absurd lengths: even islands Nation.” He speaks of the “vandalized Washington: “It is absurd to state that more than a hundred miles away from lives” of the islanders, whose extreme Diego Garcia has no fixed population. the site were cleared of human habita- “sadness” has been cited as a leading There is no question that the island has tion. cause of death after their exile to dis- been inhabited since the 18th century.” Despite successive rulings by Brit- tant Mauritius. Why the insistence on removing ish courts citing the Magna Carta and “The Footprint of Freedom” — re- this small population? Had the Amer- its proscription of “exile from the ferring to the atoll’s approximate shape ican and British governments wanted realm,” in October 2008 the Law — is what the U.S. Navy has dubbed its to secure the Diego facilities and its Lords narrowly upheld the govern- support facility at Diego Garcia. The outlying islands years ago, what better ment’s exile of these forgotten “mini- Navy people have even included an “Is- way than to enlist the islanders as slaves” — as the mixed-race descend- land History” on their Web site, with workers and security guards? One ants of African slaves, Indian inden- vintage black-and-white photos of the Foreign Office functionary asked at tured workers, and French and Eng- islanders who were expelled in “Oper- the time, “I don’t see why the Ameri- lish planters mordantly call themselves. ation Stampede” to make room for the cans shouldn’t allow some to stay. As Pilger explains, both London base. While there is no mention of Could they not be useful?” and Washington have long played their fate on the base Web site, a 1980s- “pingpong” over responsibility for the vintage “Welcome Aboard” publication White Space and “Mini-Slaves” plight of the Chagossians, pointing to shows a photo, circa 1967, captioned I have an old diplomatic passport respective concerns over British sover- “The end of an era, plantation work- that was stamped “BIOT” (British In- eignty and American security require- ers ...” — backhanded recognition of a dian Ocean Territory; i.e., Diego Gar- ments. Writing the minority opinion in civilian presence prior to the Naval cia) when I traveled there in 1989 from the Law Lords’ judgment, Lord Bing- Support Facility. the U.S. embassy in Mauritius, where I ham cited “highly imaginative letters For his 2007 book, Pilger tracked served from 1987 to 1990. The trip was written by American officials,” which

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 13 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/20/10 12:52 PM Page 14

S PEAKING O UT

brandished fears of terrorism as a rea- case Anglo-Africans, British citizens all. son to continue the exclusion of the is- All it would take would be an Amer- landers from their homes. Both London and ican admission that a few hundred for- Serious people understand that a mer copra workers and their depend- critically important naval and air facility Washington continue ents on islands 100 miles away from in the middle of the Indian Ocean Diego Garcia would not jeopardize the might create legitimate security con- to play pingpong over security of the West. One word from cerns. But even a glimpse of the elderly Washington would let the British gov- community leaders of the Chagossians responsibility for ernment off the hook, putting an end should allay any fears about their being to its excruciatingly long, rear-guard anything other than a harmless, dis- the plight of the legal action. placed people. And if U.S. and U.K. of- As Olivier Bancoult, the leader of ficials are so worried about incursions Chagossians. the Chagos community-in-exile said to by unauthorized personnel, why — as The Guardian after the disappointing Simon Winchester describes in The Sun October 2008 verdict: “How can we be Never Sets: Travels to the Remaining expected to live outside our birthplace Outposts of the British Empire (Pren- when there are other people living tice Hall, 1985) — do they tolerate the Naval Facility — while putting yet an- there now?” regular presence of “yachties” from the other obstacle in the path of the Don’t expect the octogenarians — international leisure sailing crowd? Chagossians’ return home. or their children and grandchildren — As important as protecting the co- to give up. These “Palestinians of the The Quest for Justice conut crab and the masked booby (a Indian Ocean,” as they’ve been called What’s next? The Chagossians and seabird) might be, it should not be al- (though their sole weapons have been their supporters speak of an appeal to lowed to prejudice the case for that en- the law and appeals to conscience), are the European Court of Human Rights dangered two-legged species, the Cha- not quitters. in Strasbourg, possibly this summer. gossians. In the words of the U.K.’s In the United States and Great In London and Washington, officials Chagos Islands All-Party Parliamentary Britain, we might ask ourselves if this who cannot countenance the notion of Group, which sees a role for repatriated sorry saga is worthy of the world’s two a “native” presence on the islands no islanders in protecting the environment, oldest democracies. And if this were doubt will take comfort in this actuar- “conservation and human rights must unfolding today — if we had to do it ial fact: by the time the current lease go hand in hand.” over again — would we dare treat the comes up for renewal in 2016, many of The Obama campaign put “human Chagossians as they were treated in the the surviving exiled Chagossians will be security” and human rights at the fore- 1960s and 1970s? I would hope not. in their 80s. HMG and the U.S. gov- front of its change agenda, and since So I also hope that justice can finally ernment have stalled for this long; January 2009 the administration has be done, as befits the birthplaces of the what’s another few years? shown concern for other downtrodden Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. ■ Meanwhile, from out of left field peoples, from Haiti to Tibet. The comes another threat in the form of an plight of the Chagos Islanders also Gerald Loftus served in Port Louis, ambitious plan to turn the Chagos/ cries out for justice, especially from the Mauritius, from 1987 to 1990, as em- BIOT waters into the world’s larg- country that insisted on their removal. bassy action officer for military flights est marine nature sanctuary. In April, On a continent that increasingly from Diego Garcia and made arrange- British Foreign Secretary David Mili- equates U.S. interests in Africa with ments for civilian contract workers for band announced the creation of a the existence of the U.S. Africa Com- the U.S. naval facility there. A retired 250,000-square mile sanctuary, which mand, a humanitarian gesture to repa- FSO, he lives in Brussels, where he pub- presumably would also protect the sta- triate the Chagossians would go a long lishes the blog, “Avuncular American” tus of the only current human resi- way toward showing that the U.S. mil- (http://AvuncularAmerican.typepad. dents of the islands — those at the U.S. itary can coexist with civilians — in this com/blog).

14 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 01-15_FSJ_0610_FRO:first 5/15/10 9:36 PM Page 15 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 16

F OCUS ON THE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

THE CONSULAR REVOLUTION Jeff Moores

THE BASIC QUALITIES GOOD CONSULAR OFFICERS POSSESS — INTEGRITY AND SOUND JUDGMENT — HAVEN’T CHANGED. BUT THE TOOLS THEY USE HAVE.

BY ANN B. SIDES

f a consular officer from 1980 could be teleported through time to a 2010 consular section, about the only item he or she might know how to use would be the desktop impression seal. A 1980 consular officer certainly would not know what to make of the barcode readers used to capture data from non-immigrant visa applications today. Thirty yearsI ago, the consular section was a clutter of rubber stamps and inkpads, adding machines, cashboxes, four-ply fee receipts and reams of assorted forms, as well as now-obsolete items like green passport typewriter ribbons and trays

16 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:58 PM Page 17

F OCUS

of index cards for immigrant visa The machine-readable visa, tion, many technological advances cases and American citizen registra- and process reforms actually began tions. There were no computers. first introduced in 1989 in the 1980s and early 1990s. For Security was the mallet kept within example, the Wang computer sys- easy reach for emergency destruc- and modified in 1993 tem installed worldwide in the early tion of the visa printing plates. 1980s provided the first relatively In the consular sections of a gen- and again in 2002, ended timely and reliable visa application eration ago phones rang constantly, record and lookout list. Attacks on and the Foreign Service Nationals the era of stamped, the U.S. embassies in Tehran and Is- (now known as locally employed lamabad in 1979, and against our staff) spent much of their time an- easily forged visas. embassies in Kuwait City and Beirut swering inquiries and processing in 1983, accelerated the process mail-in visa and passport cases. (begun in the late 1970s) of in- Citizens of France, Britain and other prosperous Eu- stalling hardlines and other security features now in place ropean countries still required visas to visit the United at all consular sections worldwide. And the escalation of il- States; there was no formal visa waiver program until 1986. legal immigration into the United States led the State De- In that era, however, many consular sections interviewed partment to begin developing a more assertive strategy to only visa applicants considered high risk for illegal immi- reduce the vulnerability of the visa process to fraud. gration. Lookout systems were primitive. A few large The machine-readable visa, first introduced in 1989 and posts used teletypes to do visa applicant name checks. modified to improve its security features in 1993 and again Most consular sections relied on microfiche sheets or in 2002, ended the era of stamped, easily forged visas. The rarely updated lists kept in ring binders. MRV also, for the first time, linked non-immigrant visa applications directly with an automated lookout system. The A Focus on Security early automated lookout systems were painfully slow and Many factors contributed to the transition in consular inefficient, but they got better through the use of algo- work, but four essential forces drove forward the consular rithms. revolution: visionary leadership on the part of Assistant At the same time, the telecommunications revolution Secretary for Consular Affairs Mary Ryan and her suc- offered CA an extraordinary opportunity to modernize cessor, Maura Harty; an IT technological boom that of- both its technical procedures and its administrative fered powerful new tools; the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ process. Under Assistant Secretary Ryan, the bureau success in being able to use a portion of visa fees to pay for began identifying “best practices” at its more than 200 con- the new technology; and the challenge posed by interna- sular operations abroad and encouraging efficiencies like tional terrorism, which led to greater interagency infor- offsite fee payment, call centers and Web-based appoint- mation-sharing. ment systems. Commonly used forms and basic guidance Although the era of heightened security after 9/11 cer- material like cables and the Foreign Affairs Manual be- tainly spurred major changes in consular work, such as came available online at every desktop. centralized passport issuance and biometric data collec- The introduction of a non-immigrant visa application fee, and CA’s success in securing partial retention of those Ann B. Sides is a 27-year veteran of the Foreign Service. fees in 1994 in the wake of the World Trade Center bomb- Her consular assignments include Niamey, Dakar, Oran, ing, finally provided a stable revenue source to finance the Belgrade (twice), Zagreb, Dublin, Sarajevo and Athens, development and implementation of a series of powerful where she served as consul general from 2004 to 2008. She automated tools to protect U.S citizens and borders. By is currently a grievance analyst in the Bureau of Human 1996 every consular section, however small, was using the Resources and looks forward to retirement in 2011. “The same technology. Equipment was replaced and staff re- Foreign Service has provided a rich vein of material for the trained at two- to three-year intervals, ensuring that con- fiction I hope to write when I hand in my building pass,” sular services stayed close to state-of-the-art in a rapidly she says. advancing technological environment.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 17 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 18

F OCUS

25 Years Ago: A Day in the Life of a Consular Officer By Ann B. Sides he visa applicant at the counter glanced anxiously over his out a blank passport and the engraved Consular Report of Birth Tshoulder at the crowd in the waiting room. He leaned toward Abroad certificate. I recorded the passport and CRBA numbers in me, his face so close to mine that I could smell his cigarette breath. a grubby green ledger. I remembered, guiltily, that I had not yet “I am Jesus Christ, the son of God,” he whispered. “I must go done the required monthly inventory of controlled items. It took to America.” hours to count all the unissued passports, all the soon-to-be- Behind me, I heard a click as Sarah, my senior FSN, quietly phased-out American Citizen ID cards, the consular birth certifi- picked up the phone, prepared to dial the guards outside. cates, immigrant visa blank forms, passport and visa ribbons, “Why must you go to America?” I asked, although I knew the rubber stamps, notarial seals, visa plates, and the wax seal with its answer. The Savior, as we called him, came to us most Wednes- sticks of red wax. I decided to save that chore, too, for the week- days. That was the day the local mental institution allowed some end. of its patients out on furlough. They were supposed to be harm- While Sarah rolled a blank passport into the typewriter, I invited less. I hoped so; in 1985 our tiny North African post had no hard- the Smiths into the consulate kitchen for coffee. After typing in the line, no blast-proof glass service windows and no Marines. baby’s data, Sarah heated up our steam iron, put a few drops of “I must be about my father’s business, Madame,” the Savior white Elmer’s Glue-All on the back of the baby’s photo, placed it in responded, predictably. He had a little forked beard and wore a the passport, spread a sheet of tissue paper over the picture, and long djellaba. He actually looked like the holy picture on my grand- bonded photo to passport page with a quick sweep of the iron. mother’s bedroom wall. She sealed the picture with the consulate seal and the embossed “Do you have an invitation? Traveler’s checks? Round-trip Department of State legend. Sarah was good: she could do a com- ticket? Sorry, you don’t fulfill the conditions for a visa ...” The plete passport in 15 minutes. We then added the baby’s name to practiced phrases fell from my lips. the couple’s registration file card, and stapled his photo on the back “God will provide,” the Savior replied serenely, and departed. It of the card next to those of his parents. cost nothing to submit a visa application, and people like the Sav- After the Smiths left, I ate a late lunch at my desk. Intending to ior kept coming back. spend my afternoon balancing the consular fee collection, I had Behind me, Sarah resumed stamping visas. She fitted each the handwritten receipts piled on my desk and the adding machine passport into an adapted Burroughs check-writing machine, and set up, but I kept getting interrupted. Earlier in the day I’d inter- slammed down the crank handle. The metal visa plate in the ma- viewed a French visa applicant with what appeared to be impecca- chine slapped against a wide silk ribbon inked in a pattern of red, ble qualifications — until I noticed a recently dated “Application green and blue stripes, printing the visa onto the passport page. I Received AmEmbassy Paris” stamp in the back of his passport. noticed the colors of the stamped visas were losing their brightness I’d told him to come back in two weeks. Now I turned on the mi- and sighed. I would soon have to dismantle the machine and crofiche reader, and tried to find the applicant’s name among the change the ribbon. I had no talent for mechanics, but only com- many similar ones on the lookout list. The tiny, blurry print made missioned consular officers were allowed into the guts of the visa my eyes water. The microfiche was over two months out of date; machine. I seldom tackled the ribbon without getting ink all over useless. I sighed. I’d have to draft a cable to Paris, asking details myself. I decided to come in over the weekend in jeans and T-shirt of the visa refusal. and do it then. At the service counter, a visitor claiming to be a naturalized U.S. citizen was applying for a replacement of what he claimed was a I was in my office, winding up an interview with an immigrant lost passport. The story sounded fishy; I’d have to do a cable on visa applicant, when Bob and Debbie Smith strolled in with their that one, too, and wait for Washington’s response. new baby. They both worked for an oil-drilling outfit. I’d performed my first official act as vice consul a year earlier when I attended As the afternoon wore on, I checked the issued visas against the their wedding and issued the Consular Certificate of Witness to a application forms to make sure I’d authorized all of them. Then I Marriage. Now they’d come to register their new baby. went through the mail from Washington, including a dozen newly While they filled out the paperwork, I opened the safe and got revised Foreign Affairs Manual pages and the transmittal letter that

18 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:58 PM Page 19

F OCUS

Going Digital went with them. I gave them to Sarah, whose job it was to re- As late as the 1990s, however, many consular sections move the old pages from the big blue FAM binder, and re- still produced passports the way they were done a half- place them with the updates. century before: with a gluepot and a typewriter. So the Toward closing time, I heard a wail of dismay. I rushed department’s 2001 announcement that overseas passport out of my office and found Sarah kneeling on the floor, weep- issuance was being phased out in favor of photo-digitized ing over a box of spilled index cards. The box was our sole travel documents, produced only by passport centers in way of tracking our pending IV cases. They’d been meticu- the United States, was received with widespread skepti- lously arranged by category and priority date, the family cism in consular sections abroad. However, by the time cases on blue cards and the employment-based on white. the program began in 2002, the 9/11 attacks had made Now they were strewn across the tile floor. Americans residing overseas much more willing to accept “Sarah, we can do this together,” I said soothingly, but I inconvenience for the sake of greater border security. By knew it would take us several hours to get the cards back in 2004, the centrally produced passports incorporated a place. The fee collection reconciliation, like the passport rib- biometric chip and met the most stringent international bon replacement and the controlled supplies inventory, standards. would have to wait till the weekend. As we gathered up the Automation advances and, crucially, the interagency in- cards, I heard a polite cough at the service counter. The Sav- formation-sharing agreements made possible by the Bor- ior was back, smiling benignly. He held his hand up in what der Security Act of 2002 now make much more data looked like a gesture of blessing. He was holding an airline available to consular officers almost instantly when they ticket and a little wad of traveler’s checks. are reviewing a visa application. Likewise, the Customs

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 19 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:58 PM Page 20

F OCUS

and Border Protection inspectors at Automation advances and tions, and controlled items like pass- U.S. ports of entry can see the in- ports and visa blanks, have brought formation submitted at the consular interagency information- about better accountability and a de- window by visa applicants. gree of labor-saving that the harried A new Web-based visa applica- sharing agreements now accountable consular officer of the tion system will soon eliminate the 1970s could hardly have imagined. old paper application form, and en- ensure that much more Not all the innovations of the last able the adjudicating consular offi- quarter-century have brought about cer to review the data before the information is available to greater efficiencies, to be sure. For applicant physically appears for the example, the current requirement interview. Consular officers abroad consular officers. that almost all visa applicants ap- now also have electronic access to pear in person and submit to finger- the department’s digitized passport scanning has created real workload records, virtually eliminating many previously successful and space problems for many posts. Nor have the basic fraudulent schemes for obtaining U.S. travel documents. qualities of a good consular officer — integrity and sound American citizen registration lists and welfare-and- judgment — changed in generations. But the tools that whereabouts records, now also digitized, make it possible support the decision-making process now assure a far for CA and its overseas posts to better coordinate assis- higher level of security for America’s borders and citizens tance to Americans abroad, particularly in emergencies. than even the most imaginative consular officer could have In addition, automated programs that track fee collec- foreseen in 1980. ■

20 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 21

F OCUS ON THE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

AN INTERVIEW WITH ASSISTANT SECRETARY JANICE L. JACOBS

A/S JACOBS PROVIDES A CANDID LOOK AT THE CHANGES CA HAS MADE SINCE 9/11 AND ITS PLANNING FOR FUTURE CHALLENGES.

BY ROSEMARY MACRAY

anice L. Jacobs was appointed assistant retary for visa services. secretary of State for consular affairs in June 2008, her sec- I very quickly said yes, and I remember Maura saying, ond tourJ in the bureau’s front office. Following the 9/11 at- “Don’t you want to take some time to think about this? tacks, she had served as deputy assistant secretary for visa Have you been reading the newspapers?” Secretary [of services, defending the Department of State’s visa issuing State Colin] Powell had been defending the State De- authority and leading a series of changes in security pro- partment’s handling of the visa function against those who cedures. wanted to hand it over to the new Department of Home- In the following interview, conducted by CA’s Rosemary land Security. I told her that I knew it would be very chal- Macray, Asst. Sec. Jacobs talks about the bureau’s post-9/11 lenging, but I accepted that challenge. growing pains, describes how that experience eased the in- It was a very difficult time for the Bureau of Consular teragency response after the attempted Christmas Day Affairs. The changes that we had started to make in the bombing, and explains how the bureau is rising to meet its visa process represented a totally new way of doing busi- other challenges. ness, and I was surprised that a lot of people in the building did not realize that. They didn’t understand that we RM: The Bureau of Consular Affairs has undergone a were having to interview every visa applicant and that we dramatic transformation since Sept. 11, 2001. What was were going to start including biometrics with our visas. So your role during this period and what were the bureau’s there was a lot of questioning within the building and greatest challenges throughout the period? within Consular Affairs about what we were doing on visas. A/S Jacobs: Not too long after 9/11, Assistant Secretary There had been about a 40-percent drop in the number Maura Harty called me in Santo Domingo to ask if I would of visitors coming to the United States in the immediate af- come back to Washington to be the deputy assistant sec- termath of 9/11. Some people were afraid of flying, some thought that the U.S. was less welcoming, and some may Rosemary Macray is chief of the Media Unit in the Con- have even thought we weren’t issuing visas anymore. sular Bureau’s Office of Policy Coordination and Public There was also a global downturn in the economy. Affairs. Her previous Foreign Service postings include Within the building, our colleagues didn’t realize that Mexico City, Quito and Buenos Aires. the visa changes were based on laws, as well as Govern-

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 21 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 22

