The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project DAVID E. REUTHER Interviewed by: Raymond C. Ewing Initial interview date: August 29, 1996 Copyrig t 2002 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background aised in Seattle, Washington Occidental College$ George Washington University (GWU) (China studies) Sino,Soviet Institute (GWU) .ntered Foreign Service , 1901 2ational Security Agency (2SA) 1930,1901 U.S. Pueblo State Department , Foreign Service Institute (FSI) , Thai 6anguage Training 1901,1901 Peace Corps 7ietnam , CO DS A,111 Udorn, Thailand , 7ice Consul 1901,1908 Insurgency Development and security U.S. Air Force facilities monitoring U.S. military,Thai relations Contacts Ambassador 6eonard Unger Political reporting AID programs International 7isitor Program Peace Corps U.S. missionaries elations with embassy Thai government .conomy Students in U.S. Interagency liaison 1 Bangkok, Thailand , Political Officer 1908,1903 Demonstrations (student) Coup d;état U.S. Air Force eporting FBIS 7ietnam U.S.,Thai relations Sanya Ambassador William Kintner Ambassadorial transition Ambassador Charles Whitehouse USS Mayaguez incident Insurgency , 1903 Songkhla, Thailand , Temporary Duty (TDY) 190A efugees Consular district Contacts with officials Congressional attitude State Department , FSI , .conomic Studies 1903 State Department , Bureau of Near .ast and Asian Affairs (2.A) 1903,1908 Baghdad Interest Section .mbassy contacts IraC policy objectives U.S. policy IraCi intransigencies State Department , Staff Secretariat (SDS) 1908,1909 SDS organization Secretary of State Cyrus 7ance Middle .ast trips Preparations for Secretary of State trips President Carter trips Iran,IraC War Teheran embassy seized IraCi foreign policy Kurds Carter and human rights Patt Derian IraCi dialogue State Department , China Affairs , .conomic Officer 1909,1981 2ormalizing relations with China 2 Chas Freeman Chinese language training U.S. consulates in China Satellite technology to China China;s economy U.S. eEport controls Chinese,Soviet relations Technology transfer and cooperation U.S.,China relationship China;s bureaucracy Maritime Treaty .ducating Chinese about U.S. size Ports access Market deregulation Civil aviation negotiations SFT conference Ambassador (to China) Woodcock Gapan,Taiwan relationship State Department , FSI , Chinese 6anguage Training 1981,1982 Taipei, Taiwan , FSI , Chinese 6anguage Training 1982,1988 U.S. presence Yangming Shan Taipei , American Institute in Taiwan , General Affairs , Chief 1988,198A Mission 6iaison with foreign ministry Taiwan;s CC2AA U.S.,Taiwan relationship Kuomintang Official versus unofficial relationship President Chiang Ching,kuo Contacts with Mainland,born Chinese Henry 6iu;s murder Political opposition eporting Congressional interest Congressman Solarz;s visit .conomic progress U.S. commercial interests Social changes China,Taiwan interaction Taiwan as Chinese province Military sales to Taiwan Travel to Mainland 8 Bangkok, Thailand , Anti,Privacy Unit , Chief 198A,1980 7ietnamese refugees Fred Cluny Congressman Solarz Interregional cooperation TeE 6early Thai government support Goals U2HC 2on,governmental organizations (2GOs) Thai,7ietnamese friction Tent camps .migration to U.S. Congressional visits Ambassador Brown Beijing, China , .conomic Officer 1980,1991 Ambassador Winston 6ord Gackson,7anik Bill Most Favored 2ation issue Tiananmen SCuare incident Trade negotiations Dealing with Chinese officials Intellectual property rights (IP ) Commercial services Civil aviation China;s reforms Foreign eEchange Beijing Spring Corruption Beijing in revolt .vacuations .mbassies shelled Tense U.S.,China relations Hong Kong future discussions Consulate reporting Travel Post,Tiananmen environment Tourism collapse Post,Tiananmen economy Khartoum, Sudan , efugee Counselor 1991,1991 .thiopian Civil War Famine U2HC 4 2GOs International escue Committee Sudan;s role .nvironment Falasha issue Arabic Sudanese .Eit visas U.S. orientation trip efugee camps .thiopia feeding program .thiopian government hostility U2 presence Charter flights Transit visa problems IraC;s invasion of Kuwait Security .mbassy evacuation State Department , PoliticalDMilitary Bureau 1991 Khartoum, Sudan , efugee Officer 1991 esumption of activities Kuwait, Kuwait , Political Officer (TDY) 1991,1992 eestablishment of Political Section Devastation 6ooting .nvironment Coordinating with U2 State Department , IraCDIran Desk 1992,1998 Objectives U2 Armistice esolution monitoring Saddam Hussein;s thinking French,IraCi relations Saudi fears Kurds U2 embargo Southern IraC Coalition presence IraC embassy U2 resolutions Takriti clan Food supplies U2 inspections Defense and State cooperation A The Pentagon , ISA , Korea Desk 1998 The Pentagon , ISA , Taiwan, Australia, New Iealand Desk 1998,199A AUSCA2IUKUS U.S. nuclear ship visits 6abour Party , New Iealand A2IUS Treaty 2ew Iealand,U.S. relations Australia,2ew Iealand relations CI2CPAC U.S.,2ew Iealand relations Prime Minister Bolger;s U.S. visit U.S.,Australian relations