fighting the war on terrorism

FIGHTING THE WAR ON TERRORISMThree Years After 9/11, Where Are We?

REMEMBERING HUME HORAN ■ PIONEERING AFRICAN-AMERICAN DIPLOMATS

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THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALSForeign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is publishedmonthly with a combined July/August issue by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profitorganization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily representthe views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably bye-mail. Journal subscription: 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 mail-ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign Service Journal, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C.20037-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicitedmanuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements hereindoes not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. E-MAIL: [email protected]. WEB: www.afsa.org. TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign ServiceAssociation, 2004. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Printed on 50 percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste.

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OREIGN ERVICESFEditor

STEVEN ALAN HONLEY

Senior EditorSUSAN B. MAITRA

Associate EditorSHAWN DORMAN

Ad &Circulation ManagerED MILTENBERGER

Business Manager MIKKELA V. THOMPSON

Art DirectorCARYN SUKO SMITH

Editorial InternKRISTOFER LOFGREN

Advertising InternsEVAN WESTRUPTINA O’HARA

Editorial Board

JUDITH BAROODY,CHAIRMAN

MARK W. BOCCHETTI

STEPHEN W. BUCK

PATI CHAPLIN

TATIANA C. GFOELLER

CAROL A. GIACOMO

WILLIAM W. JORDAN

LAURIE KASSMAN

HOLLIS SUMMERS

BILL WANLUND

TED WILKINSON

FOCUS ON COUNTERTERROR I SM23 / THE BRAVE NEW WORLD

OF VISA PROCESSINGThe events of 9/11 and State’s new partnership

with the Department of Homeland Security have forever altered consular work.

By Shawn Zeller

30 / ARE WE LOSING THE WAR ON TERRORISM?Three years after the 9/11 attacks, the threat from

terrorism is growing, not receding. It is time for a reappraisal of our strategy.

By Philip C. Wilcox Jr.

36 / FIGHTING TERRORISM IN EAST AFRICAAND THE HORN

Six years after the bombings of our embassies in Nairobiand Dar es Salaam, U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the

region do not yet measure up to the threat.By David Shinn

43 / THE ANATOMY OF TERRORISM

Terrorism is an instrument or tactic — a weapon, not an enemy. Thus, a “war” on terrorism makes

no more sense than a “war” on war.By Ron Spiers

51 / KAMIKAZES: PRECURSORS OF 9/11?Today, 60 years later, the story of the kamikazes echoes

eerily in the phenomenon of suicide bombing in theMiddle East and the 9/11 attacks.

By Jose Armilla

58 / HUMANITARIAN MERCENARIES

In the tense days following 9/11, the small U.S. embassiesin Central Asia suddenly found themselves on the front

lines of the war on terrorism.By John W. Kropf

CONTENTSS e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 4 ■ Vo l u m e 8 1 , N o . 9

REMEMBERING 9/11 IN MANHATTAN / 63An eyewitness account of what Sept. 11, 2001, was like in New York City.By David Casavis

F E A T U R E SAPPRECIATION: HUME ALEXANDER HORAN, 1934–2004 / 68By Susan Maitra

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONSULS ABROAD, 1897-1909 / 72At least 20 black consuls served during the Republicanadministrations of William McKinley and TheodoreRoosevelt. Here are their stories.By Benjamin R. Justesen

PROMOTING DEMOCRACY / 77Can a foreign policy apparatus configured to fight theCold War implement the Bush administration’s newdemocracy-led U.S. foreign policy?By Aaron M. Chassy

TELLING OUR STORY: THE NATIONAL MUSEUMOF AMERICAN DIPLOMACY / 82The Foreign Affairs Museum Council is working toestablish the Department of State Visitor Center andNational Museum of American Diplomacy.By Stephen Low

Cover and inside illustrations by Phil Foster

C O L U M N SPRESIDENT’S VIEWS / 5Get SmartBy John Limbert

SPEAKING OUT / 17A Cry for JusticeBy Larry W. Roeder Jr.

REFLECTIONS / 96By John D. Boyll

D E P A R T M E N T S

LETTERS / 7CYBERNOTES / 14BOOKS / 87INDEX TO

ADVERTISERS / 94AFSA NEWS /

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This month’sForeign ServiceJournal deals withterrorism. Fromthe perceptive arti-cles by our col-leagues, one un-mistakable messagecomes through: pseudo-tough andphony-macho policies don’t beat terror-ists; smart ones do. Our enemies areclever, and assuming otherwise is dan-gerous folly. Cynical, brutal, murder-ous and callous they may be. Stupidthey are not. In my personal experi-ence, as individuals, terrorists can bealmost rational. Many are well educat-ed, from well-off families, and theirranks include engineers, doctors,teachers and journalists.

Not only are terrorist leaders notstupid, they also skillfully exploit whatGeorge Orwell, in 1984, called “collec-tive stupidity” — the failure to see themost obvious contradictions in an argu-ment; the failure to apply cause andeffect; and the willingness to swallowand regurgitate the most blatant clap-trap. It is this same collective stupiditythat makes terrorists impervious toargument or reason.

Al-Qaida and the most extreme ofthe so-called salafi (Sunni Islamist)groups, for example, feed their follow-ers a mixture of anti-Semitism, xeno-phobia, and bad history, such as theassertion that the Crusades did not endeight centuries ago. These groups also

exploit the obvious shortcomings ofexisting governments in many Islamiccountries, insisting that, “If your rulersare corrupt; if your country is weak andhumiliated by foreigners; if your statecannot provide you education, healthcare or employment; and if you see nofuture for yourself and your family —then we have all the answers in a puri-tanical, zealous and intolerant versionof Islam that admits no doubt or ques-tioning.”

The appropriate response to thismessage is not to “dumb down” but toget smart. Smart diplomacy, security,military operations, law enforcement,public affairs, and intelligence-gather-ing will all work. And being smart startswith knowing what we are facing. Howmuch did we know about Afghanistan,for example, before the events of 9/11?Did we know how freely the al-Qaidaapparatus could operate there underTaliban patronage? Did we know thatthe terrorists had essentially boughtthemselves a country using money andfighters to help the Taliban fight a civilwar? Or did we somehow think that wecould separate al-Qaida from theTaliban and, with the weight of evi-dence, convince them to hand over binLaden and his associates to justice? Inthose days we spoke of “draining the[Afghanistan] swamp” to catch the alli-gators. Like the shark-hunters of Jaws,however, we needed a much biggerboat!

How do we start being smart? Forone thing, we stop devaluing languageand area expertise in our own ranks.We must ensure that our people — all

of them — have the training they needto represent our country’s interests andprotect its security. To do their job, theconsular officers in Sanaa, for example,will need to talk to more than theminute percentage of Yemenis whospeak English. So will their politicaland other colleagues.

The 9/11 Commission Report (p.371) notes that 15 of the 19 airplanehijackers were Saudi Arabians. Yethow much did we know about militantIslamist groups in Saudi Arabia beforethe attacks? How much did we knowabout the political and socio-economicundercurrents within that troubledsociety and elsewhere in the region?

Besides taking training seriously, wealso must offer a reasonable careerpath to those who choose to specializein an area or a language. We in theForeign Service respond very well torewards and punishments. The personwho goes deeply into Africa, China orthe Indian subcontinent, for example,should be able to expect that 1) theService will make good use of thatexpertise; and 2) all things being equal,he or she can expect promotions andassignments that recognize that hard-earned knowledge.

One wishes that being smart — andfollowing many of the excellent recom-mendations in the 9/11 Commission’sreport — would guarantee that we willnever again be caught off-guard by ter-rorists, either in New York or inNairobi. Sadly, our being smart maynot end terrorist outrages — but it isstill the strategy with the best chance ofsuccess. ■

PRESIDENT’S VIEWSGet Smart

BY JOHN LIMBERT


John Limbert is the president of theAmerican Foreign Service Association.


THE REMINGTON


Returning the FavorI was the labor attaché at our

embassy in San Salvador from 1985 to1987. Jose Luis Grande Preza, thecourageous leader of the GeneralWorkers Confederation trade union,once remarked to me: “YouAmericans are here now risking yourlives to help El Salvador in its time ofneed. We will never forget this. A daywill come when the United States willneed the help of Salvadorans, and wewill be there to give it.”

While reading “Foreign ServiceFirefight” (FSJ, June) in which PhilKosnett described how members ofthe Salvadoran Army’s CuscatlanBattalion helped to save his life inIraq, I thought of how true GrandePreza’s statement was.

Francis (Paco) ScanlanState Dept. Adviser for

International AffairsAir War CollegeMontgomery, Ala.

Privileges for Specialists FirstWhen AFSA recently solicited

comments regarding the department’sMembers of Household policy for itsJune FSJ article, I took the opportuni-ty to express my views on what I see asan important issue that could have far-reaching effects on everything frommorale to diplomatic readiness. I wasimpressed when I received an e-mailfrom the author of the article asking ifI would be willing to discuss my com-ments on the phone. I provided acontact number but was never called.

I found the June issue a bit ironic.First, there was a letter from Editor

Steve Honley encouraging construc-tive dissent and expressing concernfor the lack of it, and on the very nextpage began an otherwise excellentand informative article (“Not QuiteFamily: ‘Members of Household’ atState”) that did not express even onedissenting opinion about, nor discussany negative consequences from, thedepartment’s MOH policy.

One may ask, “What negative con-sequence could possibly come fromgiving more benefits to employees, atlittle or no cost to the government?”But we have hundreds of specialistsoverseas who are still not affordedthe same privileges and protectionsas their generalist counterparts.Now AFSA is working with thedepartment to give unmarrieddomestic partners and family mem-bers benefits and privileges. Whilenone of these privileges appear to beanything that all employees don’tenjoy, could this lead to full diplo-matic recognition and the benefitsthat accompany this distinction?How long will it be before those inthe specialist grades will have towatch unmarried domestic partnersand other MOH shopping at duty-free shops, buying tax-free gasoline,and driving cars with diplomaticplates, while they themselves arepaying full price for basic essentials?

I’m not in the least opposed togranting benefits to MOHs, and over-all, it is a wonderful program that Isupport. The Foreign Service, how-ever, is a unique lifestyle, as are thebenefits we enjoy. Will AFSA and thedepartment seek to grant diplomatic

privileges to members of householdwhile there continues to be significantinequality in the way an entire cadreof FS employees are treated in thefield?

Benefits for MOHs would un-doubtedly be an overall morale boost,but could have the opposite effect oncertain ranks within the ForeignService if they are afforded the bene-fits that come with being on the “diplist” while full-time FS employees atthe same posts do not enjoy thoseprivileges. It appears that the depart-ment values a domestic partnershipmore than my 18 years of governmentservice. Perhaps the State Depart-ment and AFSA should first focus onpushing along those posts that makelittle to no effort in addressing thedeficiencies that exist where diplo-matic status benefits one group ofemployees over the other.

Randy S. LeaInformation Management

SpecialistWashington, D.C.

Putting a Value on FamilyI wish to salute the editor, author

and the editorial board for the recent cover story on Members ofHousehold (June). “Ineligible familymembers” is an important topic tomany officers and it deserves manage-ment’s immediate attention.

For 10 of my 15 years of service,my life has been enriched by sharingthe FS experience with a domesticpartner. But in addition to the coststhat every FS spouse incurs in his orher own career, we face substantial

LETTERS

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additional obstacles and expensesdue to the lack of benefits, medicalcoverage, work permits, visas, etc. forour partners. If there were any doubtabout how much we value our fami-lies, those additional sacrifices shouldput a dollar figure on it.

Eric G. NelsonManagement OfficerAmerican ConsulateGeneral Milan

Not a Cent for My CatYour June article on MOHs con-

tained a comment by Andy Ball say-ing that his cat gets more benefitsthan his domestic partner.

Mr. Ball, please tell me one singlebenefit that the department providesto your cat, or to you on behalf ofyour cat. I’ve had a cat ever since myfirst tour, and the department hasnever spent a red cent on his travel,his health, or anything else. Nada.Nor has the department ever madeany effort to lobby foreign govern-ments to stop quarantine regulations.And if I bid on an assignment in acountry that subsequently bans pets,the department would expect me toget rid of the cat.

Linda Eichblatt ConsulConsulate GeneralBarcelona

Accommodating Modern Families

Thanks for your coverage of theMOH issue in the June issue of theForeign Service Journal. This is anextremely important issue for theForeign Service of today. If theService is unable to make thesechanges to accommodate diverseand modern families, our govern-ment risks losing many qualifiedand motivated employees.

Jason N. LawrenceForeign Service OfficerWashington, D.C.

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Changing FS CultureYour survey of incoming FSOs was

excellent (“Special Report: NewHires and the Foreign Service,” JuneFSJ). It would be marvelous if the“newbies” brought about somechange. Of course, I heard echoes ofthings I have been commenting on allthese years, as well as the many other“just spouses” I have known. I hopethat the influx can bring changes tothe Foreign Service culture, just asthe mass of baby boomers madechanges to U.S. culture in the sixties.

Victoria H. HessChief Executive OfficerTales from a Small Planet

Drumbeat of IndifferenceI read John Limbert’s June

AFSANET President’s Report on thestudied indifference by Hill staffersto the Foreign Service, its people andits mission. The same report alsonoted concern over USAA’s equallystudied indifference to our sisteragencies — USAID, FAS and FCS. Iam saddened but not surprised.

While we have always had a prob-lem with visibility and thus credibility,the last few years have seen a steadydrumbeat of indifference if not out-right disdain for diplomacy and diplo-mats. In his 2003 State of the Unionaddress, the president declared “thetime for diplomacy has passed.” Thepresident tasks the military with themission of post-conflict reconstruc-tion, after having spent a campaigndenigrating “nation-building” as aworthy task of our government andour people. I understand that thesame attitude and atmosphere of dis-missal permeate Afghanistan andHaiti.

On June 29, Deputy SecretaryRichard Armitage came to ourdefense at a hearing before theArmed Services Committee, buthowever sincere, it was an aside. Inmany ways, efforts by Secretary


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Powell to raise our profile, our worthand our funding have implicitly fedthe assumption that diplomats areunworthy. Powell refers to us as “thefront line” and as “his troops.” Wehave value only if we can be repaintedas warriors in suits. It is demoralizing“me, too-ism” that may have gotten usmore funding, but no respect ... andthe funding will not last.

Philosophically, everything westand for — internationalism, multi-lateralism, consensus, negotiation,etc. — is scoffed at by elements ofthis administration. No wonder nei-ther staffers nor USAA takes us seri-ously.

We know the dangers, commit-ment and sacrifice that are a daily partof the Foreign Service. We havestayed with the Service. State has thelowest attrition of any governmentagency, despite what we expect of ourpeople day in and day out around theworld.

But until and unless who we areand what we do is valued in and ofitself — consistently, publicly and asstrongly as the foot-stomping supportfor the troops — then I am afraid thatthe efforts of those of us who serve inIraq will fall as flat as efforts by othershave over the years.

When my brother was in the mili-tary he used to joke that he only hadto do his job if I didn’t do mine. Heassumed that I would, at least, get thechance to do mine before he wascalled upon to do his.

Barbara BodineAmbassador, retiredAlexandria, Va.

Africa’s Glass Less than Half-Full

While I have a high regard forAmbassador Tibor Nagy and his manyyears of dedicated service in Africa,the facts make it difficult for me toshare his optimism about encouragingtrends on this long-suffering conti-

nent (“Africa Can Make It — AndHow We Should Help,” May). Thereality for most places in Africa is thatthe average family is worse off todaythan it was 20 years ago. Given myown strong commitment for morethan 30 years to the betterment ofAfrica, this is not an easy thing toadmit, but denying the truth aboutAfrica’s serious development predica-ment is not helpful.

Things in Africa would have beenhard enough, but now, the heart-breaking HIV/AIDS pandemic makesreversing the downward povertytrend for the majority of Africans evenmore difficult. HIV/AIDS hasbecome both a result and cause ofpoverty, and we are now witnessing adecline in key human developmentindicators in those countries with ahigh HIV prevalence rate amongadults. It is undermining decades ofprogress in Africa and we probablyhave not yet fully grasped the disas-trous magnitude of the pandemic,which still has some years to go beforereaching its peak. Sadly, the worst isyet to come in Africa.

Yes, here and there we see somepositive changes, and there are manyunsung heroes in Africa. But overallthe situation is more daunting thanwhen I first arrived in Africa in 1970.New leaders are making some rightmoves, but these changes are comingwhen the poverty reduction chal-lenges are much greater and, in themeantime, the rest of the world hasmoved on. Africa was dealt a badhand from the start and the leader-ship played this hand poorly, therebymaking it more difficult to moveahead today. No matter how wellmanaged and governed, it will takeeven the better-off countries in Africadecades at best to graduate from theranks of low-income countries.

I do not want to be labeled anAfro-pessimist, but we need to con-sider what the facts tell us. My arti-

cle, “Thirty Years in Africa and StillLooking for Answers,” in the March2002 edition of the FSJ, is perhapsmy best reply to the May 2004 arti-cles. I am working hard to find asmany positive things to say when Iwrite the “35 Years” version of myarticle. But for now, I am left look-ing for answers and the happiertimes like those described in myMay 2004 FSJ reflection, “My FirstChristmas in Africa.”

Before I get on the plane inMaputo to go to Addis Ababa, I wouldlike to salute the Journal for dedicat-ing the May issue to Africa. I hope wecan count on seeing at least one edi-tion per year devoted to Africa.

Mark G. WentlingUSAID Senior Foreign

Service, retiredMaputo, Mozambique

Pay Attention to Proxy WarsThank you for the articles about

Africa in your May issue. They wereuniformly of high quality. ProfessorsOttaway, Herbst and Mills (“Africa’sBig States: Toward a New Realism”)have done an excellent job of propos-ing a new approach to the majority ofAfrica’s big states that are dysfunc-tional politically, economically andsocially. I agree with most of theirpolicy recommendations. However, Iam deeply disappointed by their curtdismissal of proxy wars as a majorimpediment to the state-building thatthey so fervently advocate.

When the authors state that theinternational community should nottry to offer a guarantee of survival tocountries threatened by internalforces, they are missing the mainpoint. There are no purely internalforces in Africa. All internal insur-gents, rebels, bandits or whatever onecalls them, have external partners.These partners are always sovereignregimes.

Sure, the giant Congo (Kinshasa)


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could have resisted the joint invasionof its territory in 1998 by its muchsmaller neighbors Rwanda andUganda if it had a functioning gov-ernment with a decent military. Butthat invasion cost three million livesinside the Congo and set the countryback in its development far more thanit would have suffered if erraticPresident Laurent Kabila had contin-ued in power another few years.Dysfunctional as he was, Kabila wasbeginning to devote state resources torebuilding infrastructure. He evenconquered inflation and stabilized theeconomy, weak as it was. To “punish”Uganda and Rwanda, the internation-al community plied them with bud-getary support and debt relief. Afterall, Uganda and Rwanda were imple-menting structural adjustment by thebook. The so-called internal anti-Kabila rebels supported by Ugandaand Rwanda were totally organized,financed and armed by these twoaggressor states. The armedCongolese opposition factions werepure political fiction.

Cote d’Ivoire enjoyed decentpolitical, economic and social institu-tions in 1999 when an army mutinywas financed and supplied by neigh-boring Burkina Faso. It went down-hill from there. The French wereremiss in not using their garrison nearAbidjan to quell the mutiny. Fiveyears later, the French were forced tospend hundreds of millions of dollarsto pacify the southern half of thecountry that is now de-facto parti-tioned in a manner that makes nosense. A country that was once aneconomic engine of growth in WestAfrica has been set back 50 yearsbecause of internal destabilizationimported from next door while theinternational community remainedpassive.

The authors are wearing blinders ifthey fail to see that external aggres-sion is making state dysfunction in

Africa virtually incurable. Liberia andSierra Leone were failed states beforethey became victims of externalaggression via so-called internal fac-tions. But does that mean the inter-national community should say “wetold you so” as it later spends billionspicking up the pieces?

If we continue to maintain a stateof denial about proxy wars in Africa,our policy toward that troubled conti-nent doesn’t stand a chance.Fortunately, the current U.S. admin-istration has started to use its consid-erable leverage to begin eliminatingthis plague.

Herman J. CohenAmbassador, retiredWashington, D.C.

Remembering Howard MyersWhile the Journal has noted the

death of an old AFSA warhorse —Howard Myers — no one has comeforward with any recounting of theterrific behind-the-scenes contribu-tions Howard and his late wife, Hope,made to AFSA.

How well I remember the darkdays of the mid-1970s, when the elec-tion of a disparate set of AFSAGoverning Board members causedinternal turmoil and lots of acrimony.The slate was headed by a selected-out FSO who came into office withhis own personal vendetta against theDepartment of State. His plan was touse AFSA as his speaking pad, totallyignoring the views of the board.Howard was the steady hand guidingmany of us on the board to cope withthis situation.

When some of us were sued incourt, again Howard provided calmand wise counsel. He then helpedorchestrate the recall of this presi-dent, insisting that we follow allapplicable regulations and laws irre-spective of the emotions in evi-dence, which were admittedly at anall-time high. For this counsel,

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Howard and his wife were slanderedand abused, but both stayed thecourse until the president was suc-cessfully recalled and board memberPat Woodring took the helm, againthanks to Howard’s behind-the-scenes actions. And for the first timein AFSA history, the organizationhad a female president.

Howard’s deeds were done withno thought of acclamation. His keenmind and great legal abilities wereextremely useful at this traumatictime in AFSA’s history. The associa-tion should recognize this great con-tribution, for it might not have sur-vived without the contributions ofsomeone like Howard Myers.

Roy A. Harrell Jr. Life Member of AFSAFSO, retiredOzona, Texas

Praise for INRThere has been much to-do about

the CIA’s failure regarding pre-Iraqwar intelligence. The June FSJ(“INR’s Track Record Highlighted,”Cybernotes) reports a WashingtonPost article praising the StateDepartment’s Bureau of Intelligenceand Research as the best among theU.S. government’s intelligence ser-vices, pointing to INR’s more cau-tious analysis of bomb damage inVietnam, the trouble admitting theIranian shah to the U.S. for medicaltreatment might entail, and theprobable outcome of a U.S. invasionof Iraq.

Intelligence is always based onimperfect knowledge and the judg-ment of analysts — in effect readingstraws in the wind. But yourCybernotes article puts me in mindof another experience in which INRclearly outshone the competition.Back in 1973 when I was deputydirector of the Office of EconomicResearch and Analysis, our teamproduced a report cautioning that

the Arab oil producers were movingtoward the creation of an oil carteland that the U.S. might expect an oilembargo within the next few monthsas a tool for raising oil prices signifi-cantly, thus enriching the coffers ofthe oil-producing countries. Exer-cising his “discretion,” the assistantsecretary for INR refused toapprove the paper for distributionbecause he regarded it as “alarmist”and anyway, “every economist knowsthat cartels don’t work” (though theSaudis apparently didn’t know that,and the economists of the world mayhave a different opinion now, 35years later).

Anyway, three weeks later, afterthe public announcement of OPEC’sformation had taken place and therewere long lines waiting to fill up atgas stations across the country, I gota call requesting the paper. Thefront office did a little editing, andwe were the first agency in govern-ment to come out with an analysis ofthe probable effects of OPEC on theworld economy and the cost toAmerica.

I’ve always wondered whetherbeing first in the field with an accu-rate prediction would have madeany difference. Intelligence isalways imperfect. I’m not surewhether more accurate informationfrom the CIA would have been anymore believable than its misplacedconfidence that Iraq actually hadWMDs rather than merely the tech-nology to produce them.

But based on my experienceworking with DIA and CIA officers,I think David Ignatius’ assessmentthat INR is the best of the pack isright on target. I have fond memoriesof my colleagues and two years inINR. This is another example of anassignment that is often disdained byregular FSOs, but which can be high-ly rewarding — and which didn’t holdup my next promotion or a choice

assignment overseas following myINR experience.

David TimminsFSO, retiredProfessor of Economics,Brigham Young UniversitySalt Lake City, Utah

Grading Positions, Not Performance

I am a human resources officer inBrasilia, and one of four certified“CAJE-ers” mission-wide. I readAlexis Ludwig’s article on theComputer Aided Job Evaluationprocess (“Liberating FSNs from Their‘CAJE’”) in the April Journal andwonder how he reached some of theconclusions he did about its shortcom-ings.

He states that “... the CAJE cal-culus implicitly assigns more value tothe work done by the FSNs in theAdmin/GSO fields ...” In fact, CAJEevaluates five areas: Knowledge,responsibility, intellectual skills/communication, and working envi-ronment. None of these valuesadvantages any position over anoth-er. For example, knowledge andcommunication combine to weigh50 percent of a position’s overall“score.” Therefore, political assis-tants, by virtue of their advancedknowledge (gauged by educationlevel, knowledge of the local politicalscene, etc.) and their highly-valuedcontacts (scored under communica-tion), would receive high CAJErankings. My experience at this mis-sion bears that out.

Mr. Ludwig goes on to say that “...unlike the personnel system for therest of the Foreign Service, CAJEassigns rank to the position, not theperson ...” No FS position is assigneda grade based on the incumbent’s per-formance or personal grade. Positionsare graded by the needs of the job, andthe incumbent is assigned to fulfillthose needs, not vice-versa. It is true


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that when we evaluate through CAJEwe are not interested in the accom-plishments of a single individual who,no matter how fabulous, happens toencumber a particular position. Whatwe are interested in is grading proper-ly each position, based on the supervi-sor’s and the mission’s needs.