F OCUS

ment Accountability Office investi- “[After 9/11], we constantly continue being the open, welcom- gations and recommendations. Peo- ing country that we’ve always been. ple blamed us for students not had to walk that fine line of Sometimes we were the only ones coming, for the drop in the number at the table saying this, so it was a of visitors and for business travelers showing that we understood very difficult time. not being able to get their visas. In 2002 and 2003, we had security while trying to RM: While you were attending markedly expanded the require- the meetings, it was the folks in the ment to obtain security advisory gently tell people that we field who were having to actually opinions, and the State Department implement changes in their visa is- and our other agency partners were can’t shut down the borders.” suing processes. How did that go? not resourced well enough to keep — CA Assistant Secretary A/S Jacobs: Overseas, as al- up. Some categories of security Janice L. Jacobs ways, the consular officers stepped checks were taking seven to nine up. We were sending cable after months to complete. Students were cable with one change after the missing not just a semester but the entire academic year. other. I’m sure they were thinking, “What are they doing So we were really under fire. There was a feeling among back there? Where is this coming from?” For example, a some members of Congress and in the press that the De- law passed in May 2002 required collecting biometrics for partment of Homeland Security should have assumed the visas. We knew that we would soon be collecting finger- visa function. prints from every applicant, so we instructed posts to start When Maura began as assistant secretary, about a interviewing nearly every applicant. We figured by the month after I started as visa DAS, we launched an exten- time the biometrics collection was set up, they would have sive outreach plan — starting with other offices in the State already worked managing the physical flow of applicants Department — to explain the changes, clarify that you through their sections. could still get a visa and to confirm that we still welcomed Officers came back with very legitimate, logical ques- people to the United States, especially students. tions about how they were supposed to accomplish this. All of us in the front office started engaging in outreach. For years we were understaffed. State hadn’t been hiring We traveled around the country visiting campuses to talk in sufficient numbers in the 1990s. A lot of smart people about student visas; whenever we traveled overseas we met out there were saying, “Wow, do you know what this with student and business groups. I held a town-hall meet- means? Have you really thought this through?” But again, ing at the deputy assistant secretary level with desk offi- it showed the sort of can-do attitude of consular officers. cers to talk about what we were doing to eliminate delays We completely transformed the visa process. in visa issuance. Gradually, things started to turn around. Staffs were working hard and the consular managers People realized that we were really making an effort to were having to get buy-in for all these changes. They had make this work. Foreign Service Nationals with 15, 20, 25 years of experi- There were so many changes — not just in our proce- ence doing things a certain way who suddenly had to learn dures, but in our interaction with the new Homeland Se- new procedures. We also had a few outstanding veteran curity Council, which was made up primarily of DHS and officers who weren’t thrilled with a lot of these changes law enforcement agency representatives. In those days we and were not shy about speaking out. So we did a lot of were spending more time with the HSC than the National training in change management. But everyone came Security Council. around, realizing that they had to set the example. In this gathering of law enforcement offices, the State Although the government is known for its inertia and Department was sometimes the odd man out. Because moving slowly, we did all of this in just a few months. It there was still a lot of interest in further tightening border was amazing. We deployed and started using all of our security, we constantly had to walk that fine line of show- biometric equipment within a year. It was just unheard of ing that we understood security while trying to gently tell how quickly we moved on this. And after a while, of people that we can’t shut down the borders. We had to course, people began to wonder how we had ever done

22 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 23

F OCUS

visas any other way. “I am always proud to Our processes are never going to Through our rapid transforma- be static. The enemy that we are tion, we showed not only that we lead CA, but I could not fighting is very agile, very flexible. understood our role in border secu- They’re very quick to pick up on rity as the first line of defense, but have been prouder of how whatever screening tools we put we showed other agencies that we into place. So we have to operate knew what we were doing and that proactive and responsive the same way; we’re always going to they could build on what we had have to be looking. done and use that information to people were [after the One thing everyone can agree on perform checks at the ports of entry. is that there’s no single machine or So it wasn’t just within CA. Other Haiti earthquake].” procedure that is going to protect us agencies recognized very quickly completely. And so what it really that the State Department gets it requires is a certain amount of risk done. management, not risk avoidance, paired with a layered approach so that if one part of the process fails, another part RM: And the changes continue. How did the Dec. 25 can catch somebody. bombing attempt affect bureau operations? Perhaps the biggest challenge that we face is identify- A/S Jacobs: After that incident, I saw a lot of the same ing people we don’t know about already. We do a great things that happened after 9/11. Of course, people want job of sharing data on known or suspected terrorists. We to rush to do something immediately to ensure this can’t get that information into databases. We have the biomet- happen again. The benefit of our 9/11 experience is that rics. We have any number of tools available to us on peo- we have tried a lot of the things being suggested now and ple we know about. But it’s the people with clean identities over time realized that they didn’t work. who have somehow become a threat. Those are the peo- For example, for a while we had a very expansive list of ple that the U.S. has to figure out ways to identify. names on the no-fly list. We wound up with so many false One way to do that is through more data mining of the positives, so many people being stopped at ports of entry information that we get on people who apply for visas. and so many complaints from travelers, that in 2008 the With our all-electronic visa form there will be a wealth of interagency community had to take another look at the potential intelligence that the State Department and other standards and shorten the list. We learned it didn’t make agencies can access. That’s where I think the next step us more secure to spend all of our time checking to see if should be. All of the interested agencies could set up a fu- it’s the right person. sion center where they could analyze our visa information I think the good news after the Christmas Day bomb- and use it as a screening tool before applicants even ap- ing has been that people are remembering what we did pear in our consular sections for interviews. after 9/11. We are doing things in a smarter way this time. This time the interagency community has come together RM: What do you see as the greatest challenges facing as a whole to look at our procedures in tandem. Opera- Consular Affairs over the next few years, and how is the bu- tionally, everyone has a much better understanding now of reau preparing to meet them? what each agency does and how we need to work together. A/S Jacobs: Our operation depends mostly on the fees we collect for services, so that means that we have to pay RM: There are some who say that Consular Affairs is a lot of attention to demand. When demand is up, it’s still struggling to find the proper balance between main- great, but when it’s down, the way it is now, it is not so good taining an adequate security posture and welcoming visitors for us. We know that within the next five, 10, 15 or 20 to the United States. years there’s going to be tremendous growth in demand in A/S Jacobs: Whenever there is any kind of disaster or China, India, Brazil and Mexico. We’ve been working crisis, or something happens with visas, like what hap- hard to figure out how to accommodate this demand. pened on Christmas Day, we can expect that our work will In China, for example, our consulate in Shanghai has be scrutinized. We’re always in the spotlight. already had to add more cubicles for staff, because they

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 23 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 24

F OCUS

are running out of space. But we “We have any number sponsibility, one that garners a lot of aren’t necessarily going to be able to attention. We brief Capitol Hill fre- keep hiring more and more people of tools available to us on quently and spend a lot of time ex- and sending them off to these plaining our role on these issues to places. people we know about. the media. We also have to look at issues. Do we need to assign multiple offi- But it’s the people with clean RM: What are your goals for the cers to one window and have them bureau’s interactions on the Hill? working shifts? Or in China, do we identities who have somehow A/S Jacobs: We have had a liai- open up visa processing centers in son office on the House side for a commercial facilities rather than a become a threat.” few years. We just opened a new new consulate? These huge issues office in the Senate. Our liaison are difficult to address given the fact staff spends a lot of time research- that our government budget cycle requires us to plan years ing individual cases involving the members’ constituents. in advance. But we’re preparing. This consular presence and assistance serve us well. We know that the middle class in those countries is That also gives us an ear up on the Hill about issues that growing at a certain rate every year. And, of course, it’s not affect our work. Right now, for example, we’re very inter- just CA, but all of the bureaus that support us that have to ested in immigration reform legislation. No matter what be thinking about this, as well. shape it takes, it will affect Consular Affairs. We want people who are proposing legislation to understand opera- RM: The Bureau of Consular Affairs’ work on children’s tionally and from a resource perspective what these ideas issues has also grown a lot in the past few years. would mean for us. I don’t ever want people to think that A/S Jacobs: The Office of Children’s Issues was just a we’re somehow resisting them. handful of people back in the mid-1990s; now the office is Individual cases, of course, will always come up with staffed by nearly 90 people. More and more, these issues the members, but so many of the issues that we follow — are catching the interest of Congress, the press and, cer- whether it is immigration reform, adoption or abduction tainly, the parents involved, whether they’re adopting or — really catch the interest of members. Our overall rela- involved in an abduction scenario. We strive to handle tionship with the Hill is so important. We’re always happy these emotional issues carefully and compassionately, but to provide briefings and talk to people. So we spend a lot always keep in mind that we are the U.S. government’s of time up there. central authority for implementing the Hague Conven- tions on international child adoption and child abduction. RM: About 1,000 employees of the Bureau of Consular In every decision, we must be mindful of our responsi- Affairs were involved in various aspects of the response to bility in countries that are not signatories of either con- the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. Could you talk about that vention. We have to fulfill our consular role in providing a bit? services to American citizens. We have to engage in diplo- A/S Jacobs: Haiti was just a tremendous effort on the matic outreach to encourage governments to sign on to part of Consular Affairs. It was unique in that ordinarily, these conventions. And we have to monitor whether coun- the local authorities and host government would be in the tries have transparent and fair procedures. forefront of responding to a disaster. But because of the In Vietnam and Guatemala, for instance, we have en- degree of destruction and the fact that government offices countered very serious allegations of corruption and ques- were destroyed, we had to find a new way of handling our tions about the children being offered up for adoption. issues ourselves, but also in conjunction with other agen- Sometimes people think our responsibility is rather nar- cies. row in scope, but it encompasses working with govern- We had a tremendous interagency effort in Haiti. The ments on creating good child welfare systems, helping departments of State, Defense, and Health and Human them with anti-trafficking initiatives and instituting proce- Services all came together to reach out, to do search and dures to ensure transparent systems. So it’s a huge re- recovery, and to get remains repatriated back to the United

24 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 25

F OCUS

States. Of course, our people on the “Many times overseas RM: How long after the actual ground in Port-au-Prince were ready earthquake did you realize that the to leap into action. when we’ve been out there media and the American public Houses were destroyed; people would become fixated on the subject were sleeping in their offices on the helping Americans in a of orphans in Haiti? floor, on cots and in tents. When you A/S Jacobs: After any natural think about the amount of work they crisis, diplomatic colleagues disaster, any time there are images of were able to do 24/7, it really was suffering children on the television quite amazing. I am always proud to from other embassies call screen or in newspapers, there is an lead CA, but I could not have been outpouring of love and interest from prouder of how proactive and re- me to ask what we’re doing the American public. People decide sponsive people were, always think- in front of their TV screens that they ing about others and not themselves. and how they should help want to adopt. In less than three weeks, we evacu- their own nationals.” I am especially proud of what we ated over 16,000 people, which was did to facilitate children who were in more than we evacuated from Le- the process of being adopted. Work- banon in 2006. It will be years being with U.S. Citizen and Immigra- fore Haiti fully recovers; we are now moving into a new tion Services, just days after the earthquake, we set up a phase, focusing on trying to reunite families through im- humanitarian parole program to bring children into the migrant visas. United States who were already in the process of being

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 25 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 26

F OCUS

adopted by U.S. citizens when the earthquake struck. top priority for CA. It is something that we will fund and There have been more than 1,000 children brought in we will find a way to do. under that program. Getting them documented and ap- One way we do this is by dedicating a portion of the proved to leave the country also required quite a bit of co- passport fee to providing emergency services for Ameri- ordination with the Haitian government. can citizens overseas in crisis situations, such as the disas- Proper international practice after a natural disaster is to ter in Haiti; helping Americans who have been the victims wait until family reunification efforts have taken place be- of crime while traveling or living abroad, or who have been fore deciding whether children need to be placed with arrested or imprisoned; and providing support to the fam- adoptive families in their home country or abroad. USAID, ilies of American citizens who have died overseas. along with UNICEF, the Red Cross, Save the Children and We take great pride in this work. Many times overseas other groups, is working very hard on the ground to trace when we’ve been out there helping Americans in a crisis, and reunify families. If no family-based solutions are found diplomatic colleagues from other embassies call me to ask for the children in Haiti, I would expect that we will even- what we’re doing and how they should help their own na- tually return to seeing intercountry adoptions out of Haiti. tionals. So I think we have a well-deserved reputation. We will always fight to get the money we need, whether it’s for RM: In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, Ameri- disaster assistance, repatriation, whatever it is. These costs cans there received a wide variety of services for which are rising each year, with an estimate for this fiscal year of there was no charge. How does the bureau fund this criti- more than $300 million. cal responsibility? A/S Jacobs: The protection of Americans overseas is a RM: Thank you very much, Assistant Secretary Jacobs. ■

26 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 27

F OCUS ON THE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

WHY CONSULAR INTERVIEWS MATTER

VISA OFFICERS RARELY MEET APPLICANTS AGAIN ONCE AN INTERVIEW IS OVER. BUT SOMETIMES THEY GET TO SEE THAT THEY’VE MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE.

BY RICHARD SILVER

hen adults approach the just met the couple on the train from her village to the em- visa interview window with children that are not their own, bassy in New Delhi, it was apparent that they had been alarm bells tend to go off in the minds of consular officers. paid to bring the children into the U.S. for an unknown Are theW children being trafficked or smuggled? Are the purpose. In fact, their father and the mastermind of the parents deceased or living illegally in the United States? plot were both waiting outside the embassy. Security per- Do the parents even know where their children are? sonnel detained the parties, and local police later arrested I still recall the day an elderly couple approached my in- all of the adults involved. terview window with children who looked like their grand- With that and similar incidents still fresh in my mind, I children. The couple’s soft smiles and gentle manner gave was immediately concerned when a tall American and his the initial impression that they were happily retired pro- Persian-American wife approached my window on a very fessionals. Once the interview began, they claimed to be hot day in May 2008. Patrick Riley and Shahla Ettefagh the chess coach and manager of the two small children, who had two 14-year-old Indian girls in tow. Neighbors from a were going to Chicago to participate in a chess tournament. slum in the Himalayan foothills, the girls stood slightly to Analyzing the group’s demeanor, I saw that the children the side of their American escorts. I knew right away that did not look comfortable. Their story seemed a bit fan- this interview would require at least a few extra questions. tastic, as well. After all, how many subsistence farmers Politely but firmly, I requested that Patrick and Shahla from faraway Gujarat would spend limited resources on take a seat as I turned my attention to the two young ladies chess lessons for their children and then go further into in front of me. “Asha” and “Parvati” (not their real names) debt so that they could compete in a tournament abroad? had excellent posture and were highly attentive. Had they I split the group apart and their stories could not have been been coached on how to behave at the interview? further out of alignment. In response to my questions, they revealed that they Even before the 7-year-old girl confirmed that she had had only been out of their small town once before coming to the capital. They said that the adults with them were co- Richard Silver recently completed his first Foreign Service principals of the Mother Miracle School in Rishikesh — a tour as a vice consul in New Delhi. A public diplomacy of- holy city on the Ganges River — where the girls were ficer, he will soon begin a rotational tour in Bogotá. studying math, English, computers, yoga and art. They re-

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 27 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 28

F OCUS

ally came alive when describing The events leading though few residents shared their their own role as mentors to the commitment. By tenaciously ad- younger kids. to my visa window had hering to their vision through sev- This theme of giving back to their eral false starts — becoming a bit community came up throughout the begun about the time the more streetwise in the process — interview. They were very curious they finally opened a school in their about the United States and said girls were born back home in 2003. Two years later, they they wanted to share their lives with expanded it, moving to a rented children in the U.S. and learn how in 1995. building. children live in other countries. It took years for the school to “We would like to tell them how find its footing, but soon the couple we live in joint families and about our life here,” they said. had scores of young boys and girls studying there, all from “And we want to learn about how the children live and poor Indian families. Then they decided to hold a com- study, what their schools are like and what kind of books petition to take two students with them on a three-month they use.” trip all over the United States. They considered each stu- After thousands of interviews one develops a sixth sense dent’s contributions to the school, the quality of his or her about people, the veracity of stories and the subtlety of the educational efforts and the student’s ability to teach others. emotions and facial expressions of people during inter- It had taken a year to hold the competition, obtain parental views. The nervousness and formality that these young consent and get Indian passports. Obtaining visas to the ladies initially displayed vanished as they expressed their United States was the final hurdle in realizing their dream. enthusiasm for learning and teaching the younger kids. While interviewing the couple I asked nonsequential They seemed humble and spoke with gratitude about the questions, observed their demeanor carefully and was sat- opportunity to apply for a visa. isfied that they were as bighearted and dedicated as their story suggested. I was also confident that they would all re- A Long Journey turn to India at the end of the trip and that the girls would By this time I felt reasonably sure that the girls were share their experience with their peers, serving as effec- telling the truth. So I called the adults back up to get more tive role models and teachers to younger students. When information about the school and the purpose of going to I told Asha and Parvati that their visas had been approved, the United States. they burst into tears even as they laughed with joy. The story behind the request had begun about the time the girls were born, back in 1995. In that year, Shahla first Trip Report traveled to India and saw a ghetto built on a garbage heap. I kept a brochure from the school on my desk for She watched children scavenging for anything edible, any- months afterward. Sometimes I would pick it up for a mo- thing they could sell or use in daily life. Moved to tears, ment and recall that emotional interview. I decided to visit she resolved then and there to dedicate her retirement the school if I was ever in the area. years to helping such young people. But after returning to That opportunity came over Labor Day weekend in her decorative art business in San Francisco, she forgot her 2008. I was making a personal trip to Rishikesh and called pledge for several years. the school a few days before departing. Patrick and Shahla Then she met Patrick, an event producer who had just had returned from their trip only a few weeks before, and returned to the San Francisco Bay area from his own spir- invited me to stop by their home and visit the school. itual pilgrimage to India. He found that her vision gave When I arrived, the girls joined us and we discussed form to his inner stirrings, and they jointly committed to their experience in the U.S. Sitting comfortably in a win- relocate to India and found a school for the poor. His only dowed room overlooking the Ganges, Asha and Parvati condition was that it be situated near the Ganges River. began with some charming stories about New York City. In 2002, the couple made their way to the ancient pil- They had seen a dog in the back of a car and thought it grimage town of Rishikesh in the Himalayan foothills. had its own chauffeur. They wondered where all of the They quickly set about establishing a school there, even cows, dogs and monkeys were. And they were amazed to

28 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 29

F OCUS

learn that many children in Amer- When I told Asha and and playing the piano in several ica have their own bedrooms, preschools in New York and Cali- whereas at their home in India the Parvati that their visas had fornia. Parvati told me that the peo- whole family lives in one small ple they met “held our hands and room. been approved, they burst asked us to teach them our dances From New York they traveled to and asked where they could find the West Coast, visiting museums into tears even as they our Indian clothes. They asked and tourist attractions like Disney- about our lives in India. We told land and Universal Studios, as well laughed with joy. them that our public schools have as enjoying the wilderness of the 100 children per class, no comput- Sierra Mountains. These two girls ers, playground, or even a ball to from extremely poor families came back loving Henri Ma- play with. We sit on the floor in rooms that have no doors tisse and Pablo Picasso. They spoke with equal enthusiasm and windows. The children welcomed us as guests and about their experience cooking and serving food for the cried when we left. They did not want us to leave.” homeless people who daily crowd into San Francisco’s Neither girl wants to live in the U.S., for both are de- Glide Memorial Church. This care extended to America’s termined to become doctors serving their own commu- homeless was a strong contrast to what they have experi- nity. Yet after a brief pause, they both agreed it would enced in their village. be great to go to the medical school at the University of The girls also shared Indian culture with American chil- California (Davis), a place they visited during their tour. dren, performing classical and Bollywood dances, singing When asked what impressed them the most about the

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 29 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 30

F OCUS

U.S., Asha said: “Before I went to America, I did not un- macy, to demonstrate that the U.S. is a country governed derstand recycling. Seeing how clean the streets are in by laws, and to model American values. It is an incredible America, I now understand the importance of the com- feeling to receive a sincere “thank you” from a person munity working together to improve the environment.” whose visa has been rejected, but is nonetheless grateful to Both girls pledged to try putting garbage cans around have been treated with dignity. Rishikesh and to educate people to use them. Consular officers rarely see visa applicants once the interview is over. It is even rarer to witness the effect of an Ripple Effects individual visa decision on the lives of the applicants and an Consular officers are often the only face-to-face con- entire community. During my stay in Rishikesh, I watched tact people outside the United States have with our gov- Asha and Parvati teach other children. I learned how their ernment or Americans generally. Over a hundred times a visit to the U.S. had changed their lives, and I met scores day, each officer must quickly make basic visa eligibility of children whose lives were also being changed for the determinations. The U.S. has always welcomed visitors better. from overseas. However, during this time of heightened How different would things have turned out had the security concerns, screening visa applicants is more im- Gujarati children received visas instead of Parvati and portant than ever. Asha? Whether it is looking into the big, innocent eyes of Yet beyond the individual visa decisions, the personal a 7-year-old aspiring chess champion, or learning how a conduct of each consular officer dramatically influences trip to the United States changed the lives of two teenage how the U.S. is perceived by the foreign public overseas. girls and their peers, there can be no doubt: consular in- Every interview is an opportunity to practice public diplo- terviews matter! ■

30 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 31

F OCUS ON THE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

WHEN GOOD OFFICERS GO BAD

THE CONSULAR INTEGRITY DIVISION USES LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST MALFEASANCE TO HEAD OFF FUTURE INCIDENTS.