Beijing,China issue 6ee;s travel to Cornell etirement 1993 INTERVIEW %: Today is t e August 29, 1996. T is is an interview wit David E. Reut er w ic is being done on be alf of t e Association of Diplomatic Studies and Raymond Ewing is t e interviewer. In tal(ing wit you today we want to review your Foreign Service career. You apparently went to ig sc ool in Seattle, Was ington and t en went to ,ccidental College in Los Angeles and a little later came into t e Foreign Service. Dave, w y don.t you tell me a little bit about your early life and ow you got interested in t e Foreign Service and w at else you did before actually joining t e Service, w ic I t in( was in 19001 .UTH. : I have always considered my interest in international events came from being raised in Seattle. As a premier Pacific Ocean port, Seattle offered eEposure to the nations and history of the Pacific im. The Pacific was where .ast and West fatefully met and clashed. In school I read eEtensively about the battles that took place there during World War II. But if history and proEimity didn;t catch one;s eye, Seattle the melting pot did. The main immigrant groups were Scandinavians, of which a large number came after the World War II. There were large Filipino and Gapanese communities, and a small Chinese community. The Seattle Art Museum, for eEample, had few 7an Gogh and Degas paintings, but a stimulating collection of oriental art. The University of Washington always had an eEcellent Far .ast Asia studies program. Growing up in such an environment encouraged an awareness of Gapan and China. Because Seattle was one of the few Pacific entry points into the United States, the city was often eEposed to Asian artists touring on Cultural .Echange programs. I distinctly remember watching a performance of Gapanese Kabuki performed by a visiting group. 3 Seattle;s place in the world and the encouragement of my high school history teacher, Grace Meyers made it seem Cuite natural to pursue studies in college in political science and international affairs. %: I, also, grew up on t e West Coast and was very muc aware t at we are a Pacific nation and used to t in( going bac( East mig t be to Denver. .UTH. : I have similar recollections of eEperiencing what a vast country the West was. Once my father announced we were going to take our annual two,week camping vacation and go back .ast. So, we packed our sleeping bags, our tent, our Coleman stove, and jumped in the car and drove and drove and drove for days and finally arrived in Salt 6ake City. While that was about as far .ast as I got when I was growing up, this, and other annual camping vacations around the West, taught me that the U.S. was a country of great beauty and diversity. %: But, you went sout to college in Los Angeles. .UTH. : Yes, to Occidental College. I was interested in a small, liberal arts college with ready access to the professors and a manageable curriculum. I had taken summer courses at the University of Washington during high school and was very much aware that a campus of tens of thousands was not for me. So many students, so many course offerings, how could one stay focused in such academic abundanceK Occidental was the best eEperience for my curious mind. The Political Science faculty was top notch. I can still remember some of the classroom stories either aymond McKelvey or ichard eath would tell which combined the practical and academic and otherwise illustrated the point they were making. Probably most important for my future Foreign Service career, Occidental had a two year History of Civilization reCuirement. This course illustrated that our generation stood on a road that others had also trod. Starting with the art and religion departments each department discussed the contributions of its field to world history in chronological order. On a practical level this course allowed the students eEposure to every professor on the campus. This helped many discover and focus their academic interest. %: W at was your ma/or1 .UTH. : My major was political science even though OEy at that time offered an international affairs degree. The difference between the two was the number of reCuired courses you took to prepare for the comprehensive eEamination. At the end of the four years, because of eEcitement or curiosity, I found that I had completed more than enough courses in political science, economics and history to be awarded a degree in both political science and international affairs, but I restricted myself to taking the comprehensive eEams in the one field. %: So, you finis ed at ,ccidental in 1965. W at did you do after t at1 .UTH. : By then I was deeply interested in China and had already focused class 0 papers and read eEtensively on China. I had been accepted at the Sino,Soviet Institute of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in China studies. It therefore seemed like a good idea at the time to start on Chinese language studies. The summer intensive Chinese language program at the University of Washington, however, seemed more like Marine Corps boot camp.