Mr. Ludwig’s third assertion is that“CAJE fails to recognize or assign valueto some of the most important charac-teristics of superior ‘substantive’ FSNs...” That’s right, because we are notevaluating an individual’s performance.We are deliberately unconcerned withhow an incumbent may perform, evenif that job performance is well beyondhis/her position description. Rather,we are interested in the positionbecause for years, job-grading wasoften influenced by an incumbent’sperformance, with jobs sometimesbeing graded artificially high, and bear-ing no relationship to the actual needsof the position or the mission.

The purpose of CAJE is to bringequity to job-grading. Historically,there was a strong, if unintentional,element of elitism in the system, withpositions deemed to have no “sub-stance” graded lower than others,though they may have had enormousfinancial, supervisory or other respon-sibilities.

Thus, CAJE is not the depart-ment’s “hidden agenda” to downgradeor eliminate positions in an effort toeconomize. It is, rather, an effort tocorrect past inequities and properly todefine exactly what we need by way ofstaff. In this era of shrinking budgets,we need to know that we are gettingour money’s worth by defining —through our job requirements — pre-cisely what we need to function, thenhiring and retaining personnel whoseknowledge, capabilities and experi-ence fit that need.

Catherine J. ElliottHuman Resources OfficerEmbassy Brasilia ■


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Embassy Baghdad Opens:And Now for the HardPart…

On June 30 Embassy Baghdadbecame one of the largest diplomaticposts in the world. While EmbassyCairo and our missions in Bangkokemploy more staff, the new embassyin Iraq is the largest diplomatic mis-sion of the United States. The newAmerican ambassador, John Negro-ponte, and his team of nearly 200courageous Foreign Service employ-ees now face the difficult task of help-ing Iraqis rebuild their country andmake it secure without acting as anoverlord of the emergent Iraqi gov-ernment.

The kidnapping of a seniorEgyptian diplomat in Baghdad on July23, an escalation in the wave of kid-nappings that began in April toenforce demands for foreign troopsand businesses to leave Iraq, under-scores the dangers the diplomats face.

The new embassy, located insidethe “Green Zone” of Baghdad, is thefirst official U.S. diplomatic presencein Iraq since the eve of the 1991Persian Gulf War. The embassy willhave a budget of $1 billion for FiscalYear 2005, and will oversee the distri-bution of $18.4 billion in congression-ally-mandated aid to Iraq.

There are currently more than 700Iraqis employed by the embassyalongside nearly 1,000 American per-sonnel. Over time many jobs current-ly filled by American contractors, suchas security guards and cooks, areexpected to be turned over to Iraqiworkers. Staff from at least 12 agen-cies and departments will work in thenew embassy.

More than 190 FS officers and spe-cialists will be posted to Baghdad andthe four consulates in Basra, Mosul,Kirkuk and Hilla. In the long term,the embassy will have approximately60 Marine guards and will make useof more than 140 armored vehicles.

However, until the security situa-tion improves in Iraq, the work of U.S.officials will be hampered by aninability to make meaningful contactsbeyond the embassy walls. Publicdiplomacy, in particular, faces tremen-dous obstacles, and will depend heav-ily on the work of FSNs. All person-nel must deal not only with a danger-ous environment but must also devise

outreach programs while overseeingthe more than 130,000 Americantroops who continue to be the face ofthe United States for most Iraqis.

Though FS employees in Iraqserve just one year, after months of liv-ing, showering and sleeping in con-verted shipping containers under theconstant threat of rocket attack, manywill no doubt feel like they have beenin the country much longer. For theirbrave efforts, they receive 25-percenthardship and 25-percent danger pay.

There are several Web sites thatare useful for tracking the reconstruc-tion efforts in Iraq. The official Website of Embassy Baghdad is http://

CYBERNOTES

Have you ever been frustrat-ed trying to find informa-tion about the Swedish

embassy in Manila or the Pakistaniembassy in Athens? Are you curiousabout what the outlet voltage is inTurkey? Have you ever wasted timetrying to figure out how to make atelephone call from Bolivia toBotswana?

For most people, the answer tothese questions is probably “no,” butin that rare moment when you needinformation about that odd embassyrelationship or telephone code,Embassy World (www.embassyworld.com) has it covered.

Embassy World provides links tonearly every diplomatic office ofevery country in the world. It offerslinks to American posts abroad, aswell as links to foreign embassies andconsulates in the United States. The

Web site also provides a comprehen-sive collection of links to foreign mis-sions across the globe.

In addition, Embassy World offersuseful information for those livingabroad, including an internationalvoltage directory, a collection of coun-try maps and a telephone code listingfor all of your international calls.There are also valuable links to othersites offering international employ-ment and real estate resources.

Begun in 1996, Embassy World isa network of seven major Web sites,two magazines based on internation-al investment, the largest relocationnetwork in the world, the largestoverseas employment database, thelargest international real estate data-base, and the largest Caribbean realestate database.

— Kristofer Lofgren, Editorial Intern

Site of the Month: www.embassyworld.com

http://www.embassyworld.com

http://CYBERNOTES

http://CYBERNOTES



iraq.usembassy.gov. The IraqProject and Contracting Office (www.rebuilding-iraq.net), formerly partof the Coalition Provisional Authorityand now within Embassy Baghdad,manages the $18.4 billion in aid forthe rebuilding of the Iraqi infrastruc-ture. USAID (www.usaid.gov/iraq)has taken the lead on health and edu-cation development. The Depart-ment of Commerce (www.export.gov/iraq) is working to promoteAmerican exports in Iraq and encour-age Iraqi businesses. Finally, theArmy Corps of Engineers (www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/iraq/iraq.htm) has worked hard to reconstructIraq’s oil sector and to restore electric-ity to the Iraqi people.

— Kristofer Lofgren, Editorial Intern

A New Day for Libya?For the first time in 24 years, the

U.S. government will have an officialdiplomatic relationship with Mu’am-mar al-Qadhafi’s Libya. On June 28,Assistant Secretary for Near EastAffairs William Burns opened a U.S.Liaison Office in Tripoli as an intro-ductory step toward normalizing rela-tions. The oil-rich North African dic-tatorship seems poised to play a grow-ing role in strategic equations con-cerning Africa and the Middle East.

Libya’s return to the internationalfold has been a lengthy process thathas shown the benefits of long-termdiplomacy. In 1999, Libya surren-dered two suspects in the Pan AmFlight 103 terrorist bombing case, andsubsequently accepted responsibilityfor the atrocity and finalized a com-pensation package for the victims. As

a result, in September 2003, the U.N.lifted its sanctions.

Qadhafi first offered to abandonLibya’s weapons programs as early as1999, but in March 2003 intensenegotiations with American andBritish officials began, and on Dec.19, 2003, the deal was finalized.Qadhafi officially swore off weaponsof mass destruction and agreed tothorough inspections and the surren-der of all materials related to itsnuclear, chemical and missile pro-grams. In surrendering its programs,

Libya became the first country in over30 years to voluntarily give up itsweapons of mass destruction withouta change of regime.

In April 2004 the U.S. lifted itssanctions against Libya. The StateDepartment, however, continues tolist Libya as a state sponsor of terror-ism due to “residual contacts withsome of its former terrorist clients”(www.travel.state.gov/libya),thereby preventing U.S. exports, suchas advanced oil and gas technologies,from reaching the economically hand-icapped desert autocracy.

Libya sits on 36 billion barrels ofproven oil reserves, worth more than$1 trillion at current world prices,though, according to the Departmentof Energy’s country analysis brief(http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/libya.html), only a quarter ofthe country has been explored due toa lack of technical infrastructure.Libya, with Africa’s largest oil supply,would like to increase productionfrom less than 1.5 million barrels perday to over two million barrels per dayby 2010 with the help of new


CYBERNOTES

This embassy [Baghdad] isgoing to have a thousand

people hunkered down behindsandbags. I don’t know howyou conduct diplomacy in thatway.

— Edward L. Peck, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, 1977-80, in the Boston Globe, June 26, 2004.

50 Years Ago...Those of us whose business it is to meet our country’s

external dangers, however, know how much the nationalsecurity depends on positive qualities, on the dedication,the vision, the energy, the intellectual development, andthe accumulated knowledge of those who compose the government.Staff it with wooden Indians and the interests of our country’s enemieswill be abundantly served.

— From “The Interests of the National Security,” Editorial, FSJ, September1954.

http://www.rebuilding-iraq.net

http://www.rebuilding-iraq.net

http://www.usaid.gov/iraq

http://www.export.gov/iraq

http://www.export.gov/iraq

http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/iraq/iraq.htm



http://www.travel.state.gov/libya

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/libya.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/libya.html

American investment. American energy companies had

not been allowed to pump theirLibyan wells since 1986, but as ofJune the wells began pumping again,and American companies such asExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Mara-thon, Amerada Hess and Occidentalbegan new exploration into Libya’suntapped resources.

Though Qadhafi seems to haveturned a new leaf in his relations withthe international community, his enig-matic and obstinate persona has notchanged. Upon the death ofPresident Ronald Reagan in earlyJune, Qadhafi expressed regret thatReagan never stood trial for orderingthe reprisal bombings of Libyan tar-gets in 1986. Similarly, Libya initiallyinsisted that all foreign companiessign a letter declaring that they had no

dealings with Israel before they wouldbe allowed to operate in the country, arequirement since dropped underpressure from the U.S.

During the long hiatus in relations,familiarity with developments in thecountry and knowledge of its peopleand their history has been limited inthe U.S., confined mostly to academicspecialists. For more background,there are a number of online sources.Both the CIA World Factbook chap-ter on Libya (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ly.html) and the State Depart-ment Background Note (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm)are current as of 2003. The Library ofCongress has a detailed history ofLibya from antiquity to 1987 (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/lytoc.html).

A short overview of Libya’s disar-

mament story produced by theCongressional Research Service ofthe Library of Congress in April 2004fills in some recent history (http://www.policyalmanac.org/world/archive/disarming_libya.pdf). AMarch 2004 report from the AmericanEnterprise Institute advocates a cau-tious approach to Libya’s new turn(http://www.aei.org/docLib/200402271_%2316423graphics.pdf).A State Department report detailshuman rights abuses in Libya in 2003(http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27933.htm).

One easy-to-use Web site collectsall the latest news about Libya frominternational media (http://www.libyadaily.com), making currentdevelopments easier to follow.

— Kristofer Lofgren, Editorial Intern ■

C Y B E R N O T E S

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http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ly.html



http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/lytoc.html

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/lytoc.html

http://www.policyalmanac.org/world/archive/disarming_libya.pdf



http://www.aei.org/docLib/200402271_%2316423graphics.pdf

http://www.aei.org/docLib/200402271_%2316423graphics.pdf

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27933.htm

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27933.htm

http://www.libyadaily.com

http://www.libyadaily.com

The story of Abu Ghraib hadjust hit the news, completewith its crisp, ugly pho-

tographs, evidence of a system gonewrong. A lawyer who works in thefield of human rights and who knew Ihad been in the military asked me ifsuch behavior was illegal in the Army.Somewhat stunned by the question, Isaid of course it was. I went on toraise the conditions of the prisonersbeing held at Guantanamo Bay, andargued that they needed lawyers andaccess to the Red Cross and otherhuman rights observers in order toavoid similar mistreatment, as well asto protect our reputation. My col-league replied that those prisonershave no rights, since “they arepirates.”

If an attorney that works onhuman rights issues doesn’t knowthe proper answers to those basicquestions, then small wonder WestVirginia reservists were confusedwhen aberrant intelligence officersclaimed that the rules of warchanged after 9/11 and thereforetheir “high-value” prisoners had norights. Of course, unknown to bothof us was a memo from Justice whichcontends that the president isn’tbound by laws prohibiting tortureand that government agents whomight torture prisoners at his direc-tion can’t be prosecuted for doing so.The memo reportedly even says thatthe president, as commander-in-chief, can approve torture as amethod of interrogation. Clearly mycolleague was therefore justified inasking the question; but there can

only be one comment on this policy.Hooey! For a beacon such as ournation to appear to be an advocatefor torture is to seriously undermineour credibility as an advocate forhuman rights. It also weakens ourability to convince rogue nations tojoin the civilized world.

Such ignorance of what is appro-priate — that America can’t be abovethe law or even appear to trying —demonstrates the need for a long-overdue national discussion on theimportance of civil rights in the waron terror. Many Americans are prob-ably also confused. This dialoguecould perhaps be conducted via atelevised discussion by a panel of legalexperts who would take questionsfrom ordinary citizens in the audi-ence.

This is not an attack on the currentadministration. It is an honor to serve

in the government. The trouble isthat what happened at Abu Ghraib isnot unique. Many administrationshave held positions that went over theline. But the events of today offerbold proof that the system itself hasbroken. For example, evidence hasnow come to light that many allegedterrorists have died while in U.S. mil-itary custody. In one particularlynotorious case, U.S. interrogators mayhave strangled an Iraqi general duringquestioning. If true, that was murder,no matter how valuable the prisoner.As a result, we need a change in atti-tude; our failure to maintain a systemof full civil rights for prisoners anddetainees only encourages terrorism(though evil never needs encourage-ment) and weakens our alliances.

Let me be clear: I am not callingfor a debate on the appropriateness ofthe war on terrorism, which I support,or the Iraq conflict itself — bothimportant topics upon which good,fair-minded people can disagree. Norshould this be an election-year fight.Rather, speaking as a professional civilservant, I am advocating the impor-tance of managing our involvement insuch wars in the proper way, and urg-ing a recognition that even noble endsdo not justify unethical means — cer-tainly not those alleged to have beenproposed in the Justice Departmentmemo.

Universal PrinciplesAfter 9/11, we were told the world

had changed, that al-Qaida was a new,unprecedented threat. But that claimoverlooks the long history of terrorist

A Cry for Justice

BY LARRY W. ROEDER JR.


SPEAKING OUT

Our failure tomaintain a systemof full civil rightsfor prisoners anddetainees onlyencourages

terrorism andweakens ouralliances.

�

activities before 2001. What aboutthe takeover of the U.S. embassy inTehran in 1979, the slaughter ofIsraeli athletes at the 1972 MunichOlympics, or the activities of theBader Meinhof, Red Army andShining Path, to name just a fewgroups? The response to such savagepeople and events was, and mustremain, to bolster our democratic,constitutional principles during war,not to take away rights. Each timeour citizens lose rights in the struggleagainst terrorism or in any conflict,the terrorists win. But when we standon the side of justice, even whenattacked, we make a mockery of theevil that is al-Qaida and SaddamHussein.

One Pentagon adviser recentlycalled the Geneva Conventions“quaint,” and went on to challengethe whole concept of observing basichuman rights in wartime. It is hard toimagine an attitude more short-sight-ed and destructive to our nation’simage than dismissing the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights andthe International Covenant on Civiland Political Rights as irrelevant.Both treaties provide that no oneshall be subjected to torture or cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment — period, no exceptions.You don’t have to be a lawyer tounderstand that. It has been said thatthe Defense Department triedanother tack to defuse criticism byrefusing to use the word “torture,”saying that term doesn’t apply to whatwent on in Abu Ghraib. Yet theConvention against Torture says:

“‘Torture’ means any act by whichsevere pain or suffering, whetherphysical or mental, is intentionallyinflicted on a person for such purpos-es as obtaining from him or a thirdperson information or a confession,punishing him for an act he or a thirdperson has committed or is suspectedof having committed, or intimidating


S P E A K I N G O U T

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or coercing him or a third person, orfor any reason based on discrimina-tion of any kind, when such pain orsuffering is inflicted by or at the insti-gation of or with the consent or acqui-escence of a public official or otherperson acting in an official capacity.”These acts are equally illegal in Iraq,Cuba or back in the U.S., whether inwar or in peace.

Every religious system and code ofmorality teaches that such conduct isimmoral — i.e., kidnapping unprovensuspects and taking them across theborder for “rough treatment” — andexperience shows that it is also inef-fective or at least counterproductive.Yet now we are told that because of afew madmen, we must abandon thepresumption of innocence when deal-ing with possible terrorists. Somemay object that if a prisoner knowssomething crucial that might save thelives of many innocent people, then itis worth violating his rights to obtainthat information by any means neces-sary, including torture —- the so-called “ticking bomb” justification.Under the same reasoning, hundredsof “enemy combatants” have beensent to brigs in Cuba, Afghanistan andIraq, and even right here in theUnited States, for years at a timewithout any trial to determine guilt.We are also told that prisoners may beheld for years without trial — with noopportunity to defend themselves.



�

In times of war, even

democratic governments

often pass laws they

become ashamed of once

the crisis has passed.

This violates the very meaning of theAmerican Revolution.

Yes, some, perhaps many, of thesedetainees may be “pirates,” as my col-league believes. But they are stillhuman beings with rights we mustrespect. Toward that end, while wemust protect secrets, trials should bepublic, wherever possible. The vic-tims of tyranny in Iraq, Afghanistanand elsewhere deserve this, to saynothing of the citizens of this country,who must be convinced thatAmerican justice is open, fair andswift. For when our justice is secret,we are set up for abuses by the fewand can’t deflect lies.

The Meaning of JusticeThis is also why the way Saddam

Hussein’s sons were killed was repug-nant. The two were savages — no

doubt — but tanks and cannon arenot police tools. Rather than put outthe word “dead or alive,” we shouldhave tried to bring them in alive, to beput on trial in The Hague for crimesagainst humanity, so the world andIraq would know the meaning ofAmerican and international justice —a justice superior to the savagery ofSaddam’s Iraq.

Every year, as we have done fordecades now, the State Departmentpublishes a comprehensive set ofcountry human rights reports evaluat-ing how every government around theworld treats, or mistreats, its citizens.But when American officials engagein some of the very practices we right-ly denounce elsewhere, as happenedin Iraq and may have happened inAfghanistan and Cuba, those reportslose credibility. And that gap between

our words and our deeds only weak-ens our ability to speak out on behalfof victims of oppression and police-state brutality around the world —even here at home. A moral approachto justice isn’t always easy; but uneth-ical shortcuts, though they may havequick positive returns, will in the enddestroy us.

The Supreme Court has, I amrelieved to note, now ruled that theprisoners at Guantanamo Bay andother “enemy combatants” are enti-tled to at least some of the basic due-process rights required by the U.S.Constitution. That set of decisions isnot popular in many quarters, but itmarks a welcome return to our coun-try’s most fundamental values.

Our Founding Fathers launched arevolution that inspired the world,proclaiming that all humans are creat-



�

ed equal, and are endowed with rightsthat no government can take awayfrom them, no matter where they liveor what they believe. We have notfully lived up to that idea, but it hasguided our nation for more than twocenturies. My own great-grandfather,Ernest Winter, like the ancestors ofmany Journal readers, fought tyrannyin his homeland at great risk to him-self before coming to this country. Hewas a national labor politician whoescaped the Kaiser’s secret police bycrossing the German border in a haywagon under the threat of death. Hewas smuggled to England and thentraveled to America, where he spentthe rest of his life working for thedowntrodden, alongside SamuelGompers and other activists.

In times of war, even democraticgovernments often pass laws they

become ashamed of once the crisishas passed. In 1798, the United

States almost went to war with Franceas xenophobia swept our country,leading to passage of the Enemy AlienAct and Alien and Sedition Acts per-mitting the president to arrest,imprison and deport “dangerous”immigrants on mere suspicion of“treasonable or secret machinationsagainst the government.” If such adeportee returned, he could beimprisoned for as long as the presi-dent thought “the public safety mayrequire.” Sounds like how we treat so-called “enemy combatants,” doesn’tit? And in an unsettling parallel withtoday’s Patriot Act, the Sedition Actmade it unlawful to write, print, pub-lish or speak “false, scandalous andmalicious” words about Congress orthe executive branch — in direct vio-lation of the First Amendment guar-antee of freedom of expression.



�

Any gap between our

words and our deeds

only weakens our ability

to speak out on behalf of

victims of oppression

and police-state

brutality around

the world.

Though the Alien and SeditionActs (but not the Enemy Alien Act, itis worth noting) were ultimatelyrepealed, their spirit has resurfacedmore than once during wartime.Abraham Lincoln suspended the rightof habeas corpus during the Civil War,and thousands of Japanese-Americanswere interned for years during WorldWar II despite a complete lack of anyevidence that they were disloyal orhad harmed the United States in anyway. Rights were abrogated in WorldWar I as well, and internment campsfrom that conflict were used again inWorld War II. But those decisionswere soon correctly seen as aberra-tions, not as precedents.

We must return to our Americanrevolutionary roots, resisting thetemptation to weaken our system ofrights when under stress, and instead

setting an example for all to follow.Give the prisoners lawyers. Givethem rights and a speedy, open, fairtrial. No more deaths or torture dur-ing interrogation. Such behavior de-means us and sets American soldiersand civilians up for torture in thefuture.

As the Hindu poet Manu wrote in1200 BC: “Justice, being destroyed,will destroy; being preserved, will pre-serve; it must never, therefore, be vio-lated. Beware, O Judge! Lest justice,being overturned, overturn both usand thyself.” ■

Larry Roeder, a Civil Service employ-ee of the State Department, is the pol-icy adviser on disaster management inthe Bureau of International Organi-zations. The views expressed hereinare his only.



�

The Supreme Court

ruling that the

prisoners at

Guantanamo Bay

and elsewhere do have

at least some rights

is not popular in many

quarters, but it was

the right call.

2000 N. 14th Street ■ Suite 500Arlington, VA 22201

Telephone(703) 797-3259 Fax (703) 524-7559

Tollfree(800) 424-9500

S E P T EMBE R 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I GN S E RV I C E J O U RN A L 23

o be a State Department consular officer overseas is to have one of the most challengingof all Foreign Service positions. Besides its responsibility for issuing American passports and providing Americancitizen services overseas, the Bureau of Consular Affairs handles visas. These CA officers — often the junior-mostForeign Service employees — have to play both the role of welcoming envoy to the millions of visitors who wantto come to the United States each year to have fun, to do business, or to study, and the role of stern security guardagainst terrorists and criminals who would do America harm. The pressure is, and always has been, immense.

F O C U S O N C O U N T E R T E R R O R I S M

THE BRAVE NEWWORLDOF VISA PROCESSING

TTHE EVENTS OF 9/11 AND STATE’S NEW PARTNERSHIP

WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITYHAVE FOREVER ALTERED CONSULAR WORK.

BY SHAWN ZELLER

Phi

l Fos

ter

Some officers have to interviewupwards of 200 people a day, withas little as two minutes to size upa prospective visitor.

The Sept. 11, 2001, attacksushered in perhaps the darkestperiod in the history of ConsularAffairs, after it was revealed thatthe 19 hijackers had entered thecountry on State Department-issued visas. In 2002, Congressalmost stripped the State Department of its non-immi-grant visa processing role, despite Secretary of StateColin Powell’s staunch opposition. While unsuccessful,the attempt was a crushing blow to State and to con-sular officers’ morale.

In the end, the State Department held onto the visaprocessing function, for non-immigrants as well asimmigrants. (Immigrant visa processing was not anissue in Congress: these visas are processed in coordi-nation with Homeland Security’s Bureau ofCitizenship and Immigration Services, the new incar-nation of the now-defunct Immigration andNaturalization Service, which has always held finalresponsibility in this area.) Congress did shift author-ity over non-immigrant visa policy, including applica-tion requirements, to the new Department ofHomeland Security and gave DHS a final veto overindividual visas. Last September, State and DHSsigned a memorandum of understanding that dividesup responsibility for overseeing and carrying out visaprocessing, and the two agencies are working hard tostreamline procedures and coordination.

It is clear that the events of 9/11 and State’s newpartnership with DHS have forever altered consularwork. “Visa issuance has changed completely,” saysLouise Crane, State Department vice president of theAmerican Foreign Service Association. For the con-sular officer, it’s meant more training on the front end,more rigorous interviewing on the job, and enhancedcapabilities to identify terrorists through biometricsand ever-larger databases. For State, it’s also meant fargreater cooperation with, and in some cases relianceon, other government agencies.

Most of all, it’s meant a rebal-ancing of priorities within theBureau of Consular Affairs.Always under pressure from thebusiness and travel industry, col-leges and universities, and foreigngovernments to move peoplethrough faster, CA has now madesecurity paramount. And, thank-fully, after years in which consularwork was underfunded and

ignored, it now has the attention of Congress.“It’s a challenging time, but also a great time of

opportunity. Everyone feels the work they are doing ismore important than ever,” says Janice Jacobs, deputyassistant secretary of State for visa services. “Everyonehas a healthy attitude.”

An Uneasy PartnershipAn order for two distinct bureaucracies to work

together efficiently on a complicated and sensitive mis-sion would invite difficulty even under optimal circum-stances. But the new partnership between CA andDHS was the result of a bruising battle over the non-immigrant visa function and, simultaneously, a whole-sale shakeup and reorganization of domestic securityagencies into the new DHS entity. Still, both AssistantSecretary of State for Consular Affairs Maura Hartyand Homeland Security Under Secretary for Borderand Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson havepraised each other’s leadership.

Under the memorandum of understanding withState allocating responsibility for oversight and execu-tion of the visa process, DHS now establishes mostnon-immigrant visa application policies, such as docu-mentation requirements, conditions under which anapplicant may apply for a visa outside his or her homecountry, and instances when CA can waive the inter-view requirement. And, as Hutchinson said at a hear-ing last year, Homeland Security now holds a “trumpcard” over nearly every decision to approve a visa.

State retains full authority over granting diplomaticvisas, as well as any visa case that may affect foreignpolicy. For example, State will continue to be respon-sible for determining who is allowed to travel to theUnited Nations headquarters in New York City. Statewill also identify legitimate exchange programs for visa

F O C U S

24 FO R E I GN S E RV I C E J O U RN A L / S E P T EMBE R 2 0 0 4

Thankfully, after years in

which consular work was

underfunded and ignored,

it now has the attention of

Congress.