BY ROBERT W. T HOMAS

magine starting a new job as chief of Unfortunately, those examples are not merely hypo- a consular section, only to learn that one of your prede- thetical. They represent the cases of a former consular cessors was just arrested for helping young women falsify officer in Berlin, a consular cashier in Singapore, and their non-immigrantI visa applications. A few days later, vice consuls in Brazzaville and Sao Paulo, respectively. three of your senior local employees confide that they Their mug shots join those of others (including non-con- think the guy was stealing money, too. sular employees) on the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Or perhaps you’re the new officer responsible for Malfeasance Indictments intranet Web page, also known recording and reconciling consular fee collections. as the “Wall of Shame.” Thankfully, you see that the Consular Training Division at the Foreign Service Institute has an online training Addressing Vulnerabilities course on these duties. After completing the course, you The Consular Integrity Division, part of the Bureau begin to notice discrepancies in the cashier’s end-of-day of Consular Affairs’ Office of Fraud Prevention Pro- reports. You report your findings, provoking a major in- grams, is a joint collaboration with the Bureau of Diplo- vestigation that reveals the theft of more than half a mil- matic Security’s Criminal Investigations Division. CID lion dollars from U.S. government funds over the past identifies vulnerabilities in our processes and systems in six years. order to prevent their exploitation, while DS and the Of- Or perhaps you notice one of your colleagues making fice of the Inspector General investigate individual acts inappropriate comments to visa applicants and initiating of employee malfeasance or lapses in professional re- contact with them outside the office. sponsibility. The jointly staffed division supports the investigation of the individual offenders. Robert “Robby” Thomas, a consular Foreign Service offi- While criminal prosecutions are typically high-profile cer since 2001, is a senior watch officer in the Department and garner significant press attention, they are only a of State Operations Center. Before that, he served as chief small part of CID’s overall effort. Since 2003, CA has of the joint Consular Affairs-Diplomatic Security Consular conducted a multifaceted strategy to prevent and miti- Integrity Division. His overseas assignments include gate vulnerabilities that may provide opportunities for Nouakchott, Toronto and Abidjan. malfeasance: employees providing consular services or

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 31 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 32

F OCUS

access to services in an illegal or While criminal prosecutions Today the CID team consists of improper manner. 14 full-time positions, including The initial focus of the CID and are typically high-profile Foreign Service consular general- its predecessor, the Vulnerability ists, DS special agents, and Civil Assessment Unit, was on working and garner significant press Service professionals from both CA with DS to support consular mal- and DS. feasance casework with information attention, they are only The unit’s mission is to analyze and expert analysis. As this effort what we need in our systems, pro- began to mature, a significant num- a small part of CID’s cedures and our management; to ber of anecdotal “lessons learn- document those requirements; and ed” emerged. This naturally led to overall effort. to follow through by constantly scru- a push to share these lessons with tinizing consular operations for vul- the field through formal guidance nerabilities. and training. Our analysis reveals four trends that are strongly cor- In October 2008, the Bureau of Consular Affairs related to acts of malfeasance. broadened CID’s mandate to include domestic passport Ethics and Personal Conduct. In most of the cases operations. CA also formalized the process for incorpo- analyzed, offenders did not appear to have had criminal rating the lessons learned from past incidents into policy, intentions when they began their careers. Most of them training, systems and oversight. began on the right path, only to stray later (in some

How to Model Integrity • Trust, but verify. Sometimes temptation is too great for anyone to bear. Pay attention to what is going on in your section. • Get trained. Even if you’re a seasoned veteran who has taken Conduct random spot checks. Get out of your office and talk to the consular section chief course or the advanced consular course, your team. Doing this not only shows that you care about them served as a section chief or been a consular country coordinator, and their work; it shows that you are paying attention. update your training regularly. Malfeasance most often occurs • Call home, early and often. If you have questions about pol- under the watch of managers who mean well, but do not have any icy or procedures, or if you observe a problem or encounter un- recent training and have not kept up with our changing consular explained computer issues, seek guidance from CA. If you have world. The Foreign Service Institute’s Consular Training Division concerns about employee misconduct or malfeasance, you must offers dozens of classroom and online courses for consular em- both report it up your chain of command and make sure that CA ployees to “learn constantly” throughout their careers. is looped in right away. • Be transparent. If there’s any room for debate at all, just say • Manage relationships. While strict adherence to policy and “no” to gifts or other consideration. Recuse yourself from han- procedure is vital, it’s not a license to disregard the rest of the dling matters that others might perceive as a conflict of interest. mission. The visa process is, after all, a “foreign policy tool.” Clearly articulate this expectation to your staff, and model integrity Reconcile this by reaching out to colleagues early and often, ed- for them daily. ucating them about what your team does, the visa referral system, • Be consistent. Follow proper procedures, even when they and why transparency is so very important in our work. are a challenge or when there is an easier route. Waive or expe- • Be a good example. Remember that consular work is the dite appointments solely for reasons prescribed in a written post training ground of the Foreign Service. All State generalists enter policy based on department priorities. Only accept proper refer- the department through a consular assignment. The examples rals. Follow cashiering procedures to the letter. When proce- they see from consular managers will shape the type of managers dures don’t make sense, or if they are impossible to meet because — and the type of officers — they will become. Maximize use of they are unrealistic, seek guidance from your supervisor and the CA’s Leadership Initiatives, including the Consular Leadership department, and advocate for changes. Tenets.

32 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 33

F OCUS

cases, much later). The single fac- In reality, http://l.s.state.sbu/sites/emp/pages/ tor that appears to link them all is askquestion.aspx. a pattern of questionable ethical management controls 2) Conflicts of Interest. CID has choices. The earliest of these poor noted that malfeasant employees ethical choices typically played out and appropriate oversight often did not recuse themselves in two distinct areas: from cases involving their neigh- 1) Gifts. Whether in the form of help create a situation bors, business associates, relatives or chocolates from an immigration others to whom there was a per- firm at the holidays, a cake baked by where trust is possible. ceived connection. a grateful immigrant visa recipient, While an actual conflict of inter- or a free hotel room on the coast, est is clearly a problem, even a per- presents are generally inappropriate ceived one can be harmful. Again, and should be politely declined with a brief reference to transparency is key. the strict legal guidelines under which we operate. Lax Management. In nearly every case analyzed, That said, sometimes accepting a gift is not only ap- managers failed to ensure that procedures were properly propriate but essential. All officers should refer to the taught and followed, personnel were adequately super- ethics guidelines available from L/Ethics on iNet for any vised, or appropriate management controls were in place. clarification of what is and is not acceptable under the gift Instead, they appeared to confuse the existence of man- regulations. Any specific questions should be referred to agement controls with a lack of trust in employees. L/Ethics by submitting a question on the L intranet site: In reality, management controls and appropriate over-

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 33 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 34

F OCUS

sight help create a situation where Recent improvements to those changes. In light of the reality trust is possible. There is no better that new officers generally have the way to show your employees and oversight of DNA testing most up-to-date training on current colleagues that you care than by pro- processes and procedures, consular tecting them from accusations of and clearer guidelines on managers should seek opportunities misconduct. to learn, as well as teach. In most instances, it appears that visa referrals can close Failure or Absence of Proce- very early in the offenders’ careers, dural/Systems Safeguards. In when they first started down the slip- significant gaps in our nearly all cases of malfeasance, loop- pery slope of poor ethical choices, holes in policies, computer systems they were not called out on their poor management controls. or post procedures were contribut- judgment. With that in mind, CID’s ing factors. For example, longstand- current focus is on training consular ing management controls could have leaders to learn the lessons of the past — to recognize helped prevent or detect the above-mentioned cashier warning signs and act to prevent minor lapses from be- malfeasance case, if only the accountable control officer coming major violations. had implemented them properly and consistently. Lack of Managerial Training. Another strong cor- In the course of supporting this investigation, CID also relation was found between instances of malfeasance found that our electronic cashiering system was in need of and the number of consular sections led by managers an update. A relatively minor change to workflow and without recent training — particularly among those who computer software now effectively mitigates a risk that had taken no major consular tradecraft courses since cost us at least half a million dollars. 9/11. Future overhauls of our cashiering systems should au- Demands and problems in consular work continue to tomate many of the clerical reconciliation functions that change, and managers must keep up with and embrace now burden our managers and are so highly prone to human error. FSI’s online training courses for accountable consular officers, consular cashiers and consular What Non-Consular Officers agents help address another great vulnerability, providing Can Do to Model Integrity much-needed training on a vital managerial control mechanism.

•Support transparency and equal treatment in the visa Prevention Is the Watchword process. Make judicious use of the referral system, using it New projects under development in CA’s Office of only where essential. When people approach you for favors or Consular Systems and Technology will help to further au- special treatment that does not qualify for a referral, use it as an tomate management controls, making the work of our opportunity to explain American culture and values. It’s a great managers simpler, easier to implement and less time-con- moment to drive home our values of transparency, equal treat- suming. ment under the law and good governance. Recent improvements to oversight of DNA testing, the worldwide standardization of the visa referral policy •Ensure consular perspectives are reflected in post re- and forthcoming clarification on the assignment of con- porting. The consular section at each post has a wealth of ex- sular systems roles are other examples of how policy re- perience and direct interaction with the public that can provide finement can close significant gaps in our management useful reporting perspectives. controls. •Enlist the consular section in public diplomacy efforts. While any organization may experience malfeasance, This is a natural way to interact directly with a large subset of we can prevent future incidents by applying the lessons the public. Public diplomacy efforts are also key to combating of the past and making continual improvements to policy fraud from outside groups that seek to manipulate the process. and procedures, automated systems, training and oversight. ■

34 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 35

F OCUS ON THE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

“WE’RE ON FACEBOOK”

AS THE FACE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR COUNTLESS PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD, CONSULAR STAFF USE SOCIAL MEDIA IN NOVEL WAYS.

BY WILLIAM BENT

fter comparing the YouTube to reach our audiences. We have embraced the Department of State’s technological expertise with that of new technologies, with active public blogs like DipNote the now-defunct United States Information Agency on and countless internal blogs and forum discussions. The their weblog,A “Whirled View” (http://whirledview.type department also operates nearly 200 Facebook pages, 50 pad.com/whirledview/), former FSOs Patricia Kushlis Twitter sites and 42 YouTube sites. and Patricia Lee Sharpe offer the following comment: “It Consular officers are often the literal face of the De- often seems as if the State Department is trying to make partment of State, touching the lives of thousands of up for lost time, positioning itself precariously on the American citizens and visa applicants around the world other extreme of the spectrum, as current public diplo- each day. So it should come as no surprise that the Bu- macy recruits fall all over themselves to prove they can reau of Consular Affairs is using social media in novel ways. out-Facebook, out-tweet and out-text the most desper- Embassy London, for example, has a YouTube chan- ate friend-seeker on the block.” nel with interesting and informative “how to” videos con- It does seem these days that we are stumbling over cerning consular matters. My favorite is “Melissa Gets a each other as we “friend,” “poke” and “tweet” our way Passport,” in the style of those goofy public service films around the Web. “Social media” is the buzzword of the from the 1950s, in which the cheerfully inquisitive title day, and the State Department has jumped on the band- character is a U.S. expatriate who navigates the passport wagon, utilizing such tools as Facebook, Twitter and application process. (The embassy’s “Scamnet” video is pretty darn good, too, with apologies to Joe Friday.) William Bent is head of the Outreach Division in CA’s Of- Another example comes from Mission Mexico, whose fice of Public Affairs and Policy Coordination. A Foreign YouTube videos include one discussing how to stay safe Service officer since 1992, he has served overseas in Santo during spring break. And the consular section in Tel Aviv Domingo, Prague and Kingston. In Washington, D.C., he has developed an excellent video warning applicants of has been a desk officer for Jamaica and the Bahamas and the consequences of engaging in fraud. for Ireland, as well as a career development officer for the CA also utilizes Twitter to disseminate travel alerts and Bureau of Human Resources and chief of the Diplomatic updates on country-specific information notices. The Liaison Division of the Visa Office. TravelGov account boasts over 25,000 followers, includ-

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 35 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 36

F OCUS

ing some of our main stakeholders: Embassies should not tional Information Programs em- U.S. government offices, foreign phasizes that this two-way commu- embassies, travel agencies and uni- just post information, nication is the most important aspect versity study-abroad offices. Other of social media. With the typical governments are also using Twitter but also respond to “flat” Web page, May explains, “eye- to keep in touch with their citizens: balls may be looking at it, but that the British have a main Foreign Of- comments and inquiries. doesn’t mean anything happened. fice account and numerous addi- What is important is how much real tional Twitter pages managed by engagement you have.” individual embassies, consulates and missions. John Echard of CA’s Office of Public Affairs and Policy Of the State Department’s nearly 200 Facebook pages, Coordination agrees. When he set up the bureau’s Twit- many have thousands of followers, and a growing number ter accounts, he realized from the outset the importance of of them have more than 10,000 fans. Most of the pages are having two-way communication. “Twitter should not be not focused exclusively on consular matters, but certainly used only as a way to disseminate information — it’s a con- visa, passport and overseas citizens services issues are versation, and posts should also correspond with people prominent on the sites. tweeting at them.” One Facebook page that seems to work well is that of I first became aware of the power of social media dur- Embassy Podgorica. This relatively small post has some- ing a recent consular tour in the Dominican Republic, how managed to attract over 3,000 fans to its site, which where I monitored a local Web site, www.dominicans not only covers the busy schedule of its ambassador but totheusa.com. This is a forum for immigration and visa also publishes items on the Diversity Visa Lottery and of- issues specifically focused on visa operations at Embassy fers a “how to” video on the visa process. Other notewor- Santo Domingo. Founded several years ago at a time thy Facebook pages in terms of number of “fans” are our when there was a huge backlog of immigrant visa appli- embassies in La Paz and Pretoria. The granddaddy of cations, the site spotlighted a perceived lack of trans- them all, however, is Embassy Jakarta, which boasts at least parency in the process. 124,000 fans. As I read the entries on the site’s forum, I was struck The www.travel.state.gov Web site, which scores ap- by how confused and angry many forum members were. proximately 300 million visits annually, and its sister sites in Much of their frustration was over appointment wait times embassies and consulates abroad remain the main tools for (which happily are now dramatically reduced). But some disseminating information to our citizens about travel-re- of it came from misunderstandings that could be bridged lated conditions. through better communication. Upon receiving approval for the initiative from CA, I The Value of Feedback began a monthly “Ask the Expert” column on the site in So why use social media? The short answer is that one 2007, and posted periodic updates on the forum. We in- should engage the public where they are. According to vited the site’s founder in for a “behind the scenes” tour of Walter Braunohler of State’s Office of eDiplomacy, “If we the consular section. The results were impressive: On the engage people where they are going naturally, we will have rare occasion when a forum member posted something much better success in reaching them and getting them negative, 10 others would “gang up” on him, noting how the information they need.” hard embassy employees were working to end the backlog. People around the world are certainly flocking to social This dynamic interaction can also be extremely valu- media Web sites, with an estimated 350 million people able for feedback. In monitoring the site, I often discov- currently on Facebook and more than 105 million users ered problems and was then able to adjust my outreach worldwide on Twitter. accordingly. Many times members would post comments Another reason to utilize social media is the potential to about their interview experiences, thus providing imme- engage the public in conversation, the characteristic that diate feedback about the consular section’s customer serv- sets it apart from traditional Web sites. Bill May of the Of- ice. We even adopted some suggestions for procedural fice of Innovative Engagement in the Bureau of Interna- changes proposed by forum members. This engagement

36 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 37

F OCUS

created a dialogue that allowed us to The most powerful Social Media During Crises address the needs of our customers The greatest potential of social and give them a sense of “owner- example of social media’s media for consular outreach comes ship” that significantly enhanced our from their use during a crisis. public image. potential for consular When the ability to reach large au- The most successful State De- diences in the fastest way possible is partment Facebook pages recog- outreach is its use paramount, Web 2.0 technologies, nize the importance of this two- such as Twitter, have already proven way conversation. Embassies Ja- during crises. themselves effective. karta and Podgorica engage their au- During the Mumbai terrorist at- diences by answering their “mail.” tacks of November 2008, for in- Unfortunately, many current consular Facebook and Twit- stance, Daniel Schaub, a Web publishing specialist in the ter sites are ill-conceived or poorly managed and fall into Bureau of Public Affairs, recalls: “We always monitor Op- the “We’re on Facebook!” trap. It is essential to ponder erations Center releases, major news media stories and the the purpose, audience and message of your page and latest trending terms on Twitter. your commitment to it. “In the case of the Mumbai attacks, we noticed major Success on Facebook pages should be defined by how news coverage and immediately coordinated with CA and many interactions the site has with its followers. Consider others to stand up the emergency hot line for U.S. citi- how lonely one’s personal Facebook page would be if no zens worried about their relatives. Within a few minutes, “friends” ever posted anything on it. we tweeted the hot line number, posted it to the Dip-

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 37 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 38

F OCUS

Note blog and featured it on the CA uses Twitter to ment for setting the record straight. www.state.gov Web site. The line No crowd gathered, averting a po- began receiving calls moments disseminate travel alerts and tential crisis. later.” Similarly, in the aftermath of The Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti the Air France Flight 447 crash in updates on country-specific clearly demonstrated Facebook’s June 2009, PA immediately tweet- potential in the aftermath of a dis- ed the latest developments as they information notices. aster. Within hours of the quake, were reported. a Haitian-Canadian created an “Tweeting is extremely valuable, “Earthquake Haiti” Facebook page particularly given the fact that the main means of access- to help those seeking information on loved ones. ing the Internet worldwide is via mobile phone,” says CA monitored the site and posted contact information Schaub. “Twitter is ideal for that platform and allows us on how to reach our task force. It was fascinating to see to quickly reach and engage the widest possible audi- the number of fans grow exponentially as the crisis con- ence.” tinued (the site currently has more than 300,000 follow- State has even used social media to avert a potential ers) and to watch people learn via Facebook that their crisis. During the March 2009 Madagascar coup, PA staff relatives were safe. monitoring Twitter noticed rumors that the country’s pres- I saw a posting from someone searching for her ident had taken refuge in the U.S. embassy. The bureau brother, who works at the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince. responded to the tweets immediately after confirming this After scanning the e-mail directory, I located the brother was false. Those who were calling for protests in front of and sent him a note informing him that his sister was look- the embassy noticed the tweets and thanked the departing for him. Although it took a few days to receive a reply from the employee, the example illustrates the potential of social networking in welfare-and-whereabouts cases. Embassy Santiago utilized Facebook following the Jan. 28 earthquake in Chile, posting updates for U.S. citizens and answering inquiries from its fans. Once again, the key element that Facebook brought to the equation was interaction via a two-way conversation. The embassy did not just post information, but also responded to comments and inquiries.

Friend Us! The Department of State has many resources available for posts who are considering the use of social media. The bureaus of International Information Programs and In- formation Resource Management have developed a “So- cial Media Hub” site on the Communities at State Forum intranet site. The hub provides practical training manu- als, best practices, a discussion forum and a section on resources and research. It is important, for example, to make sure that privacy rules are always followed when putting information in the public domain. Folks in the Office of Public Affairs and Policy Coor- dination are always prepared to give advice and guidance for those interested in using social media for consular outreach. E-mail us at [email protected]. Or become friends with CA on Facebook! ■

38 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 39

F OCUS ON THE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

REMEMBERING MARY RYAN

THE LATE CA ASSISTANT SECRETARY’S 2002 DISMISSAL WAS A TRANSFORMING EVENT IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF THE CONSULAR SERVICE.

BY EDWARD ALDEN

o part of the U.S. gov- cial to be fired as a consequence of the worst attack ever ernment — not the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the on U.S. soil. Nearly a decade later, the consular service is Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security still feeling the reverberations. CouncilN — was more shaken by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 Ryan’s dismissal by then-Secretary of State Colin Pow- than the consular corps of the State Department. When ell was a transforming event in the modern history of the the late Mary Ryan, then the assistant secretary of consular consular service. The Bureau of Consular Affairs had long affairs, went before a hostile Senate committee in Octo- been a backwater in the department, but the 9/11 attacks ber 2001 to try to explain how visas had been issued to the thrust it into the agonizing public debate over the govern- 19 hijackers, she pleaded for some understanding of the ment’s failure to thwart the plot. Ryan and her staff were impact. “I have visa officers all over the world who are accused by some in the press of almost traitorous irre- devastated by the fact that they issued to these people. sponsibility, of having an “open-door policy for terrorists.” One of them told me, ‘You can tell me it’s not my fault be- Some in Congress wanted to strip the State Department of cause we didn’t have the information, but it is just as if a the authority to issue visas and hand it over to the new De- child ran in front of my car and I killed the child and every- partment of Homeland Security. For a corps that had long one said it wasn’t my fault. I have to live with that for the seen itself on the front lines of public diplomacy, serving rest of my life.’” U.S. interests by permitting students, tourists and other Eight months later, with opposition building in Con- visitors to experience the United States for themselves, it gress, a shrill media campaign and faltering support from forced a fundamental re-evaluation of the balance between her political masters, Ryan would pay for those mistakes security and openness. with her career, becoming the only U.S. government offi- CA is still struggling to find that balance. It has again been forced to defend its professionalism in the wake of Edward Alden is the Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow the Dec. 25, 2009, incident in which a young Nigerian rad- at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of The ical tried to blow up a Detroit-bound trans-Atlantic air- Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration liner by igniting plastic explosives he had successfully and Security Since 9/11 (Harper, 2008), from which this concealed in his underwear. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab article is adapted. had been issued a multiple-entry, two-year tourist visa,

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 39 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 40

