The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project VICTOR D. COMRAS Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: April 16, 2002 Copyright 2004 A ST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born in New York; raised in Florida Georgetown University; University of Florida Law Entered Foreign Service - 1966 ,inshasa, .aire /also consulate Lu0um0ashi1 1962-1969 3otation duties 3elations Security 4arriage Environment State Department - Arms Control and Disarmament Agency 1969-1921 Attorney advisor to general counsel Soviets French Treaty /6Y. Affair1 Chinese Security International law SALT I0adan, Nigeria - Economic 3eporting 1921-1922 Biafra war Dur0an, South Africa - Political9Economic Officer 1922-1924 Apartheid Constructive engagement Ollie Nelson 3acial environment Bantustan policy ,wa.ulu nation A C 1 U.S. companies Sullivan Principles Helen Suzman British residents Harvard Law School - Student 1924-1925 Paris, France - U.S. Deputy Delegate to COCO4 1925-1928 Soviet Union ATO connection Policies Operations 4em0ership Detente Policy coordination Technology transfer Europeans State Department - Attorney Advisor, Law of the Sea 1928-1980 Jurisdiction issues U.S. military Sea0ed mining Greece and Turkey 3eagan policy State Department - European Affairs - 3egional Office - Deputy Assistant Secretary 1980-1985 egotiations EAport controls Soviet gas pipeline Stras0ourg, France - Consul General 1985-1989 Terrorism Communists Environment Germany Borld Bar II U.S. ties European Institutions Council of Europe European Parliament End of Brezhnev Doctrine Consulate closed Ottawa, Canada - 4inister Counselor for Science and Technology 1989-1990 2 State Department - Open Forum - Chairman 1990 Function State Department - Economic Bureau - Office of East-Best Trade - Director 1990-1994 Sanctions Yugoslavia Sanctions Assistance 4ission DSA4SE Lift Strike Sanctions Program Yugoslav crisis Contact Group Yugoslav war Sanctions Balkans peace French 3apid 3eaction Force Dayton decisions 4ilosevic Chief of 4ission to Liaison Office - Skopje, 4acedonia 1994-1996 Greek-4acedonia pro0lems U.S. 4acedonia policy Bulgaria Em0assy esta0lished - 1990 Al0anians University of Tetevo University of Pitts0urgh - Diplomat in 3esidence 1996-1992 State Department - Pu0lic Affairs Bureau 1992-1998 Holocaust Asset 3estitution Stolen Jewish assets Swiss accounts azi FgoldG EA-Soviet Union countries Borld Jewish Congress State Department - Bestern Hemisphere Affairs - Office of Canadian Affairs H Director 1998 3elations Cu0a Bureau change 4agazine content Death penalty issue C ,osovo Bar Sanctions Team 1998 Ser0s Human rights Dayton Accords 4ilosevic School agreement FChristmas warningG Secretary of State Al0right Hol0rook agreement 3ogovo Council ,osovo crisis 3am0ouillet conference Al0anians ,osovo war State Department - Ser0ia Sanctions Program 1998-1999 Oil supplies 4ilosevic regime targeted Europeans Danu0e Bridge ,osovo Al0ania and 4acedonia Greece Sanctions 4ilosevic IraI sanctions Gulf Bar U Oil for Food Program Europeans and sanctions Syrian pipeline Secretary of State Powell Security Council and sanctions 9911 influence U.S. and IraIi oil Bassenaar arrangement 3etirement 1999 U 4onitoring Group 2002 Terrorism Financing Al Jaeda Tali0an INTERVIEW 4 ": Today is April 16, 2002. This is an interview with Victor D. Comras. Let(s start off with when and where you were born and something about your parents. CO43AS: I was born on July 4th, 194C in Forest Hills, New York, during a very dark period in United States History. Having just come out of the Depression, our men and women were engaged in a battle for survival. This was one of the darkest periods in Borld Bar II. And my parents, like millions of Americans, were greatly worried a0out the course of the war and our soldiers overseas. Giving voice to their emotions, they named me FLictor.G I guess that was particularly apt given the patriotic date of my birth. They never let me forget that it was something special to be an American. IMm the third of C children. I had a brother whoMs now passed away and I have a sister. ": Let(s first talk about your father. What type of work was he involved in, What do you know about his background, Do you know what Comras means, CO43AS: 4y father had immigrated to the United States in 1912 as a small boy. He came from a small, predominately Jewish village close to the Latvian-Lithuanian border. He was never sure on which side, because, when he left, it was all part of 3ussia. His father, Jaco0, my grandfather, had served for short time in the TsaristMs Army during the 3usso-Japanese Bar. Yet, he, and his family became an identified target of persecution during the pogroms that followed that war. He hid his family and escaped to Great Britain. There he earned enough money to transport