Shawn Zeller is a staff reporter for GovernmentExecutive magazine.

purposes, and will continue to set visa validity periodsand fees. Jacobs says that, if necessary, the two depart-ment secretaries — Powell and Tom Ridge — are pre-pared to step in to resolve disputes.

Last year, DHS began deploying visa security offi-cers to consulates and embassies overseas, startingwith Saudi Arabia. The Saudi deployments, now com-plete, were the only ones explicitly mandated in the2002 legislation creating the department. Still, DHSplans to expand the deployment of visa security offi-cers to five more posts this year, and an additional fivethe following year, pending adequate funding andrecruitment of officers. The officers’ roles, as yet, aresomewhat undefined. But Harty said last year that“DHS personnel abroad will act as coordinators ofsource information involving threats to the UnitedStates, particularly focusing on terrorist threats ...They will provide training and intelligence support toour consular officers.”

Harty adds that DHS officers have been welcomedto the team, and that they and State’s consular workersare now operating efficiently together. The two depart-ments are coordinating weekly on the new U.S. VISITsystem, which is designed to track the entry and exit offoreign travelers. And CA expects to meet its goal ofimplementing new biometric checks during the visainterview process by October.

All visa applicants will have to allow a consular offi-cer to take two fingerprints before a visa will be issued.The departments also worked together extensively toimplement the new Student and Exchange VisitorInformation System (SEVIS), which tracks foreign stu-dents at U.S. colleges and universities. As a result ofthose efforts, a number of wanted criminals have beencaptured, and about 200 foreign students were turnedback after it was discovered that they were not proper-ly enrolled in the school they claimed to be attending.

The data collected during the biometric checks isrun through the Consular Lookout and Support System(CLASS), which now contains nearly three times asmany records as it did before 9/11 because of newagency data-sharing requirements passed by Congress.Visa applicants are then vetted against HomelandSecurity’s Automated Biometric Identification System,which is known as IDENT. Any hits are sent to theFBI in Washington for further review. When a visitorarrives in the United States, the Homeland Security

officer at the port of entry scans the visa, takes anotherpair of fingerprints, and pulls up the photo submittedby the applicant and fingerprints Consular Affairs col-lected to make sure the person who applied for the visais the same one arriving in the United States.

Through no fault of either State or DHS, anotherOctober deadline threatened to test the new partnership.In 2002 Congress also passed legislation requiring all 27 ofthe visa-waiver countries to begin issuing passports withbiometric information embedded within them by October2004. Because none of the countries are on track to do soand because of ongoing problems with the technology,Powell and Ridge asked Congress to extend the deadlineby two years. In early August, President Bush signed leg-islation granting only a one-year extention, to October2005. If not resolved, CA would have had to start pro-cessing visa applications for travelers from visa-waivercountries, which include all of our closest European andAsian allies — a potential logistical nightmare.

No One Was PreparedThe post-9/11 transition hasn’t been easy. In 2002,

new security procedures overwhelmed an under-staffed consular work force and led to long waits over-seas. Even though visa applications dropped dramati-cally after the terrorist attacks, backlogs grew becauseof the new procedures. For example, whereas CA hadoften waived the requirement that visa applicantsshow up in person for an interview, after the new rulesalmost all applicants — except for children, the elder-ly and diplomatic personnel — were required toundergo an interview.

Also in the interest of security, CA dropped a 30-day time limit for comment that it had previouslyimposed on other agencies, such as the FBI, that hadasked to review a visa application. “None of the fed-eral agencies involved in the clearance process,including State, were technically equipped to handlethe volume of data that began to come in to us,”Jacobs told the Senate Foreign Relations Committeelast October.

The Government Accountability Office (formerlythe General Accounting Office), Congress’ watchdogarm, followed up with a series of critical reports thatsaid CA management was slow in defining the newsecurity standards, communicating them to its workforce, and setting procedures for working with other


F O C U S

agencies. At the same time, busi-ness and higher education groupscomplained of corporate execu-tives denied visas, business dealslost, and students delayed in theirstudies.

Jacobs makes no apologies forCA’s focus on security, but saysthat she and Harty have reachedout to business and education groups and have tried tospeed processing. Harty has asked all embassy con-sular sections to educate visa applicants about whatthey should expect, and how to navigate the new pro-cedures.

And when security gaps have been revealed, Statehas taken steps to plug them. For example, in 2002 theGAO criticized CA for not taking action quickly enoughin warning domestic security agencies that a visa hadbeen revoked — GAO said at the time that at least 30individuals were in the United States on revoked visas.Now warnings go out in near-real time through State’sCLASS system and Homeland Security’s InteragencyBorder Inspection System (IBIS). Jacobs says that in2003, word of every revocation reached DHS beforethe visa-holder’s arrival. Similarly, when GAO report-ed that CA had sent visas to the FBI for security checkswith improper coding — causing long delays — theagency invested $1 million to upgrade computer sys-tems. Now, when consular officers send sensitiveapplicant information to the FBI and other govern-ment agencies for review, it travels over secure lines,rather than by telegram.

Critics have also questioned CA about whether thetwo-fingerprint system used by U.S.-VISIT will be ade-quate over the long term. At a hearing in January,House Select Committee on Homeland Security mem-ber Norm Dicks, D-Wash., noted that the FBI uses a10-print system in its criminal database, and that twoprints are sometimes not enough to make a definitivematch. “I know there is very strong feeling, both in theHouse and Senate, that two fingers are inadequate,”Dicks said. Jacobs responded that the NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology has determinedthat a two-print system is adequate for the time being,and if databases eventually return too many false posi-tives, State can expand to an eight-print system.

One area where there is much less controversy than

in years past is CA’s need for morepersonnel. After years of declin-ing staffing, the bureau added 39new full-time consular cone posi-tions above replacement for attri-tion in 2003, and another 80 thisyear. These new officers aregoing through a rigorous trainingcourse that includes four new ses-

sions on counterterrorism, one of which is given byCentral Intelligence Agency personnel. One of thecourses deals with visa fraud, while another focuses oninterviewing skills. More experienced hands have alsobeen required to undergo additional security training,and Harty has taken steps to standardize consular pro-cedures so that the processes will be identical world-wide.

Overcoming MisperceptionsHarty and Jacobs have also worked tirelessly to over-

come the misperceptions that they believe nearly costState the visa function. The concern in Congress thenwas that “the State Department didn’t understand wellenough the importance of border security,” Jacobsrecalls, a perception she rejects. Ironically, Congresshad shown little interest in or knowledge of consularoperations for years, except perhaps to lobby for visasrequested by constituents on behalf of foreign relatives,and had cut the consular budget and rebuffed theagency’s efforts to upgrade.

Indeed, just a decade ago increased consular staffingwas unthinkable. At that time, then-Assistant Secretaryfor Consular Affairs Mary Ryan had to beg Congress toallow the agency to retain the processing fees from visaapplicants to fund its operations. At that time, consularofficers had no modern lookout system; instead theychecked names against a microfiche list of ineligiblepeople that was usually outdated. Biometric checkswere unheard of, and it was all the bureau could do toget Congress to agree to provide funding to let it rollout machine-readable visa systems at consular posts.In 1994, Ryan succeeded in convincing Congress, forthe first time, to allow Consular Affairs to keep some ofthe fees that it collects from visa applicants and use themoney to pay for infrastructure improvements. Butcongressional restrictions on the funding only made itpossible to upgrade six posts with the machine-read-

F O C U S


One area where there is

much less controversy than

in years past is CA’s need

for more personnel.

able systems each year. At the same time, the pressure

to speed processing of visas —from business and educationgroups as well as Congress — wasrelentless, eventually leading toRyan’s resignation. Just monthsbefore 9/11, in an effort to speedprocessing in Saudi Arabia, CA setup a program through which Saudis could submit visaapplication paperwork to travel agents, who wouldthen forward the information for adjudication by con-sular affairs. Many of the applicants were not requiredto show up at a consular post for an interview. Similarprograms already existed worldwide, but in SaudiArabia the program was given the unfortunate name of“Visa Express.” In 2002, under congressional pres-sure, Ryan stepped down after the program generatedcontroversy.

In testimony before the 9/11 Commission early this

year, Ryan said she does notbelieve the express programharmed national security. But shealso recalled the circumstances atthe time of the program’s creation:“It was an extremely difficult peri-od. We were devastated by thebudget cuts. We were devastatedby the lack of junior officer intake.”

And at the same time, federal law enforcement andintelligence agencies were reluctant to share theirlookout data. Ryan said she was outraged to learn,after the attacks, that the FBI and CIA had informa-tion on two of the 9/11 hijackers — Khalid al-Midharand Nawaf al-Hazmi — and had never shared thatinformation with CA. The reason they hadn’t: State isnot a law enforcement agency. “I was outraged. I wasfurious. I’m still angry about it,” she says. Even after9/11, it took an act of Congress to require the FBI toshare data with CA.

F O C U S

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Some Things Don’t ChangeOne thing that hasn’t changed since 9/11 is the lob-

bying efforts of travel and business industry groups, aswell as colleges and universities, to encourage consularaffairs to lower barriers to travelers. In June, a coali-tion of business groups including the AerospaceIndustries Association, the American Council onInternational Personnel and the National ForeignTrade Council, issued a report saying that delays in visaprocessing have cost U.S. exporters more than $30 bil-lion since 2002. Of the 734 companies that respondedto a survey commissioned by the coalition, 73 percentsaid they had experienced problems in the processingof business travel visas, including unexpected delaysand denials; 60 percent said they had paid a price forprocessing delays, including lost sales and increasedcosts associated with moving personnel abroad to avoidtravel problems; and 51 percent said that the problemwas getting worse, not better.

“When legitimate foreign business executives andvital international customers cannot enter the U.S. toconduct normal business, it is our companies, ourworkers, our economy, and our international relationsthat pay the price,” said National Foreign TradeCouncil President Bill Reinsch in a statementannouncing the survey. The report recommended thatreputable, well-known businesses be granted “goldcard” status, allowing their business travelers access toexpedited procedures; and that CA grant visas allowingbusiness travelers to travel to the United States multi-ple times without renewing.

Theresa Brown, executive director of Americans forBetter Borders, a business advocacy group affiliatedwith the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says that foreignbusiness travelers have been offended by the finger-print requirement.

Meanwhile, in May, a group of 25 science and highereducation organizations, including the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science, the NationalAcademy of Sciences, and the American Council onEducation, sent a letter to the White House, the FBI, theState Department, and the Department of HomelandSecurity, arguing that the more stringent visa process wasinterfering with legitimate research and scholarship. “TheU.S. cannot hope to maintain its present scientific andeconomic leadership position if it becomes isolated fromthe rest of the world,” the letter said.

The group recommended that visas be granted tostudents and scholars for longer periods of time toallow them to complete a course of study without hav-ing to apply for a visa renewal. It also said that studentsshould be allowed to begin the process before takingtemporary trips outside the United States, and that CAshould provide applicants with a means of checkingtheir status. Visa applicants waiting more than 30 daysshould be moved to the front of the waiting list, thegroup said.

A Delicate BalanceThe primary cause of delays in student visa process-

ing, according to the GAO, is the increased use of VisasMantis checks, instituted after the 9/11 attacks. Studentsand scholars who plan to conduct research in a numberof scientific disciplines deemed important to nationalsecurity must undergo these additional checks. In thepast, the FBI had 30 days to process the requests fromConsular Affairs, but now the FBI must sign off on allapproved visas no matter how long it takes. That’s causedsome headaches. The GAO found, for example, thatimproperly formatted requests had not gotten to the FBIand delayed processing in some cases for weeks.

Based on a random sample of Visas Mantis casesbetween April and June 2003, the GAO found that ittook an average of 67 days for the security check to beprocessed. GAO auditors visited consular posts inChina, India and Russia, and found that consular offi-cers were often confused about when to apply VisasMantis checks. Nor did they receive consistent ortimely feedback on whether they were providingenough information in the security review requeststhey sent back to Washington. In some cases, appli-cants routinely waited two to three weeks just for aninterview, with some cooling their heels for more thanthree months for a response.

But now, Jacobs says, CA’s $1 million investment inbetter technology is paying off with fewer errors insecurity review requests sent to the FBI, and the newstandard operating procedures implemented by Hartyhave cleared up confusion over how to process VisasMantis cases. A newly established team within CA inWashington ensures that applications flow moresmoothly. Now, Jacobs says, 80 percent of all VisasMantis checks are conducted within 30 days.

The statistics, though, still bear out some of the

F O C U S


business and education groups’concerns. Foreign travel to theUnited States dipped by about 30percent after the 9/11 attacks and isonly now recovering. At the sametime, Consular Affairs is definitelytaking a tougher line with studentsand scholars. Visas Mantis checkshave tripled since 2001 to morethan 20,000 a year. In total, CAgranted 474,000 student visas in2003, down from 560,000 in 2001;and it approved only 74 percent ofapplications, compared to 80 percent before 9/11.

Procedures are being streamlined for other categoriesof visa-holders as well. In late June, the StateDepartment announced that as of July 16 it would nolonger accept applications for renewal of “E,” “H,” “I,”“O,” “L,” and “P” visas by mail. Holders of these visas,who include entertainers, athletes, journalists, investors,

executives and skilled and unskilledtemporary workers, will have to go toU.S. embassies abroad where theycan be fingerprinted and inter-viewed. The new policy could comeunder fire from companies who mayhave to pay for their employees to goabroad to be processed, but, accord-ing to State Department spokesmanRichard Boucher, there are no plansto create an office in the U.S. to han-dle the renewals. “We want to dointerviews. We want to do finger-

prints. We’re best set up to do that overseas,” he says.Ultimately, Jacobs says, “Consular Affairs has always

had to balance the two goals: one is facilitating legitimatetravel; the other is protection of U.S. borders.” Jacobs isthe first to admit that CA is still working on finding theperfect balance, but she believes just as firmly that theagency has come a long way. ■

F O C U S


A coalition of business

groups says that delays

in visa processing have

cost U.S. exporters

more than $30 billion

since 2002.


THREE YEARS AFTER THE 9/11 ATTACKS, THE THREAT

FROM TERRORISM IS GROWING, NOT RECEDING. IT IS TIME FOR A REAPPRAISAL OF OUR STRATEGY.

BY PHILIP C. WILCOX JR.


ARE WE LOSING THEWAR ON TERRORISM?

he “war on terrorism,” the centerpiece of George W. Bush’s presidency, is going badly. Incidentsof worldwide terrorism have actually increased since Sept. 11, 2001. Islamic terrorists have become an even more for-midable enemy. The war in Iraq, based in part on the false premise that Saddam Hussein posed a terrorist threat to theU.S., has squandered international sympathy won after 9/11, shortchanged U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistanand elsewhere, and provoked rising anger in the Arab and Muslim world. Worse yet, the war, seen by Muslims world-wide as a war against Islam, has created a new hotbed of anti-American terrorism and has swelled the ranks of radicaljihadis throughout the world.

TP

hil F

oste

r

Excessive reliance on the militaryto fight terror, disdain for diplomacy,and assertive unilateralism have alsoprovoked strong anti-American hos-tility worldwide. And the Bushadministration’s unprecedented tilttoward the policies of the right-wingSharon government in Israel hasincreased Arab and Muslim angeragainst the U.S.

At home and abroad, the Bushadministration has used the threat ofterrorism to justify radical and unjus-tified departures from the rule of law. And, while ourdomestic defenses against renewed attacks in the U.S.have been strengthened, we remain highly vulnerable.

These dangerous consequences are a result of the vic-tory of ideology over clear analysis and experience. A floodof commentary by policy experts, journalists, and formerofficials from across the political spectrum basically agreesthat America’s war on terrorism has gone wrong and that itis time for a reappraisal. Toward that end, the next admin-istration, Republican or Democratic, should consider thefollowing points in reshaping American policy.

The Threat Is GrowingThe U.S. has so far avoided another major terrorist

attack since 9/11, thanks to improved intelligence andsecurity measures, although there are frequent warningsthat new attacks remain a threat. But terrorism world-wide has grown over the past three years, with spectacu-lar, highly lethal terrorist events in Spain, North Africa,Turkey, the Middle East, and in South and Southeast Asia.Growing terrorism in Iraq, which was not previously acenter of such activity, has become an unintended(although widely predicted) result of the American mili-tary presence.

Measuring terrorism trends with statistics is admitted-ly difficult and not always reliable. The Department ofState’s Patterns of Global Terrorism – 2003, after mistak-enly reporting that terrorist attacks were at the lowest ebb

in the last 34 years, now contains cor-rected data indicating that 625 peo-ple died from acts of internationalterrorism in 2003. This was morethan in any year since 1998, exceptfor 2001 when the 9/11 attacksoccurred. The corrected Patternsalso recorded the highest number of“significant terrorist incidents” in2003 than in any year since data col-lection began 28 years ago. Thesenumbers suggest that terrorists areincreasingly on the offensive.

Needed: A Clearer Understanding of Terrorism

After 9/11, the Bush administration conflated theproblems of terrorism by al-Qaida, hostile authoritarianregimes, and weapons of mass destruction thought to bepossessed by these regimes into a lurid but intellectuallyincoherent “axis of evil.” They believed that for moral andstrategic reasons, the U.S. had a mission to rid the worldof terrorist-supporting authoritarian regimes and toreplace them with pro-U.S. democracies. They assumedthis could be done by using military power and de-empha-sizing traditional diplomacy and alliances. They believedthat the Clinton administration’s reliance on law enforce-ment, intelligence and diplomacy to fight terrorism hadweakened American deterrence and emboldened Osamabin Laden and other terrorists. A more robust use of mil-itary force to destroy terrorists and their state sponsorswas their chosen remedy. The war in Afghanistan thatoverthrew the Taliban regime was the opening round.But the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, launched atthe expense of completing the job in Afghanistan and con-centrating on terrorism, worldwide, was the main event.

The administration’s first mistake was to assumethat terrorists are a discrete group of “evildoers,” whocan be identified, tracked down and killed or arrested,thus eliminating terrorism and “winning the war.”Although al-Qaida was an organized group before9/11, it was always part of a larger and diffuse networkof extreme Islamists who share an ideology of hatredfor the U.S. and the West as well as opposition tomainstream Islam. This ideology springs from andfeeds on the experience of colonialism, and patholo-gies of weakness, humiliation, revenge, martyrdom,

F O C U S


The key to successful

counterterrorism is

eliminating popular

support for terrorists and

their ideology wherever

they operate.

Ambassador Philip C. Wilcox Jr. was a Foreign Serviceofficer from 1966 to 1997. Among his many assign-ments, he was ambassador-at-large for counterterror-ism from 1993 to 1997. He is currently president of theFoundation for Middle East Peace.

and despair over political repression and economicstagnation.

Since terrorism is a tactic serving an ideology, defeat-ing it requires targeting the ideology that nourishes itthrough political, economic and psychological means.Unless the roots of the movement are targeted, the under-lying grievances will continue to produce new terrorists,even as others are killed or captured.

The Bush administration also mistakenly assumed thatterrorists could not carry out major attacks like 9/11 with-out the help of states. This fallacy produced the tenaciousview, absent any evidence, that Saddam Hussein wasbehind the 9/11 attacks. Today’s Islamist terrorists do notdepend on state sponsorship, which has declined sharplyin the last decade, as states have recognized the high riskof Western sanctions and the threat terrorism poses totheir own regimes.

Limited Utility and Backlash Effects ofMilitary Force

The Bush administration’s lack of understanding thatideology is the ultimate target in combating terrorism, andthat terrorists usually do not depend on states that can beattacked by military force, has led to exaggerated belief inthe use of military power. While armed interventionaccomplished the worthy goal of ridding Afghanistan ofthe hated Taliban regime, that was a uniquely easy target.By contrast, U.S forces have not captured Osama binLaden, and the lack of a sustained follow-through to thateffort because of the Iraq war increases the odds thatAfghanistan will once again become a haven for terrorists.

That example should show us how difficult it is forAmerican military forces to capture highly mobile andclandestine terrorists. Iraq, where U.S. forces are fightinga murky combination of insurgents and terrorists, thus farwithout much success, confirms this lesson. Elsewhere inthe world, terrorists exist clandestinely in many states,often in urban areas, where they are usually beyond thereach of U.S. military force.

Moreover, the use of conventional military force andhigh-performance weapons against terrorists and insur-gents, especially in urban environments, carries a high riskof civilian casualties and backlash. Anger over heavy civil-ian casualties in the war in Iraq has already intensifiedanti-U.S. emotions in the Arab and Muslim world.

Civilian deaths have also weakened support for theprinciple that terrorism against non-combatants is never

acceptable and that terrorists should be treated as crimi-nals. This principle was gaining wide international sup-port as recently as the 1990s, but public opinion in theMuslim world now blurs the distinction between inno-cents killed by terrorists and innocent “collateral casual-ties” killed by American forces. This plays into the handsof the terrorists, and the U.S. is blamed for the violence,not the terrorists.

Terrorists understand this dynamic better than we do.They use tactics to expose civilians to U.S. firepower, andthey enhance their support and legitimacy by posturing as“warriors for Islam” and “freedom fighters.” Arab media,like Al-Jazeera, are all too willing to exploit civilian deathscaused by U.S. forces to inflame popular emotions andcreate sympathy for the terrorists. All this undermines theprinciple that all terrorism, whatever the motivation,should be beyond the pale.

Since military force is often ineffective in eliminatingterrorists and tends to strengthen their ideological cohe-sion and popular appeal, we should use it only in excep-tional circumstances. For example, force might be neces-sary in the rare case of an imminent terrorist attack thatcannot be preempted by diplomatic, intelligence or lawenforcement measures, or in the equally rare case of anact of state-sponsored terror for which there is no othereffective response.

Good Intelligence Requires Expert,Independent Analysis

The 9/11 Commission Report revealed many weak-nesses in U.S. intelligence. At the top of the list for reformare improved collection of terrorism intelligence, betterintelligence analysis (untainted by political pressure) andgreatly improved sharing of intelligence among agencies.

However, expectations of vastly improved collection ofhuman intelligence that will invariably provide advancewarning of terrorist attacks are unrealistic. So is theperennial claim that the U.S. could use covert actionmuch more effectively. Of course we need to try harder,but there are limits to our ability to penetrate terrorist net-works with human agents, and to obtain tactical warningof impending terrorist attacks.

The most cost-effective investment in better intelli-gence would be funds for greater area and language exper-tise, not only for collectors of secret intelligence and ana-lysts, but for State’s Foreign Service officers. Many ana-lysts believe that Foreign Service reporting is the best sin-

F O C U S


gle official source of intelligenceabout the political dynamics of for-eign societies. Budgets for lan-guage and reporting have improvedafter a long decline, but these skillsdeserve greater resources. No lessimportant, intelligence analysts andForeign Service reporting officersmust not be inhibited by pressureto report what their political bossesin Washington want to hear. Suchconstraints are heaviest when ideol-ogy and demands for conformitytrump open-mindedness andrespect for experience among poli-cy-makers.

Of course, changes in the structure of the intelligencecommunity are needed to eliminate deplorable failures inintelligence sharing and coordination, some of which con-tributed to 9/11. But any reform must protect competi-tion and diversity among intelligence agencies, which helpguard against inevitable pressure for homogenized and“politically correct” analysis.

Losing the Hearts and Minds of MuslimsThe key to successful counterterrorism is eliminating

popular support for terrorists and their ideology whereverthey operate, as well as winning full cooperation from for-eign governments. There was widespread sympathy forthe U.S. among Muslims and Arabs, as in most of theworld, following the tragedy of 9/11. But careless rhetoricfrom Washington about serial wars against other Muslimstates suspect of terrorist sympathies, a sharp tilt towardSharon’s policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and thewar in Iraq have squandered this good will and stirred anunprecedented wave of anti-American hostility through-out the Arab and Muslim world.

The war in Iraq has created a new motivation for ter-rorism by resurrecting powerful memories of colonialism,domination and defeat by the non-Muslim West, just asSoviet troops in Afghanistan did in the 1980s. Today, thecollapse of the WMD rationale for the war, the lack of evi-dence that Saddam was behind 9/11, and the belief, whichthe administration has not tried to rebut, that the U.S.wants oil preferences and military bases in Iraq, have allcompounded Arab and Muslim anger. Polls in the regionshow a widespread perception that the U.S. war against

terrorism is actually a war againstIslam.

The U.S. has struck heavy blowsagainst the operational effective-ness of bin Laden’s original al-Qaidanetwork. But a wider Jihadi move-ment, ideologically linked to al-Qaida, but operationally autono-mous, is growing. This movement,fueled by growing Muslim resent-ment over the perception thatIslam itself is under attack fromAmerica and the West, constitutesthe main terrorist threat today. Itscadres are dispersed, highly mobile,

sophisticated, and located worldwide. The most respectedterrorism experts, inside and outside the U.S. government,regard this diffuse network as more formidable andimplacable than the original al-Qaida.

Weakening the Rule of LawThe Bush administration’s view that international legal

limits on unprovoked war and the treatment of detainedterrorist suspects do not bind the U.S. is a major setbackfor international efforts to strengthen international law asa tool against terrorism. In fact, strengthening a rule-based international legal regime against terrorism andinternational compliance with this regime are criticallyimportant. The general indifference, if not hostility, of theBush administration toward international law weakens thefabric of global anti-terrorism law and cooperationpainstakingly stitched together over many years.