F OCUS

which the State Department did not Friends said Mary Ryan African countries, finally being revoke even after his father pre- named ambassador to Swaziland in sented himself at the U.S. embassy devoted her life to two things: 1988. She was tapped by President in Abuja to warn that his son had Bill Clinton as assistant secretary fallen in with Yemeni radicals. Once God and the State for consular services in 1993. again the consular service finds itself Ryan inherited responsibility for in the crosshairs of some in Con- Department. CA at one of the most challenging gress who question its ability to keep junctures in its history. From 1993 out those who might harm the to 2001, the number of non-immi- United States (see p. 42). grant visa applications grew from seven million each year Consular work is not what most people have in mind to more than 10 million, and the demand for U.S. pass- when they sign on for a State Department career. Stamp- ports doubled. Yet budget constraints cut staffing sharply. ing visas is the traditional first job for entry-level Foreign “The motto in the department in the 1990s was ‘Do more Service generalists, after which most non-consular officers with less’, to the extent that it seemed to me we were ex- escape to more rewarding economic or political work. pected to do everything with nothing,” Ryan would later Larry Wilkerson, who was Sec. Powell’s chief of staff, calls tell the 9/11 Commission. the mandatory consular service “a colossal drain on morale. At the same time, some officials were awakening to the We lose a lot of Foreign Service officers in their first two growing threat posed by Islamic extremists. In February or three years because they can’t stand it.” 1993, just three months before Ryan took up her posting, a huge truck bomb was detonated beneath the World A Commitment to Service Trade Center towers, killing six people, injuring a thou- But for some officers, consular work becomes a calling. sand more and ripping a massive seven-story hole in the And none had dedicated themselves more fully than Mary buildings. Ryan. Friends said Ryan devoted her life to two things: For the State Department, the attack revealed serious God and the State Department. She studied theology at weaknesses in its visa-granting procedures. The spiritual Trinity University and attended church every day of her leader of the bombers, the “blind sheik” Omar Abdel- working life in Washington. Rahman, had obtained a visa from the U.S. embassy in On the morning of the 9/11 attacks, she was in Sudan, a country which at the time was harboring al- Charleston, S.C., with Frank Moss, one of her deputies, Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. for a conference on passport management. They rented a Rahman was known to U.S. intelligence for radical ac- car for the 450-mile drive back to Washington because tivities in Egypt, and his name had been placed on State’s U.S. airspace had been closed to commercial traffic. Ryan terrorist watch list. But when Rahman applied for a visa was especially worried about a nephew who regularly rode in 1990, a local hire in Khartoum failed to check the mi- the PATH train that ran under the World Trade Center crofiche watch list, and then lied to the consular officer towers. “I swear she reduced a set of rosary beads to dust,” by telling him the check had been done. The embassy in Moss said. Sudan was further unaware that its counterpart in Egypt If God was her touchstone, the State Department was had just issued a warning regarding Rahman’s intention her life. At the time of the terrorist attacks, she was the to try to enter the United States. It was an appalling fail- longest-serving official in the department, and only the ure all around. second woman in its history to be named a career ambas- Troubled by such mistakes, Ryan made it one of her sador. For many young consular officers, she was a role primary goals to build a computerized name check system model. “If you were in the service a minute less time than whose integrity would not be subject to the whims of local Mary, she was your mentor,” said Maura Harty, who would officials. In doing so, she and her officials were far ahead replace her as assistant secretary. of their time. While State would later be pilloried as soft Ryan had joined the Foreign Service with a posting in on terrorism, the department had actually created the gov- Naples in 1966, and from there she rotated assignments ernment’s first terrorist watch list in 1987, known as in Washington, D.C., Honduras, Mexico and several TIPOFF. It was designed by a career employee at the Bu-

40 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 41

F OCUS

reau of Intelligence and Research, For all the progress time doing more than one or two big John Arriza, who then became a things well. For the consular service passionate advocate for the system. Ryan had made, the 9/11 in the 1990s, the big thing was man- It required difficult negotiations aging the enormous growth of travel with the intelligence agencies to attacks did expose serious to the United States. The Iron Cur- persuade them to declassify basic tain had been torn down in Europe, data such as the names, nationali- weaknesses in the and strong economic growth in Asia ties, birth dates and passport num- had created a huge new middle class bers of suspected terrorists so these visa system. with global aspirations. The result could be added to the list. was a boom in travel to the United Thanks to Ryan’s initiative, by States. September 1995 every visa applicant was checked against Except for concerns over illegal immigration from Mex- that list through a secure broadband connection back to ico, there was no question at the time that the United Washington. At a time when the FBI had no internal e- States should encourage the trend. Democrats wanted an mail and was still using paper case management files, it open door for refugees and a generous policy of family re- was, as the 9/11 Commission would later conclude, an “im- unification, while Republicans wanted a steady supply of pressive” accomplishment. And the system worked. foreign workers to keep the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a senior al-Qaida leader and room- happy. Both parties favored admitting more foreign stu- mate of the 9/11 plot’s ringleader, Mohammed Atta, tried dents for universities, more skilled workers for Silicon Val- four times in 2000 to get a visa to come to the United ley, more tourists to fill American hotels, and more wealthy States. Each time he was rejected because his name was Arabs paying for treatment at U.S. hospitals. in TIPOFF. The State Department, quite reasonably, reflected To Ryan and her colleagues in consular affairs, the story those priorities. Nowhere was that more evident than in of what had gone wrong before 9/11 was a simple one: the Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers received their intelligence agencies were either unaware or had failed to visas. For half a century, Saudi Arabia had been the most share what they knew about the hijackers, so there was no important U.S. ally in the most volatile region of the world. information about any of them in TIPOFF. Former col- And as one consular official interviewed by the 9/11 Com- leagues of Ryan say she was enraged when she learned mission put it, “our mission in Saudi Arabia [was] to be as after the attacks that the CIA knew that two of the hi- accommodating as we possibly could.” jackers had met with known al-Qaida operatives in Under the traditional criteria used to evaluate visa ap- Malaysia in January 2000. That information was never plicants, that was not a particularly tough sell. The biggest given to the State Department, which granted visas to both hurdle for visitors to the United States has long been, and men. In a testy exchange before the Senate Judiciary sub- remains today, the legal presumption that anyone coming committee in October 2001, Ryan made headlines by here intends to stay and immigrate. To overcome that pre- charging that either there had been “a colossal intelligence sumption, individuals must demonstrate strong ties to their failure ... or there was information that was not shared with home countries — family, work, a history of travelling us who are the outer ring of border security.” abroad and returning, and the finances to make the trip. For most Saudis, this was not a problem. As George A Failure of Imagination? Lannon, Ryan’s former deputy, later put it: “Saudis didn’t For all the progress Ryan had made, however, and her come and dig ditches; they didn’t go to work in McDon- justified anger at the CIA for hoarding intelligence, the ald’s. They partied and they left.” Indeed, State Depart- 9/11 attacks had, in fact, exposed serious weaknesses in the ment policy in the 1990s was to treat all Saudi applicants visa system. They were not technological, but came in- as having overcome the “intending immigrant” presump- stead, in a phrase that would be used many times during tion. That meant they were often not required to fill out the investigation of the attacks, from a “failure of imagina- visa application forms completely, did not need to show tion.” proof of a home address or financial means and, in many Organizations, governmental or otherwise, have a hard cases, were not asked to appear for a personal interview.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 41 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 42

F OCUS

Of the 15 hijackers who received visas in Saudi Arabia, only Furey adopted. Under the scheme, Saudis could fill out two were interviewed. visa applications and leave their passports with one of 10 Security was a concern in Saudi Arabia, but it was the authorized travel agencies, and the bundle of applications physical security of the embassy that was foremost on the would be delivered daily to the U.S. embassy for process- mind of Thomas Furey, who took over as consul general in ing. If the embassy wanted to interview an applicant, word Riyadh in 2000 after three years of supervising the world’s would be sent back through the travel agent and an inter- largest consular operation, in Mexico City. Furey inherited view would be scheduled. what he later called a “chaotic and dysfunctional” operation In the first summer of the program, in 2001, the num- in Riyadh. Visa applications were growing by 5 percent a ber of people gathering outside the embassy fell to a frac- year, but Washington had refused to authorize more con- tion of the normal traffic. Furey loved the innovation so sular officers. Crowds would queue daily outside the em- much that he gave it a catchy name — “Visa Express.” In bassy, raising fears that the building could become a terrorist the three months before 9/11, three of the hijackers re- target, as had already happened in August 1998 when al- ceived their visas through the Visa Express scheme. Qaida detonated truck bombs outside U.S. embassies in Following the attacks, the program became a lightning Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 200 people. rod. Conservative activists dubbed it a “Travelocity for ter- Furey hit upon a solution. Some U.S. embassies around rorists,” and charged Mary Ryan personally with nurturing the world were already permitting travel agents to handle a “courtesy culture” at State that was “inherently inimical to the initial paperwork of the visa application, an innovation the types of reforms necessary to keep out terrorists.” Un-

What Went Wrong with the Nigerian Bomber? the National Counterterrorism Center, which is responsible for collating and analyzing intelligence to decide which indi- mar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the youngest of 16 children viduals should be listed on the massive terrorist watch list of Oborn to a wealthy Nigerian banker, had followed the some 400,000 names built out since the 9/11 attacks. path of many children of the developing world’s elite. In The NCTC’s failure to pull together the different threads 2005 he enrolled at University College London, where he that pointed to Abdulmutallab’s involvement in a terrorist plot earned a low C grade point average in engineering and fi- is well-known. It did include his name in an extensive NCTC nance. A devout Muslim, he was the president of the database of potential terrorists, the Terrorist Identities Data- school’s Islamic Society, and had shown some public sym- mart Environment. But he was never placed on any watch pathy with radical groups preaching violence. But that his- lists, such as the “no fly” list that would have kept him from tory was either not known, or did not leave a negative boarding the Dec. 25, 2009, Northwest Airlines flight from impression on the consular officer in London who issued Amsterdam to Detroit with plastic explosives strapped to his him a multiple-entry tourist visa on June 12, 2008, for a body. trip to Houston. What is less well known is that the State Department That should have changed in November 2009, when the could easily have kept Abdulmutallab from ever boarding the young man’s father made an extraordinary visit to the U.S. plane simply by revoking his visa. Why, in the wake of his embassy in Abuja. He warned State and CIA officers that father’s warning, did that not happen? his son had taken up with radical Islamists in Yemen, In the immediate aftermath of the failed bombing, the de- known as the training ground for a jihadist group called al- partment’s response to 12/25 looked like a rerun of 9/11. Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The message was taken se- Several State Department officials pointed the finger at the in- riously enough for reporting back to Washington in a Visas telligence community by suggesting incorrectly that State Viper cable, a procedure set up by the department after the could only have revoked the visa if it had been directed to do 1993 World Trade Center bombing attempt to ensure that so by the NCTC. The center’s director, Michael Leiter, caus- a foreign individual with potential terrorist links was placed tically rebutted that claim at a Senate hearing in January: on the appropriate watch lists. The cable was shared with “I will admit that when I was told of that authority that I don’t

42 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 43

F OCUS

like her impressive performance in The attempted Christmas further, giving complete control over the 1990s, Ryan was slow to recog- visas to DHS. “The State Depart- nize the implications of the 9/11 at- Day bombing was a sharp ment views the issuance of visas as a tacks for how Consular Affairs did its diplomatic tool,” said Representa- business. A harsh report by the State reminder that the Bureau of tive Dave Weldon, a Florida Re- Department’s inspector general in publican who chaired one of the December 2002 concluded: “The Consular Affairs continues to relevant subcommittees in the post-Sept. 11 era should have wit- House. “The day is past when it nessed immediate and dramatic face scrutiny as never before. should be viewed that way. It is now changes in CA’s direction of the visa clearly a national homeland security process. This has not happened. A function.” fundamental readjustment by [State] Department leader- Secretary Colin Powell, however, was not going to sit ship regarding visa issuance and denial has not taken place.” back and watch the dismantling of his department. He The timing of the criticisms could not have been worse reached out to Tom Ridge, who was in line to be appointed for Ryan and the consular service. With the impending cre- as the first DHS secretary, and quickly persuaded him not ation of the Department of Homeland Security, the White to take on the headache of handling visas at nearly 300 em- House planned to hand authority over visa policy to the bassies and consulates overseas. The two decided to new department. Some in Congress wanted to go much present a united front to Congress.

have, I was surprised to learn from the State Department that disturbing frequency, despite the post-9/11 mantra to “con- they thought I did have that [authority],” he said. nect the dots.” Susan Collins, R-Maine, the ranking minority member on In response, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton the Senate Homeland Security Committee, backed him up. has ordered that every Visas Viper cable sent back to Wash- “The State Department has this authority. In fact, our law, the ington contain information on the current U.S. visa status of Intelligence Reform Act, protects the department from law- anyone identified. The search systems to make sure that suits when its officials revoke a visa overseas. But the State visa holders are accurately identified have also been en- Department failed to act.” The committee chairman, Sen. hanced. And it is a safe bet that visas will now be revoked Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., warned that he might resurrect for anyone named in such a telegram. the idea of moving responsibility for visa issuance away from Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs David State to the Department of Homeland Security. Donahue was contrite in a hearing before a March 11 House In response, State quickly changed course and acknowl- Homeland Security subcommittee, acknowledging that the edged its own mistakes. For instance, there was never any failed attack “revealed systematic failures in the U.S. gov- doubt that State could have revoked Abdulmutallab’s visa: ernment’s efforts to protect the people of the United States,” Since 2001 it has revoked more that 57,000 visas, some and adding that State had responded with an overhaul of its 2,800 of them for suspected links to terrorism. Instead, the visa revocation procedures. Critics of the department may case revealed a remarkable hole in the department’s own se- also be assuaged by a further expansion of the visa security curity systems. program, in which DHS agents are stationed in some con- Amazingly, the Visas Viper cable — which was created sulates to help with the screening of visa applications that to prevent consular officers from inadvertently issuing a visa raise terrorism or security concerns. to a suspected terrorist — did not require any reporting on The threat to strip the department of its visa function ap- whether the individual already possessed a valid visa. That pears to have waned. But the attempted Christmas Day information could have been determined by a computer bombing was a sharp reminder that the Bureau of Consular search, but was not required to be included in the cable. It Affairs continues to face scrutiny as never before. was the sort of informational black hole that still occurs with —- Edward Alden

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 43 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 44

F OCUS

“Thrown to the Wolves” Some in Congress still ... save the consular corps. And I But with the integrity of his de- have always had a little bitterness partment now threatened, Powell want to strip the State that I had to get that kind of abuse had run out of patience with Mary when, in fact, I kept the consular Ryan. “We all loved Mary, [and] she Department of the authority corps from going to DHS.” was really beloved by the consular Mary Ryan died of bone cancer officers, but she was starting to cause to issue visas and hand it in 2006, four years after leaving the me difficulty with the Hill,” he said State Department, and her saga has later. “She really was not … re- over to the new Department left lasting scars on the consular sponding flexibly enough to the po- service. In the aftermath of the at- litical and bureaucratic demands of of Homeland Security. tacks, as all agencies of the govern- the post-9/11 period. Changes were ment embraced the new mission of necessary, and we had to be a little protecting the United States from more contrite about what we were doing in order to save it.” another terrorist attack, the number of visas issued plum- At the meeting with Ridge, he had ordered her to keep meted. In 2003 the State Department issued fewer than quiet, saying later that “she was about to have a nervous five million visas, down from more than 7.5 million in the breakdown over the issue. She didn’t get the message that year before the 9/11 attacks. it was no longer business as usual.” By 2008 that number had climbed back to more than On July 8, 2002, Ryan’s immediate boss, Under Secre- 6.5 million, before falling again during the deep recession tary for Management Grant Green, called her into his of- of 2009. But even before the economy faltered, overseas fice and told her it was time to step aside. “Mary was very travel to the United States had never quite recovered, even good. It’s just that at a time when everyone in town was as it was booming in the rest of the world. trying to point a finger and level blame, consular affairs was The consular service continues to struggle to marry the very susceptible to taking that blame,” Green said. need for security with its traditional mission of encouraging Later that month, the new U.S. ambassador to Saudi Ara- visitors to the United States. It has poured resources into bia shut down the Visa Express program, writing in a cable the timely processing of student visas, fixing one of the back to Washington: “I am deeply troubled about the pre- biggest problems of the 9/11 aftermath. More recently, sig- vailing perception in the media and within Congress, and nificant changes were made to the background checks re- possibly the American public at large, that our current prac- quired for foreign scientists and engineers, a procedure that tices represent a shameful and inadequate effort on our had created delays of many months for Indians and Chi- part.” The next year State would end the practice of waiving nese working for American universities or companies. The personal interviews for low-risk visa applicants, and Con- new procedures should speed up approvals without dimin- gress followed by enshrining mandatory interviews in law. ishing security. But the department has been reluctant to Ryan’s dismissal outraged her friends and colleagues in advertise those accomplishments too loudly, afraid that crit- the department, who fired off a series of e-mails accusing ics will again accuse it of being soft on security despite the Powell of cowardice in the face of McCarthyite tactics. At much tougher procedures — such as mandatory finger- her retirement ceremony, “Powell never acknowledged printing of all visa applicants — in place today. Mary at all,” complained George Lannon, her deputy. “His As Dianne Andruch, one of Ryan’s former senior aides, presentation was basically, ‘Well, old Mary’s decided to hang puts it: “Prior to 9/11, we were under a lot of pressure to it up,’ as opposed to ‘We’ve thrown her off the sled to get the have people processed for visas in an expeditious manner. wolves off us,’ which is what it was. He would never ac- The basic attitude was that these countries were our friends knowledge that she took the hit. I was livid. I was appalled.” and the United States should do everything possible to fa- Powell, too, has nursed a grudge. While he didn’t save cilitate travel. That’s what Mary Ryan was trying to do, and Ryan’s job, he bucked the White House and won Senate that’s what she was under pressure to do — until something confirmation for Maura Harty, a Ryan protégé and among happened, and then everybody ran away from that position.” her closest friends and allies in the department. “Whether Nearly nine years later, the consular service is still try- they liked it or not,” he said, firing Ryan “was necessary to ing to find solid ground on which to stand. ■

44 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/26/10 12:26 AM Page 45

Help AFSA Go Green And Save Some Green

t Please make sure we have your e-mail address!

As AFSA prepares to institute more environmentally friendly practices, reducing our consumption of paper significantly, we are asking our members to please ensure that we have their valid e-mail addresses on file. This will allow us to contact you by e-mail rather than cluttering up your home with paper mail, and it also leads to significant savings in postage.

We ask our active-duty members to give us their “.gov” e-mail addresses, as those are unlikely to change throughout your career. For all others, any valid e-mail address works!

American Thanks for helping us go green — and save some green! Foreign Service You can submit your e-mail address either by Association sending it to [email protected] or visiting www.afsa.org www.afsa.org/addresschange.cfm. Art: iStockphoto.com 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 46

F OCUS ON THE C ONSULAR F UNCTION

WHY I CHOSE CONSULAR

SEVEN FOREIGN SERVICE EMPLOYEES OFFER INSIGHTS INTO WHAT MAKES CONSULAR WORK REWARDING — IF ALSO, AT TIMES, FRUSTRATING.

IF I CAN MAKE IT THERE … A HELPFUL VOICE I entered the Foreign Service in 1993, unconed and un- While my husband and I were vacationing at Lake Ati- aware of the consular function. My top bid in A-100 was tlan in Guatemala in 2006, Hurricane Stan’s heavy rains Lagos, Nigeria, and my assignments officer happily as- devastated the region with floods and mudslides. Safe but signed me to a consular-economic rotation there. After stranded, we could sense growing panic among other enduring countless stories of visa fraud (and other hard- tourists and local people as they realized the limited ships) prior to departing for post, I began my tour as a non- amount of food, fuel and other supplies in the area, so I immigrant visa officer. called the U.S. embassy — twice. I called first during busi- While there were many elements of life in Lagos that ness hours, and the operator — probably overwhelmed at were quite difficult, consular work was not one of them. I the time — told me to “watch the news” and promptly enjoyed the camaraderie of working on the visa team, the hung up. I remember thinking, “But I am the news.” So challenge of a high-fraud visa environment, and the satis- I called back a few hours later, this time on the emergency faction of an honest day’s (hard) work. My year in the eco- number, and reached the duty officer. nomic section was also interesting, but I missed the drama Over the next 48 hours my husband and I worked of the consular world. closely with the embassy to communicate evacuation plans I found that I enjoyed the same aspects of consular to tourists (who were making plans to hike out on an un- work during my second tour in New Delhi. So when I was stable mountainside — yikes!) and to check on Americans tenured halfway through that assignment, choosing a cone (whose families were trying to make sure they were okay was a no-brainer. I reasoned that if I liked consular work — which they were). This “American Citizen Services in Nigeria and India, I’d probably like it anywhere. I asked work” and later conversations with that duty officer per- to be coned consular, a decision I’ve never regretted. suaded me to join the Foreign Service as a consular officer. Mark Strege I’ll soon finish my first Foreign Service assignment (as Deputy Consul General a political officer), and look forward to beginning my con- Embassy Seoul sular duties so I might one day be that helpful voice at the

46 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 47

F OCUS

other end of a phone call. A consular officer meets afraid our children have been perma- Cristin Heinbeck nently affected by our discussions of Entry-Level Officer more excitement in one 214(b) and the Immigration & Natu- Embassy Abuja ralization Act at home! morning than our It might sound strange to many, but I really find visa work to be challenging INTRODUCING colleagues upstairs and rewarding, both in its complexity NEW HIRES TO THE FS and in the need to interact with indi- One of my first consular chiefs told see in a month. viduals as a manager and an adjudica- me that every time we bid, we choose tor. In fact, I like it enough that I re- the Foreign Service over another, pos- cently moved to a Civil Service posi- sibly simpler, lifestyle. It’s not a decision that we make just tion in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, again working with once upon entry; throughout our careers, we choose our visa issues, so that I can devote myself full-time to this fas- own path. And this is the wonderful thing about our Serv- cinating and ever-evolving field. Consular work provides ice. I get to choose the consular cone again and again. It such a wide range of experience for officers, and this vari- intrigued me from the start; I loved the idea of being the ety helped me to find the career most rewarding to me and friendly face behind a visa interview or a citizenship claim. my family. I’m in the fairly unique position of being part of a con- Bill Beardslee sular tandem couple; having a spouse with the same love Visa Specialist of our work makes life so easy when the job requires Visa Services Office strange hours or unusual assignments, like my first-tour Bureau of Consular Affairs portfolio, which included consular waiting room pest con- (spouse of Meredith McEvoy — see above) trol. It does also lead to some lively debates at home over arcane sections of 9 FAM. One of the best parts of consular work, and my fa- EXCITEMENT GALORE! vorite part of being a consular officer, is the responsibil- I like listening to former colleagues describe their ad- ity that we have to mentor and develop not just consular ventures in the Foreign Service, because it appears I’ve officers, but all of the entry-level officers who pass had a more interesting life than they have (or perhaps they through consular sections on their first or second tours, are just waiting for their memoirs to be declassified). I’ve working to give them the best possible introduction to forgotten most of the stories, because a consular officer the Foreign Service. meets more excitement in one morning than our col- Meredith McEvoy leagues upstairs see in a month. I used to pity them, trudg- Career Development Officer ing forth in search of interlocutors. The public was Bureau of Human Resources desperate to talk with me. Some had a hard time attract- (spouse of Bill Beardslee — see below) ing the attention of their office manager, while I deployed a whole shop floor. I never lay at night wondering whether my work was THE SPICE OF LIFE relevant; indeed, I never lay awake at night — physical ex- Starting this job as a Foreign Service officer in another haustion will do that for you. The State Department made cone, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed consular me trustee of documents worth a fortune and grantee of work during my first tour. After a tour in my original cone, extraordinary powers, relying on consular virtue and hu- I made the switch to become a consular officer. My col- mility to uphold the republic. I was junior partner to host- leagues were surprised, as this meant working in the same country doctors, police, morticians, caseworkers; enjoyed cone as my tandem spouse. But she and I agreed that one a field economist’s panorama of the economy; and had an needs to work in the field that most interests a person, so anthropologist’s dream job. I made the change. Consular assignment choices are the widest in the Serv- We have worked together from time to time, and I am ice; if the department is anywhere, it needs a consul.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 47 16-48_FSJ_0610_FOC:firstlook 5/20/10 12:59 PM Page 48