himself, his wife, and their two children /my father 4anny and my Aunt Betty1 to the United States. They settled, with other relatives in Syracuse, New York. But, shortly after they arrived Jaco0, my grandfather, died. 4y father and Aunt worked their way through high school and college, and both earned degrees in Pharmacy. They found part-time jo0s in drug stores around the city, and slowly earned enough to put down a small payment on their own Pharmacy. They opened their first Pharmacy in New York in the late 1920s. Despite the depression, they made a success of their business and were a0le to move to a new pharmacy in downtown New York City, near Times SIuare. In 19C2 my father, leaving his sister in charge of the store, took off to see the world. Traveling with a relative and friend, they went to Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Poland. They also went to visit their native village. There he met and married my mother whose maiden name was .ita ,essel and brought her back to the States. His traveling companion, my Uncle Joe, also found his wife there - He married .itaMs younger sister, Claire, and also brought her back to the States. There are many stories as to the meaning or origin of the FComrasG name. Supposedly, there is a Comras 3iver somewhere in that part of the world and may0e the name comes from that. The other story is that it was shortened from Comerovski. There are still people 5 named FComrasG living in Eastern Europe - in Latvia and Lithuania today. I donMt know too much a0out the name other than it pro0a0ly stems from that origin. 4ost are of Jewish background. ": Was it from a shtetls or from city folk, CO43AS: Pro0a0ly a shtetls, but again IMm not that sure. These were from small communities right along the Latvian-Lithuanian border. ": -our father got to the .nited States when, CO43AS: He came as a boy. His parents brought him here. They immigrated a0out 190891909. ": Where did he grow up, CO43AS: He grew up in Syracuse, New York, and then ew York City. ": What type of schooling did he have, CO43AS: He went through school, including university, and was a pharmacist. ": So the family got right into the educational thing. Where did he go to university, CO43AS: The University of Syracuse, where he got his pharmacy degree in the 1920s. ": Did he continue in pharmacy, CO43AS: He continued as a pharmacist, has his own pharmacy in New York City for many years. ": What do you know about your mother(s background, CO43AS: Again, he went back to Latvia and married my mother, brought her to the United States. She was a housewife and mother. She passed away when I was just a small 0oy in 1952. ": Where you grew up, was it a Jewish community or was it a fairly mi0ed community, CO43AS: I was raised in a fairly miAed community. Just after the war my parents moved to 4iami Beach, Florida. That was in 1946. I spent most of my childhood in Florida. I attended Fisher Elementary and Junior High School. However, most of my high school was away from home. I attended 3iverside 4ilitary Academy, which had campuses in Gainesville, Georgia and Hollywood, Florida, where it moved for the winter months. I also spent my junior high school year at 4iami Beach High School. I must have 0een a little bit brighter at that time because Georgetown University accepted me after my 6 11th grade and I started at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service in 1960. I guess I never graduated from High SchoolN ": How was Miami Beach at that time, It was sort of renowned later on as being a place where older New -ork Jews went to retire. Was that part of your environment or were you in a different part, CO43AS: 4iami Beach was a uniIue city, and a great place to grow up. I guess I was su0jected to a num0er of positive influences there. This included the older generation that had come down from New York. But, my world was one of kids my own age. ": How did you find being a kid in Miami Beach, CO43AS: It was a great place to grow up. Be had the surf and sand; sports; boating and fishing, and plenty of sunshine. It was a safe, secure and friendly environment. ": What were your interests as a young lad, Were you doing much reading, Sports, CO43AS: I guess I was a typical youngster: I enjoyed sports. I loved to read. I played chess. I went swimming and boating, and was active in the Boy Scouts. I was very close to my brother and sister. 4y brother was nine years older. And my sister was seven years older. I was really the ba0y of the family. Both my brother and sister were an enormous influence on me, especially after my mother died. 4y sister, 3ema, was always very interested in international affairs. She shared that interest with me. I remem0er that I was chosen at the second or third grade to be the junior International 3ed Cross Class 3epresentative.