The sordid practice of torture by American forcesagainst suspects in Iraq and the indeterminate detentionof “enemy combatants” at Guantanamo Bay are egregiousexamples of this disregard for international law.Fortunately, the Supreme Court has overturned the Bushadministration’s assertion of unlimited executive power todetain both certain U.S. citizens and foreign suspectswithout due process. Such practices put American troopsat risk, and undermine the work of generations to adoptrules that make armed conflict more humane. All thisplays into the hands of terrorists and other criminal ele-ments that disdain civilized conduct and celebrate forceand violence.

The Patriot Act, hastily enacted after 9/11, treads ontraditionally protected rights against search and surveil-

F O C U S


The 9/11 Commission

Report revealed many

weaknesses in U.S.

intelligence. But the most

cost-effective investment

would be funds for greater

area and language expertise.

lance without a warrant, and allowsthe secret detention of aliens withoutdue process. The U.S. needs extraor-dinary legal means to pre-empt therare case of the “ticking bomb,” butthe Patriot Act goes too far.

Of course, terrorism is a seriousthreat to our security, and potentialterrorist access to materials for con-structing and deploying weapons ofmass destruction increases that risk.But while we must have strong lawsto protect ourselves, we must alsoprotect liberty. If we sacrifice libertytoo readily to guard against remoteterrorist contingencies, we lose far more than we gain andultimately weaken our security. Our leaders should usecommon sense and remember the lesson of history that “ifanything goes, everything is soon gone.”

Toward a More Effective StrategyDescribing our post-9/11 efforts as a “war” against ter-

rorism is understandable, given the gravity of the threatand the need for a determined response. But “wars” areeventually won or lost, and terrorism cannot be eliminat-ed or protected against entirely. Nevertheless, we canand must reduce the threat.

The Bush administration has made important progressin domestic security, especially in air travel. Border con-trols have also been improved. But heavy-handed, pro-tracted vetting of visa requests, especially those for visitorsfrom Muslim countries, has discouraged visits by students,tourists and businesspeople. We pay a huge cost in ill willand contacts lost for this.

We must recognize, however, that the goal of completehomeland security is unattainable, given the infinite rangeof targets in the U.S., and the costs in disruption and lossof freedom that would be required. This makes it all themore imperative that we broaden our strategy.

Because of the limited utility of military force and itsdisadvantages in combating terrorism, we must continueto rely most heavily on the traditional tools of intelligence,law enforcement and diplomacy to stop terrorists andapprehend them. The report of the 9/11 Commissionpoints the way toward strengthening these methods.

But given the limitations of these tools for pre-emptingterrorism, and our inherent vulnerabilities at home and

abroad, we need a far more ambi-tious parallel strategy to undermineterrorism at its roots. We must findbetter ways to reduce the appeal ofextremist ideologies that breed ter-rorism so that new terrorists will notemerge and that those who remain atlarge can be isolated, exposed andapprehended. Having identified theideological roots of terrorism, we canthen bring to bear diplomatic, eco-nomic, educational and otherresources.

It is beyond the power of the U.S.alone to eliminate or even rapidly

change the lack of democracy and human rights, the eco-nomic failure, the ignorance, and the historic and culturaltraumas that have fed terrorism in the Arab and Muslimworld. But we need to devote far greater wisdom andresources to the task than we have up to now. PresidentBush’s U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative is a goodbeginning, but until the war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are resolved, it is unlikely to gain muchtraction. A new strategy should also mobilize the experi-ence of European states and their resources. This willrequire a return to multilateralism and healing woundedrelations with our traditional allies.

We will also need to communicate more effectivelywith the people in the Arab and Muslim worlds to restoretheir friendship and confidence in American goals.Unless these people understand and trust our policies,they will not join us against the terrorists and abandon thefalse notion that the U.S. is at war with Islam. Thus far,our educational and information programs have beenpathetically inadequate to the challenge.

This work will take decades, and the legacy of past fail-ures will not be overcome soon. In the shorter term, themost important policy initiative the U.S. could take wouldbe to renew American leadership in the search for peacebetween Israelis and Palestinians. Nothing has done somuch to anger and alienate Arabs and Muslims as the per-ception that the U.S. favors the policies of settlementexpansion and domination of the Palestinians pursued byIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and is indifferent orhostile toward Palestinian rights for freedom in a viablestate of their own. Bin Laden and other terrorists haveexploited this issue brilliantly. But even without their

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Arab media, like Al-

Jazeera, are all too willing

to exploit civilian deaths

caused by U.S. forces to

inflame popular emotions

and create sympathy for

the terrorists.

manipulation, the issue’s importance cannot be overesti-mated. Unless the U.S. reverses its current passive andsometimes partisan policy and turns to vigorous, even-handed intervention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, itcannot regain the respect and confidence it needs in Araband Muslim states to reduce and contain the threat of rad-ical Islamic terrorism.

Terrorism Is Not the Only National Security Challenge

One final observation. Without diminishing thethreat of terrorism, we must also recognize that theU.S. also confronts other dangerous national securitychallenges: non-proliferation, international economicgrowth and stability, denial of human rights anddemocracy, environmental degradation, HIV/AIDSand other epidemic diseases, drugs and crime alsoaffect the well-being of Americans and the world.While less dramatic and frightening than terrorism,these problems also demand attention in our national

security policy. Yet the Bush administration’s over-whelming focus on terrorism, at the cost of an estimat-ed $400 billion since 9/11, including the cost of the warin Iraq, has deprived these other critical issues of thediplomatic attention and resources they need.

Perhaps our worst failing in facing the broad problemsof conflict and political violence abroad is neglect of whatretired Ambassador Ronald Spiers describes elsewhere inthis issue (see p. 43) as the “swamp of poverty and igno-rance which spawns and sustains terrorism.”

Although we are the world’s richest nation, we are deadlast among developed nations in our per-capita contribu-tion to foreign aid, giving less than one-tenth of one per-cent of our GDP.

By making the “war on terrorism” the defining princi-ple of U.S. policy, the Bush administration has neglectedother foreign policy needs and tended to obscure the pos-itive goals that have sustained and distinguished Americanleadership in the past.

This must change. ■

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FIGHTING TERRORISM INEAST AFRICA AND THE HORN

SIX YEARS AFTER THE BOMBINGS OF OUR EMBASSIES IN NAIROBI

AND DAR ES SALAAM, U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM EFFORTS IN

THE REGION DO NOT YET MEASURE UP TO THE THREAT.

BY DAVID H. SHINN

efore Sept. 11, 2001, most Americans paid little attention to terrorism, particularly inthe Third World. Since then, though the Middle East and Central Asia have figured most prominently in the waron terrorism, Africa is increasingly coming into focus as an important battleground.

This is especially true of East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania) and the Horn of Africa (Sudan, Ethiopia,Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia), where the practice of targeting Americans for political violence has deep roots. TheBlack September organization assassinated the American ambassador to Sudan, Cleo A. Noel Jr., and his deputy

B

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chief of mission, George CurtisMoore, in 1973. And following theU.S. air attack against Libya in1986, Libyan terrorists retaliatedby severely wounding an Americanembassy communications techni-cian, William Caldwell, also inKhartoum. There have been anumber of other terrorist attacksdating back more than two decadesagainst Western and Israeli inter-ests in this dangerous region.

But it took the coordinatedbombings by al-Qaida in 1998 ofthe American embassies in Nairobiand Dar es Salaam to make clear the full scope of theorganization’s menace. While the attacks killed farmore Kenyans and Tanzanians than Americans, 12Americans perished in Nairobi and many were injuredin both capitals. (American and Ugandan authoritiesfoiled another attack planned against the U.S. embassyin Kampala.)

Those bombings were, in many respects, even moreof a seminal event than the 9/11 attacks for theAmerican war on terrorism in East Africa and theHorn. The State Department responded by buildingnew fortified embassies in both capitals, and inKampala, with considerably more setback from thestreet. Other embassies in the region enhanced theirphysical security, as well.

There were also policy ramifications. Prior to theembassy bombings, the U.S. had a cool relationshipwith Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi as a result ofconcerns over corruption and the pace of democratiza-tion. When senior American officials visited Africa,

they rarely went to Kenya. In sym-pathy for Kenyans killed in thebombing and in appreciation forKenya’s close counterterrorismcooperation with the U.S. follow-ing the attack, significant numbersof senior American officials trav-eled to Nairobi. President Moieven received a long-desired invi-tation to the White House beforehe stepped down at the end of2002. Tanzania also experiencedan increase in high-level Americanattention.

A Focal Point of Terrorism Unfortunately, however, U.S. counterterrorism poli-

cy perspectives and programs in the region do not yetmeasure up to the threat Islamic fundamentalism andal-Qaida activity jointly pose. There are several reasonsfor this. Most of the countries have experienced severeinternal conflict, which is frequently supported byneighbors, either directly or via dissident groups —which tends to lead to tit-for-tat support of an opposi-tion group in the offending state. Examples of thisphenomenon range from the long-standing civil war inSudan and the collapse of any central authority inSomalia to Tanzanian support for the overthrow of theIdi Amin regime in Uganda, Somalia’s invasion ofEthiopia in the late 1970s, Eritrea’s war of indepen-dence, and the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict.

Such instability prevents most governments in theregion from exercising full control over their territory,providing terrorists easy access to weapons. Somaliaremains a vacuum and is prey to any terrorist withmoney and a plan. Although Sudan appears to be near-ing the end of a civil war that dates back to 1983, it nowfaces a new and worsening conflict in the Darfurregion, along the border with Chad. Uganda has beenunable to eliminate the Lord’s Resistance Army in thenorthern part of the country. The Somali-inhabitedOgaden in southeastern Ethiopia experiences regularsecurity incidents. And the Eritrean Islamic JihadMovement seems to have refocused attention againstEritrea, operating out of Sudan.

Although the groups behind these attacks are notnormally considered international terrorists, they

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The components of the

counterterrorism

program for East Africa

and the Horn are good

as far as they go.

But the focus is not

long-term enough.

Ambassador David Shinn was a Foreign Service officerfrom 1964 to 2000, serving as ambassador to BurkinaFaso and Ethiopia, among many other postings. Hewas also State Department coordinator for Somaliaduring the American intervention there. Now anadjunct professor at The George WashingtonUniversity (from which he earned a Ph.D. in politicalscience in 1980), Amb. Shinn’s research interestsinclude Africa (particularly East Africa and the Horn),terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, conflict situationsand HIV/AIDS.

engage in terrorist tactics and some, such as the EIJM,are believed to have links with al-Qaida. Recentactions by these groups illustrate conclusively that thesecurity and intelligence services in all of the countriesare underfunded and ill-equipped to counter terroristtactics by local organizations or international terrorists.

Geography also plays an important role. Most ofthese states are located near, and have longstanding tiesto, the Arabian Peninsula, the source of many of today’sIslamic militants. It is easy to move between thePersian Gulf states and this region by air and sea. Thegovernments are virtually incapable of monitoring thelengthy coastline from Eritrea to Tanzania. The landborders between all of the states are unusually porous,as well.

Further, the region sits on a religious fault line ofChristianity, Islam and traditional African beliefs. Alleight of the countries are either predominantly Muslimor have important Muslim minorities. Sudan, Djiboutiand Somalia, including self-declared independentSomaliland, are heavily Muslim. Ethiopia and Eritreaare about half Islamic. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzaniacontain significant Muslim minorities, some of whosemembers have become radicalized in recent years. Itis true that Sufism, which tends to resist the ideas ofIslamic fundamentalists, remains strong throughoutthe region. This traditionally moderate form of Islamhas not always been sufficient, however, to overcomethe appeal of fundamentalism, especially when it isbacked with funds from Saudi Arabia and the GulfStates. As a result, nearly all of the international ter-rorism in the region, as opposed to local groups thatuse terrorist tactics, has ties to extremist Islamic ele-ments.

Poverty, Social Injustice and Political Alienation

Finally, the region’s endemic corruption is anotherfactor that attracts terrorists, allowing them to buy offimmigration and local security officials. TransparencyInternational surveyed 133 countries in 2003 as part of itscorruption perceptions index. Five of the eight countrieslocated in the region ranked poorly. Ethiopia andTanzania received the best ranking of the five, tied withseveral other countries at the 92nd position. Sudan tiedwith a number of countries for position 106, whileUganda tied with others for 113. Kenya, although its

standing improved from past years, tied with Indonesia at122. (Transparency International did not rank Eritrea,Djibouti or Somalia.)

The fact that East Africa and the Horn are home tosome of the poorest countries in the world, with highlevels of social injustice and political alienation, is fre-quently cited as a reason why the region has become abreeding ground for terrorism. But not everyoneagrees that poverty is closely linked to international ter-rorism. State Department Coordinator for Counter-terrorism Cofer Black, during a May digital videocon-ference with journalists and government officials inDar es Salaam and Addis Ababa, downplayed the linkbetween terrorism and poverty. He cited the Saudiswho took part in the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., pointingout that they tended to come from middle-class fami-lies and had access to a university education. He con-cluded that they “turned into terrorists because theyfell under the influence of the wrong people andbecame seriously misguided.”

Yet while this may be true, it misses the point, atleast as far as East Africa and the Horn are concerned.The environment created by poverty, social injusticeand political alienation enhances the ability of religiousextremists to export their philosophy and of terroriststo find local support for their nefarious acts. Blackwent on to say that instead of blaming economic condi-tions, “we need to encourage moderation” and followguidelines “our mothers and fathers taught us.” Goodluck!

To be sure, poverty may not be a direct cause of ter-rorism. To dismiss its role, however, is misguided.Together with abysmally low wages for immigrationand security personnel, poverty significantly increasesthe prospect of widespread corruption that, in turn,creates a climate amenable to terrorism. Even thePresident’s National Security Strategy issued inSeptember 2002 commented that although povertydoes not make poor people into terrorists, “poverty,weak institutions and corruption can make weak statesvulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels with-in their borders.” In a recent issue of Foreign AffairsSenator Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., argued that terrorismfinds sanctuary in “the misery of endemic poverty anddespair.” He added that “although poverty and despairdo not ‘cause’ terrorism, they provide a fertile environ-ment for it to prosper.” In East Africa and the Horn,

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and probably much of the rest of the world, it is time toaccept the important role that poverty plays and put inplace long-term measures to deal with it.

Financing TerrorismCharities sponsored by Saudi Arabia and several

other Persian Gulf states have probably financed mostof the international terrorist activity in the region, withfunds coming both from private individuals and gov-ernments. In the case of Saudi Arabia, and to a lesserextent Qatar, the charities are closely linked to effortsto promote the fundamentalist Sunni Islamic creedknown popularly as Wahhabism. Toward that end, in1962 Saudi Arabia created the state-financed MuslimWorld League to underwrite mosques, schools,libraries, hospitals and clinics around the world. SaudiArabia’s grand mufti, its highest religious authority,serves as the organization’s president.

The League encompasses a wide range of entities,including the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation and the

International Islamic Relief Organization. These chari-ties have been active in East Africa and the Horn foryears, building mosques and implementing useful socialprograms. But some of their branches have also funneledmoney to al-Qaida and associated terrorist organizations,and the U.S. has accused the former director of al-Haramain in Tanzania of planning the 1998 attacks on theembassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.

After the 9/11 attacks, Washington stepped up pres-sure on Saudi Arabia to control these charities. In2002, the two countries jointly designated the Somalibranch of al-Haramain as an organization that had sup-ported terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and theSomali-based al-Ittihad al-Islamiya. Early in 2004 bothcountries notified the U.N. Sanctions Committee thatthe branches of al-Haramain in Kenya and Tanzaniaprovide financial, material and logistical support to al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations. They askedKenya and Tanzania to seize the assets of both branch-es. At the request of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the

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government of Tanzania recentlydeported the two top al-Haramainofficials and closed the office. Inmid-2004 Saudi Arabia and theU.S. designated the al-Haramainbranch in Ethiopia as a financierof terrorism. At the same time,under pressure from the U.S.,Saudi Arabia outlined plans to dis-mantle its network of internationalcharities and place their assetsunder a new Saudi NationalCommission for Relief andCharity. It remains to be seen ifthis crackdown by Saudi Arabia will put an end to thediversion of charitable donations to terrorists.

A Major Change in Policy toward SudanU.S. relations with Sudan began a downward spiral

after an Islamic government entrenched itself in power inthe early 1990s and stepped up the war against southern-ers. Sudan opened the door slightly in 1996, however,when it responded positively to a U.S. request to expelOsama bin Laden, who had lived in Khartoum since1991. This offered the possibility for improved relations,but there was no follow-through by the Clinton adminis-tration. The nadir in the relationship then occurred in1998 following the bombing of the embassies in Nairobiand Dar es Salaam, when the U.S. launched cruise mis-siles against a pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum. TheU.S. linked the factory to the production of chemicalweapons based on a soil sample containing a precursorfor the production of weapons found outside the factory.The U.S. also alleged there were ties between the facto-ry owner and al-Qaida. Sudan strongly denied any linkand a number of experts who studied the case have raisedserious questions about the rationale for the attack. TheClinton administration, which had been under pressurefrom domestic groups to take a hard line toward Sudan,nevertheless made overtures in 2000 to Khartoum con-cerning possible cooperation on counterterrorism.Sudan responded positively; by the time the Bush admin-istration took power, the scene was set for improved ties.

Following the 9/11 attacks, Khartoum quickly con-cluded it was in its interest to increase cooperation withthe U.S. on counterterrorism. This provided the Bushadministration an opportunity to advance the war on ter-

rorism and make progress on end-ing the long-standing civil war inSudan. President Bush named for-mer Missouri Senator JohnDanforth as his special envoy forSudan in an effort to end the civilwar. This appointment and policynot only neutralized the Americandomestic constituency that wantedstrong action against Sudan, butturned Sudan into an important allyin the war against terrorism.

By all accounts, the regime’scooperation on counterterrorism

has been excellent. In addition, it and the Sudan People’sLiberation Movement, under pressure from the U.S. andothers, have also made enormous progress in ending thecivil war. Consequently, Secretary Powell announced inMay that the U.S. had removed Sudan from a blacklist ofcountries deemed not to be cooperating fully on coun-terterrorism. There is still in place a maze of Americansanctions, including the listing of Sudan as a “state spon-sor” of terrorism, but this was the first step in unravelingU.S. sanctions against Sudan. The policy change proba-bly would not have occurred except for the traumaticevents of 9/11. However, a new crisis in the Darfurregion in western Sudan threatens to set back significant-ly the improvement in relations.

Quandary over SomaliaAmerican and allied forces intervened massively in

Somalia late in 1992 to end a famine. They stopped thefamine, and all U.S. troops left Somalia by March 1994following the “Blackhawk Down” episode in Mogadishu.The U.S. and international community effectively aban-doned the failed state, though 9/11 and the war againstthe Taliban in Afghanistan briefly brought Somalia backinto prominence in 2002, due to fears that the vacuumthere would provide a safe haven for al-Qaida supportersbeing chased from Afghanistan. Some of the ideas beingdiscussed in the government for dealing with the countrywere wildly off the mark, however — no surprise giventhe loss of expertise that occurred during the post-1994interregnum. Fortunately, calmer minds prevailed andWashington did not do anything really stupid in Somalia.

That said, the country is still a failed state where ter-rorist elements can move with impunity. Somalia has

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Charities sponsored by

Saudi Arabia and other

Persian Gulf states have

probably financed most of

the international terrorist

activity in the region.

been home to al-Ittihad al-Islamiya, a fundamentalistorganization that has carried out terrorist attacksagainst Ethiopia and is believed to have connectionswith al-Qaida. The U.S. added al-Ittihad in 2001 to itsComprehensive List of Terrorists and Groups. It alsoincluded the Somali money transfer organization, al-Barakat, on the list. There is evidence that an al-Qaidacell based in Mogadishu took part in the 2002 attack onan Israeli-owned hotel outside Mombasa and a simul-taneous but unsuccessful attempt to shoot down anIsraeli charter aircraft. At the same time, Somalis gen-erally are not predisposed toward Islamic fundamental-ism or entreaties by international terrorists. The situa-tion in Somalia is worrisome and merits close monitor-ing, but it is not even close to the threat once posed byTaliban-governed Afghanistan. There appears, howev-er, to be no agreed-upon U.S. policy for dealing withSomalia. It is long past time to adopt one.

A Base in DjiboutiThe U.S. embassy in Djibouti has traditionally been

small and sleepy. But that changed after 9/11. Thecountry now hosts the only U.S. military base in Africaand welcomes coalition forces from France, Germany,Spain and Italy. Some 1,800 American military andcivilian personnel currently occupy a former FrenchForeign Legion facility at Camp Lemonier outside thecapital city. Established in October 2002 and known asthe Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, it isresponsible for fighting terrorism in Djibouti, Ethiopia,Eritrea, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen, and in thecoastal waters of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and theIndian Ocean. CJTF-HOA’s stated mission is to detect,disrupt and defeat transnational terrorist groups, tocounter the re-emergence of transnational terrorismand to enhance long-term stability in the region. Theestablishment of the base represents a dramatic changefor U.S. security policy in Africa since the closure manyyears ago of the Wheelus Air Force Base in Libya andKagnew Communications Station in Ethiopia.

CJTF-HOA has devoted most of its effort so far totraining with allied forces and the armies of Djibouti,Ethiopia and Kenya. It has conducted an impressivenumber of civic action programs that refurbish schoolsand clinics and provide medical services in the samethree countries. CJTF-HOA established a temporarytraining facility for the Ethiopian military outside Dire

Dawa in the southeastern part of the country. Traininghas begun for the first of three Ethiopian anti-terrorismbattalions. It is less clear how much terrorist interdic-tion CJTF-HOA has accomplished. Without providingdetails, the departing commander stated in May thatthey have captured “dozens of terrorists” and averted atleast five terrorist attacks.

Although a good effort, the operation is not free ofproblems. Relations with Sudan, especially after dis-agreements over the new conflict in Darfur, have notimproved sufficiently to engage in military cooperation.Somalia remains in too much disarray to think in terms ofprojects in country except for the more peaceful and self-declared independent Republic of Somaliland. The U.S.has so far been unwilling to undertake activities inSomaliland that might suggest it recognizes the country.Eritrea claims to seek cooperation with the U.S. on coun-terterrorism, but there have been problems translatingthis intention into action. There are also some opera-tional issues. Turnover of CJTF-HOA personnel is toofrequent, and area and indigenous language expertise arein short supply. American ambassadors in the region,most of whom have only dealt with a military attaché ontheir own staff, are still learning how to interact with anindependent military commander.

The East Africa Counterterrorism InitiativeAfter 9/11 the State Department’s Office of

Counterterrorism identified East Africa and the Horn,especially Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenyaand Tanzania, to be at particular risk. In response, in2003 the U.S. created a $100 million East AfricaCounterterrorism Initiative. This encompasses mili-tary training for border and coastal security, programsto strengthen control of the movement of people andgoods across borders, aviation security, assistance forregional programs to curb terrorist financing, policetraining and an education program to counter extrem-ist influence. There are separate programs to combatmoney laundering.

The major beneficiary so far of this funding has beenKenya. The U.S. is working with Kenyan officials todevelop a comprehensive anti-money laundering/coun-terterrorist financing regime. The State Department’sTerrorist Interdiction Program has established a com-puter system that is now operational at select airportsin Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia, and is scheduled to go

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online this year in Djibouti andUganda. The TIP system providesnations with a state-of-the-art com-puter network that enables immi-gration and border control officialsto identify suspects attempting toenter or leave the country. TheU.S. is also funding a police devel-opment program in Tanzania,Uganda and Ethiopia, developing atraining and equipment programfor Kenya’s law enforcement agen-cies, and setting up forensic labora-tories in Tanzania and Uganda.

As welcome as this new assistance is, it has notstemmed complaints from countries in the region.Uganda claims it is being shortchanged because it hasdealt successfully with international terrorist threats on itsown. In addition, Kampala’s priority is dealing with localterrorist groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army andAllied Democratic Front, while Washington is focused oninternational terrorists like al-Qaida. Eritrea offered theU.S. access to its port facilities and, together withEthiopia, joined the “coalition of the willing” against Iraq.But it now finds itself frozen out of counterterrorist assis-tance because of U.S. concerns over the continued deten-tion of two Eritreans employed by the American embassyand other human rights issues. Both Eritrean andEthiopian cooperation on counterterrorism are alsolinked to the two countries’ desire to gain favor with theU.S. on their festering border demarcation disagreement.

Looking AheadThe resources and attention devoted to counterterror-

ism in East Africa and the Horn are impressive but inad-equate. At a House subcommittee hearing on terrorismin April, Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., emphasized thatthe U.S. needs to devote more resources for counterter-rorism in Africa. He is correct. President Bush’s FY 2005international affairs budget request has as its top prioritythe winning of the war on terrorism. Exclusive of Iraqand Afghanistan, it requests $5.7 billion for assistance tocountries around the world that have joined the war onterrorism and another $3.5 billion that indirectly supportsthe war by strengthening the U.S. ability to respond toemergencies and conflict situations. The $100 millionEast Africa Counterterrorism Initiative and several other

modest programs just don’t mea-sure up to the threat.

The components of the coun-terterrorism program for EastAfrica and the Horn are good as faras they go. But the focus is primar-ily short- and medium-term: catch-ing bad guys, providing trainingand, to a limited extent, building upcounterterrorism infrastructure.What is missing is a major, new,long-term program to reducepoverty and social alienation.

U.S. foreign assistance worldwide in constant dollarshas declined about 44 percent since 1985 and another18 percent since the collapse of the Soviet Union in1991. Until the U.S. and the international communitygenerally are prepared to put far more resources intoimproving the environment that encourages terrorism— namely poverty — it is difficult to see lastingprogress against this enemy. If only the U.S. had hadthe foresight years ago to devote to counterterrorismand economic development the equivalent cost of over-throwing the Taliban and rebuilding a destroyedAfghanistan!