F OCUS

There is no happiness comparable to I look forward to beginning ONE MORE that of a dirty, hungry FS-3, embed- HAPPY CUSTOMER ded in the world. my consular duties so They were right: I couldn’t miss Suella Pipal her. At 5’10,” she towered over the Retired Consular Officer I might one day be that Mayans who exited the bus before Pittsburgh, Pa. her. She was a big woman who had helpful voice at the other obviously seen a lot of life. It was my first day at my first post NOT TOO SHABBY end of a phone call. as a consular officer at the U.S. em- You were destined for unemploy- bassy in Guatemala City. I had ar- ment in Ireland if, like me, you were rived on an early morning flight, an arts major who graduated during the “Hungry Eight- dropped my long-suffering wife at the hotel, and rushed to ies.” I worked as a house cleaner, a hat-check girl in a the office. The ACS unit chief had asked me to meet the nightclub, and at a pirate radio station. Then I was offered distressed, easy-to-spot American woman at the bus sta- a job as press assistant at the American embassy in Dublin. tion, put her in a hotel and tell her we would take her to the Permanent, pensionable employment. What a novelty! airport the next morning. So before you could say security clearance, I was per- Jorge, the embassy driver, and I picked her up and took suading the Irish media to publish press releases on mat- her to a dollar-a-night hotel. We had ordered a pizza and ters of vital national interest — corn oil production in the were just getting ready to leave when she stiffened and fell Midwest, for example. In time, I found I got more satis- onto the bed. She was having a grand mal seizure. With my faction out of helping folks in trouble, so I moved to the limited Spanish, I ordered the driver to go find a doctor embassy’s American Citizen Services Unit. I’m still in the while I tried to dredge up first aid memories of how to help business of imparting information, but it tends to be a lot the woman. less palatable than corn oil. Fortunately, Jorge and a doctor returned within min- In ACS, we spend our time notifying people that their utes. The doctor quickly pulled out a needle and filled it relative has died, telling them we can’t get them out of jail, with a sedative. He motioned for us to pull her arm down or explaining that recovering a stolen child is slow and so that he could inject it. Unfortunately, her arm was cov- heartbreaking. We spend a lot of time saying: “I’m sorry ered in track marks and collapsed veins, so the doctor this has happened to you. Here’s how we can help you.” couldn’t find a vein to use. Jorge and I were trying to keep Sometimes the kindest thing we do is lower unrealistic ex- her arms open while avoiding the rapidly flying needle. pectations. We try to do some of the heavy lifting at a time Just as the doctor was about to give up, the needle hit when the burden is too much to carry. home. We heard a loud sigh and the woman went com- There are days when you really know that you’ve helped pletely limp. We thought we had killed her. The doctor someone. And there are also a lot of days when ... well ... scrambled to find a pulse. Finally, he looked up with a big you just send out a lot of voting forms or answer questions grin. She was alive! about immigration. ACS has given me a chance to meet a The three of us collapsed on the floor, leaning against a broad spectrum of people — some of whom were even in wall. Just then, there was a knock on the door. The pizza their right mind at the time (as some may know, we attract had arrived. As soon as we opened the door, the woman sat our share of the world’s colorful characters in ACS). And up and started eating. the job has enabled me to go experience another country: When I got back to the embassy, they asked, “How’d it I am currently working in Embassy Baghdad. go?” I said, “Seemed OK.” Not too shabby for an arts major. And not a drop of One more happy customer. And I was hooked. I corn oil in sight! knew I had chosen the right career! Nollaig NiMhaolain James Herman Locally Engaged Staff Supervisor Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs American Citizen Services Unit and Consul General Embassy Dublin Embassy New Delhi ■

48 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/20/10 1:09 PM Page 49

AFSAAmerican Foreign NEWSService Association • June 2010

NEGROPONTE INTERVIEW LAUNCHES LOCKHEED MARTIN SERIES Former Ambassadors Take the Stage for Discussion, Q&A BY FRANCESCA KELLY ormer Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte opened his informal talk at AFSA on April 7 by reminiscing about Fthe very room in which he was seated. He recalled its previous life as a “well-known watering hole” for FSOs in days gone by, and proceeded to make what he called a “more productive use” of the venue. In a congenial interview moderated by Am- bassador Edward W. “Skip” Gnehm, both men spoke of the recent boost in resources to the Foreign Service — and what still needs to be done. This program was the first event in a new lecture and discussion series AFSA is co-sponsoring with Lockheed Martin, called FRANCESCA KELLY FRANCESCA “Promoting Excellence and Deepening Impact: Resources and Amb. John Negroponte, right, and Amb. Edward W. “Skip” Gnehm, April 7, at AFSA. Continued on page 52

FPA EVENT IN NYC FEATURES AFSA’S SHAWN DORMAN AFSA Annual Awards FS Career Seminar Draws Full House Ceremony to Take BY FRANCESCA KELLY Place June 24 FSA’s Awards Ceremony nside a U.S. Embassy Editor Shawn and the second hour to the hiring Awill take place on Thurs., June Dorman, who is also associate editor process, including the FS exam. A Q&A 24, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Ben- Iof the FSJ, spoke to a sold-out crowd period followed each section, for which jamin Franklin Room of the De- in New York City on March 29. The she was joined by Diplomat-in-Resi- partment of State. seminar, the first in a new series on for- dence Robert Dry. Ambassador L. Bruce Laingen eign affairs careers from the Foreign Pol- FPA Editor/Producer Robert Nolan, will receive AFSA’s Lifetime Con- icy Association University, focused on who organized the event, was pleased tributions to American Diplomacy the Foreign Service career, what it in- with its success. “Shawn’s hands-on ex- Award. AFSA’s Constructive volves and how to get in. FPAU is the perience as a Foreign Service officer and Dissent and Performance Awards professional development arm of the insight into who is the ‘total candidate’ will be presented at this event, as nonprofit Foreign Policy Association, really made her the ‘total instructor’ for well. Profiles of the award winners which seeks to educate the public about this course,” he states, adding, “Students will appear in the July-August America’s foreign policy. walked away with a real idea of what it AFSA News. Dorman reports that the audience, a takes not just to get in, but to sustain a AFSA members and those with mix of students and young profession- career in the Foreign Service.” a valid State Department ID are als, was “enthusiastic, highly interested Diplomat-in-Residence Dry, who is welcome to attend the ceremony. and engaged.” One hundred people at- based at the City College of New York, Due to Secretary Clinton’s tight tended the talk, which was held at New felt that the seminar could help the State schedule, the event will begin York University’s Arthur L. Carter Jour- Department “get good recruits who ac- promptly at 4 p.m. All attendees nalism Institute, looking out over SoHo. tually know something about the For- should arrive in the Franklin Room Dorman devoted the first hour to an eign Service when they take the test.” by 3:55 p.m. at the latest. overview of the Foreign Service career Continued on page 53

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 49 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/15/10 9:35 PM Page 50

A F S A AFSANEWSBRIEFS N E FSYF Announces USAID’s Global Pulse Connects W New Executive Director S Thousands The Foreign Service Youth Foundation has appointed a The U.S. Agency for International Development, in partnership new executive director, Bernadette Hale. Hale is a veteran of with the departments of State, Education, Commerce, and Health the diplomatic service in both the British Foreign and Com- and Human Services, sponsored a three-day online discussion monwealth Office and the U.S. Department of State, where she called Global Pulse on March 29-31. has worked on issues involving consular, management, admin- The Internet-based forum, in which anyone anywhere could participate free of charge, marks the U.S. commitment to work toward istration and overseas family and children’s affairs. She is universal goals in partnership with a wide variety of stakeholders. married to USAID FSO George Hale and has an 8-year-old Discussion centered on 10 designated topics, including global daughter, Libby. Hale replaces outgoing Executive Director health, political and civil rights, and empowering women and girls. Kristen Gray, who is heading to an overseas assignment. The “global conversation” attracted more than 6,000 participants “from over 155 countries, who posted over 9,000 ideas, reactions, opinions and perspectives,” said USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. Those on Facebook can get more information about Global Pulse Life in the Foreign Service at www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Pulse-2010/327872951484. ■ BY BRIAN AGGELER CarMax Revises Policy for FS Members The popular auto retailer, CarMax, has developed a new policy regarding the purchase of cars by FS members for export overseas. FS members may now purchase used vehicles at CarMax locations in Maryland and Virginia (currently available in these two states only) and claim export privileges due to overseas assignment. Buyers should be prepared to: (1) show either a copy of orders or a diplomatic passport; and (2) pay for the vehicle with cash or cer- tified funds. To purchase a vehicle intended for export, simply contact a sales consultant at a CarMax location most convenient to you. A full list- ing of CarMax’s inventory of more than 20,000 vehicles and store location information can be found at www.carmax.com. This agreement has come about because members like you lobbied AFSA leadership about CarMax’s former “no-export” policy. AFSA State VP Daniel Hirsch took the lead on this issue and was able to negotiate a compromise with CarMax. As always, we welcome feedback on your transactions with CarMax and other vendors.

AFSA HEADQUARTERS: Staff: Governing Board: Executive Director Ian Houston: [email protected] (202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820 PRESIDENT: Susan R. Johnson Business Department STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE: Controller Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] STATE VP: Daniel Hirsch (202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265 Assistant Controller Cory Nishi: [email protected] USAID VP: Francisco Zamora Labor Management USAID AFSA OFFICE: FAS VP: Henry Schmick (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710 General Counsel Sharon Papp: [email protected] FCS VP: Keith Curtis FCS AFSA OFFICE: Deputy General Counsel Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] Labor Management Specialist James Yorke: [email protected] RETIREE VP: Robert Houdek (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087 Senior Staff Attorney Neera Parikh: [email protected] SECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” Harris AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.org Staff Attorney Michael Willats: [email protected] FSJ: [email protected] Office Manager Christine Warren: [email protected] TREASURER: Andrew Winter PRESIDENT: [email protected] USAID Senior Labor Management Adviser Douglas Broome: [email protected] STATE REPS: Carleton Bulkin, Jorge Delfin, STATE VP: [email protected] USAID Staff Assistant Patrick Bradley: [email protected] Mary Glantz, Les Hickman, Joyce Namde, RETIREE VP: [email protected] Member Services USAID VP: [email protected] Member Services Director Janet Hedrick: [email protected] Julia Stewart, Mike Unglesbee, Sharon White, FAS VP: [email protected] Member Services Representative Michael Laiacona: [email protected] Teresa Yata FCS VP: [email protected] Administrative Assistant and Office Manager Ana Lopez: [email protected] USAID REPS: Michael Henning, Glenn Rogers Communications, Marketing and Outreach Retiree Counseling & Legislation Coordinator Bonnie Brown: [email protected] FCS REP: Rebecca Balogh AFSA News Director of Communications Thomas Switzer: [email protected] FAS REP: Melinda Sallyards Legislative Director Casey Frary: [email protected] IBB REP: Al Pessin Editor Francesca Kelly: [email protected] Executive Assistant to the President Austin Tracy: [email protected] (202) 338-4045, ext. 516; Scholarship Director Lori Dec: [email protected] RETIREE REPS: Fax: (202) 338-8244 Scholarship Program Assistant Jonathan Crawford: [email protected] Janice Bay, Robert (Bill) Farrand, Molly Williamson On the Web: Exploritas Administrator Bernard Alter: [email protected] Marketing & Outreach Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: [email protected] How to Contact Us: to Contact How www.afsa.org/fsj and www.fsjournal.org Special Awards & Outreach Coordinator Perri Green: [email protected]

50 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/20/10 1:09 PM Page 51

A F V.P. VOICE: STATE ■ BY DANIEL HIRSCH S A N E W S Wait a Second! They Have a Band?

not apologize for the fact that they have bands. He does not he Foreign Service is in many ways a unique institu- express regret that they have movie theaters, post exchanges, tion. Unlike most jobs, it takes us and our families sports facilities or other requirements of the “military Taway from the people, communities and services to lifestyle.” He should not have to. Nor should we. which most Americans return after their workdays. Like the AFSA was created, years ago, to foster esprit de corps. military, it is more than a profession. It is a lifestyle, a com- And in some ways, we have failed miserably at that task. We munity and, for many of us, quite simply, our home. But (and our members) should do more than support better being smaller, less well-funded and terms of employment, and we should more thinly spread out than the mil- do more than ensure our professional itary, we are left far more on our own input into the foreign policy matters to create and manage the elements of This is a time to rally, of the day — or even into larger is- community that most Americans to decide who we are and what sues affecting the composition or take for granted. mission of the department. We we want to be, and to remake Because we are small, we are less should, without apology, work to familiar to most Americans. Nearly the community in which we live provide ourselves with community every American family has some and serve in our own image. essentials, much as is done for mili- member with military experience, tary communities and even U.S. and a vested interest in their well- town communities. being. Our dispersal makes the kind Issues of interest to AFSA include of support the military offers harder to provide. We are also working with membership, management and others to: evolving. Much of the Service is new; and, in some ways, the • Develop a clear sense of shared mission and culture that strength and convictions of the old Foreign Service are fail- accommodates and draws upon the “changing face” of the ing. Foreign Service, promoting inclusiveness while preserving This is a time to rally, to decide who we are and what we and enhancing a shared sense of teamwork and belonging want to be, and to remake the community in which we live by all FS members; and serve in our own image. The choice is ours: to lead that • Encourage traditions that enhance our sense of profes- process or to let decisions be made by management or, sional pride and community and honor those who sacrifice worse, by people who know little of the realities of our lives. in the advancement of our mission; Federal employment regulations focus primarily on en- • Improve standard procedures to assist both employees suring that federal workers provide fair service for fair wages, and their families in cases of divorce, crisis or death over- and much less on issues that, for most Americans, are ad- seas; dressed by communities unrelated to the workplace. The • Regulate the department’s responsibilities with regard easiest path for legislators is to focus solely on dollars and to FS members who, well into their careers, develop physical cents and ignore issues more related to ethics and morale or medical limitations that inhibit or prevent overseas serv- than to product-for-payment. And unfortunately, many ice; and within our own ranks fail to see the value of developing the • Develop public recognition of our role in making the philosophical infrastructure on which a shared sense of com- world and our country safer, and of our right to travel community and mission is built. As AFSA’s State vice president, fortably, raise our children according to some semblance of I have occasionally been appalled to learn of the pettiness American living standards, relax from our labors and play with which some posts and bureaus dismiss morale-related — without feeling the need to justify such human require- issues, on the flimsy premise that, in essence, we knew the ments. job was difficult when we took it. This requires all of us to take an interest in our own com- When the Secretary of Defense notes that the Foreign munity: the Foreign Service community, which we call Service is smaller than the U.S. military’s band staff, he does home. ❏

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 51 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/15/10 9:35 PM Page 52

A F S V.P. VOICE: RETIREE ■ BY ROBERT HOUDEK Negroponte • Continued from page 49 A Skills for Diplomacy and Development in the Age of Smart Power.” The series brings noted professionals and leading N diplomatic experts to AFSA to advance E innovative ideas about the education, W skills and tools that the Foreign Service S needs. The two ambassadors were seated in Health Care Reform modern leather armchairs for a relaxed event that felt more like a Sunday talk t was a long, convoluted and confusing process, but Congress ultimately passed show than a lecture. Homing in on the — and the president signed into law — new health care legislation. Not sur- challenges facing today’s Foreign Service, Iprisingly, it was an issue that commanded the attention of our retiree com- Negroponte mentioned the continuing munity, prompting the most communications I have received since assuming need, which is just now beginning to be office. addressed, for FSOs to be trained in the The large majority of the messages supported positive congressional action. harder languages, such as Arabic — and Indeed, a number of my correspondents were concerned that AFSA might have for better and longer training for those opposed passage of the bill because we signed on with other employee organi- already in the Service. “It has become a zations and unions in opposing the excise or “Cadillac tax” on premium health priority now to double, triple, even insurance plans, such as we enjoy as Foreign Service retirees. quadruple the number of hard-language Let me address that concern and the AFSA stand on the excise tax. First and speakers,” Negroponte pointed out. foremost, I want to advise all “This is a tremendous investment.” readers that tracking the evolu- Both ambassadors agreed that for all tion of the bill was difficult, es- the strides made in global outreach pecially for a group as small as through technology, face-to-face diplo- AFSA. We drew on the analyses macy is still invaluable. “There is no sub- of larger employee organiza- stitute for having a person in the field,” Only time will tell tions, did our fact-checking and Gnehm stressed. “We really do need concluded that we would align more people who can get on Al-Jazeera what the real costs of with the other groups in oppos- and communicate in flowing Arabic.” the new legislation are. ing the “Cadillac tax.” That opposition was limited and spec- Training A Top Priority ific, not a rejection of the larger Negroponte had brought a notepad legislation. with a list of priorities for improving the Our fundamental concern Foreign Service. Priority number one: was that the excise tax would Focus on training and deploying the have an increasingly negative force actually needed. Second, provide impact, specifically sharply ris- more incentives for FS members and ing premiums and fewer health services or a mixture of both. I found the tax es- their families, such as making overseas pecially onerous as it fell most keenly on low-income federal employees, retirees comparability pay permanent, improv- and survivors, as it is not adjusted for income levels. As you all should know by ing compensation for unaccompanied now, the excise tax survived in the bill the president signed, although its appli- tours and finding new ways for spouses cation has been delayed until 2018. to be employed. One distinguished colleague, a retired ambassador, thinks that AFSA should Negroponte lauded the fact that, al- have conducted a referendum of the membership before taking a position on most overnight, the Foreign Service has the excise tax. I disagree. It was a small, albeit significant part of a much larger been allocated more resources for many issue, and you folks elected us to use our best judgment and exercise it on a timely of the top priorities and initiatives. “In basis. Furthermore, we simply cannot get into the business of expensive refer- particular, our growing ‘training float’ is endum votes whenever there is a controversial issue on which the president and at least a partial step toward the gold Governing Board of AFSA need to make a decision. standard of military training,” he said. Only time will tell what the real costs of the new legislation are. I antici- He also observed that the dynamics pate that the equitability of the bill’s funding mechanisms, especially the ex- of world politics have changed. “It’s not cise tax, will be scrutinized, and perhaps even revisited, before the effective a bipolar world anymore; it’s a multipo- date of 2018. ❏ lar world,” he said. “And this has hap-

52 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/15/10 9:35 PM Page 53

A F pened in a very rapid time frame.” V.P. VOICE: FCS ■ BY KEITH CURTIS S Another priority on Negroponte’s list A is restoring USAID to the vitality it once enjoyed. “I’m delighted that the Secre- N tary of State seems to have such a strong interest in development,” he remarked. E “Let’s further increase the size of USAID W … and give it the lead in the whole area S of stabilization and development.” Both Negroponte and Gnehm called More Good News for career-spanning training. Negro- ponte recalled a time in the 1960s when reported good news on the budget last month, and now there is more good he told a superior he was considering news on the leadership front at the Foreign Commercial Service. We are al- going to Stanford for a year of training Iready blessed to have a Secretary, Gary Locke, who has been willing to fight for there. “What’s the matter — are you ill?” the funding we need, as well as a deputy secretary, Dennis Hightower, who has asked the officer. taken a keen interest in our Service. Now we have an under secretary and a di- “That was the ethos,” pointed out Ne- rector general. Under Secretary Francisco Sanchez meets with almost every sen- groponte. “You were supposed to get ior commercial officer who comes through D.C. As the head of the National your training on the job. Actual training Export Initiative, he knows that the effort focuses on the Commercial Service and was for people who were sick and could our support on the ground. We have found him accessible, positive and sup- not serve overseas!” (Some say that this portive. Now that he is official, we hope he will travel more to see our operations attitude hasn’t changed much in 40 overseas. years.) We are especially excited that our new assistant secretary and director general, An extended Q&A period followed Suresh Kumar, has been confirmed. the talk. Both ambassadors concluded The first real international business- by urging those present to continue to man we have had at the helm in the Our new assistant secretary and push for more resources and better train- past 20 years, he has worked at ing. “We have an unprecedented oppor- Warner Lambert/Pfizer, Johnson & director general, Suresh Kumar, tunity now,” said Gnehm. “We need to Johnson and KaiZen Innovation. is the first real international take advantage of it.” He has covered the globe working in The April 7 event may be viewed at India as a broadcaster, focusing on businessman we have had www.afsa.org/video.cfm. ❏ Indonesia, sub-Saharan Africa and at the helm in the the Latin America. He has even been a professor of international business past 20 years. FS Career • Continued from page 49 at Rutgers University. This guy Student response to the presentation knows our business. was very positive, according to Nolan. Now — will he understand government? That is a big challenge. I have al- One typical post-session review read: ready had the chance to talk to him several times, and he is open, receptive, smart “Overall, an excellent and well-paced, and “can-do.” I know that he puts a high value on the work we do and appreci- information-packed seminar that ex- ates the conditions under which we do it. But will he fully “get” the situation we ceeded my expectations.” are in and how much his job must involve championing us in order to get us re- “The amount of interest we received sources? We will find out over the course of this very important year for our in this course from across the U.S. was Service. We had an excellent and substantive first meeting with the director gen- overwhelming, and we hope to make it eral in late April. He promised to push toward expediently resolving our key is- and other courses available around the sues, from senior pay to the seven-year rule. Most importantly, we agreed to work country,” reports Nolan. toward the common goal of strengthening the Foreign Commercial Service and Other FPAU courses in New York this increasing our resources. It was a very good start. spring include “How to Land a Job at the Finally, I am happy to report that we now have biweekly meetings with man- United Nations” and “How to Land a agement to keep our issues on the radar screen. The administration’s Partnership Job in Global Development.” Each sem- Program has created a more flexible approach. We have moved forward on pay inar is facilitated by an industry insider, issues, and there is keen interest in addressing the sorrowful state of our training able to provide instruction and insight conditions. We are hiring new officers and giving them training before sending unavailable in the traditional classroom. them out! We sent a survey out concerning AFSA priorities and continue to wel- For more information, visit www.fpa. come your input. I know you do not see the relief in the field yet, but there are org. ❏ signs that the cavalry is coming. Hang on! ❏