Assuming adequate financial assistance from outside,countries in the region must bear the primary responsi-bility for curbing terrorism. They know the different cul-tures, speak the local languages and control the securityforces. Foreigners will never be able to function as effec-tively in the native environment as local nationals.Accordingly, action on the recent recommendation bythe Africa Policy Advisory Panel (organized by theCenter for Strategic and International Studies) for anannual $200-million Muslim outreach initiative in Africais long overdue.

Finally, the U.S. has allowed its language and areaexpertise among foreign affairs personnel to degrade todangerous levels. The time has come to rebuild thisexpertise. In the case of East Africa and the Horn, thereshould be adequate numbers of Arabic, Somali, Swahiliand Amharic speakers from State, the CIA, USAID andthe military assigned to appropriate countries. Only thenwill the U.S. be able to engage in reliable information-gathering and increase the public affairs outreach tocommunities where Islamic fundamentalism and sympa-thy for terrorists are taking hold. ■

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It took the coordinated

bombings in 1998 of

Embassy Nairobi and

Embassy Dar es Salaam to

make clear the full scope

of al-Qaida’s menace.



THE ANATOMYOF TERRORISM

y former boss, Secretary of State George Shultz, was a pretty unhappy camperwhenever anyone repeated the cliché that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” but the thoughtcarries a lot of truth. I once asked him why the French underground, which resorted to assassinations and bomb-ings during World War II, and which was looked on by the Nazis and the Vichy regime as “terrorists” — and by usas freedom fighters — didn’t illustrate the validity of that characterization. He simply insisted that they were “notterrorists.”

MTERRORISM IS AN INSTRUMENT OR TACTIC — A WEAPON,NOT AN ENEMY. THUS, A “WAR” ON TERRORISM MAKES

NO MORE SENSE THAN A “WAR” ON WAR.

BY RONALD SPIERS

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As that anecdote illustrates, for many people a terrorist issomeone whose objectives youdon’t agree with — it is not a mat-ter of the instruments they use to advance those objectives. Thus Gavrillo Princip, theSerbian student whose shot atAustria-Hungarian Crown PrinceFerdinand in Sarajevo sparkedWorld War I, was a hero toSerbians, but a “terrorist” to theAustrians. We have many con-temporary examples, as well: theTamil Tigers who use violenceagainst the Singhalese in Sri Lanka; the Palestinianswho want relief from Israeli occupation; the Kashmiriswho want self-determination; the Chechens who wantindependence from Russia; the Basques; and the IRA.Which are they, terrorists or freedom fighters — orboth?

To answer that thorny question, we first have to lookat other questions. What do we mean by “terrorism”?Is it a new phenomenon, or does it have a history weneed to understand? What motivates it? What instru-ments are best suited to combat it? And what do wemake of the president’s “war on terrorism”? Is itwinnable, and if so, how do we measure defeat or vic-tory? Or is terrorism (as some contend) something thatcannot be defeated, but only managed? Finally, is ter-rorism ever justified — or is all terrorism the same:evil? If there can be “just” wars, are there not cases inwhich it could be “justified” to resort to weapons of ter-ror if all non-violent paths are closed to those who seekchange in an unjust situation?

The definition of terrorism I find most useful

reflects Clausewitz’ famousdescription of war as a methodof carrying on politics by othermeans: terrorism is the use ofviolence by individuals, groupsor nations to intimidate or instillfear for the purpose of advanc-ing a political objective. Andlike formal warfare, terrorismfrequently kills innocent by-standers, either deliberately orinadvertently (think of Naga-saki, Dresden, Lidice).

Terrorism, then, is an instru-ment, a tactic, a technique. It

is a weapon, not an enemy. Thus, in my judgment a“war” on terrorism makes no more sense than a “war”on war. I believe it was unfortunate that PresidentBush adopted this mantra, however politically usefulthe idea that we are “at war” may be for other purpos-es, such as rallying political support by appealing topatriotic feelings or curtailing inconvenient liberties.The president has conflated all forms of terrorism any-where, whatever their roots, into one undifferentiatedball of wax: do we really want to declare that violentlyresisting an alien occupation, overthrowing a tyrant,etc. makes you an “enemy” of the United States? Howun-Jeffersonian!

Or, to put it another way, the “war on terrorism” isbest thought of as a metaphor, like the “wars” on crimeor drugs or poverty. Taking the concept literally has ledto a lot of confusion and policy errors, chief amongthem the assumption that military action is the primarytool with which to respond to terrorism.

Compounding the confusion (deliberately or not),the administration persists in representing the conflictin Iraq as a part of the “war on terrorism.” As a resultof such overheated rhetoric, millions of Americanscontinue to believe — despite the president’s belatedadmission to the contrary — that Saddam Hussein hada role in the 9/11 attacks, and that link (along with theclaim we were under imminent threat from hisweapons of mass destruction) justified our invasion.But in reality, Operation Iraqi Freedom’s relationshipto terrorism has been, predictably, to increase theappeal of Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida organiza-tion. Indeed, support for al-Qaida has metastasized to

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Ambassador Ronald Spiers was a Foreign Service offi-cer from 1955 to 1989, serving as minister in London,ambassador to the Bahamas, Turkey and Pakistan,assistant secretary for political-military affairs and forintelligence and research, and under secretary for man-agement. Following retirement from the Service, heserved as U.N. under secretary-general for politicalaffairs from 1989 to 1992. He writes and lectures onforeign affairs and is a fellow of the American Academyof Diplomacy.

Al-Qaida, estimated to

have a presence of some

kind in over 60 countries,

is the chief threat we need

to concentrate on and

choose the appropriate

weapons to combat.

such an extent that theInternational Institute forStrategic Studies now estimatesthat the group’s supportersnumber over 18,000 and thatover 100,000 potential fightershave undergone training inAfghanistan and elsewhere.

A “Reverse Crusader”Accordingly, al-Qaida — esti-

mated to have a presence ofsome kind in over 60 countries — is the chief threatwe need to concentrate on and choose the appropriateweapons to combat. There simply is no alternative totreating it as a continuing and fundamental threat toour security, as the network has demonstrated by asuccession of costly blows, culminating in the 9/11attacks.

Al-Qaida is not a new phenomenon. At least fourprevious, religiously-inspired movements in historyhave justified terrorism in God’s name — and all havegiven synonyms for terror to our language: the Zealots,Jews who fought pagan Rome from A.D. 66-70; theCrusaders, who created a swath of destruction inEurope and the Middle East during the 12th century;the Assassins, an Islamic sect that wreaked havoc fromthe 12th to the 14th centuries; and the Thugs, Hindusects that terrorized South Asia throughout the 18thcentury.

Of those precursors, by far the strongest parallelwith al-Qaida comes from the Crusaders, who respond-ed to Pope Urban II’s 1095 call for a “holy war” to expelthe “Infidels” from the “Holy Land.” The pope pro-claimed that it was a Christian obligation to respondmilitantly to Islam’s influence, which was rapidlyspreading following the Turkish victory in the Battle ofManzikert (1071). He even offered absolution from sinand special merit in heaven to those answering the call,and the Crusaders went forward under the banner of“Deus Volt” (God wills it).

The First Crusade reached Jerusalem in 1099 (theonly one of the nine Crusades to do so), and led to abloody massacre in which thousands of inhabitants wereindiscriminately killed — Christian, Jew and Muslimalike. Crusader horses were said to be up to their fet-locks in blood and body parts. The Latin Kingdom of

Jerusalem was established underEuropean rule and lasted until1187, when a Kurdish general,Saladin, expelled Crusadersfrom the city. The Crusaderseventually lost their religiousfocus, and in 1204 they ran-sacked Constantinople, then aChristian city.

Osama bin Laden seems tome to be a kind of “reverseCrusader,” answering a call of

God to expel Western influence from Muslim lands(in 1998 he issued a fatwa that, in effect, declared waron the United States). Indeed, there is a familyresemblance among all religious fundamentalists.Whether Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Hindu, theyhave a lot in common: adherence to scriptural literal-ism, rejection of pluralism (if we “know” the “truth,”dissent serves no function and shouldn’t be tolerated),an apocalyptic embrace of violence, a taste for con-spiracy theories and the often vicious repression ofwomen. Its members often regard their own lives asexpendable and believe “martyrdom” is even to bewelcomed.

President Bush insists that the main motivation ofal-Qaida and its followers is their hatred of freedom,pure and simple. It would be hard to come up with ashallower assessment — though the administration’sblithe assumption that any government that does notunquestioningly and wholeheartedly support theUnited States in the war on terrorism is “against us”comes a close second.

Still, the administration is correct that al-Qaida’saims, insofar as we can understand them (they havemorphed over time), are not ones that we can accom-modate. Bin Laden’s first declared objective was toforce U.S. troops out of Saudi Arabia (their “HolyLand”). He expressed outrage that “infidel” forceswere “occupying” Muslim lands and held that the deca-dent Western culture they brought with them was con-taminating Islam. U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia werewithdrawn as no longer necessary during the currentIraq war, but that has not diminished al-Qaida’s hostili-ty; bin Laden now cites the fact that the same “infidel”troops attacked Iraq, another Muslim nation, andremain there.

F O C U S


Osama bin Laden is a kind

of “reverse Crusader,”

answering a call of God to

expel Western influence

from Muslim lands.

The second issue al-Qaidahas been explicit about is theU.S. role in the Palestinianproblem. Most Muslims andmuch of the rest of the worldshare this objection to anAmerican policy seen as one-sid-edly favoring Israel.

At the root of bin Laden’simplacable hostility, however, isprobably his view of the natureof Western culture. He de-nounces it as secular, impure,materialistic, sex- and money-obsessed and implaca-bly bent on undermining Islam. To him, we representa new “Jahaliyya” (a time of ignorance before thetruth was revealed by God), like the previous onesthat Abraham, Jesus and, finally, Mohammed weredispatched by God to overcome. This interpretationallows bin Laden to cast himself as a modern-day suc-cessor to those prophetic figures, and he is so viewedby many followers.

For these and other reasons beyond the scope ofthis essay, I believe that the only way to cope with theal-Qaida threat is to destroy its supporting network,and to avoid policies that gratuitously increase its fol-lowing.

The Larger ContextTo craft policies to accomplish those ends, however,

we need to take into account the fact that most of theterrorist problems we face in the Middle East wereexacerbated by our responses to two events that tookplace in 1979. The first was the Iranian revolution andthe second, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Bothserved to rekindle a dormant radical movement inIslam.

The Iranian revolution was largely a reaction to thepolicies of Shah Pahlevi’s secular regime that had hadthe open-ended support of Washington. In fact, theU.S. had intervened in 1953 to restore the shah topower after an election had installed a government thatthreatened to nationalize the oil industry. Washingtonhad backed the shah’s “White Revolution” unreserved-ly, selling him whatever weapons he wanted and over-loading Iran with American military personnel whobrought with them a culture that offended many puri-

tanical Shiite sensibilities. (Thefirst shot in the revolution wasthe bombing of a movie houseshowing American films that reli-gious authorities consideredmorally offensive.) Then, whenIraq attacked Iran in 1980, theU.S. supported Saddam Husseinbecause we regarded Tehran,with its strongly anti-Westernideology, as the principal threat.

In Afghanistan, meanwhile,our response to the Soviet inva-

sion was to work with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in sup-porting the mujahideen by financing and supplyingweapons for their resistance. One of the beneficiariesof our support was none other than Osama bin Laden.When the Soviets ultimately withdrew from the coun-try in 1989 our attention wandered, leaving the chaosof “warlordism” that finally brought the Taliban topower to impose a kind of stability of the graveyard.Our policies toward Pakistan soured and exacerbatedthe problem.

Reacting to these developments, the U.S. graduallybuilt up a larger military presence in the Middle East.This led to increasing culture clashes, particularly inSaudi Arabia and Egypt, where Wahhabism is particu-larly strong. Although only a minority of Arab Muslimspractice this austere, fundamentalist strain of Islam, weneed to understand it to appreciate the nature of ourclash with al-Qaida.

Wahhabism took root among the tribes of theArabian Peninsula in the 1700s in reaction to the grow-ing secularization and decadence of the OttomanSultanate. It is, like its Jewish and Christian funda-mentalist counterparts, a kind of Puritanism, character-ized by the same messianic outlook, the same self-cer-tain dogmatism, the same paranoia of the “true believ-er” — and the same tendency to idealize the rapidspread of Islamic power and influence in the centuryafter Mohammed’s death in 632.

During the Golden Era of Islamic civilization, rough-ly corresponding to the Middle Ages in Europe,Baghdad and Cordova were centers of world learningand culture, unequaled in the West. Cairo, Tehran andIstanbul were world-class cities compared to London orParis. Arab scholars (e.g., the physician/philosophers

F O C U S


In my view,

our focus should

have remained

on Afghanistan,

a difficult enough case

on its own.

F O C U S


Averroes and Avicenna) transmitted to the West thefruits of Arabic mathematics and science (algebra andthe concept of “zero” are Arab inventions and the Westabandoned the cumbersome Roman numerical systemfor the Arabic) and a rich body of classical Greek writ-ings that they had translated into Arabic and thus pre-served.

But from that zenith of Muslim dominance, Islamsuffered a steady succession of attacks and reversals,beginning with the Crusades. Baghdad was destroyedby Hulagu Khan (Genghis’ grandson) in 1258; theCordova Sultanate fell in 1492; the Muslim advance inthe Mediterranean was stopped at Lepanto in 1571 andin Europe at Vienna in 1683; the British put an end tothe Mogul Empire in 1858; and the Ottoman Empirecollapsed at the end of World War I.

Then came a new era of Western (largely Frenchand British) Christian imperialism beginning duringWorld War I that produced further Arab humiliationslike the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 and the

Balfour Declaration of 1917; the United Nations-spon-sored partition plan and the establishment of Israel inMuslim-majority territory in 1947-48; and the ColdWar-era increase in Western support of authoritarianand corrupt Arab regimes for the purpose of securingoil supplies, necessitating an expanding military andpolitical presence in the area for the U.S. And fairly ornot, it is that prominence that renders us, the predom-inant symbol of the West, such an effective scapegoatfor bin Laden and his supporters.

The Way AheadIn some respects, we have done fairly well in deal-

ing with al-Qaida since 9/11. Working with other gov-ernments, we have destroyed or captured key membersof its leadership, uncovered many of its sleeper cellsaround the world, and disrupted its financing and com-munications networks by careful intelligence andpolice work. We have materially improved our defens-es at home, although many holes remain and may be

beyond our ability to close.These, more than main militaryforce, are the instruments wewill continue to need. As withan international criminal con-spiracy, patience and sustainedeffort in a variety of areas is key.

At the same time, however,too many of our policies towardthe region have had the effect ofstrengthening the recruitingpower of the “true believers” inthe Arab “street”:

Iraq. I am still appalled bythe naïveté of so many in thecurrent administration whoadvocated war as a first step inan American-led “democratization” of the Middle East.As Shakespeare wrote in Henry V, they have “a heavyreckoning to make.”

I don’t think you can spread democracy by force inareas where little or no sense of civic commonwealthand harmony exists. Democracy can only grow organ-ically, from the inside, where the cultural soil is hos-pitable and the societal preconditions exist or can bereadily developed. These include a modicum of liter-acy and education, absence of extremes of wealth andpoverty, a tradition of respect for and protection ofminority rights, acceptance of the rule of law, the bal-ance wheel of a stable middle class, a minimum ofethnic and confessional conflict, etc. The fact that wewent into Iraq in the face of overwhelming interna-tional opposition and on the basis of exaggerated jus-tifications has only amplified the difficulties arrayedbefore us.

Yet in my view we now have no alternative to tryingto fulfill our obligation toward reconstruction andencouraging political reform in Iraq. Although Ibelieve it is a long shot, it is possible that some form ofliberalization in Iraq will eventually take root and itspeople will ultimately be better off. But whether rid-ding Iraq of Saddam Hussein and his sons justified theloss of life and maiming of so many Americans andIraqis, the awesome economic costs, the damage toimportant international relations, the enhancing of theattractive power of al-Qaida and other terrorists, andthe diminishing of the reputation of the United States,

is doubtful at best. If we couldcontain the threat of a power-ful and nuclear-armed SovietUnion for decades, we couldcertainly have done so with aweak and debilitated regime inIraq.

In my view, our focusshould have remained onAfghanistan, a difficult enoughcase on its own, but one whereaction was more justifiable andthe threat unquestionable. Wehave probably sacrificed ourpotential for success there byturning to Iraq, which repre-sented no real security threat

to the United States.Palestine. I am sure nothing would diminish the

threat from Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, andimprove relations with the billion-plus Muslimsaround the world, so much as a resolution of thePalestinian problem. This issue has caused intensehostility throughout the Muslim world against theUnited States, in particular, since 1967. A furtherdamaging setback was President Bush’s recent depar-ture from the traditional U.S. position on Israeli set-tlements (they are illegal under the Fourth GenevaConvention) and the Palestinian “right of return”(most of the world believes they should have a nego-tiated but limited right of return and/or compensationfor the loss of ancestral property since 1948). This hasstrengthened the perception that we are hopelesslybiased toward Israel and cannot be trusted to supportan equitable agreement that protects the interest ofboth parties.

As The Economist recently observed, “In just theway that many Americans see no distinction betweenthe terrorism of al-Qaida and the terrorism of thePalestinian intifada, so many Arabs see no distinctionbetween Israel’s occupation of the West Bank andGaza and America’s occupation of Iraq. Both are por-trayed as similar dramas of Islamic resistance.”

Economic development. We have made manystrategic and tactical mistakes in our counterterrorismpolicy, but the very worst has been our failure to dealwith the swamp of poverty and ignorance that spawns

F O C U S


Nothing would diminish the

threat from Islamic

fundamentalist terrorism, and

improve relations with the

billion-plus Muslims around

the world, so much as a

resolution of the

Palestinian problem.

and sustains terrorism. Shamefully, the United Statesranks last among the countries of the developed, demo-cratic world in the percentage of its resources itdevotes to international development assistance. Weallot less than one-tenth of one percent of our annualGDP to foreign aid, and a lot of this aid goes to onecountry with a per-capita GNP of over $17,000: Israel.If we had spent on development assistance the amountwe have spent, and will spend, on Iraq, we would bemuch more effective in our anti-terrorism efforts.

When the gap between rich and poor widens, as ithas, and half the world’s population lives below thepoverty line, anger and alienation are the inevitable by-product. When 30,000 children die daily of diseasesreadily curable in the West, envy, guilt and desperationare by-products. In the next 15 years a billion peoplewill be added to the world population even as our pop-ulations in the West age and contract. A fertile field for

terrorism is being cultivated, and American is doingprecious little about it.

Attitude adjustment. Finally, we should be awarethat our historic belief in American “exceptionalism” iswidely interpreted abroad as arrogance, even amongour traditional friends and allies. A lifetime of livingand traveling in other countries has led me to the con-clusion that on the whole, Americans are no better andno worse than the rest of mankind. The advantages wehave — and share with other democracies — are theinstitutions and rules that help shelter us from the fall-en angels of our nature. We must not let these institu-tions be weakened in order to combat terrorism.

I believe George Washington offered us the bestforeign policy advice when he said our aim should be to“raise a standard to which the wise and honest mayrepair.” Then our virtues will speak powerfully forthemselves. ■

F O C U S


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KAMIKAZES: PRECURSORS OF 9/11?

t was an ironic reversal of fortune. In October 1944, Tokyo named Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishithe new commander of Japan’s First Air Fleet, based in the Philippines. Onishi was the man responsible for planningthe knockout blow against the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor by Japan’s carrier-borne aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. Butthree years later, after his arrival at Clark Field, he found that his forces were on the ropes in the Philippines.Americans, after raids on several bases, had destroyed nearly two-thirds of the entire Japanese fighter-plane force in thecountry and were gathering a massive armada off the east coast of Leyte.

ITODAY, 60 YEARS LATER, THE STORY OF THE KAMIKAZES

ECHOES EERILY IN THE PHENOMENON OF SUICIDE BOMBING

IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND 9/11 ATTACKS.

BY JOSE ARMILLA

Phi

l Fos

ter

On Oct. 19, 1944, Onishi calleda staff meeting. “As you know, thewar situation is grave,” he stated.“There is only one way of assuringthat our meager strength will beeffective to a maximum degree.That is to organize suicide attackunits.” Onishi picked the namekamikaze (“divine wind” or “divineintervention”) after the legendarytyphoon that prevented theMongol fleet from invading andconquering Japan in the 13th cen-tury. The Kamikaze SpecialAttack Corps was born.

Kamikaze volunteers signed on just in time to terror-ize thousands of American sailors and airmen duringthree major naval operations: the landings at Leyte, theepic Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the invasion of Luzon atLingayen Gulf.

Today, 60 years later, the story of the kamikazes echoeseerily in the phenomenon of suicide bombing in theMiddle East and the extremist terrorism brought hometo Americans on 9/11.

A Secret WeaponOn Oct. 20, 1944, the liberation of the Philippines

began when beachheads in Leyte were established andAmerican troops poured inland, initially with little resis-tance. General MacArthur, accompanied by PhilippineCommonwealth President Sergio Osmena, BrigadierGeneral Carlos P. Romulo and American commanders,waded ashore at Beach Red in Palo. Moments laterMacArthur broadcast a message to the Filipinos that hehad just redeemed his pledge to return to thePhilippines.

Yet unbeknownst to MacArthur, a secret weapon tocounter the invasion was being readied for takeoff thenext day. The weapon: a kamikaze strike using Zerofighter planes, each carrying a 550-pound bomb, with

pilots bent on crash-diving intoU.S. ships.

Early on Oct. 21, 1944, theKamikaze Special Attack Corpsmade its debut from Cebu’s LahugAirport. During the launching,Lieutenant (jg) Yoshiyasu Kunopositioned his Zero fighter aircraftfirst on the runway, followed byEnsign Chisato Kunihara pilotingthe second Zero. At the rear, twomore fighters were ready for take-off as escorts to protect themagainst American interceptors. Atdaybreak in Leyte, the formation

was met, not by fighter interceptors, but by heavy flakthat shot down two of the planes. However, onekamikaze managed to crash-dive into the bridge of theHMAS Australia, damaging the cruiser and killingCaptain Deschaineux and 19 other Australian Navy per-sonnel. The Allies did not know then that what had hitthem was the “inaugural” kamikaze sortie from Cebu.

The massive American flotilla off Leyte’s east coastincluded warships from the U.S. Third Fleet underAdmiral “Bull” Halsey, and the U.S. Seventh Fleet underAdmiral Thomas Kinkaid. They numbered 17 fleet and18 escort aircraft carriers, 12 battleships, 28 cruisers, 150destroyers, and hundreds of amphibious landing craftand transport ships. On board was the vanguard of the175,000 troops of the U.S. Sixth Army.

The aircraft carriers and cruisers were deemed prior-ity targets by the kamikazes. The first order to thekamikazes read: “Do not be in too much of a hurry to die.If you cannot find your target, turn back; next time youmay find a more favorable opportunity. Choose a deathwhich brings about a maximum result.”

MacArthur in Their SightsWhile cruising in the Philippine Sea to shield the

Leyte invasion, “Bull” Halsey’s Third Fleet came underattack from Admiral Soemu Toyoda’s Combined Fleet ofthe Imperial Japanese Navy. Thus began the epic Battleof Leyte Gulf, the largest naval engagement in history, onOct. 23, 1944. The kamikazes flew 55 missions duringthis air and sea combat. Their participation sealed a rep-utation for wrecking havoc on the American fleet.Nevertheless, Toyoda met an ignominious defeat, losing

F O C U S


Jose Armilla is a former Foreign Service officer whoserved in Vietnam, Chile and Hong Kong. He is theauthor of Negotiate with Feng Shui: Enhance YourSkills in Diplomacy, Business & Relationships(Llewellyn Publications, 2001) and is a feng shui con-sultant to CEOs.

Unbeknownst to MacArthur,

a secret weapon was being

readied: a kamikaze strike

using Zero fighter plans,

each carrying a 550-pound

bomb, with pilots bent on

crash-diving into U.S. ships.

26 of the 64 warships in his fleet.Only on the final day of battle,Oct. 25, did the kamikazes scorebig with the sinking of their firstU.S. ship — the escort carrier USSSt. Lo, off Samar.

When the American invasionfleet approached Lingayen Gulfon Jan. 4, 1945, kamikaze opera-tions entered a climactic phase.All-out kamikaze strikes greetedthe U.S. fleet, with the familiarsuicide dive followed by burningships and bodies of sailors in open waters. Vice AdmiralCharles R. Brown wrote: “We watched each plungingkamikaze with the detached horror of one witnessing aterrible spectacle rather than as the intended victim. …And dominating it all was a strange admixture of respectand pity.”

The kamikazes probably also had Gen. MacArthur in

their sights. As his invasion con-voy proceeded from Leyte Gulfto Lingayen Gulf in Luzon, akamikaze took a nosedive intothe heavy cruiser USS Nashville,damaging the invasion flagshipthat had carried MacArthur toLeyte two months earlier.MacArthur would have been onboard this flagship, but luckilychanged his plans at the lastminute.

MacArthur led the invasionon board the replacement flagship, USS Boise, a lightcruiser. A Japanese submarine at Lingayen fired two tor-pedoes at the Boise. From the quarterdeck, MacArthurcalmly watched their approach: both swished by, missingtheir target, thanks to the cruiser’s evasive action.Sometime later, a kamikaze plunged toward the Boise,but the plane was hit by flak and exploded seconds away

F O C U S


“We watched each plunging

kamikaze with the detached

horror of one witnessing a

terrible spectacle rather than

as the intended victim…”

— U.S. Vice Admiral Charles R. Brown

F O C U S


On Nov. 25, 1944, the aircraft carrier USS Essexsailing off the east coast of Luzon came undercoordinated attack by a kamikaze shotai (a three-

plane formation favored by Japanese pilots). The leadplane plunged toward the Essex, aiming for the flightdeck of the carrier where fighters were being gassed upfor takeoff. In Fig. 1, the plane dives perilously close tothe radar towers. In Fig. 2, flak has set the planeaflame, and the kamikaze pilot slides open the canopyand sticks his head out as if to say “Komatta-na! (I’min trouble). My left wing is on fire!” The code numer-al 17 on the tail unmistakably identifies the Zero as thenew A6M7, modified to enable the 550-pound bomb to

be fitted inside the fuselage rather than carried exter-nally.

The demise of two kamikazes is captured in this sin-gle dramatic image (Fig. 3). The first ends in a fiery crashon the port side of the forward flight deck, wrecking its20mm battery, but at the same time sparing the gassed-up planes on the flight line. The second kamikaze crash-es into the sea, missing its target. A patch of white foammarks its watery grave — visible just beyond the bow ofan escort destroyer partly hidden by the Essex. In thisepisode, the aircraft carrier suffered minor damage, andlight casualties. After undergoing repairs at sea, the shipwas able to continue its mission.

Kamikazes in Action

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

from the cruiser’s decks. Wherewas MacArthur at that moment?According to his personal physi-cian, Dr. Roger O. Egeberg, thegeneral was below deck asleep inhis bunk. When asked how hecould sleep through it all,MacArthur replied, “Well, Doc,I’ve seen all the fighting I needto, so I thought I’d take a nap.”

According to the U.S. Navy’sscoreboard at war’s end,kamikazes had sunk 16 ships anddamaged 80 others in thePhilippine theatre. As deadpilots couldn’t radio back to report their missions’ results,Japanese commanders usually remained in the darkabout their effectiveness. Their only feedback was fromthe U.S. Navy, when it announced the loss of or damageto its ships. The best photo reporting of a kamikaze up

close was by U.S. Navy combatphotographers (see p. 54).

‘This Is My Last Day…’On the Japanese side, the

Navy carefully documented thekamikaze pilot’s last day on earth.While waiting for orders, manywould write poems extolling theemperor, in the feudal traditionof good manners and loyalty tothe group and nation. Beforetakeoff, the pilots typicallyexchanged toasts of sake withtheir commander. Ground

crews packed boxes of delicacies with rice and tofu fortheir last in-flight meal. Each kamikaze wore a hachima-ki (thin cotton towels or strips of cloth tied around thehead, worn as a charm against evil spirits in ancient times,and later to express one’s determination) to emulate the

F O C U S


Al-Qaida probably considered

adopting kamikaze battle

tactics as early as the spring

of 1999, when Osama bin

Laden sent Mohammed Atta to

the Philippines for pilot

training at Clark Field.

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samurai warrior’s coolness and courage, and boweddeeply to the emperor before leaving. For the memorialphotograph, the pilots displayed large nametags andposed with their samurai swords.

For some, their final departure from earth was worthwriting home about, as exemplified in 23-year-old IsaoMatsuo’s letter to his parents: “Please congratulate me. Ihave been given a splendid opportunity to die. This is mylast day. The destiny of our homeland hinges on the deci-sive battle in the seas to the south where I shall fall like ablossom from a radiant cherry tree. May death be as sud-den and clean as the shattering of crystal.”

In postwar accounts of its operations in thePhilippines, the Imperial Japanese Navy counted a totalof 447 missions by kamikaze aircraft before Japan sur-rendered on Aug. 10, 1945. Interestingly, the successrate was only 45 percent. In other words, only 201 pilotscrashed into their intended targets.

What happened to the rest? Fifteen percent failedwhen the planes were shot down away from their targetsby anti-aircraft fire and by fighter-interceptors, or theycrashed due to bad weather or mechanical failure. A sig-nificant proportion — 40 percent — returned to base to“die another day” in keeping with bushido, the “way ofthe warrior” in Japan’s feudal past.

On the day of surrender, Vice Admiral Matome Ugakimanaged to crash-dive into a U.S. warship off Okinawafor the last kamikaze mission of the war. For his part, thefounder of the kamikaze, Vice Admiral Onishi, upheldthe bushido tradition to the end. Instead of surrenderingto the Allies, he committed seppuku — ritual suicide byripping open the abdomen with a knife.

An Eerie ConnectionSept. 11, 2001, revived grim memories of the

kamikazes. An unexpected and well-coordinated terror-ist attack unfolded when two hijacked Boeing 767 pas-senger aircraft crashed separately into the North andSouth Towers of the World Trade Center in New YorkCity. Later a third hijacked aircraft, a Boeing 757, hit thePentagon in Washington, D.C. Did the 9/11 terroristsdraw inspiration from the kamikazes? The following factspoint to an eerie connection between the two groups.

Al-Qaida probably considered adopting kamikaze bat-tle tactics as early as the spring of 1999, when Osama binLaden sent Mohammed Atta to the Philippines for pilottraining at Clark Field. There he took flying lessons on

an “ultra-light” plane, possibly a Max-Air Drifter or CGSHawk, at a popular flying school where one couldprogress to solo flights within 10 hours. One can even fly(cautiously) over the familiar “Twin Peaks” of the area —Mt. Arayat in the northeast and Mt. Pinatubo in thesouthwest. Atta’s lessons thus included a dress rehearsalof his suicide crash into the World Trade Center.

In addition to the practical advantages of that facility,Clark Field was also the perfect place for an aspiring sui-cide pilot like Atta to soak up kamikaze lore. Today anearby sugar cane field marks the location of an airfieldoccupied by the Japanese during World War II. A Shintotorii (gateway) leads the visitor toward a historical mark-er established by Japanese war veterans. This localtourist attraction commemorates the exact location of the“Kamikaze First Airfield” and honors the likes of“Founder Admiral Onishi” and “The World’s FirstOfficial Human Bomb.” While staying in a hearby hotel,Atta may well have visited this site, which lists numerousU.S. Navy ships hit by Onishi’s pilots.

There are a number of parallels between the twogroups of suicide bombers. Both the 9/11 terrorists andthe kamikazes were suicide bombers piloting an aircraft.The sneak attack at Pearl Harbor, planned by ViceAdmiral Takijiro Onishi, killed 2,388 Americans; the sui-cide attack on the World Trade Center in Manhattan, thePentagon in Washington, D.C. (and the crash of a fourthhijacked plane in Pennsylvania short of its target), steeredby Mohammed Atta some 60 years later, resulted inabout 2,800 dead. The two men taught Americans thegrim lesson that the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans nolonger protected them from foreign aggression.

FanaticismWhile the kamikaze pilots took off in Zero fighters

laden with 550-pound bombs, the 9/11 terrorists flewwith the intention of using the Boeing aircraft’s full loadof jet fuel as bombs. Both sets of combatants went afterspecific targets identified by their commanders. Thekamikazes homed in on the aircraft carriers and cruisersof the U.S. armada in the Western Pacific, which theybelieved were bent on invading the Japanese homeland.Similarly, the 9/11 terrorists fought a jihad against “Jewsand Crusaders that gather on our lands,” their two swornenemies. And the U.S. is a target-rich environment forjihadis. One in eight New Yorkers is Jewish, mainly inwhite-collar occupations, rendering the World Trade

F O C U S


Center a logical target in the twisted minds of the al-Qaida plotters. The Pentagon was another logical objec-tive, particularly if one thinks of the ubiquitous U.S. mil-itary presence in friendly Arab countries today as the lat-est incarnation of the 12th-century Crusaders.

Finally, the 9/11 terrorists and the kamikazes shareda fanaticism with religious overtones. The al-Qaidaplotters saw themselves as moral crusaders against theinfidels of the West, and claimed paradise as their justreward. In February 1998, al-Qaida formalized thiscrusade under the banner of “The International IslamicFront for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders.”Mohammed Atta’s final sheet of instructions to fellow9/11 hijackers read in part: “Shout ‘God is great!’ Knowthat the gardens of paradise are waiting for you in alltheir beauty, and the women of paradise are waiting,calling out, ‘Come hither, friend of God.’ They havedressed in their most beautiful clothing.”

For their part, the kamikazes hewed to the bushidoversion of Japan’s Shinto religion that states “an honor-

able death in defense of the emperor is a great blessing.”They were, in the words of their commander, “gods with-out earthly desires.” In one fell swoop, the kamikaze’snosedive glorified religion, patriotism, tradition and ter-ror — the key elements in understanding the use of sui-cide terrorism by America’s adversaries today.

Fortunately, contemporary Japan is a far cry fromIslamic societies that spawn religious terrorists. Therich Japanese live in a pacifist, cohesive and high-achieving culture. Today the kamikaze’s bushido spiritis manifested in the salaryman’s proverbial loyalty tothe company. He spends an entire career as a desk-bound corporate warrior, making it far more likely thathe will die from karoshi — death from overwork at theoffice — than seppuku. His loyalty is reinforced bysuch company benefits as borrowing against his retire-ment account to buy a house or to send his children tothe university.

Will a similar peaceful transformation be the fate oftoday’s would-be religious terrorists? Let us hope so. ■

F O C U S


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fter the horror of the 9/11attacks, the big, gray U.S. AirForce C-17 cargo plane landingat Ashgabat International Air-port in November 2001, after along flight from an Air Forcebase in Charleston, S.C., was abeautiful sight. True, the plane

didn’t have the sleek lines of a fighter bristling withweaponry, but it did have a small American flag on its tailand, in black lettering, “United States of America” alongthe side — a reassuring sign America remembered that afew of its own were out here in Turkmenistan, at the edgeof the new war on terrorism.

For the past several years,Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida forces had been treated as“guests” of the Taliban and hadused Afghanistan as a base ofoperations for terrorist activities,including the 9/11 attacks. So inOctober 2001, Afghanistan —one of several “hot spots” bor-dering Turkmenistan — becamethe focus of America’s militaryresponse.

The C-17 was carrying thefirst load of humanitarian aiddestined for the war-ravaged and drought-stricken Afghanpeople: pallets of blankets, tents, medical kits and high-energy biscuits, all lashed down with cargo netting.Though the shipment had taken a couple of months toarrive, USAID, Embassy Ashgabat and a variety of inter-national organizations had begun organizing truck con-voys for the aid shortly after the 9/11 attacks. With U.S.-taxpayer funding, the World Food Program opened a bag-ging operation in the western town of Turkmenabat, fromwhich wheat was trucked into the most severely ravagedAfghan regions.

While some expected that the bulk of the aid wouldflow from Uzbekistan across the “Friendship Bridge” atTermez, Uzbek authorities (citing security reasons) frus-trated attempts by international relief groups to use thisroute. Thus, Turkmenistan became a critical land corri-dor, second only to Pakistan, through which was deliveredover a third of the American aid to Afghanistan during thenext few fateful months.

“Surrounded by Danger” My odyssey in Turkmenistan had begun more than a

year earlier, in August 2000, when my wife Eileen wasassigned as the political/economic officer to the smallembassy in Ashgabat. I took a leave of absence from my

position as an attorney with theState Department to accompanyher, and used my legal skills towork with USAID.

Strategically located inCentral Asia, Turkmenistan isabout the size of California butwith the population of metropol-itan Houston, and sits atop onethe world’s largest reserves ofnatural gas. At the time wepacked our bags to go there, itwas the most isolated and unex-plored of the former Soviet

republics and had only come into existence as an inde-pendent country in 1991. But the United States wasalready actively working to nudge Turkmenistan awayfrom its Soviet past of one-party rule and a centrally-planned economy.

When I arrived, I bought T-shirts from the embassy’snewly established Marine Security Guard detachment.Under a map of the country that showed it surrounded byAfghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, a slogansummed up the complex geopolitical situation:“Surrounded by Danger — We Got ’em Right Where We



HUMANITARIANMERCENARIES

IN THE TENSE DAYS FOLLOWING

9/11, THE SMALL U.S. EMBASSIES

IN CENTRAL ASIA SUDDENLY

FOUND THEMSELVES ON THE

FRONT LINES OF THE WAR ON

TERRORISM. HERE IS ONE

ACCOUNT.

BY JOHN W. KROPF

A

Want ’em.” The Marines were pre-scient.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the chargé d’af-faires was out of the country for theday on official business, leavingEileen as acting chargé. We both hada busy but routine day and werehappy when the workday drew to aclose. It was after 6 o’clock in theevening, Ashgabat time, when wereturned to our home on theAmerican compound.

I came in ahead of Eileen andturned on CNN as usual, just in timeto see the first tower of the WorldTrade Center burning from a crash by a passenger plane.I could hear her in the doorway outside saying to a col-league, “Thank God nothing happened today.”

Within minutes of my calling Eileen to the television, asecond plane flashed across the screen like a black crowand disappeared behind the second tower. Plumes offlaming jet fuel erupted out the other side of the building.

By evening’s end, most of the families on compoundhad gathered in our living room watching CNN. Itseemed unreal to witness the disintegration of the TwinTowers, especially from the other side of the globe.

Turkmenistan state TV took the unprecedented step ofbreaking from its highly predictable pattern of news sto-ries devoted to the country’s president, SaparamuratNiyazov (self-declared as Turkmenbashi, “leader of allTurkmen”), showing the attacks as the lead story anddevoting about 10 minutes of coverage to it. Although itscoverage soon reverted to the president’s achievements,the cotton harvest, and preparations for the country’s 10thanniversary, private citizens left hundreds of bouquets offlowers as offerings of condolence along the front fence of

the embassy. They created a colorfulstripe down the sidewalk.

On the Front LinesOnce our chargé returned the

next day, we began the difficult taskof preparing for the uncertain daysahead. In light of the Taliban’s threatto attack any country that providedassistance to the U.S., we took seri-ously the rumors that Taliban follow-ers were already on the streets ofAshgabat.

As a front-line state in what theU.S. media called the “first war of the

21st century,” we attracted a great deal of newfound atten-tion. Network news anchors displayed giant “war room”maps of Afghanistan and its neighbors, includingTurkmenistan (though FOX News labeled it “Uzbekistan”for the first two days of its coverage). Friends and rela-tives sent us e-mails saying they had never realized exact-ly where we were.

In the weeks following 9/11, the Department of Stateissued a travel warning advising Americans not to travel toTurkmenistan and evacuated all Peace Corps Volunteersback to the States. The embassy began a process of autho-rized departure of employees that included my wife and3-year-old daughter. On Oct. 5, our new ambassador,Laura Kennedy, arrived. A few days later, U.S. Air Forceand Navy planes began bombing targets over the horizonin Afghanistan.

Despite the war next door, most activity in Ashgabatcontinued to focus on Turkmenistan's 10th-anniversarycelebration in October 2001. In preparation for theIndependence Day parade, rectangular blocks of soldierswith AK-47s practiced their formations around the presi-dential square and the Olympic-sized stadium across thestreet from USAID’s office. Construction on a 10th-anniversary monument — a fountain with 10 larger-than-life Ahal-Tekke horses — continued around the clock.

Meanwhile, international media and relief workerswere desperately trying to enter the country so they coulduse it as an alternate route into the Afghan war zone. Butforeign journalists, including the BBC, were routinelydenied entry visas, reflecting Turkmenistan’s historic sus-picion of foreigners. As a practical matter, there was lit-tle the embassy could do to change the minds of Ministry

T-shirts sold by Embassy

Ashgabat’s Marines

showed a map of the

region with the slogan:

“Surrounded by Danger

— We Got ’em Right

Where We Want ’em.”

F O C U S


A Civil Service employee, John Kropf has been anattorney in the State Department’s Office of the LegalAdviser since 1992. From 2000 to 2002 he was part ofa tandem couple with his wife, a Foreign Service offi-cer, in Ashgabat. He has published articles onTurkmenistan in the Baltimore Sun, The WashingtonTimes and Marco Polo Magazine, and is currentlywriting a book on the country. The views contained inthis story are his and not necessarily those of the StateDepartment or the U.S. government.

of Foreign Affairs officials responsible for issuing theAmerican journalists entry visas.

The relief workers fared slightly better, thanks to theembassy’s strenuous efforts (reflecting how high a priorityhumanitarian assistance was). The American employeesof USAID’s partners who had left at the end of

September, were replaced by humanitarian relief workersfunded by USAID. One enterprising group of reliefworkers displaced from Afghanistan closed their fieldoffices in Afghanistan’s Balkh province and flew them-selves to Pakistan; from there, they traveled to the UAE,where they obtained tourist visas to Ashgabat. Theyplanned to work with USAID and the U.N. to deliver

relief supplies to the Afghansuntil the fighting died downand they could return.

All’s Quiet on theAfghan Border

We were keenly aware ofU.N. estimates that as manyas 50,000 Afghan refugeesmight soon be displaced intoTurkmenistan, many of themethnic Turkmen already con-centrated mostly along the

border. They had been nomadic tribes thathad crossed freely back and forth until theSoviet Union closed the border in the1930s. But most of our discussions with theTurkmenistanis about organizing reliefefforts went nowhere, as every governmentoffice was occupied with preparing for thecelebrations.

However, the government did facilitate atrip we made on Halloween 2001 to assessthe situation along the Turkmen-Afghan

border — our first journey outside the capital since 9/11. I knew we would be riding in a Soviet-made helicopter

that had probably last seen service during the Soviet-Afghan war. The morning I was to go to the airport, I wasovertaken with a moment of anxiety. Had the helicopterbeen maintained since the collapse of the Soviet Union?All this was a long way from being a government lawyersafely behind a desk, looking through the Code of FederalRegulations! My anxiety got the better of me, and I wrotean “if-something-should-happen” letter to my daughterCharlotte, now 3 years old. I tried to tell her everythingshe might want to know about me and what advice Ithought she might need — all in the span of five minutes.

Our embassy delegation flew from Ashgabat to a towncalled Mary to board the helicopter. It looked like a giantbulging insect that had been painted in a mixed desert

F O C U S


Above: Trucks line up to receivehumanitarian relief supplies. Right: Humanitariancargo is unloaded for transport to Afghanistan.

Bottom Right:Interior of C-17after offload of foodsupplies.Below: John Kropf(right) with crewmembers of the firstC-17 relief flight toarrive in Ashgabat,from Charleston,S.C.

F O C U S


camouflage. Alongside it were a couple of dozen heli-copters whose rotors had been removed. I looked twiceto make sure the rotors had not been left off ours.

Inside were bench seats with two 100-gallon auxiliaryfuel tanks on either side. I thought to myself, “Yes, please;take all the fuel you need. Don’t want to get caught shortnear the Afghan border.” The windows looked like port-holes that had been removed from a ship.

On takeoff, the intense noise, vibration and smell ofaviation fuel combined to start an immediate headache.“Only a couple more hours of this,” I told myself.

The landscape was a flat, arid waste covered by a dirtywhite sky heavy with heat and sand. Dusty hills rolled onto the horizon. There were no signs of refugees. The landformed a natural barrier that seemed incompatible withhuman beings. Occasionally in the middle of this vastnesswas a shepherd herding a flock of black-haired sheep.

We landed at Kushgy, the southernmost point inTurkmenistan. Our hosts drove us through the smalltown, past a whitewashed Russian Orthodox cross on a

hilltop that had marked the southernmost point in theRussian empire.

At the border checkpoint we looked across two red-and-white wooden gates into a small cluster of buildings.That turned out to be the village of Turgundi inAfghanistan. An irregular ridgeline of tan colored moun-tains loomed in the background. A set of train tracks, abranch line of the Trans-Caspian Railroad that originatedin Mary, ended about a kilometer inside the border.

It was all strangely quiet. There was no activity to beseen on the Afghan side of the border. Over the ridgeline,80 miles down the road, was Herat, where some of theheaviest bombing had taken place. Somewhere overthere, Americans were already fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida. It was a drama that we could only imagine.

We flew along the Afghan border before banking westtoward Mary. The terrain was beautiful in its rugged des-olation. On the Turkmen side were several patches ofwild pistachio trees. Looking into Afghanistan, thesmooth, undulating hills made it look like we were flying

over an ocean of brown swells andtroughs. There were no signs ofrefugees to be seen. If someonewanted to hide, however, never tobe found, the Afghanistan land-scape looked like the place to do it.

Humanitarian MercenariesBy November 2001, NGOs were

finally able to get some workers intoTurkmenistan, thanks in large partto substantial U.S. lobbying.USAID had also sent out a specialdisaster team to help organize ship-ping non-food items, including plas-tic sheeting, tents, wool blanketsand coats. The World Food Pro-gram came equipped with people and money. Finally, thefirst of many humanitarian flights to deliver aid by way ofTurkmenistan began arriving, starting with the C-17 fromCharleston, S.C., I mentioned at the beginning of this arti-cle. During the first week of November alone, six C-17slanded with humanitarian relief, both food and othernecessities.

“Humanitarian mercenary” was how Simon, anAmerican relief worker I’d known for some time,described himself. The combination of his small frameand the bushy red beard he’d only recently grown gavehim the air of an oversized leprechaun — albeit one witha serious demeanor. The day after he fled Afghanistan, Imet him at the embassy. Simon had been living inAfghanistan for the last year and had grown the beard inan attempt to minimize scrutiny by the Taliban, who hadissued edicts that men not shave their facial hair. (Iremember reflecting on the futility of keeping a red beardfrom standing out in a world of black beards.) Just twodays before that initial encounter, he had been expelled bythe Taliban and found his way to Turkmenistan by way ofPakistan.

When I next saw Simon, he had shaved his beard. Inthe coming weeks, he would organize relief convoys ofhundreds of trucks that carried blankets, tents, food andmedical supplies. The Afghan truck drivers and scores ofday laborers that loaded the supplies by hand became hisarmy of humanitarian mercenaries, as USAIDAdministrator Andrew Natsios saw for himself during aswing through the region.

During November andDecember 2001, USAID providedtons of relief supplies and Simonwas indispensable in organizingthem for shipping on hundreds oftrucks. They drove more than twohundred miles over horribly ruttedtracks in the desert to the Afghanborder. But because there wereno news media here, the outsideworld did not know of this extraor-dinary effort.

Things continued to movequickly. The Northern Allianceforces now controlled the upperhalf of Afghanistan, including thearea along the Turkmen and

Uzbek borders, and it was clear the Taliban would soon berouted from power. In December, during the month ofRamadan, President Bush personally saw off twoAmerican Red Cross humanitarian flights originatingfrom Maryland.

The first C-17s carried over 1,600 winter jackets, 1,500winterized, family-size tents, and 10,000 gift parcels ofclothes and school supplies and candies for the children ofAfghanistan, funded by donations from American school-children. All of it was flown to Ashgabat and loaded ontowaiting trucks headed for the Afghan border.

I saw Simon and many of the relief workers togeth-er in the week before Christmas 2001. They had gath-ered for a “last supper” at a hotel that boastedTurkmenistan’s only Italian chef. The relief workers, adiverse group of Americans and Europeans who kneweach other from providing assistance after all kinds ofdisasters, were a culture unto themselves. Many hadworked overseas for years, as if they knew no other life.They greeted each other with a carefree camaraderie:“Were you in the Congo? Or was it Kosovo?” Even ifthey did not know each other, they usually knew thesame people.

That supper was the last time I would see Simon inTurkmenistan. He and the other “humanitarian mer-cenaries” all went separate ways: some back toAfghanistan, some to Europe to spend a shortChristmas holiday. I went home myself for theChristmas holiday, feeling more in the spirit of the sea-son than I could ever remember. ■

F O C U S


By November 2001,

NGOs were finally able to get

some workers into

Turkmenistan, thanks in large

part to substantial U.S.

lobbying, and humanitarian

assistance started flowing to

Afghanistan.

n retrospect, Sept. 10, 2001, has an idyllicglow. It was Foreign Affairs Day, and theDean Acheson Auditorium was filled withpeople eager to see Secretary of State ColinPowell preside at the opening ceremony.

Children of award recipients in the frontrow leaned over their parents and fidgeted.The FBI agents to my left discussed four

new hires. Active-duty officers slipped in to listen. Thetides of diplomacy were rhythmic. The sky was clear.

At the end of the day I stopped by the coatroom,where I spoke with a tall volunteer of advanced years.She inquired as to where I was post-ed. I told her that my office was atthe World Trade Center in NewYork. “I didn’t know we had anoffice there,” she said, peering at methrough thick glasses.

I took the evening bus back toNew York, arriving just after mid-night on Sept. 11. As I always didwhen returning to the city, I lookedat the Twin Towers, not knowing itwould be the last time I’d see them.

I slept later than usual the nextmorning. When I woke I called a friend who workeddowntown. In the middle of our conversation there wasa commotion. He told me that a plane had just crashedinto the World Trade Towers. “Oh, some kid in a PiperCub,” I sighed.

“No, no,” he replied. “This is something else.Everybody is by the window. I’ve got to go. I’ve got togo.” And he was gone.

My routine upon awakening is to turn on the radiowhile in the kitchen. Soon after I tuned in, another planehit the second tower. I continued to listen, frozen inplace, as the news came that the Pentagon had been hit,followed by a report (inaccurate, thank God) that a carbomb had gone off at the State Department. I immedi-

ately went to the phone and called every number I hadfor Main State, but no one answered.

“You Will Remember This Day”My old roommate was posted to Tel Aviv as an eco-

nomic officer, so I called his parents to tell them I waswell. When his father asked me how we were taking it, Iassured him I was in a safe area. That was when I real-ized that I did not want to remain safe in my apartment.So I went to a nearby hospital to help, passing peopleclustered around window displays of flat televisions. As Icrossed Lexington Avenue I heard a woman say to her

trailing daughter, “You will remem-ber this day; you will remember thisday.”