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 53 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/15/10 9:35 PM Page 54

A F S tirement. The department has advised A The FS Pension System former employees who retired since and Sick Leave Oct. 28 — and are still waiting for their calculations to be done — that they will N BY BONNIE BROWN, COORDINATOR FOR RETIREE COUNSELING AND LEGISLATION have their annuities recomputed in the E next two to three months. W he 2010 National Defense Author- tem, the Foreign Service Retirement and Since its enactment, the FSPS law has S ization Act made significant Disability System. provided that employees who leave gov- Tchanges in the rules for employees Employees who leave the Foreign ernment service and receive a refund of in the new retirement system, the For- Service, retire with a right to an imme- their FSPS retirement contributions eign Service Pension System. As of Oct. diate annuity, or die leaving a survivor shall lose service credit for the period of 28, 2009, employees in this system will eligible for a survivor annuity on or service covered by the refund. The 2010 receive credit for unused sick leave and after Oct. 28, 2009, will receive credit for NDAA changes that prohibition, per- can reinstate refunded FSPS service 50 percent of their unused sick leave. mitting individuals who were reem- credit if they redeposit refunded retire- Those who leave the Foreign Service, re- ployed on or after Oct. 28 to redeposit ment contributions with interest. tire or die with a survivor annuity on or the refunded amount plus interest and According to the 2010 NDAA, un- after Jan. 1, 2014, will receive service receive credit for the service reinstated. used sick leave will be counted as serv- credit for 100 percent of their unused Survivors entitled to survivor annuities ice credit in the computation of retire- sick leave. Those whose annuities have may also make redeposits. ment benefits under FSPS, but not for both FSRDS and FSPS components will FSPS employees may make a rede- establishing eligibility for an annuity or receive service credit only for sick leave posit of refunded retirement contribu- in computing the high-three average not included in the calculation of the tions by logging into the Employee salary. As a result, sick leave will be used FSRDS component. Benefits Information System and com- in the computations in the same man- Calculations for service credit for pleting a Prior Service Request under ner it is used in the old retirement sys- sick leave will be made at the time of re- the “HR Link” module. ❏

Legislative Update: Health Insurance BY CASEY FRARY, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR

n March, President Obama signed This law will make changes that 2018. However, the threshold levels that into law two major pieces of legisla- the plans are taxed at could rise if the affect the FEHBP and overall Ition that will make significant changes cost of coverage in the standard Blue to the provision, availability and re- health insurance regulations. Cross Blue Shield option in FEHBP rises quirements of health insurance in Amer- Some provisions will go into more quickly than projected between ica, including changes that affect the now and 2018. Federal Employee Health Benefits Pro- place immediately, while others An important change for families gram. These two bills are H.R. 3590, the will be implemented over the with older-children dependents is that Patient Protection and Affordable Care the new law will require any health in- Act (P.L. 111-148) and H.R. 4872, the next few years. surance plan that offers dependent cov- Health Care and Education Reconcilia- erage to cover unmarried children until tion Act of 2010, which made technical they turn 26, and this change will go into fixes and amended parts of P.L. 111-148. Changes to the FEHPB effect in roughly six months. There was Many AFSA members are asking The bill (P.L. 111-148) introduces an some initial concern that the legislation questions about what exactly is in P.L. excise-tax on high-value employee health was vague about whether or not this ex- 111-148, and how it will affect them. insurance plans, like many of the plans tension of coverage would apply to This law will make some changes that offered through the FEHBP. Insurance FEHBP plans, but the insurance compa- have an impact on the FEHBP and over- companies will be required to pay a 40- nies have since said that it would, and all health insurance regulations. Some percent tax on health care plans valued at that they will not challenge this. provisions will go into place immedi- the threshold levels of more than For a more comprehensive overview ately, while others will be implemented $10,200 for individuals and more than of the bill and changes, please visit over the next few years. $27,500 for family coverage starting in www.afsa.org/congress/hcr.pdf. ❏

54 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/20/10 1:09 PM Page 55

A F THE LIGHTER SIDE OF FOREIGN SERVICE HISTORY S A Unique Program Allowed FS Families on A Home Leave to Spread the Word — by Trailer N BY FRANCESCA KELLY E W n 1967, FSO Robert Harlan, his along the Mississippi to Minnesota S wife Lois and two of their three and east through Illinois (and to our Ichildren, Heidi and Steven, bor- hometown of Freeport), then back rowed a car and trailer and pro- to Virginia.” ceeded to tour the central United The family grew closer and felt as States during their summer home though they were part of a mission, leave, making stops along the way to as well. “It was a glorious time,” she talk with people about the Foreign adds. “We spent many nights in Service. state parks. We stopped in small This unique program was the towns, where my husband had in- brainstorm of Deputy Assistant Sec- terviews with the mayor, the local retary Katie S. Loucheim, who in paper and the radio station — if 1963 created the Community Advi- there was one.” sory Services Office at the Depart- Mrs. Harlan has kept mementos ment of State. She felt that few of that trip, including a trip report people at home or abroad had a pos- set in limerick form, that her hus- itive image of American diplomats band wrote and dispatched to Kitty and their families. The office set Clark Gibbons, then director of the about to help promote a truer, “folk- Office of Community Advisory Ser- sier” image through several pro- vices. Some of those verses by Rob- grams. One of them was “to help ert Harlan (with intentional mis- wives of American officials abroad spellings) include:

set up welfare projects in countries HEADLIGHT-SUN FILE PHOTO PITTSBURGH An article from the Pittsburg Headlight-Sun (Pittsburg, Kan.) dated in which they are stationed.” An- Aug. 29, 1967, features an article on the Harlan family, calling The enhancing of close family ties other, in which the Harlans and oth- their visit a “get acquainted mission.” Is but one of the goods that aries ers participated, aimed “to dispatch From a trip such as ours Foreign Service officers, when they are Pants.” As the Oct. 30, 1963, New York ‘Mid the birds, bees and flours at home in the United States, to various Times reported, “The State Department As well as the gals and the gies. communities on speaking assignments.” is trying to wipe out the image of the (The Reading Eagle — Reading, Pa., American diplomat as a three-button, For, our countrymen’s friendly April 27, 1964). Ivy League snob who lives in a palace demeanour At its launch, the new program got a overseas, has a staff of servants and can’t Made our extreme excitement write-up in both the Washington Post speak the language.” extreamour and the New York Times, complete with By the time the Harlans embarked All the folks that we met captions such as “Stripping Striped on a home leave four years later, which Were the best ever yet, they spent talking about the So that U.S. grass looked even greanour. Foreign Service to communities across the Midwest, 45 Harlan signed off with: “Through other families had already Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, taken part in the program. FS Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, widow Lois Harlan recalls, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, “We came home after two Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland years in Tehran, picked up the (4,140 trailer miles).” The piece is dated heavy-duty Ford car and the Sept. 30, 1967. Airstream trailer in Harrison- Delighted with Harlan’s limericks, burg, Va., and from there the State Dept.’s Kitty Clark Gibbons HARLAN FAMILY PHOTO HARLAN FAMILY Lois Harlan (left) and daughter Heidi with the Airstream in south- went by stages to Texas to visit sent back some of her own, mimicking ern Virginia, August 1967. relatives. Then we went up Continued on page 56

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 55 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/20/10 1:09 PM Page 56

A F S Lighter Side • Continued from page 55 ries of that summer. “It A Harlan’s creative spelling: was a wonderful way to spend home leave,” she The Near East from Gomorrah to recalls. In sending these N Sodom limericks and reminis- E Has more crises than people to cences to AFSA, she won- W spodom dered, “Do you suppose S But these are but trifles such levity is still, upon Small-arms fire and rifles occasion, found at the de- To the warfares that rock Foggy partment?” Bodom. Those working there HARLAN FAMILY PHOTO HARLAN FAMILY now will have to answer FSO Robert Harlan and his children, Stephen and Heidi, at the George Your mission is then to relate Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Mo., August that question. Some As you travel at leisurely gate, 1967. might say that, these days, The yearnings of peoples there isn’t much time for With onion-domed steeples levity — nor for a 4,000-mile journey in And hamburger eaters – with State. a trailer across America, sowing public diplomacy seeds. A new generation, at- Few Americans frequently go tuned to new media, demands new To Bangui, Nouakchott or Bordo. methods of communication, such as But tales of those needs Facebook and Twitter. Can be strewn like ripe seeds Still, there’s something as American By a trailer-ensconced FSO. as apple pie in the image of a diplomatic family emerging from an Airstream, HARLAN FAMILY PHOTO HARLAN FAMILY Robert Harlan passed away in 1999, The Ford sedan and the Airstream trailer, Iowa, ready to tell their story to a small-town but his widow Lois retains fond memo- August 1967. crowd. ❏ CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES LEGAL SERVICES

ATTORNEY WITH 30 years’ successful EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS REPRE- ATTORNEYS EXPERIENCED IN REP- experience SPECIALIZING FULL-TIME IN SENTING FS officers in grievances, per- RESENTING FOREIGN SERVICE OFFI- FS GRIEVANCES will more than double formance, promotion and tenure, financial CERS and intelligence community mem- your chance of winning: 30% of grievants claims, discrimination and disciplinary ac- bers in civil and criminal investigations, ad- win before the Grievance Board; 85% of my tions. We represent FS officers at all stages ministrative inquiries, IG issues, grievances, clients win. Only a private attorney can ad- of the proceedings from an investigation, is- disciplinary investigations, and security equately develop and present your case, in- suance of proposed discipline or the initia- clearance issues. Extensive State Depart- cluding necessary regs, arcane legal tion of a grievance, through to a hearing ment experience, both as counsel to the IG doctrines, precedents and rules. before the FSGB. We provide experienced, and in L and in representing individual offi- Call Bridget R. Mugane at timely and knowledgeable advice to employ- cers. We have handled successfully some Tel: (301) 596-0175 or (202) 387-4383. ees from junior untenured officers through particularly difficult cases confronting For- E-mail: [email protected]. the Senior FS, and often work closely with eign Service and intelligence officers, both Free initial telephone consultation. AFSA. Kalijarvi, Chuzi & Newman. before the Foreign Service Grievance Board Tel: (202) 331-9260. and in the federal and local courts. We work E-mail: [email protected]. closely with AFSA when appropriate and cost effective. Doumar Martin PLLC. WILLS/ESTATE PLANNING by attorney Tel: (703) 243-3737. Fax (703) 524-7610. who is a former FSO. Have your will re- PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: $1.40/ E-mail: [email protected]. viewed and updated, or new one prepared: word (10-word min). First 3 words bolded Web site: www.doumarmartin.com. No charge for initial consultation. free, additional bold text 85¢/word. Head- M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, P.C. er or box-shading $11 each. PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: $1.40/ 307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA Deadline: 5 wks ahead of publication. word (10-word min). First 3 words bolded 22180. Adv. Mgr. Tel: (202) 944-5507. free, additional bold text 85¢/word. Header Tel: (703) 281-2161. Fax: (703) 281-9464. Fax: (202) 338-8244. or box-shading $11 each. Hyperlink $11. E-mail: [email protected]. Deadline: 5 wks ahead of publication. E-mail: [email protected]. Adv. Mgr. Tel: (202) 944-5507. E-mail: [email protected].

56 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/15/10 9:35 PM Page 57

A F S A CLASSIFIEDS N E TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES TEMPORARY HOUSING TEMPORARY HOUSING W PROFESSIONAL TAX RETURN PREP- SHORT-TERM RENTALS FIND PERFECT HOUSING by using S ARATION: Forty years in public tax practice. the free Reservation Service Agency, Ac- Arthur A. Granberg, EA, ATA, ATP. Our TEMPORARY HOUSING commodations 4 U. Tel: (843) 238-2490. charges are $95 per hour. Most FS returns E-mail: [email protected]. WASHINGTON, D.C. or NFATC take 3 to 4 hours. Our office is 100 feet from Web site: www.accommodations4u.net. TOUR? EXECUTIVE HOUSING CON- Virginia Square Metro Station. Tax Matters SULTANTS offers Metropolitan Washing- Associates PC, 3601 North Fairfax Dr., ton, D.C.’s finest portfolio of short-term, Arlington, VA 22201. Tel: (703) 522-3828. COMFORTABLE GUEST ROOMS fully furnished and equipped apartments, Fax: (703) 522-5726. rented to DACOR members for $99/night/ townhomes and single-family residences E-mail: [email protected]. single or $109/night/double, all taxes and in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. continental breakfast included. Contact: In Virginia: “River Place’s Finest” is TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES Tel: (202) 682-0500, ext. 11. steps to Rosslyn Metro and Georgetown, E-mail: [email protected]. ATTORNEY, FORMER FOREIGN SER- and 15 minutes on Metro bus or State De- Web site: www.dacorbacon.org. VICE OFFICER: Extensive experience with partment shuttle to NFATC. For more info, tax problems unique to the Foreign Service. please call (301) 951-4111, or visit our Web site at www.executivehousing.com. Available for consultation, tax planning and CAPITOL HILL, FURNISHED housing: preparation of returns: PIED-A-TERRE PROPERTIES, LTD: Se- 1-3 blocks to Capitol. Nice places, great lo- M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger, P.C. lect from our unique inventory of completely cation. Well below per diem. Short term 307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA furnished & tastefully decorated apartments OK. GSA small business and veteran- 22180. Tel: (703) 281-2161. & townhouses, all located in D.C.’s best in- owned. Tel: (202) 544-4419. Fax: (703) 281-9464. town neighborhoods: Dupont, Georgetown, Web site: www.capitolhillstay.com. E-mail: [email protected]. Foggy Bottom & the West End. Two-month minimum. Mother-Daughter Owned and ARLINGTON FLATS: 1-BR, 2-BR, and FREE TAX CONSULTATION for over- Operated. Tel: (202) 462-0200. 4-BR flats in a beautiful building 3 blks to seas personnel. We process returns as re- Fax: (202) 332-1406. Clarendon Metro. Newly renovated, com- ceived, without delay. Preparation and E-mail: [email protected]. pletely furnished, incl. all utilities/internet/ representation by Enrolled Agents. Federal Web site: www.piedaterredc.com. and all states prepared. Includes “TAX HDTV w/DVR. Parking, maid service, gym, TRAX” unique mini-financial planning review rental car available. Rates start at $2,500/ with recommendations. Full planning avail- SERVING FOREIGN SERVICE person- mo. Per diem OK. Min. 30 days. able. Get the most from your financial dollar! nel for 23 years, especially those with PETS. Tel: (571) 235-4289. Financial Forecasts Inc., Barry B. De Marr, Selection of condos, townhouses and sin- E-mail: [email protected]. CFP, EA, 3918 Prosperity Ave. #230, Fairfax, gle-family homes accommodates most See 2-BR at Web site: VA 22031. Tel: (703) 289-1167. breeds and sizes. All within a short walk of www.postlets.com/rts/1909065. Fax: (703) 289-1178. Metro stations in Arlington. Fully furnished REAL ESTATE E-mail: [email protected]. and equipped 1-4 bedrooms, within per diem rates. APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES west of ROLAND S. HEARD, CPA EXECUTIVE LODGING ALTERNATIVES. • U.S. income tax services Washington, D.C. 5 BR, 3½ baths, 2-car E-mail: [email protected]. • Practiced before the IRS garage. Privately situated on 10 acres with spectacular frontage on quiet Lake Coven- FIRST CONSULTATION FREE FURNISHED LUXURY APARTMENTS: try. Solid all-brick construction, bright and 1091 Chaddwyck Dr. Short/long-term. Best locations: Dupont airy open-floor plan, main-floor master suite, Athens, GA 30606 Circle, Georgetown. Utilities included. lots of glass, hardwood floors, fully finished Cell: (706) 207-8300. All price ranges/sizes. Parking available. lower level bedrooms, full bath and kitch- E-mail: [email protected] Tel: (202) 296-4989. enette. Enjoy the views from lovely deck and WWW.ROLANDSHEARDCPA.COM E-mail: [email protected]. screened porch; fireplace in great room. $995,000. Allen Real Estate. EDUCATION ASSESSMENT DC FURNISHED EXTENDED STAY in Tel: (540) 347-3838. Penn Quarter/Chinatown. The Lansburgh, LEARNING DISABILITY ASSESS- 425 8th Street, NW. 1-BR and 2-BR apart- MENT. Reading, writing, math, speed/ ments w/fully equipped kitchens, CAC & HOME OWNERSHIP/RENTALS fluency, executive functioning, attention. heat, high-speed Internet, digital cable TV IN NORTHERN VIRGINA. Comparing ability to achievement. Evalua- w/ HBO, fitness center w/indoor pool, resi- tion, diagnosis and recommendations for dent business center, 24-hour reception FIND THE BEST HOMES services and accommodations in school and desk, full concierge service, secure parking NEAR GREAT SCHOOLS. standardized testing (SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, available, controlled-entry building, 30-day LSAT, etc). Preschool through graduate minimum stay. Walk to Metro, FBI, DOJ, CALL ME TODAY! school. Weekend/weekday appointments. EPA, IRS, DOE, DHH, U.S. Capitol. Rates TONY FEIJOO, Principal Broker Office in McLean, Va. Will also travel to eval- within government per diem. Discount for MaxValue, Realtors® uate. Contact: Dr. Suzie Muir. government, diplomats. Visit our Web site Tel: (571) 246-2406 Tel: (703) 728-8676. at: www.TheLansburgh.com or call the leas- E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.testingld.com. ing office at (888) 313-6240. Web site: www.usgovrelo.com

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 57 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/20/10 1:09 PM Page 58