The hospital had closed off thestreet, but a security guard movingbarricades into place said they werereceiving injury cases. He expectedit to get worse. I told him I wasgoing to push on, so he filled me in.The trains were down. The phoneswere dead. The bridges and tunnelswere sealed. There was no way intoManhattan and the city was empty-

ing out.For the first time in my life I saw American refugees.

They were streaming north in overwhelming numbers.The buses were so full that people hung on for dear lifeas I had seen them do in Pakistan and Kenya. Yuppiesbearing portable computers poured north. Touristsqueried helpful locals who directed them off the island.

Nine blocks further south was Hunter College.Classes had adjourned. Everyone was trying to figure outhow to get away. One student sitting on a huge concreteflower container said to someone on the other end of acell phone, “There are no Twin Towers anymore.”

I passed the China Institute. Two employees werestanding outside. A man, moustachioed, large-bellied,



REMEMBERING 9/11IN MANHATTAN

AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT

OF WHAT SEPT. 11, 2001,WAS LIKE IN NEW YORKCITY REMINDS US OF HOW

PROFOUNDLY THE WORLD

CHANGED THAT DAY.

BY DAVID CASAVIS

I

and middle-aged, said, “This is PearlHarbor. Where were they? We wereasleep. Didn’t anyone figure thisout?!” The other, a Chinese woman,clasped her hands and appeared tobe in prayer.

I kept thinking of my colleagues atOne and Two World Trade Center. Iwas sure that they had all perished.My own building, Six World Trade Center (the CustomsHouse), I assumed was covered with debris or damaged.

Third World patterns emerged as I pressed southagainst the human tide. Men in suits sat at tables at open-air bistros. Refugees flowed north on one side of thecafe’s sidewalk barrier. The summer sun reflected off thesparkling water, served from a pitcher, in the absurdlydisparate scene on the other side.

Strangers exchanged information as eagerly as if theywere talking about a huge, oncoming storm. Storekeepsstood at their doorsteps. Here and there people clus-tered around radios. Magazine and tobacco shops turnedon the news stations and blared them out to the street,though much of what we heard was unsubstantiatedspeculation.

“Why Us?”When I reached midtown the buses were not so

crowded. I managed to hop onto one going south. I kepthearing variations on the same refrain: “Why us? Why dothis to us?” A Pakistani quietly said, “We come here towork. We come here for a better life, to educate our chil-dren.”

At the end of the line, north of New York University,the scene changed drastically. Soot appeared as I scam-pered across Houston Street. For the first time I heardmilitary jets over Manhattan.

The billowing cloud was enormous. Uptown I couldsee the smoke against the Chrysler Building as I walked.Then the cloud became a huge backdrop to a flag flyinghigh atop a downtown building. Wending my waythrough once-familiar streets grew more difficult as thecloud got thicker. I used the flag to chart my course.

When I arrived at Ground Zerothe police were setting up barriers.Their priority was getting everyoneout. I asked about the federal work-ers at Six World Trade, one of thoseempty questions one asks whenthere isn’t anything else to say.

One police officer said that theywere taking volunteers. There was

nothing else to do but dig my people out. So I went tothe collection point.

There I found a bevy of construction workers who hadspontaneously come to volunteer. They were mixed inwith locals who had brought shovels, ropes and picks. AllI had brought was a bag of cough drops. “Where are youfrom?” one husky guy asked.

“I walked here from 82nd Street,” I said. “I used towork at Six World Trade, the Federal Building. I don’tknow if anyone is left in there. I came to help.”

“Well,” the man held his hand out to shake mine, “youwalked all the way here from 82nd Street? You can joinus.” The camaraderie was overwhelming. I began toweep.

Like any government activity, volunteering is about‘hurry up and wait.’ So I did. The reason, this time, wasevident. Number Seven was burning.

We were north of Number Seven, the northernmostbuilding of the World Trade Center, which was hard byNumber Six. We could not be deployed until the fires ofNumber Seven were either put out or the building col-lapsed. Whole squads of men were wiped out when thetowers fell. Secondary explosions punctuated the rescueefforts. It was no use sending more men in until the sit-uation stabilized. Those still alive under the rubblewould have to wait.

The staging area filled up as we waited. Dogs werebrought in. A truck with klieg lights backed in. After along day, it was going to be a long night.

Displaced persons wandered in. They added to theconfusion. One poor fellow only had a pair of shorts anda bandanna. He lived a few doors down, but was keptaway from his apartment by the police cordon.

One fellow showed up in a neatly pressed business suit.He asked what he could do. I said this was where the con-struction volunteers were. He said, “I’m just a pencilpusher.” Then he took his tie off. I suggested he go homeand change, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t care

F O C U S


David Casavis, a frequent book reviewer for theJournal, formerly worked for the Department ofCommerce in New York City. He now works for theDepartment of Homeland Security.

For the first time in my life

I saw American refugees,

streaming north in

overwhelming numbers.

what happened to his clothing. He was going in with us.Indeed, I had walked out of my house in my dress

shirt. I had jeans but I had no hat or bandanna. I said toone fellow who had brought his working gear that Ishould have worn another shirt, though I didn’t mind los-ing the one I had on. “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “thereare people who lost a lot more than that this day.”

“At least you have a shirt,” the shirtless displaced per-son chimed in. We all laughed. It was the only comicrelief any of us would have that day. We found him ashirt.

“Do Something”They kept us waiting so long that I decided to get some-

thing to eat. A Greek diner, just outside of the police cor-don, was furiously cooking and serving up food through thewhole ordeal. There I sat next to a lady who, like so many,could not get home. Like the rest of us she was upset.

That was a turning point. I hardened as she broke

down. I took her by the shoulder and said, “Get somework clothes. Change. Come back. Volunteer. The bestthing is to do something about it.” Something inside hadtaken over. After that I wasn’t able to weep again for amonth.

Another woman stood by, her hand over her mouth.She was in a summer dress. She was also badly shaken.When I addressed her, she replied with a German accent.She was a tourist who had planned to go to the top of theWorld Trade Center first thing that morning, but had lefther key back in her midtown hotel. So she returned toget it. By the time she got to Grand Central Station, theWorld Trade Center was burning. She had escaped bythe narrowest of margins.

St. Vincent’s Hospital set up a triage unit and briefedus on how it would work. They posted themselves at theend of a street leading directly to the towers, the better toreceive the dead and wounded. I asked the hospitalworkers for a face mask, as did my companions.

F O C U S


The laborers I was with kept ask-ing me where I got it. They wereright to ask. No one had preparedanything. An emergency coordinatorby the hospital area kept calling forconstruction workers. I grabbed himand pointed, shouting “There theyare, there they are!”

The laborers, professionals all,were sitting in the shade of a build-ing. They were resting up becausethey all, each and every one, knewthey’d need every ounce of strengththey could muster once they got to what was now amoonscape. “If you want construction workers,” I said,pointing, “There! There they are.”

The volunteer sign-in procedure was probably thebest-run aspect of the staging area. Some men took ournames, addresses, and next of kin (in the event we didn’tmake it). Women hung signs up directing people on howto sign-in. St. Vincent’s hospital hastily distributedappeals for blood donors. One man came up to animpromptu coordinator with a clipboard asking wherethe sign-in center was. The clipboard coordinator justlooked at him. “He’s the sign-in center!” I exclaimed.

“Hey, You! Big Guy!”One fellow with a bullhorn began organizing us into

construction, search and rescue, food service, and med-ical groups. “All you big guys! Over to construction,” thebullhorn called out. “Everyone over 5’9” and over 225pounds, in the back! All you strong guys over there!”

One of the drawbacks of looking younger andstronger than you are is that you don’t get any breaks.I haven’t turned gray yet. I must appear robustbecause every time I tried to join the search and rescueline the man with the bullhorn shouted, “Hey, you! Bigguy! Over there!”

For the rest of the day I would be known as Big Guy.I joined the steelcutters, as they would be called later thatnight. These volunteers were professional constructionworkers. Thanks to my longtime association with NewYork real estate, I knew a bit about them. They were peo-ple from the laborers’ union, welders, heavy equipmentdrivers, and even an electrician.

We were further broken out by those who knew howto organize work crews. “Big Guy” was assigned to a

pick-and-hammer crew withoutexplanation or ceremony. It wasn’tuntil we were preparing to boarddonated trucks and don hard hatsthat I told one of the contractors thatI hadn’t done anything like this for 15years. (And I was long in the toothfor it back then, too.)

As we waited, the reporters start-ed to infiltrate us, and we jeeredthem. The steelcutters saw thereporters as parasites and oppor-tunists. They were daytrippers from

the safe world. This was not the Roman arena. We alljust wanted them to go away so we could get on with it.

When I lined up with a tall man to collect hammersand picks he said to me, “What’s the sense? You are goingto die anyway. If you are going to die, you might as welldie helping someone.”

Number Seven was in its death throes. The wordwent out that it was coming down. We all wanted it goneso we could get survivors out before nightfall. I walkedto an open road to watch the inferno.

It looked like those demolition clips I had seen whilechannel-surfing. The windows blew out. The skyscraperimploded. Then the backdraft hit. The cloud billoweddown the urban canyon. It swelled and a strong windblew. An overweight policeman was in a dead run justahead of the cloud. We scattered.

I ducked into the corner of an apartment building.The fellow next to me hid his face against the glass fram-ing. “Not a good idea,” I thought, remembering the oneair-raid drill I participated in as a kid. You never leanagainst glass. It could splinter out into your face.

There was a second backdraft. That was when Idecided to act like a New Yorker and stop running.Ashamed of myself, I deliberately walked through thesecond dust cloud.

Whenever the fire department drove by there wasapplause. But when the firemen cycled off, they wereplainly exhausted. They were covered with white ash. Iwatched them as one would watch tired troops trudgingto the rear. After that I looked at the billowing cloud withapprehension. The more so after the word was passed tome, “It’s not going to be nice. It’s going to be pretty gris-ly. You’ll pick up an arm here, a leg there. There’ll be alot of dead bodies.”

F O C U S


I asked about the federal

workers at the World

Trade Center, one of those

empty questions one asks

when there isn’t anything

else to say.

“Save Those You Can”Another man said, “Careful how you dig. You have to

have the stomach for it.”Still another said, “Just dig. Move the rubble. You

see a body, you call out,” gesturing with his left hand ashe spoke. “Let the professionals handle it.”

One of the pick-and-hammer crew, a kid not half myage, looked at me in horror. “We are going in like this?No masks?”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bag ofcough drops. “Take some. Wait until you gag. Thenput it in your mouth. They’ll have to last all night,” Isaid as I rationed them out.

When they finally got us moving, the bullhorn haddonned a white jumpsuit. He pulled us together shout-ing, “If you are drinking alcohol, go home! If you areon drugs, go home! If you have asthma, go home!”

“I love this country!” a stringy welder at the head ofthe construction volunteers ferociously bellowed.

“We’re not here for that,” the white jumpsuit shout-ed back. “We are here to save a child from under therubble. We are here to save a woman who has beentrapped.”

Over the last few hours young people of college agehad made their way to the staging area. The womenwere in skimpy attire. Many were covered with justenough material to make two bikinis. They were sentto the back of the search and rescue line. The boyswith jeans hung around the steelcutters, eager foraction.

Finally we walked off to the trucks. The steelcutterswere the first volunteer shift. The boys in the waitingarea cheered us on, doubtless in hope of getting underway themselves. I talked to the first laborer I met.Shovel in hand he said, “It’s still burning. If you hearsomeone screaming, try to get him out. If he’s too deepunder, ignore him. We’ve got to stop the fire fromspreading first. We’ve got to save those we can. This istriage.”

All order was lost when we embarked. I had readabout the exuberance of young men going to war forthe first time. Here it was. The boys could not restrainthemselves. They broke ranks and ran for the donatedtrucks. They grabbed whatever was available, climbedon board, and rode into the holocaust.

I had read descriptions of this phenomenon at the out-break of wars, but never thought I would see it. The

husky guy and I picked up our gear and followed them in.It was dark when I quit. The city looked abandoned

when I got to a working subway. I don’t know how far Iwalked to get there, but it must have been two miles.Intermittent sirens dotted the night. The absence ofactivity asserted itself, hanging in the air.

The train back was nearly empty. Unlike the peopleof downtown, uptown stayed put. So I was a rare findwhen I returned. As I slumped in my subway seat, aBritish tourist asked how it was going. “I’ve had betterdays,” I replied.

My old office doesn’t exist anymore, nor does theworld as I knew it on Sept. 10, 2001. For me they bothbelong to a bygone era. Scorched earth divides us.

In the three intervening years I have attended everyForeign Affairs Day held at Main State, stopping by thecoatroom to inquire into the whereabouts of a tallwoman, of advanced years, with a thick pair of glasses.If ever I find her, I will tell her that we still have anoffice in New York. ■

F O C U S


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APPRECIATION

Hume Alexander Horan1934 – 2004


ume Alexander Horan, 69, retiredForeign Service officer andambassador to five MiddleEastern and African countries,died of prostate cancer at InovaFairfax Hospital in Falls Church,Va., on July 22.

A man whose conscientiousness and compassion were asdeep as his prodigious intellect, Hume Horan was a fluentspeaker of Arabic and spent most of his career in the MiddleEast during some of the region’s most turbulent times. Hespent six months in 2003 as a senior counselorwith the Coalition Provisional Authority inBaghdad, dealing with religious and tribal affairs— an experience he wrote about in the March2004 Foreign Service Journal (“Restoring aShattered Mosaic”).

Wide-ranging as Amb. Horan’s career was,he is probably best known to the general pub-lic for the circumstances of his 1988 departurefrom his ambassadorial post in Riyadh, justnine months after arriving. In the spring ofthat year, the United States discovered that Saudi Arabiahad bought and accepted delivery of medium-range bal-listic missiles from China. Amb. Horan was instructed tomake a strong demarche to King Fahd about the unac-ceptability of the missiles.

Ever since his previous tour as DCM in Riyadh (1972-1977), Amb. Horan had cultivated his own contactsthroughout Saudi society. Knowing that this had alreadyannoyed the ruling family, he called Washington to besure officials understood how offended the king would be

by the verbal rebuke, and was again ordered to deliver themessage. Soon after he did so, he received a telegramfrom the department informing him that “a message dif-ferent in tone and substance” had also been communicat-ed to the Saudi Embassy in Washington. “My goose wascooked,” he told The Washington Post in 2002. Addinginsult to injury, State then directed Amb. Horan to per-sonally present the U.S. request for approval of his suc-cessor, after which he was recalled to Washington.

Despite that experience, Amb. Horan retained an opti-mism and idealism about the diplomatic corps. In a 1992

article for The Washington Post, he wrote thatForeign Service officers “are the infantry ofAmerican diplomacy. We’ll never be able to dis-pense with them. Consistently to work at ournational purposes, someone has to be on thescene, speak the language, meet with the leaders,make the argument and report back — sayingwhat he or she thinks we should do.”

Amb. Horan was a native Washingtonianwhose mother, Margaret Robinson Hume,came from a prominent family and whose

father was Abdollah Entezam, an Iranian diplomat whoserved as foreign minister long before the 1979 downfallof the shah. They divorced when he was 3, and his moth-er remarried Harold Horan, a newspaperman.

He served in the Army from 1954 to 1956, graduatedfrom Harvard College in 1960 and joined the ForeignService. He received a master’s degree from Harvard’sCenter for Middle Eastern Studies in 1963.

Mr. Horan requested a first assignment in Baghdad, achoice unusual enough that the under secretary for man-

H

agement remarked, “I don’t get many volunteers forBaghdad.” Mr. Horan studied Arabic in Beirut and laterin Libya. From 1966 to 1970, he served as Libyan deskofficer in Washington during Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi’scoup and as a congressional fellow to Rep. Brad Morse, R-Mass., and Sen. Edmund S. Muskie, D-Maine.

In 1970, Mr. Horan was assigned to Amman as a polit-ical officer, and from 1972 to 1977, he was deputy chief ofmission in Jeddah (then the site of the U.S. embassy inSaudi Arabia). After several years in Washington, culmi-nating in an assignment as principal deputy assistant sec-retary of state for consular affairs, Mr. Horan was namedambassador to the Republic of Cameroon and non-resi-dent ambassador to Equatorial Guinea in 1980.

His next ambassadorship (1983-1987) was to Sudan, atime that included the rescue of Ethiopian Jews and theirtransport to Israel, terror attacks against the embassy andthe overthrow of President Gaafar Muhammad al-Nimeiry. After that assignment ended, he spent 1987 as adiplomat-in-residence at Georgetown University and thenwas assigned to Saudi Arabia. After the incident inRiyadh, he was recalled to Washington, where his assign-ments included service as president of the AmericanForeign Service Association from 1991 to 1992.

In 1992, he was named ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire,which he described as “a pleasant and stable country, at leastuntil the death of the country’s founder.” Upon returning tothe United States, Amb. Horan spent a year at HowardUniversity as diplomat-in-residence, directed the Africantraining program at the Foreign Service Institute and thenretired from the Service in 1998.

Amb. Horan was a longtime member of Chevy ChasePresbyterian Church and, more recently, the GeorgetownPresbyterian Church. He was an enthusiastic cyclist whotoured in France, New Zealand and many parts of theUnited States. His many other interests included French,German, Spanish and Arabic literature; he translated anovel and several short stories from Arabic into English. Hewas also the author of a novel about the Foreign Service, Tothe Happy Few (Electric City Press, 1996), and served as ananalyst on Middle Eastern affairs for MSNBC, NPR, theBBC and FOX News.

For his work with the Coalition Provisional Authorityin Baghdad in 2003, he received the Department ofDefense’s Distinguished Public Service Award, thePentagon’s highest honorary award for private citizens.

His marriage to Nancy Reinert Horan ended indivorce. Survivors include his wife, FSO Lori Shoemakerof Annandale; two children from his second marriage,Michael Harry Horan and Elizabeth Hume Horan, bothof Annandale; three adult children from his first marriage,Alexander Hume Horan of San Diego, Margaret Bond

Horan of Annandale and Jonathan Theodore Horan ofBoston; a sister; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service was held for Amb. Horan atGeorgetown Presbyterian Church on July 30, after whichhe was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

In response to an AFSANET message announcingAmb. Horan’s passing, the Journal received many tributesfrom friends and colleagues, all of which have been for-warded to his family. In fact, we received so many contri-butions that we will run more next month.

— Susan Maitra, Senior Editor

HUMBLE YET GREATI would like to offer my condolences to the Horan fam-

ily and the Foreign Service family in general on the deathof a great officer and an experienced diplomat, the lateAmbassador Hume Horan.

The passing of Amb. Horan marks an important chap-ter in the history of the U.S. Foreign Service. He tookwith him a wealth of information and experience that willbe hard to replace.

I am a Foreign Service National employee in the politi-cal section of the U.S. consulate general in Dhahran, SaudiArabia. I have good memories of Mr. Horan, particularlyhis tenure as United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia in1988, when I had the good fortune and honor of workingunder his expert guidance during several visits by theSecretary of Defense to Dhahran. While he was a real pro,Amb. Horan was also a humble man who led by example. Iand my colleagues found him quite accessible, knowledge-able about his work, and willing to go the extra mile to helphis staff.

I was also struck by his linguistic skills, particularly hisfluency in Arabic. I do not believe I have met an FSO, orany American, for that matter, who spoke Arabic as flu-ently as he did. Nor do I believe that I will ever meet one.I recall that most of his conversations with me and others,among them several Saudi officials, including the Saudiambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar, wereentirely in Arabic. In my book, that’s an accomplishmentthat few people can ever hope to match.

May his soul rest in peace. Ibrahim M. NurPolitical/Economic SpecialistAmerican Consulate GeneralDhahran, Saudi Arabia

AMONG OUR BESTAmbassador Hume Horan was among our legendary

ambassadors. He had enormous intelligence, goodhumor, grace under fire and an incredible knowledge ofAfrica. He was a scholar, teacher and diplomat — an


exceptional leader and example forthe Service.

Although I had often heard aboutAmb. Horan from many of my col-leagues, I had not met him until heinquired whether Embassy Conakrywould have any objections to a for-mer ambassador coming to post withhis Foreign Service spouse. I wassurprised and touched that he wouldmake the effort to ensure that theembassy was comfortable with hispresence in Conakry. This kind ofconcern for others, however, wastypical of Hume Horan.

Amb. Horan will long be remem-bered as among the best of ourForeign Service ambassadors.

Vicki HuddlestonAmbassadorBamako

KITING IN KHARTOUMI worked at USAID in Khartoum

when Hume first came to Sudan asthe U.S. ambassador in the early1980s. One of his initial experienceswas accompanying an embassy-orga-nized outing to fly kites at a small hillsouth of the capital. We were allhaving a great time enjoying thewind and flying our kites from this“bump” in the dreary landscapewhen suddenly we were all arrested.It seems we were inadvertently adja-cent to a military camp. (I doubt wewould have been spotted except thatone of the group went to answer thecall of nature on the “other side” ofthe hill.)

We were all carted off to the baseand placed in a large cell that musthave been part of the base prison.Hume kept his cool! He did notannounce to our captors that he wasthe U.S. ambassador; instead, hecalmed everyone and just listened towhat the Sudanese were sayingabout us. Being fluent in Arabic andsurmising what the Sudaneseplanned to do worked to all ouradvantage and we were released,

minus our kites, and allowed toreturn to Khartoum.

I wonder if Hume ever put on hisresumé that he once spent time in ajail cell in Sudan?

Gary E. LeinenInterim CTOUSAID/Sudan Field

OfficeNairobi

A PHENOMENAL MINDIt’s hard to be concise about an

individual as multifaceted as HumeHoran, especially after knowing him31 years, but I’ll do my best.

Serving with Hume was likebeing in a nonstop graduate seminar.The intellectual stimulation wasnever-ending. His ability to see con-nections in facts and events thatordinary mortals would never noticewas phenomenal. His linguistic abil-ities were equaled by few. His abili-ty to coin the apt phrase, dippinginto his internalized version ofBartlett’s Quotations, enriched by amultilingual Roget’s Thesaurus,never flagged. I have seen himlaunch instantly into energetic andentertaining conversation in French,Arabic or Spanish, either at recep-tions or on receiving visitors in theoffice, peppering his talk withproverbs and quotations to theamazement and amusement of hisinterlocutors. Added to this, he readGerman newspapers for pleasurewhen he could get them.

I first worked for Hume as pol-mil officer in Jeddah in the early1970s, when he was DCM. The factthat he filled that position for fiveyears, serving three ambassadors,testifies to how greatly his knowl-edge and his language ability werevalued by the chiefs of mission heserved.

Many years later he asked me tobe his DCM in Abidjan. I jumpedat the chance, despite my thoughtthat sending two Arabists to a West

African post was a misdirection ofState Department resources. Butbefore I knew it, Hume was meet-ing with the imams and religiousleaders of Cote d’Ivoire’s Muslimcommunity, amazing them with hisknowledge of Arabic (sometimesexceeding their own), the Quran,and Arabic history and literature.His understanding of the impor-tance of Islam in that country, Idare say, has not been equaled sincein our Service.

Unfailingly optimistic, alwayspolite, considerate and gracious to hisstaff, Hume Horan showed that onecan rise to the peak of our Servicewith none of the aggressive, combat-ive career instincts we sometimes seein those who rise to the top. Profoundknowledge, insatiable curiosity, anincredible reading speed (combinedwith an equally rapid if undecipher-able handwriting), and unendingcourtesy were the keys to his success.The Foreign Service will have few likehim.

Charles O. CecilAmbassador, retiredAlexandria, Va.

PROBLEM SOLVEDI was USAID mission director in

Cameroon during Amb. Horan’sassignment there. While I certainlyshare the professional respect andpersonal affection sure to beexpressed by others, I would like tocomment on a little-known eventthat reflects his sensitivity and kind-ness.

As it happened, the Americanpresence in Cameroon had an unusu-ally large number of Jewish membersduring the early 1980s. Several weredevout and wished to organize ser-vices for the benefit of the localJewish community. In the course ofone of my regular meetings withAmb. Horan, I mentioned that therewas no Torah in all of Yaoundé, andwondered aloud how we might be


able to get one. He immediatelyoffered to write to a colleague inIsrael about the problem.

Within a few weeks, courtesy ofEmbassy Tel Aviv, a Torah arrived inCameroon. Apparently made fortraveling, it was about one-quarterthe size and weight of a normal vol-ume, but complete in every way.Services could be held with a properTorah!

Ronald D. LevinFSO, retired Longboat Key, Fla.

A SOURCE OF INSIGHTSHume Horan was the most

intriguing member of the 20thclass of the Senior Seminar, 1978-79. Of obvious brilliance, he wasalways a source of wonderfulinsights, and he was capable ofrolling off long, vivid monologues,as if they had been written inadvance. One I will always remem-ber occurred at a dinner party fol-lowing the collapse of the Iraqiarmy, which brought an end to thefirst Persian Gulf War. We askedHume, whose son was a tank com-mander in the Mother of AllBattles, to tell us what the MiddleEast would be like as the scope ofthe defeat became known. I can-not quote his words verbatim, butwithout missing a beat he held usall rapt as he painted an unforget-tably vivid description of youngmen walking through dusty,unpaved streets under gray skies,kicking stones in sullen anger, curs-ing the day they were born, feelingthe defeat as if it were their own,and looking forward to a futurewithout hope. Every observation,in retrospect, was on the mark.

Hume was an uncommonly seri-ous and reflective man who also hada well-developed appreciation forthe absurd. In a bureaucracy inwhich that was not always a wel-come attribute, he won the respect,

affection and admiration of his col-leagues.