A F S A CLASSIFIEDS N E W REAL ESTATE REAL ESTATE AUTOMOTIVE S PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE serv- FLORIDA’S FIRST COAST TOUR. SELLING YOUR VEHICLE? ices provided by John Kozyn of Coldwell Direct access to all current area property BUYING A VEHICLE? Banker Residential Brokerage in Arlington. listings. Discover exactly what suits you. Since 1979, Steve Hart has been assist- Need to buy, sell or rent? My expertise will ing members of the Foreign Service with No charge, no obligation or hassle. serve your specific needs and time frame. their automotive needs. www.FirstCoastEstates.Listingbook.com FSO references gladly provided. Licensed AUTO BUYING SERVICE Tel: (904) 207-8199. in VA and DC. Tel: (202) 288-6026. BUYS and SELLS E-mail: [email protected]. E-mail: [email protected]. ALL MAKES AND MODELS Web site: www.cbmove.com/johnkozyn. SARASOTA, FL. PAUL BYRNES, FSO Steve Hart, Auto Buying Service retired, and Loretta Friedman, Coldwell 2971 Prosperity Ave, Fairfax, VA 22031 Tel: (703) 849-0080. Fax: (703) 849-9248. Banker, offer vast real estate experience in E-mail: [email protected] assisting diplomats. Enjoy gracious living, LOOKING TO BUY, sell or rent prop- Reduce your stress; use the best. erty in Northern Virginia? This former FSO no state income tax, and a current “buyer’s understands your needs and can help. market.” Tel: (941) 377-8181. SERVING OVERSEAS? YOU STILL MAY E-mail: [email protected] (Paul) QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL TAX CREDITS. or [email protected] (Loretta). David Olinger, GRI Long & Foster, Realtors Tel: (703) 864-3196. Fax: (703) 960-1305. MORTGAGE E-mail: [email protected]. U.S. AUTOMOBILE PARTS WORLD- BUYING OR REFINANCING A HOME? WIDE: Express Parts has over 30 years’ ex- Jeff Stoddard and his team have special- perience shipping original and aftermarket FALLS CHURCH CITY HOMES ized in home finance for FSOs for more parts for U.S. specification vehicles. Give us FOR SALE: Charming brick cape cod than 10 years. The Stoddard Group is able the year, make, model and serial number of with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, updated kitchen, to provide FSO-specific financing and title your car and we will supply the parts you family room, recreation room and 3 fire- services in all 50 states and D.C. Contact need. places. Nice deck, patio and spacious them at (571) 331-0442 or via e-mail at Tel: (440) 234-8381. Fax: (440) 234-2660. fenced yard provide great outdoor living [email protected]. E-mail: [email protected]. space. Skylight and arched doorways make Web site: www.expresspartsinc.com. this home even more special. Fantastic lo- HOME REPAIR cation offering an easy walk to area restau- SHOPPING rants, shops and outstanding Falls Church NOW IS THE perfect time to get your SHOP IN AN AMERICAN City schools. $549,500 home in NORTHERN VIRGINIA ready to oc- DRUG STORE BY MAIL! FOR RENT: Classic brick colonial with 5 cupy or put on the market. Whether it’s a Morgan Pharmacy bedrooms and 3 full baths close to East fresh coat of paint or a bathroom and/or 3001 P St NW Falls Church metro. Master bedroom has kitchen renovation, Door2Door Designs can Washington, DC 20007 sitting room and large kitchen with alcove. do the work for you while you’re away. We Tel: (202) 337-4100. Fax: (202) 337-4102. Huge storage area in walk-up attic. In- specialize in working with Foreign Service E-mail: [email protected] cludes use of half of 2-car garage. Avail- and military families living abroad. For more www.carepharmacies.com able Aug. 1. $3,012/month. information, contact Nancy Sheehy at (703) EMBASSY 220-VOLT transformers, FOR SALE: Updated townhouse, 2 bed- 244-3843 or [email protected]. office supplies and furniture. 5810 Semi- rooms, 2 baths, hardwood floors, garage. Or visit us at nary Rd., Falls Church, VA 22041. Walking distance to Ballston and Va. Sq. WWW.DOOR2DOORDESIGNS.COM. Tel: (703) 845-0800. metros. Low HOA priced near $500,000. E-mail: [email protected]. Call Kathy Szymanski at Fairfax Realty, TRANSPORTATION Web site: www.shopembassyusa.com. Inc. Tel: (703) 534-4630. PET MOVING MADE EASY. Club Pet E-mail: [email protected] International is a full-service animal shipper CRAVING GROCERIES FROM HOME? Web site: specializing in domestic and international We ship non-perishable groceries to you www.KathySellsVirginiaHomes.com trips. Club Pet is the ultimate pet-care via the Dulles mail-sorting facility or your boarding facility in the Washington, D.C. choice of U.S. shipping facility. FSO REAL ESTATE is a full-service, metropolitan area. www.lowesfoodstogo.com property management company with over Tel: (703) 471-7818 or (800) 871-2535. • Choose the Reynolda Rd store in 15 year’s experience. We are managed by E-mail: [email protected]. Winston-Salem, N.C. a former FSO who understands the con- • Choose Delivery cerns of FS families. MINDFUL ACTIVITIES • Pay through PayPal Web site: www.fsorealestate.com. HAVE MEDITATION, prayer, yoga or SLF SAVE THE DATE other mindful activities enhanced your re- SAVE THE DATE FOR SENIOR LIV- silience and effectiveness in diplomacy or ING FOUNDATION SALE BY OWNER (FS new Retiree) rare “Planning for Change” development work? Please share your Florida ½ acre plus wooded lot on upscale seminar, with a reception immediately story with a Foreign Service officer who is golf course (Summerbrooke). Backs to afterwards. Marriott Courtyard, Sept. 16, writing on applied mindfulness. Contact: pond. Tallahassee, FL. $150K. Please call 1 to 5 p.m., 1600 Rhode Island Avenue, [email protected]. (720) 560-9956. NW, Washington, D.C. Please e-mail [email protected].

58 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 49-59_FSJ_0610_AN:firstlook 5/15/10 9:35 PM Page 59 60-61_FSJ_0610_BKS:ship 5/20/10 1:10 PM Page 60

BOOKS

The Value of This diplomacy variety pack exam- Stanton reminds us ines many facets of the subject that lay Jaw-Jaw that diplomacy and people may not know about or appre- warfare represent ciate: the importance of rhythm; the Great Negotiations: Agreements use of onsite and offsite mediators; that Changed the Modern World different tracks of leaks to the media; the role of unoffi- Fredrik Stanton, Westholme Publish- dispute settlement, cial go-betweens (such as American ing, 2010, $26, hardback, 297 pages. and often occur journalist Charles Bartlett for President simultaneously. John F. Kennedy and ABC correspon- REVIEWED BY PATRICIA H. KUSHLIS dent John Scali for Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban To state the theme of Great Negoti- Missile Crisis); domestic constraints; ations in one sentence, one can do no of these episodes represents a success. the complexities and risks of multilat- better than Winston Churchill’s 1954 The exception is the 1919 Paris Peace eral versus bilateral negotiations; the pronouncement: “To jaw-jaw is always Conference, a multilateral extravaganza, need to explore options away from the better than to war-war.” Bearing this which the United States entered totally cameras; real and self-imposed time wisdom in mind, Fredrik Stanton doc- unprepared and at far too high a level. constraints; and high-level involvement uments the critical role negotiations Stanton’s chapter delineates multiple to break stalemates. have played in shaping America’s fu- reasons for this colossal failure, which Admittedly, America’s negotiating ture, as well as the world’s destiny, over helped set the stage for Hitler’s rise and approach is usually far more pedestrian the past two centuries. World War II. than the high-wire stories in this book, He does this through eight elegant, Throughout Great Negotiations, based as it is on a time-consuming com- chronologically arranged chapters, be- Stanton reminds us that diplomacy and mittee system that involves various gov- ginning with Benjamin Franklin’s diplo- warfare represent different tracks of dis- ernment agencies and, sometimes, macy in Paris during the American pute settlement, and they often occur nongovernmental organizations. Far Revolution and ending with the 1987 simultaneously on the world’s chess more hours are spent negotiating across Reykjavik Summit. Other topics in- board. He also emphasizes the need for agency lines than across the negotiating clude the Louisiana Purchase and the victors and vanquished to save face. table. Still, the process usually builds a Portsmouth Treaty, through which To defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis, stronger foundation for winning con- Theodore Roosevelt engineered an end for instance, Washington secretly agreed gressional approval of the treaty or to the 1905 Japanese Russian War as a to withdraw its aging arsenal of missiles agreement. long-distance mediator. based in northern Turkey and to stop If I still taught international politics, Each case study focuses on the con- threatening to invade Cuba. In return, I would assign Stanton’s book to my text and dynamics of a negotiation and Moscow agreed not to publicize that students because it reads well and the the importance of the individual par- withdrawal, and brought its own mis- negotiations are familiar to students of ticipants, their connections and roles. siles and bombers back home from Ha- American history. And if I taught ne- As the book’s title suggests, all but one vana. gotiating strategy, I would use it be-

60 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 60-61_FSJ_0610_BKS:ship 5/15/10 9:36 PM Page 61

BOOKS

cause it brings out aspects — the thoroughly researched, elegant and in- Germany in the 1940s and 1950s to human factor, in particular — that too sightful account of the (many) men and what it could do with the Federal Re- many treatises on the subject ignore. (few) women who shaped EUR and, public about many other things in the The book should also appeal beyond through it, the policies of successive 1970s. the classroom to history buffs and those U.S. administrations toward Europe in I had the pleasure and the privilege intrigued by the negotiating strategies the critical decades of the mid-20th of working with, and learning from, and tactics of great leaders. century. many of the figures profiled here. Stanton’s book humanizes a process At the working level, most of those For my bosses and their colleagues often shrouded in secrecy — one that figures had served in the military dur- throughout EUR, as Weisbrode writes, deserves far better understanding in a ing World War II, and many also “There was always another problem to country that only imperfectly realizes worked with the Marshall Plan or in the manage, another aggrieved party to as- that expertise at the negotiating table is American occupation zone of Ger- suage, another job to do.” They ac- as important in maintaining our peace many. While an older generation of complished all those things, brilliantly. and security, if not more so, than American diplomats had been tied Still, I do not want to do Weisbrode prowess on the battlefield. more closely, culturally and linguisti- a disservice by implying that this book cally, to Britain and France, by the is a hymn to the trans-Atlantic relation- Patricia H. Kushlis was an FSO with 1970s they were passing from the ship and the people who managed it. the U.S. Information Agency from scene. The relationships rooted in fam- He makes no secret of his admiration 1970 to 1998. A longer version of this ily ties and shared wartime experience for their labors, but that does not color review appeared on WhirledView, the that had linked elites in London, Paris his scholarship or his judgments. world politics, public diplomacy and and Washington gave way to networks The Atlantic Century is, quite sim- national security blog she co-writes created by think-tanks and exchange ply, the finest, most balanced work of with former FSO Patricia Lee Sharpe programs that produced an American diplomatic history that I have read in (http://whirledview.typepad.com). “successor generation” focused on Ger- many years. Its primary and secondary many. sources span two continents, three lan- Weisbrode documents the bureau’s guages, a 35-page bibliography and 107 transformation from a small cadre of pages of endnotes. The German Question professionals on the eve of World War Scholars of American diplomatic II into the powerhouse led by Arthur history and international relations will The Atlantic Century: Four Hartman, in which I served in the find themselves and their students well Generations of Extraordinary 1970s. The sheer magnitude of EUR’s served by this book’s archival and tex- Diplomats Who Forged America’s reach — from the State Department tual richness. And practitioners of Vital Alliance with Europe and National Security Council staff to American diplomacy will have the Kenneth Weisbrode, Da Capo Press, USNATO and the U.S. Mission to the added pleasure of reading a work that 2009, $30.00, hardcover, 470 pages. European Community, bilateral em- recognizes the importance of their bassies from Lisbon to Moscow and work, not only in EUR but throughout REVIEWED BY EDWINA S. CAMPBELL delegations to multilateral negotiations the State Department and around the in Geneva, Vienna, Stockholm and world. ■ The late Professor Ernest May elsewhere — enabled it to build up made many contributions to the study unique expertise, experience, cultural Edwina S. Campbell, a former FSO of American foreign policy, but we sensitivity and linguistic competence. who served in the Office of European should all be especially grateful that he With these tools, it shaped a confident Security and Political Affairs from encouraged his student, Kenneth Weis- and creative Atlanticism. 1974 to 1977, is a professor of national brode, to write his Harvard doctoral The “German question” remained security studies at the Air Command dissertation on the role and influence central for EUR throughout the period, and Staff College of Air University at of the Bureau of European Affairs. but it evolved from a focus on what the Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in That dissertation became this book, a United States should do about West Montgomery, Ala.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 61 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 62

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

ONLINE EDUCATION: UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITIES

ONLINE EDUCATION GIVES FOREIGN SERVICE FAMILIES THE MEANS TO TAILOR THEIR LEARNING NEEDS TO THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES.

BY KRISTI STREIFFERT

ust as today’s Foreign Service families cannot Initially, educators approached online education skepti- imagine how their predecessors lived without cally. Could students stay motivated without face-to-face the Internet, we may soon be wondering how contact? Would online students cheat more? How do you we ever got along without online education. measure knowledge gained by students when they are not Distance learning, as it is sometimes called, present for testing? But with millions of students now offers an unparalleled opportunity for FS fam- online — and with more than a decade of experience — ily members to target and tailor their educa- numerous strategies have evolved to address these issues. tional needs to their circumstances. And among those who benefit the most are Foreign Service JLast year, nearly five million students took at least one families. online course from a degree-granting institution of higher There is no one set of programs that works best for education in the United States. The technology for deliver- Foreign Service families — to suggest otherwise would be to ing online courses and degree programs is rapidly growing ignore the wide array of circumstances of family members more sophisticated. Professors are becoming more adept at (age, educational level, English-language abilities, and inter- teaching online. And most propitious of all, postsecondary ests and talents, to name a few). It would also ignore the fact institutions are passionate about the opportunity to present that there are now thousands of options available to choose educational opportunities to a global “campus.” from. Universities offer online undergraduate degrees in near- In fact, the plethora of opportunities for online students ly every possible topic — from interior design to accounting. means that the buyer must beware. The online student Online master’s degrees cover the fields of business, health must identify his or her educational goals clearly — a care, management, government, human services, legal stud- degree? a postgraduate degree? a certificate? continuing ies, education and information technology. Online doctor- education credits? — and then carefully choose the appro- ate programs include education, public policy, business priate institution and program. administration, religion — and more. One leader in the field, University of Maryland University College, offers Choosing a School undergraduate programs in everything from psychology to It’s best to begin with the basics. There are three types emergency management. Another, Boston University, of accredited institutions of higher education in the United offers both master’s degrees and doctorates in music educa- States: public, private nonprofit and private for-profit. tion, among other online programs. And Stanford Uni- Nearly all public institutions (from the University of versity offers a computer science master’s degree that can be Nebraska to Northern Virginia Community College) offer completed online. some form of online education, although not all lead to degrees. (Many specifically target working adults and offer Kristi Streiffert, a Foreign Service spouse, is a freelance writer “professional development” classes and certificates.) And from Durango, Colo. She writes about business, education, the about half of all private, nonprofit educational institutions environment and travel. offer online education. Examples include the Florida In-

62 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 63

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 63 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/20/10 1:12 PM Page 64

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

stitute of Technology and Carne- Those who screen professional gie Mellon University. development grant applications at the But it is the private, for-profit insti- Private, for-profit Family Liaison Office note that for- tutions that have been the most profits are among the most common enthusiastic leaders in the world of institutions have been choices for Foreign Service family online education. The big brand members — especially the University names in the field include the Univer- the most enthusiastic of Phoenix and American Military sity of Phoenix, Strayer University and University (which is also very popular Capella University. leaders in the world with Marines posted to embassies; see “My advice is to go with a nonprof- p. 70). it first, with a well-known name if you of online education. It is important to be aware of the can, something like the University of criticisms of for-profit institutions, Maryland University College or Penn however. One Foreign Service State,” says Frank Mayadas, an advis- spouse who teaches for a for-profit er at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation That is not to say that for-profit institution (and therefore does not and founding president of the Sloan institutions are not a viable alternative, wish to be quoted by name) points out Consortium (a nonprofit organization Mayadas adds. For many, they may be that such schools may focus more on specializing in online education re- the best choice because they offer student satisfaction than on the quali- search). such a wide range of undergraduate ty of what the students are learning: “In education, academic reputa- programs. Most for-profit institutions “Instructors are even specifically en- tion built over time matters,” he says. are public companies and they answer couraged to lower their expectations This is particularly true when it comes to stockholders, so they have an incen- and inflate their grades. These insti- to higher degrees, such as master’s tive to keep growing and expand their tutions hire and fire based entirely degrees or doctorates. programs. on student feedback.” While that

64 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 65

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 65 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 66

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

may sound like a good way to evalu- uisite courses for the program while ate instructors, it can lead to a low- living in such far-flung places as ering of standards. The public institutions’ Kinshasa and Kigali, thanks to dis- Although Mayadas encourages tance learning. “I decided that I looking at nonprofit institutions first, online offerings are often wanted to go to nursing school while he admits that researching their we were living in Congo, and the only online degree programs can be a frus- a maze to navigate. way to complete the prerequisites was trating experience. The public insti- through distance learning,” she tutions’ online offerings are often a explains. “I did have to do a lot of maze to navigate because, by contrast research to find some of the courses, with many for-profit institutions, effort. Because online education is in such as anatomy and physiology, to be online programs are not the public the “gold rush” stage right now, there sure that they were delivered in a universities’ first priority. are literally hundreds of schools ready completely online format.” “They are not as savvy with cus- to convince you they have exactly Barnes is so delighted with online tomer service, either,” Mayadas what you are looking for. Many of education that she plans to take more acknowledges. “In the end,” he says, them are excellent, but not all will suit classes in the future. “We will proba- “there are pros and cons either way. every circumstance. bly be going back overseas in the next The most important advice is to make Research into classes and pro- few years, and I plan to continue my sure the institution is regionally grams was essential for Julie Barnes, a online education. So I am currently accredited” (see p. 76). Foreign Service spouse who is cur- looking at several bachelor’s and mas- rently enrolled in the Accelerated ter’s programs that offer a majority of Finding the Right Program Online Hybrid Nursing program at their courses online. I am also looking Finding a suitable program is the Northern Virginia Community Coll- at the possibility of working on a mas- next step, and it also takes some ege. She completed all of the prereq- Continued on p. 70

66 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 67

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 67 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 68

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

68 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 69

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 69 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/20/10 1:12 PM Page 70

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

Inside Source: If You’re at an Embassy, Ask a Marine… housands of members of the armed forces are working toward college degrees online. The Prospective students TMarines you know at post probably receive $4,500 each in tuition assistance per fiscal year — enough, they say, for six or seven courses. Service members can choose from any college need to make sure they that has online classes available. If you ask a Marine how he chose a school, one place he will often cite is the Web site of the fully understand the Servicemembers Opportunity College: www.soc.aascu.org/. At this site you’ll find a list of nearly 2,000 colleges and universities that cater to service residential requirements. members and, therefore, are accustomed to working with distance learners. Most of these schools also award college credit through nationally recognized testing programs such as the College-Level Examination Program general and subject exams (www.collegeboard.com/stu dent/testing/clep/about.html). common situation that if you find a This is a great advantage because, depending on the academic program, some students school you are interested in, the most obtain up to a third of their degree through these testing programs. One of the most popular efficient thing to do is call the admis- schools for service members is American Military University, which is also open to civilians. sions department and talk to them Top tip from Marines who’ve been there: Don’t forget to factor in slow mail service! Be sure about which programs are offered to order your books and materials in plenty of time. completely online. The problem is especially prevalent with public uni- Continued from p. 66 but further investigation may reveal versities, and undoubtedly contri- ter’s in public health down the road.” that the course offerings are limited, butes to making specialized online Research is vital because many or they require your physical presence institutions, like the University of Web sites have “front page” content on a weekly basis for labs or lectures, Phoenix, more attractive. touting numerous online programs — for example. In fact, this is such a But with diligent online research,

70 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 71

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

you can find complete online degree out the world sitting down together, programs outlined at numerous pub- even if it is the middle of the night for lic universities. The University of Besides good Internet some of them. Maryland University College, for Julie Barnes’ nursing program example, offers more than 100 bache- access and strong requires “attendance” at a weekly live lor’s and master’s degree programs lecture delivered in an online format and certificates completely online. motivation, students need through Blackboard (a widely used The university has approximately Internet educational tool). Since 90,000 students worldwide. to plan for the time completing her prerequisite courses Even courses taught entirely on- overseas, Barnes now lives in North- line may be logistically challenging, commitment involved. ern Virginia and attends clinical rota- however, depending on how they are tions at a local hospital. delivered. Prospective students need “I chose NOVA because of the to be aware of how the classes will be length of the program —15 months conducted. aged material and lectures, plus cor- — and the fact that it is online, which respondence with the instructor and gives me the flexibility I need since I Conduct of the Course discussion boards (an instructor cre- have two small children at home. I Online classes are generally either ates a discussion topic assignment that will graduate this August, and I am so “synchronous” or “asynchronous” — runs for a few days, and students are happy that these types of programs meaning they either require you to be graded on their ability to post are now available.” present at your computer at a specific responses and further the discussion). Online learning is also steadily time, or they do not. Synchronous courses, on the other being integrated into mainstream Asynchronous courses are drop-in hand, are similar to a live video con- higher education, and this means that style. They are taught with prepack- ference, with all the students through- Continued on p. 76

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 71 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 72

72 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/20/10 1:12 PM Page 73

SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE Go to our Web page at www.fsjournal.org and click on the Marketplace tab for more information.

Annual Tuition, School Name Page Number Enrollment Gender DistributionPercent M/F BoardingPercent InternationalLevels Offered TABS Common ApplicationAccepts/Offers ADDMiles and to LD Int’lInt’l Airport StudentsDorms Orientation w/E-mailHoliday & PhonesBreak CoverageRoom & Board (USD)

ELEMENTARY/JUNIOR HIGH Hampshire Country School 80 25 All boys 100 0 3-12 N Y 65 NA N N 45,500

JUNIOR HIGH Cardigan Mountain School 66 200 All boys 90 40 6-9 Y Limited 130 Y Y Y1 44,100 North Country School 79 92 49/43 88 23 4-9 Y Y 125 N Y/N N 50,750

JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH Hawaii Preparatory 72 457 50/50 50 20 6-12, PG Y Limited 35 Y Y Y2 39,400 Academy Queen Anne School 82 155 NA NA NA 6-12 N Y 15 N NA N 17,500 Thomas Jefferson School 69 85 50/50 55 28 7-12, PG Y N 12 Y Y N 36,500 Southwestern Academy 70 160 70/30 60 50 6-12, PG Y Limited 29 Y Y Y 30,700

SENIOR HIGH Foxcroft School 69 176 All girls 72 16 9-12 Y Limited 30 Y Y N 43,200 Grand River Academy3 67 120 All boys 100 15 9-12, PG Y Y 50 Y Y N 34,325 Hebron Academy 68 214 63/37 70 25 9-12, PG Y Y 45 Y Y N 46,195 Interlochen Arts Academy 66 475 40/60 89 18 9-12, PG N N 16 Y Y N 44,750 King George School 80 45 50/50 100 5 9-12 Y Y 60 N N Y 7,5004 Midland School 69 90 50/50 100 10 9-12 Y NA 138 Y Y Y 37,500 Olney Friends School 78 65 50/50 90 41 9-12 Y Limited 100 Y N N 27,800 Purnell School 76 110 All girls 98 10 9-12 Y Y 35 Y Y N 49,182 Storm King School, The 79 135 55/45 75 45 8-12 Y Y 60 Y Y N 38,600 West Nottingham Academy 69 123 40/60 67 18 9-12, PG Y Y 50 Y Y N 38,500 White Mountain School 82 100 50/50 80 30 9-12, PG Y Y 110 Y Y Y 43,600

SPECIAL NEEDS Gow School, The 77 148 All boys 100 27 7-12, PG N Y 20 Y Y N 49,825 Kildonan School, The 81 100 70/30 49 4 2-12, PG N Y 90 Y Y N 60,000 Landmark School 79 449 60/40 36 1 2-12 N Y 25 N Y N 45,000- 59,000 Vanguard School 68 131 70/30 85 30 5-12, PG Y Y 50 Y Y N 42,500

MILITARY North Georgia College 85 5,500 35/65 60 2 B.A., B.S., Y Y 75 Y Y N 15,000 and State University BBA, M.A.

Notes: 1Homestay Arranged. 2Thanksgiving only. 3Offers Support for ADD/LD; International Adviser; and Student may bring cell phone and PC. CONTINUED ON PAGE 74 4Monthly. JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 73 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/20/10 1:12 PM Page 74

SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE Go to our Web page at www.fsjournal.org and click on the Marketplace tab for more information.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 73 OVERSEAS American International 67 180 50/50 NA 90 PK-12 NA Limited 45 Y NA N 12,300+ School of Rotterdam American Overseas 64 630 50/50 NA 65 PK-PG N Y 30 Y NA N 12,200- School of Rome 24,000 Berlin Brandenburg 81 671 49/51 5 65 PK-12 N Y 25 Y Y N 42,0001 International School Country Day School, 63 150 50/50 15 80 PK-12 N N 40 Y Y N 29,320 Guanacaste Escuela Campo Alegre 78 580 50/50 NA 80 N-12 NA Limited 20 Y NA N 20,492 Jakarta International 75 2,394 50/50 NA 80 K-12 NA Limited 30 Y N N 6,900- School 20,900 John F. Kennedy 81 70 50/50 30 70 K-8 N Limited 90 Y Y N 49,600 International School, Switzerland Leysin American School in Switzerland 71 385 48/52 100 75 8-12, PG Y Limited 75 Y Y N 44,000 St. Stephen’s School 79 251 45/55 14 67 9-12, PG N N 12 NA Y N 40,6311 TASIS The American School in England 77 700 50/50 26 41 PK-12 Y Limited 8 Y Y N 45,0001 Prem Tinsulanonda International School 84 452 57/43 27 71 K-12 N N 15 Y Y N 25,000

POST-SECONDARY Arcadia University 84 4,021 30/70 56 1.4 B.A., M.A. NA Y 25 Y Y N 43,870 NOVA 82 75,000 44/55 0 30 A.A. NA Y 17 Y NA N 20,000 Rutgers University 86 52,471 48/52 41 1.7 B.A., M.A., Ph.D. NA Y 10-252 Y Y Y 33,172 St. Mary’s University 87 3,893 40/60 55 3.1 B.A., M.A., Ph.D. NA Y 13 Y Y N 30,120 John Cabot University, 83 750 60/40 66 40 B.A. NA Y 20 Y Y Limited 28,100 Italy University of South Florida 83 47,122 41/59 14 3 B.A., M.A. NA NA 19 Y Y Y 24,140

DISTANCE LEARNING K12 International 65 877 NA NA 60 K-12 N NA Y NA NA 4,995- Academy 6,995 Texas Tech University 86 K-12 and accredited HS diploma; Bachelor’s through graduate programs. Visit www.de.ttu.edu. University of Missouri - 87 Independent study: Grade 3 through university. Bachelor’s degree completion. Center Distance & For more information, go to cdis.missouri.edu/go/FSJ10.aspx. Independent Study

OTHER Foreign Service 68 A support network for U.S. Foreign Service youth worldwide. Go to www.fsyf.org Youth Foundation

Notes: 1Dollar value is subject to exchange rate. 2Depends on campus.

74 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 75

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 75 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 76

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

Continued from p. 71

understand the residential requirements. Neal Makely, a Foreign It takes some Service spouse who took online classes while posted to Monterrey and additional planning Tirana, says, “I took two semesters of rigorous biology classes. Each course to assure success as required labs performed at home, as well as one lab on campus. Flying an online student. back to Virginia from Mexico for the lab added considerably to the cost of the course!” After narrowing down programs suited to the student’s goals, another many programs can end up being consideration is the quality of course hybrids that require the physical pres- instructors. According to the 2008 ence of the student at one or more Sloan Survey of Online Learning, up points in the process. Some Foreign to 20 percent of educational institu- Service families posted overseas view tions do not provide any training or such occasional residency require- mentoring for instructors. So while ments as a great opportunity for a trip the instructor may be highly qualified “home.” Those with jobs or other to teach a particular subject, he or she logistical issues, however, might find may or may not have mastered the this a deal-breaker. technological and social skills needed Prospective students need to look to teach from a distance. It is a good very closely to make sure they fully idea to address questions about the

Is Your School Accredited? ecause there is no centralized accrediting system for higher education in the United States, Bcolleges and universities are accredited regionally. Six independent regional accreditation boards evaluate for quality and conduct periodic assessments. There are two databases online to check to see if a school you are considering has regional accreditation. Use the search pages at either the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (www.chea.org/search/) or the U.S. Department of Education (www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/). Keep in mind that it is entirely possible for an unaccredited institution to provide a quality postsecondary education (depending on your plans and needs). But accreditation assures that institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality. This system also allows some credits to be transferred to other schools, and provides standards to qualify for admission to graduate programs. In addition, some employers do not consider unaccredited institutions to satisfy requirements of job specifications. As a matter of fact, the state of Michigan publishes a list of many of those institutions deemed unacceptable for hiring purposes (www.michigan.gov/docum ents/Non-accreditedSchools_78090_7.pdf). For a list of such institutions, visit a site maintain- ed by the state of Maine: www.state.me.us/education/highered/Non-Accredited/non-accredited. htm. The six regional accrediting boards in the United States are: Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities North Central Association of Colleges and Schools New England Association of Schools and Colleges Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Western Association of Schools & Colleges There are also some national accrediting agencies, but nationally accredited schools pre- dominantly offer vocational and technical programs.

76 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 77

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 77 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 78

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

training for instructors and the quality certification for college counseling of the course material to the admis- that is popular with Foreign Service sions personnel at each institution. Apart from for-profits, family members. Their technical specifications Web page (www.uclaex Test Drive the Course which are often more tension.edu/str/OnlineCourseTechSp Another way to narrow down the ecs-How-To.aspx) includes a link to a options is to “test drive” a course expensive, the cost of Blackboard orientation, a list of before signing up. Many institutions browsers compatible with the class offer a free demo course on their Web online classes and on- and a list of answers to common ques- pages (for example: www.umuc.edu/ tions. spotlight/testdrive.shtml). If not, ask- campus classes tends to Experienced online educators also ing for a sample course will help to suggest that prospective students find show how they really work. be roughly the same. out what resources the school offers This also allows prospective stu- for student support while enrolled dents to make sure their computer (tutoring, provision for family emer- equipment is up to date, check on gencies, etc.) and whether it provides software requirements and find out the world offer good Internet service, help with job placement and career whether they will need to invest in there are still a number of posts counseling. Students might also specific hardware such as a webcam. where connections are slow or unreli- check on library access — most col- Many online courses have streaming able. lege libraries can now be accessed components, and some even take University and college Web sites through virtual protocol network soft- place via videoconferencing, which generally provide minimum technical ware that is installed on students’ can require high-quality Internet specifications for online courses. computers. bandwidth. While most cities around UCLA, for example, offers an online School Web sites usually provide

78 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 79

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 79 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 80

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

program and course timelines, as well. Internet access and strong motivation, Some courses are offered only during students need to plan for the time certain semesters (or on specific Online classes are commitment involved — about 10 schedules), and all work must be com- hours a week per course. Check out generally either syllabi, which are commonly available RESOURCES at the instructor’s course Web pages. Peterson’s “synchronous” or The course syllabus should outline www.petersons.com minimum expectations to help stu- One of the best search features “asynchronous.” dents judge if a course is demanding and of high quality. Most demanding for online and distance learning. courses require log-in time every week in order to upload papers, initi- College Choices for Adults ate discussions, perform lab assign- www.collegechoicesforadults.org/ pleted by strict deadlines. Others are ments and post questions. welcome/questions flexible and remain open, as needed, A good course will require a signif- 21 questions you should ask until the student submits certain work icant amount of assigned reading each before starting a program. or passes an assessment. Degree pro- week. It will require students to do grams also vary. Some may require active research on topics, with weekly The Family Liaison Office finishing all credits in four to five assignments. Assessments should be www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c21570. years, while others might allow you scheduled once every couple of htm more or less time. weeks. Classes usually have an ele- It takes some additional planning ment of interaction between class A link covering higher education. to assure success as an online student. members in the form of online discus- Instructors say that besides good Continued on p. 85

80 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 81

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 81 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 82

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

82 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 83

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 83 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 84

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

84 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 85

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

Continued from p. 80 best part was getting a master’s degree sions. There might also be team pro- and teaching license finished in 13 jects every couple of weeks. Foreign Service families, months,” she says, but “it was also challenging for a social person like me Plan for Success in particular, have new not to be on a traditional campus dur- One of the success stories in online ing most of the year.” education comes from the annals of avenues and opportunities Since she was not yet employed by the State Department. Years ago, a school, she found it difficult to do State worked with George Mason for learning, whether for some of her required fieldwork. But University to develop a distance- displaying the resourcefulness charac- learning program to train Foreign basic education, career teristic of many Foreign Service spous- Service family members (and others) es, she worked out an agreement to as teachers for overseas schools. development or sheer “borrow” students from the local inter- FS spouse Liz Covington, for national school to do her research. example, received her master’s pleasure. Covington’s advice to overseas degree in multicultural education learners? “Know what your goal is. I and a license to teach English to wanted to get a master’s and a license, speakers of other languages via the and this program provided both at FAST TRAIN program at George once. I also wanted to study with a Mason University (http://fasttrain. year of online coursework,” Coving- variety of classmates, and this pro- gmu.edu/). The 13-month, intensive ton says. “I was on campus for two gram was about one-third foreigners program also involves two summer summers during intensive five-week teaching their native language to for- school sessions on campus. courses.” She has now been a teacher eigners; one-third Americans teach- “I was in Monterrey during the in Mexico, China and Mongolia. “The ing English overseas; and one-third

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 85 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/15/10 9:34 PM Page 86

CHANGE OF ADDRESS S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT Moving? teachers working with immigrant around $200 a credit hour (a bache- communities in the U.S. So it was a lor’s degree requires about 120 hours, good mix.” or about $24,000). All legitimate Take AFSA Finally, a note on cost. We’ve all schools will have cost details on their read about the high cost of higher edu- Web sites, as well as information cation in the United States — and, about financial aid. With You! unfortunately, it is no less true for the The demands of overseas living, online variety. Do you have $78,000 combined with frequent moves, make Change your address handy? That’s the cost of Thunder- career development difficult for online at: bird/Indiana University’s Web-based Foreign Service family and household dual Master of Business Administra- members. The good news today, www.afsa.org/comment.cfm tion and Master of Global Manage- however, is that educational opportu- — Or — ment degree program, which takes 28 nities are better than could be imag- Send change of address to: months to complete. ined just one decade ago. From uni- AFSA Membership Although for-profits are often versally offered general courses such Department more expensive, some costing $400 to as English literature to highly specific $500 or more per credit hour, the cost programs (Federal Indian Law stud- 2101 E Street NW of online classes and on-campus class- ies at Montana State University, any- Washington, DC 20037 es tends to be roughly the same. one?), the options are nearly endless. Community college courses might be As a result, Foreign Service fami- under $100 per credit hour, making lies, in particular, have new avenues the cost of an associate degree (at 56 for learning, whether for basic educa- hours) just $5,600. tion, career development or sheer Many state universities charge pleasure. ■

86 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 62-87_FSJ_0610_SCH:proof 5/20/10 1:12 PM Page 87

S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT

Online Offerings: A Sampler

ere are several highly regarded post- Hsecondary institutions that offer online programs:

Penn State (www.worldcampus.psu. edu/) offers more than 70 online degrees or certificates. Example: Master of Pro- fessional Studies in Human Resources and Employment Relations, an 11-course series, is designed to be completed in two to four years, but it can be done in less time with careful planning (www.world campus.psu.edu/MasterinHumanResourc esandEmploymentRelations.shtml).

The University of Illinois (www. online.uillinois.edu/catalog/OnlineDegrees. asp) offers 104 degree programs, fully or mostly online. Example: the well-regarded library science program (www.lis.uiuc. edu/programs/leep/) includes a master’s degree that requires 40 hours of graduate study, which can be completed by a full- time student in one year.

University of Nebraska at Lincoln (http://online.unl.edu/) offers undergraduate completion programs for those who already hold a number of college credits, plus graduate degrees. Example: Doctor of Education in Educational Administration, with courses offered both online and face- to-face. Students choose course formats that best suit their needs (http://online graduate.unl.edu/programs/phd/edadmin/ index.shtml).

Northeastern University (www.cps. neu.edu/online/programs) offers more than 65 online degree programs and professional certificates. Example: R.N. to B.S. in Nursing, which enables registered nurses who currently hold a diploma or associate degree to attain a baccalaureate degree in nursing completely online (www. cps.neu.edu/rnbs_nursing/). — Kristi Streiffert

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 87 88-92_FSJ_0510_RE:ship 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 88

REAL ESTAT E

u REGULAR INSPECTIONS u ENJOY PEACE OF MIND u u u RENTAL SERVICES Who’s taking care of your home while you’re away? REGULAR REPORTS REGULAR REPORTS u

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

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. rson G Property management is ye rou our full time business. OVER 24 YEARS EXPERIENCE 24 OVER e p, M I Let us take care u e n h c. of the details. u T EXCELLENT REFERENCES

Call us today! (301) 657-3210

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

Find State Department and AFSA Reading Lists Online at www.afsa.org/ads/books/

Buy all your travel guides, language books and pleasure reading through the AFSA bookstore.

Buy the Amazon Kindle and download and read first chapters for free before you decide to purchase that new book.

When you access Amazon.com through our bookstore all your purchases will benefit AFSA at no additional cost to you.

Start your purchase on our site: www.afsa.org/ads/books/

88 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 88-92_FSJ_0510_RE:ship 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 89

REAL ESTAT E

Property Specialists, Inc. A professional and personal service tailored to meet your needs in: • Property Management • Tenant Placement • Tax-deferred Exchange • Real Estate Investment Counseling Specializing in PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 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.

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 89 88-92_FSJ_0510_RE:ship 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 90

REAL ESTAT E

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

AUTOMOBILES MISCELLANEOUS Foreign Service Authors / 8 Prem Tinsulanonda International Diplomatic Automobile / Books Online through AFSA / 88 Help AFSA Go Green / 45 School / 84 Outside Back Cover Cort Furniture / 2 Purnell School / 76 Fearrington Village / 37 EDUCATION Queen Anne School / 82 CLASSIFIED ADS Fox Hill Club and Residences / 20 American International School Schools at a Glance / 73, 74 Classified Ads / 56, 57, 58 Inside a U.S. Embassy / 30 of Rotterdam / 67 Southwestern Academy / 70 Lockheed Martin / 6 American Overseas School St. Stephen’s School, Rome / 79 FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND TAX Middle East Journal, The / 26 of Rome / 64 Storm King School, The / 79 SERVICES Tetra Tech / 15 Berlin Brandenburg International TASIS, The American School Federal Employee Defense School / 81 in England / 77 Services / 10 REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY Cardigan Mountain School / 66 Thomas Jefferson School / 69 MCG Financial Planning / 25 MANAGEMENT Country Day School, Guanacaste / 63 Vanguard School, The / 68 Shaw, Bransford & Roth, PC / 37 Cabell Reid, LLC. / 89 Escuela Campo Alegre / 78 West Nottingham Academy / 69 State Department Federal Credit Executive Housing Consultants, Foreign Service Youth White Mountain School, The / 82 Union / 19 Inc. / 91 Foundation / 68 Washington Retirement Planning McEnearney Associates / 91 Foxcroft School / 69 POST SECONDARY EDUCATION Specialists / 11 McGrath Real Estate Services / 90 Gow School, The / 77 AND DISTANCE LEARNING Meyerson Group Inc., The / 88 Grand River Academy / 67 Arcadia University / 84 HOUSING Peake Management, Inc. / 88 Hampshire Country School / 80 John Cabot University / 83 AKA, Flexible Stay Hotel Residences / ProMax Management Inc. / 89 Hawaii Preparatory Academy / 72 North Georgia College & Inside Front Cover Property Specialists, Inc. / 89 Hebron Academy / 68 State University / 85 Attaché Property Management Stuart & Maury, Inc. / 88 Interlochen Arts Academy / 66 North Virginia Community LLC / 33 Washington Management Jakarta International School / 75 College / 82 CAS/Corporate Apartment Services / 90 John F. Kennedy International Rutgers University / 86 Specialists / 29 WJD Management / 91 School / 81 St. Mary’s University / 87 Interim Housing Solutions / 8 K-12 Worldwide Academy / 65 Texas Tech / 86 Pied-à-Terre Properties, Ltd. / 33 ANNOUNCEMENTS Kildonan School, The / 81 University of Missouri Center Remington, The / 25 AFSA Fund for American King George School / 80 for Distance & Independent Suite America / 29 Diplomacy / Inside Back Cover Landmark School / 79 Study / 87 AFSA Marketplace for Tax and Leysin, American School University of South Florida / 83 INSURANCE Financial Services / 38 in Switzerland / 71 AFSPA / 4 Change of Address / 86 Midland School / 69 Clements International / 1 “College Guide” by North Country School / 79 Hirshorn Company, The / 59 Washington Monthly / 70 Olney Friends School / 78

90 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 88-92_FSJ_0510_RE:ship 5/15/10 9:33 PM Page 91

REAL ESTAT E

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

JUNE 2010/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 91 88-92_FSJ_0510_RE:ship 5/20/10 1:11 PM Page 92

REFLECTIONS

Where’s Home?

BY CHRISTOPHER HENZE

ccasionally young people ask I think the tipping point was a rather me about the Foreign Service “For you, the U.S. spooky telephone call received at Oas a career. Mostly they want will always be home. home one night at the beginning of the to know what academic background I Gulf War. The caller, allegedly repre- recommend, how to prepare for the For us, it’s not.” senting the French counterintelligence entrance examination and whether for- service (Renseignements Généraux), eign languages are required. wanted to know my detailed schedule Yet the questions they don’t think for a trip to Rennes. I was due to open to ask are, to my mind, some of the That evening, we explained to our an exhibit there the following day titled most important. This has happened children that home for them was where “The American West,” something I often enough to prompt me to jot they were at the moment. That’s why wanted my children to see. I canceled down some reflections on diplomatic we took all our favorite possessions with the trip. life, especially as it affects children. us when we moved (even at the risk of When I retired, it felt as if a weight The positive aspects are obvious — loss or breakage). had been lifted from my shoulders — a learning foreign languages, gaining an The big difference between us and burden I didn’t even realize I’d been appreciation of other cultures and de- them, however, is that we always had the carrying. Bureaucrats in Washington veloping an international outlook. U.S., and specifically California, where would no longer decide where my fam- But the negative aspects should not we were both born and raised, as a home ily and I would live for the next two to be underestimated. My wife and I reference point. As they said when they four years or what size living quarters moved 19 times during our 24-year- were older: “For you, the U.S. will we were allowed. And I wouldn’t be long career. At first that was fun and always be home. For us, it’s not.” representing the United States 24/7. I exciting. But later, when children ar- Except for brief visits on home have no regrets about my career, but rived after 10 years of marriage, it be- leave, the children never really got to also no regrets about leaving it. came more problematic. know their grandparents and vice versa, At age 16, with our encouragement, It’s one thing for adults to uproot not to mention cousins and other rela- both children requested and obtained themselves, but quite another for chil- tives. And we parents did not enjoy the French citizenship, making them dual dren to be torn away from friends, built-in babysitting often provided by nationals. Being able to live and work school and home. Our children were grandparents at home! in any of the expanding number of E.U. both born in Paris, but they spent their Also unfortunately, during our ca- countries is potentially a great advan- early years in Washington. They did reer terrorism became a growth indus- tage for them. not want to leave D.C. for Geneva, and try, making diplomatic service less Ironically, they both now work at the then did not want to leave there for attractive than before. An American U.S. embassy in Paris, although in dif- Paris, although now they love France as cultural attaché, for example, is an ideal ferent capacities. And they both con- much as we do. “soft target” with a fairly high profile sider France their home. ■ The fact of our children’s rootless- but without protection. ness hit home at a social event in Again, it’s one thing to accept that Christopher Henze, a retired USIA Sen- Geneva when a lady asked our 6-year- sort of risk for oneself; but I had to ask ior Foreign Service officer living in old daughter where her home was. myself if I had the right to subject my France, served in South Africa, Tanza- Sabrina looked up at me, not knowing children to that risk. Ultimately, my an- nia, Slovenia, Switzerland and France what to say. swer was no. (twice).

92 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JUNE 2010 1 C-C 4_FSJ_0610_COV:proof 5/15/10 9:27 PM Page c3 1 C-C 4_FSJ_0610_COV:proof 5/15/10 9:27 PM Page c4