Stan Zuckerman FSO, retiredMclean, Va.

REPAYING ADEBT OF GRATITUDE

Hume Horan’s distinguished andvaried career attests to his extraordi-nary dedication and commitment tothe Foreign Service. Indeed, his pro-found understanding of the Arabiclanguage and Muslim world is leg-endary.

Less well known are his service aspresident of AFSA from 1991-92and as ambassador to Cote d’Ivoirefrom 1992-95 — the two assign-ments where our paths crossed. AsAFSA president he recruited me tobe a candidate on his slate. And onthe eve of his assignment to Abidjanin 1992, we met over dinner to dis-cuss the country where I had servedsome 34 years earlier.

In a June 1992 letter, Hume askedthe fundamental question that arisesoften in a career: “Why does one join[the Foreign Service] … or betterput, why does one stay?” Heanswered his own question as follows:“An important part of that answer isthe company and friendship of otherForeign Service people. It is theythat make up the community we livein — that ‘global village’ we inhabitedbefore Marshall McLuhan devisedthe term ... All that is good about ourexperience was there ... the discussionof exciting events and interesting peo-ple (past and present).” He conclud-ed: “We are thankfully in your debt.”

It’s particularly appropriate thatwe now record our deep debt ofgratitude to Hume Horan for theselfless dedication of his prodigioustalents to the service of the country— and the world.

Donald R. NorlandAmbassador, retiredWashington, D.C. ■



ver since the Reconstruction era, whenPresident Ulysses Grant appointed thefirst black U.S. envoys to Haiti andLiberia, African-American diplomatshave represented the United States withdistinction abroad. To the limited extentthat diplomatic historians have recog-

nized these men’s contributions and achievements, attentionhas traditionally been paid to the small number who servedas U.S. ministers — precursors of ambassadors — to thosetwo nations.

Yet the last decade of the 19th century and the first of the20th also found African-Americans performing consularduties at more than a dozen foreign posts, both in indepen-dent nations like Brazil, France, Honduras, Nicaragua,Paraguay, Russia and Venezuela, and in a number ofEuropean colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, includingthe Danish and French West Indies, Jamaica, Madagascar,Senegal and Sierra Leone. In all, at least 20 black consulsserved during the Republican administrations of WilliamMcKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, between 1897 and1909, with eight of them remaining abroad for a decade ormore.

One consul trained an African queen in the equestrianarts and later became a fixture in French society circles fortwo decades; another, in his seventies, helped trap wild ani-mals for shipment to the U.S. national zoo. A third held offrebel troops until U.S. troops could arrive to protect aCentral American president from being overthrown, while afourth received commendations from foreign governmentsfor humanitarian and collegial efforts during two Asian wars.

Almost all were college graduates, many with profession-al degrees. A century later, however, these pioneering fig-

ures are scarcely known (partly because many of their postsno longer exist, long ago absorbed into larger consulates andembassies). But several of them have dramatic stories high-ly deserving of inclusion in the annals of diplomatic history.

Sharing the SpoilsAlmost from his first week in office, Pres. McKinley

was besieged by crowds of Republican applicants for con-sular positions and other federal patronage jobs, after thefour-year Democratic hiatus under Cleveland. African-American office-seekers were especially persistent, visit-ing the White House on nearly a daily basis in March andApril 1897, according to “At the White House,” a columnin the Washington, D.C., Evening Star. They were wellaware that only a few applicants could receive the presi-dential favor they sought, due to the limited number ofposts available. Even a strong recommendation by thenation’s only black congressman, Rep. George HenryWhite, R-N.C., was not enough, as Capt. John Leach, rec-ommended for the consulship at Victoria, BritishColumbia, discovered.

Perhaps the most celebrated failure was that of Chicagopolitician and journalist Cyrus Field Adams, a much-toutedcandidate for a high diplomatic post. Adams soughtappointment in June 1897 as the first black U.S. minister toBolivia, boasting exceptional linguistic skills — he spoke flu-ent Spanish and three other languages — and strong rec-ommendations. But his resumé could not overcome histor-ical and political obstacles. McKinley was keenly aware thatthe 1894 nomination by Grover Cleveland of Charles HenryJames Taylor (1856-1899), briefly minister to Liberia inCleveland’s first term, to head the U.S. mission to Boliviahad ended badly — Senate opposition had forced Taylor to

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONSULSABROAD, 1897-1909

AT LEAST 20 BLACK CONSULS SERVED DURING THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATIONS OF

WILLIAM MCKINLEY AND THEODORE ROOSEVELT, WITH EIGHT OF THEM REMAINING

ABROAD FOR A DECADE OR MORE. HERE ARE SOME OF THEIR STORIES.

BY BENJAMIN R. JUSTESEN

E

withdraw and settle instead for the Recordership of Deedsfor the District of Columbia. McKinley had no desire torepeat history.

Adams’ quest led to no comparable consolation prize,although he later became assistant register of the U.S.Treasury. Also unsuccessful was Bostonian C. H. KempSpurgeon, who sought a West Indies consular appointmentfrom McKinley in 1897. Spurgeon’s favorable comments,however, on his treatment by State Department officialsduring his consultations were duly reported by the EveningStar: “I can say without fear ofchallenge, that the gentlemen Ihave met in the StateDepartment and other publicofficials stand second to nonefor courteous and gentlemanlyconduct. Such officials mustcause the nation to be lookedupon with respect. It makes onefeel proud to be an American,either by birth or adoption.”

But other candidates weresuccessful in approachingMcKinley and went on toprominence:

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs(1823-1915) was an influentialArkansas politician and lawyerwho served as U.S. consul in the Madagascar seaport city ofTamatave (now Toamasina) from 1898 until 1901. (Gibbswas just one of at least 10 black consuls appointed duringMcKinley’s first year in office.) The Oberlin College gradu-ate and longtime federal officeholder, 74 at the time of hisappointment, was one of the oldest men ever to serve asconsul, but remained energetic, at one point helping to trapwild animals on the island for shipment back to the U.S.national zoo.

Gibbs resigned his consular commission in mid-1901,reportedly for reasons of ill health, but only after securingthe appointment of vice consul William H. Hunt as hisreplacement.

William Henry Hunt (1869-1951), a New YorkRepublican, began as a secretary to Gibbs, became vice con-sul and succeeded his future father-in-law as consul inTamatave in 1901 — the first post in a 31-year career, and

one of McKinley’s last consular appointments before hisdeath by assassination. In 1904, Hunt returned home onleave to marry Ida Gibbs, who had once urged her father tohire him, and the pair lived abroad for the next quarter-cen-tury. An accomplished horseman, Hunt had already gainedsome renown by reportedly teaching the Malagasy QueenRanavalona III to ride.

After their 1906 transfer to Saint-Étienne, the Huntsbecame popular social leaders for 20 years in the Frenchcommunity, before a final series of briefer postings in

Guadeloupe, the Azores andLiberia. Hunt retired in 1932,living quietly thereafter with hiswife in Washington, D.C.

Richard Theodore Greener(1844-1922), a native of Phila-delphia, was the first black stu-dent to graduate from Harvard.He later became dean of the Howard University LawDepartment. Financial difficul-ties impelled him to seek a con-sular appointment in 1898, whileliving in New York. But hedeclined his first post — Bombay— as “not acceptable,” apparent-ly due to reports of a bubonicplague epidemic there. Re-

assigned to Vladivostok, his original title as consul was adjust-ed to commercial agent at the Russians’ request. During ahighly regarded seven-year stay, Greener oversaw the inter-ests of vacated diplomatic missions during the Russo-Japanese war and earned a decoration from the Chinese gov-ernment for famine relief efforts in North China after theBoxer Rebellion.

Unsubstantiated charges of improper conduct forced hisdismissal in 1905, however, and despite strenuous efforts togain a formal hearing, Greener never managed to clear hisname or return to service. Considered one of the most bril-liant black intellectuals of his generation, Greener wroteextensively in retirement, supporting women’s rights andIrish liberation, among other causes.

Other McKinley appointees in 1897 and 1898 includedMahlon B. Van Horne (1878-1910) of Rhode Island, aLincoln University graduate who served as consul for sixyears in St. Thomas, Danish West Indies; John N. Ruffin(dates not available) of Tennessee, consul for a decade inAsuncion, Paraguay; attorney Louis Addison Dent (1863-1947) of Washington, D.C., named consul for a second timein Kingston, Jamaica, after a brief posting there late in theHarrison administration; and Dr. John Taylor Williams


Benjamin Justesen, a former Foreign Service officer, is theauthor of In His Own Words: The Writings, Speeches, andLetters of George Henry White (iUniverse, 2004) andGeorge Henry White: An Even Chance in the Race of Life(Louisiana State Press, 2001).

As soon as he took office,

President McKinley was besieged

by crowds of Republican

applicants for consular positions

and other federal patronage jobs.

African-American office-seekers

were especially persistent.

(1859-1924) of North Carolina, con-sul for eight years in Freetown, SierraLeone. Three other trained physi-cians selected as consuls by McKinleywere Dr. George H. Jackson (b.1877) of Connecticut, who wasassigned first to Cognac, France, thenquickly transferred to La Rochelle;Dr. Lemuel Walter Livingston(1861-1930) of Florida, consul for twodecades in Cap Haitien, Haiti; andDr. Henry Watson Furniss (1868-1955) of Indiana, consul in Bahia,Brazil, until 1905, when he wasnamed U.S. minister to Haiti.

In addition, attorney Campbell L.Maxwell (d. 1920) of Ohio, firstappointed consul in Santo Domingoin 1892 by President Harrison, wasrecalled to service in 1898 byMcKinley and elevated to consul gen-eral, a title Maxwell retained for sixyears. There he replaced GroverCleveland’s consul, African Americanattorney Archibald H. Grimké(1849-1930) of Massachusetts, who

had stubbornly hoped to be retainedby McKinley despite political differ-ences.

Not all posts previously given blackconsuls received them again underMcKinley, however. Santos, Brazil,where Henry C. Smith (dates notavailable) of Alabama had served for

three years under Cleveland, went toa Caucasian applicant; likewise, SaintPaul de Loanda, Portuguese WestAfrica, where Henry FrancisDowning (1846-1928) of New Yorkhad served for a year under Clevelandin the 1880s. And those who wereselected sometimes had to settle for asecond or third choice. Livingston,for example, had initially sought theconsulship in Valparaiso, Chile, butadjusted well to Cap Haitien, wherehe served for more than two decadesand remained until his death.

A “Lily White” ResurgenceAfter McKinley’s initial flurry of

black diplomatic appointments —which also included New Jersey edu-cator William Frank Powell (1848-1920), U.S. minister to Haiti andchargé d’affaires in Santo Domingofrom 1897 to 1905, and NorthCarolina clergyman Owen Lun WestSmith (1851-1920), U.S. minister toLiberia from 1898 to 1902 — the


After McKinley’s initial

flurry of black

diplomatic

appointments, the

emergence of the “lily

white” Republican

faction ended the surge.

surge of applicants subsided. Theemergence of the “lily white” Repub-lican faction, followed by McKinley’sassassination in September 1901,ended lingering hopes for a secondlarge round of African-Americanappointments.

New president Theodore Roose-velt, who depended heavily on thecautious advice of Booker T.Washington, was generally apathetictoward black appointments. ButRoosevelt retained many McKinleyappointees and made limited effortsto appoint other black consuls duringhis first term. When he took office in1901, the consular service was a vast,far-flung operation, with 39 con-sulates general, 255 consulates and23 commercial agencies. Accordingto a State Department reportdescribed the next month in theEvening Star, the consular servicehad 1,100 employees, compared to awork force of 99 for the departmentproper.

Roosevelt’s most well-knownappointment was probably that offuture civil rights leader JamesWeldon Johnson (1871-1938), aFlorida native and attorney whoentered consular service in 1906.Between 1906 and 1913, he served asconsul in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela,and in Corinto, Nicaragua. Duringthe Nicaraguan Revolution of 1912,he helped stall rebel fighters fromentering Corinto until U.S. militaryforces could arrive to shore up theregime of President Adolfo Diaz. Hisperformance was highly rated, leadingto his serious consideration for twomore demanding posts outside theWestern Hemisphere (Goree-Dakarand Nice).

Johnson’s efforts to gain aEuropean posting, particularly afterhis marriage, may have underminedhis chances to continue as a consularofficer after the election of DemocratWoodrow Wilson in November 1912;tentatively slated for reassignment to

the Azores, he resigned six monthsafter Wilson’s inauguration. ButJohnson went on to fame as an attor-ney, teacher, author and secretary ofthe NAACP.

Both Johnson’s credentials and ref-erences had been impeccable. But insome cases, the political patronageassociated with consular appoint-ments made selection a riskier task.The disgrace of Roosevelt’s first majorAfrican-American ministerial appoint-ment, Dr. John R. A. Crossland(1864-1950) of Missouri — sent toMonrovia in 1902 — may have damp-ened his already limited enthusiasmfor black appointees. Crossland eager-ly accepted the posting as minister toLiberia, but his diplomatic careerended abruptly, just eight monthslater, when a spicy local scandalforced his hasty departure andreplacement. His successor, ErnestLyon (1860-1938), a minister andnaturalized U.S. citizen born ofAfrican parents in Honduras, servedmore creditably — and circumspectly— as U.S. minister to Liberia forseven years, from 1903 until 1910.

Most notable among the new con-suls was Christopher HarrisonPayne (1848-1925) of West Virginia,a minister, editor and lawyer named in1903 to the consulship at St. Thomas,Danish West Indies. Payne, 55 whenhe succeeded Van Horne at St.Thomas, remained there for the restof his life. After the U.S. governmentpurchased the islands from Denmarkin 1917, Payne retired from federalservice to practice law there, also act-ing as prosecuting attorney and policejudge in the capital, Charlotte Amalie.Also appointed in 1903, Dr. G. JarvisBowens (b. 1869), a Norfolk, Vir-ginia, physician, became consul inGuadeloupe, where he remained fornearly five years.

Former Kingston consul LouisDent, once a favored aide to Secretaryof State James G. Blaine, sought toreturn to consular service in 1904. Hehad resigned the Kingston consulshipin 1899, after an admirable perfor-mance during the war with Spain, tobe appointed as D.C. Registrar ofWills. Offered an appointment withless appealing geography this time —Dawson City in Canada’s NorthwestTerritories — Dent accepted, but twomonths later chose to resign ratherthan proceed to post. Another 1904appointment went to New York jour-nalist Jerome Bowers Peterson(1860-1943), who became consul inPuerto Cabello, but resigned a yearlater.

Two early Liberian appointmentsbelow the rank of consul were alsonotable. In 1902, Roosevelt selected25-year-old lawyer George Washing-ton Ellis (1875-1919) of Washington,D.C., later confirmed by the Senate,to succeed James Robert Spurgeon(dates not available), the outgoinglegation secretary in Monrovia. Elliswas induced to accept the post pri-marily because of his passionate inter-ests in the ethnological, sociologicaland linguistic characteristics ofLiberia’s inland tribes. In addition to


Of all the appointees

during the 12-year

period, only four

continued their careers

into the 1920s.

Two went on to serve as

Foreign Service officers,

under the terms of the

1924 Rogers Act.

official duties, he was allowed to con-duct lengthy expeditions into the hin-terlands, sending back both a widevariety of specimens and well-regard-ed reports. Despite poor health, Ellisserved with distinction in Monroviafor nearly eight years. In 1903,Roosevelt gave the title of vice consul-general in Monrovia to AlexanderPriestly Camphor (1865-1919) ofLouisiana, an American ministeralready living in Liberia, where heserved as president of the College ofWest Africa. Camphor served in hisdual capacity until his 1908 return tothe United States; he was succeededas vice consul-general by Texan JohnH. Reed (b. 1862), who served therefor seven years.

Roosevelt retained severalMcKinley appointees at their exist-ing posts, including Williams,Ruffin and Greener, whose tours allended during Roosevelt’s secondterm; Furniss (who would soonreceive a significant promotion);Jackson, who returned to Cognac in1908 and remained in France for atotal of 16 years; and Livingston,whose Haitian posting ended in1919. One of the few McKinleyappointees not serving past 1904was Maxwell, who resigned after theappointment of the first U.S. minis-ter to the Dominican Republic thatsame year.

In 1904, Roosevelt also made twosignificant innovations at Port-au-Prince, first by promoting the long-time vice-consul-general, John B.Terres (d. 1920) of North Carolina— at post since 1880 — to the rankof consul, and then making historyby assigning West Point graduateMajor Charles Young (1864-1922)of Ohio as the first black U.S. mili-tary attaché.

During his second term, begin-ning in 1905, Roosevelt appointed ahandful of new African-Americanconsuls, first selecting attorneyHerbert Richard Wright (b. 1879)

of Iowa as consul in Utila, Honduras.Reassigned in 1908 to PuertoCabello, Wright remained inVenezuela until his 1917 retirement.Also in 1905, Roosevelt elevatedFurniss, then consul in Bahia, to suc-ceed Powell as U.S. minister toHaiti, where he remained until1913.

In 1906, Secretary of State ElihuRoot decided to reorganize thenation’s consular service, institutingan entrance examination and raisingannual salaries — ranging from$2,000 to $12,000 — in an attempt toattract a higher caliber of applicant.Soon after Root’s recommendationswere adopted, Roosevelt named threenew black consuls: James WeldonJohnson, who succeeded Peterson inPuerto Cabello; James G. Carter (b.1870) of Georgia, to succeed Hunt atTamatave; and Dr. William JamesYerby (1867-1950) of Tennessee, tosucceed Williams in Freetown.Johnson’s next post was Corinto(1909), while Carter remained atTamatave until his 1916 transfer toTananarive. Yerby moved on in 1912to Dakar, Senegal, as the next post ina lengthy career including postings inLa Rochelle and Nantes, France;Oporto, Portugal; and Freetown,

Sierra Leone. In 1906, Roosevelt also reas-

signed Hunt to Saint-Étienne, whileoffering a lower-level appointmentto Edmond Autex Burrill (b. 1874)of Washington, D.C., a recent grad-uate of the Howard University phar-macy department, as vice consul inPuerto Cabello, under Hunt.Transferred a year later to Saint-Étienne, where he again served asvice consul under Hunt, Burrillresigned in 1912.

Of all the appointees during the12-year period, only four continuedtheir careers into the 1920s. Twowent on to enter formal careers asForeign Service officers, under theterms of the 1924 Rogers Act legisla-tion: Hunt and Yerby, who eachserved a variety of posts before theirretirements in the 1930s. Terresdied at his post in Haiti in late 1920,a remarkable four decades afterentering government service.Carter remained in Madagascaruntil 1927, declining the appoint-ment as U.S. minister to Liberiaoffered him that year by PresidentCalvin Coolidge. Assigned insteadas consul to Calais, France, Carterremained there until 1940. After abrief wartime tour as consul atBordeaux, he returned in 1941 toMadagascar, where he was promot-ed to the rank of consul generalbefore retiring in 1942.

Eventually their trail would befollowed by many more African-American Foreign Service officers,gradually expanding career horizonswell beyond Africa and theCaribbean and their professionalresponsibilities into all functionalspecialties. Gibbs and Johnson,among others, penned compellingautobiographies highlighting theiradventures abroad. Yet the legacy ofthese early African-American con-sular officers remains a barelyexplored, fascinating niche ofAmerica’s diplomatic history. ■


Teddy Roosevelt was

cautious in his

appointments of African-

American diplomats, but

did retain many of

McKinley’s choices and

appointed a few more.


n November 2003, President Bush announced amajor shift in American foreign policy in severalspeeches both at home and abroad. He elevateddemocracy promotion to a strategic priority,asserting that a new rationale would drive U.S.foreign policy in the Middle East, and by exten-sion the rest of the world. The United States

would now focus its foreign policy on promoting three pil-lars: encouraging the strength and effectiveness of interna-tional institutions; using force when necessary in the defenseof freedom; and promoting an ideal of democracy in everypart of the world.

Democracy promotion has been a part of U.S. foreignpolicy to varying degrees over the past 50 years, but it hasalways been secondary to higher-level U.S. strategic andcommercial priorities. The U.S. foreign policy apparatuswas grounded in a realpolitik approach. U.S. national inter-ests, not values, were supposed to be the primary determi-nant for decision-making in the pursuit of foreign policyobjectives.

The Bush administration’s success in reorienting U.S.foreign policy to achieve its stated strategic objective of pro-moting “an ideal of democracy in every part of the world”will depend in part on external factors — whether societiesin developing and transitioning countries can overcome amyriad of institutional and cultural obstacles. More impor-tantly, however, its success will also depend on internal fac-tors — chiefly, whether the administration can articulate,form and implement a coherent, cohesive and consistentforeign policy with an apparatus that remains largelyunchanged from the Cold War era.

During the year leading up to his announcement, Stateand USAID were preparing the joint U.S. Department ofState-U.S. Agency for International DevelopmentStrategic Plan, FY 2004-2009. Published last fall, beforethe president’s recent proclamation, the plan will serve asthese two institutions’ shared blueprint for achieving thethree strategic objectives in the new U.S. foreign policyagenda.

However, while the State-USAID plan creates a policyand a management council to conduct regular high-leveldiscussions between the two organization’s leaders, it pro-vides little detail on how such discussions will systemati-cally transform the State Department and USAIDbureaucracies so that their missions, cultures and incen-tive structures will support the elevation of democracypromotion to the top of their policy and program agendas.The Strategic Plan states that democracy promotion,which falls under “development,” will support and be sup-ported by complementary initiatives and efforts that fallunder the “diplomacy” and “security” pillars. Yet nowheredoes the plan describe how the State Department andUSAID will fundamentally change the way they carry outtheir work to accommodate democracy promotion’s newstatus as a foreign policy priority.

Meanwhile, the limits of current interagency relation-ships are shown rather dramatically in the following exam-ples from each of the four regions comprising the USAIDworld. All represent recent major U.S. foreign policy initia-tives or high-priority countries in their respective regions.They also point up the fact that unless the U.S. foreign pol-icy apparatus undergoes significant structural reform, it ishighly unlikely that the president’s recent proclamations willbe sufficient to reverse decades of institutional practice andhabits at the State Department and USAID.

Aaron M. Chassy is a former USAID FSO. He and hiswife, a USAID FSO, reside in Pretoria.

I

PROMOTINGDEMOCRACY

CAN A FOREIGN POLICY APPARATUS CONFIGURED TO FIGHT THE COLD WAR IMPLEMENT

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S NEW DEMOCRACY-LED U.S. FOREIGN POLICY?

BY AARON M. CHASSY

Europe & Eurasia: The Freedom Support ActRussia provides an interesting case

study of the relative importance ofdemocracy promotion in U.S. foreignpolicy toward a major strategic ally,and challenges the effectiveness ofthe State Department-USAID rela-tionship.

Since 1997, USAID has investedapproximately $200 million in pro-moting democracy in Russia. TheFreedom for Russia and EmergingEurasian Democracies and OpenMarkets Support Act of 1992(Freedom Support Act, P.L. 102-511)authorizes U.S. government assis-tance to the new independent statesof the former Soviet Union, which arereferred to as Eurasia in USAID. TheUSAID democracy and governanceprogram includes the following com-ponents: strengthening civil society,building the capacity of Western-oriented political parties to promotepolitical reform, improving theeffectiveness of local government,and strengthening judicial sectorinstitutional actors to encourage therule of law and protection of humanrights.

USAID/Moscow’s Democracyand Governance Office has histori-cally supported several Russianhuman rights organizations, many ofwhich are fighting to bring Russia’sfederal government to account for theatrocities it has committed againstinnocent civilians during its two inva-sions and subsequent occupations ofChechnya. But the work of RussianNGOs to instill and promote democ-ratic values and practices directly atthe grassroots is undermined, at leastindirectly, by the U.S. embassy’s prac-tices of turning a blind eye to theseatrocities.

U.S. foreign policy places a greaterpriority on preserving the two coun-tries’ strong bilateral relationship.This relationship is predicated on twoconsiderations, one strategic and one

commercial: Russia’s continued sup-port of the U.S. war on terrorism andthe continued liberalization of itseconomy, making it more stable andlucrative for U.S. foreign directinvestment. This obvious contradic-tion is not lost on either the Russianpeople or the Russian government,and ultimately reduces the effective-ness and credibility of U.S. democra-cy promotion efforts there.

While USAID was spending, onaverage, $26 million per year ondemocracy promotion, Russia wasbecoming increasingly more authori-tarian, especially under PresidentVladimir Putin’s administration. Mostmajor independent media outletswere harassed out of existence; theRussian federal government increas-ingly recentralized to consolidate itsauthority; competition dwindledamong rival political parties; and thejudiciary continued to remain mostlyunder the control of the executivebranch.

In 2001, the U.S. GovernmentAccountability Office (then known asthe General Accounting Office) deliv-ered a glum assessment of the impactand sustainability of the rule-of-lawprograms implemented in Russia (aswell as in Ukraine, Armenia andGeorgia). The report (GAO-01-354)

states: “It is not clear whether U.S.-supported reforms and innovationsare likely to be sustained. ...Continuation or expansion of theinnovations depends on further fund-ing from the U.S. government orother foreign donors. Despite theaccomplishments of the program,progress toward establishing the ruleof law has been slow in the new inde-pendent states, and in several coun-tries, including Russia and Ukraine,the situation appears to have deterio-rated in recent years.”

To be fair, $26 million per yearallocated to democracy and gover-nance programs is a disproportionate-ly small amount for a country ofRussia’s size — an estimated popula-tion of 145 million as of July 2003 —and strategic importance. Moreover,Russian government officials as wellas officials of the U.S. embassy, albeitoff the record in the latter case, havequestioned the need and relevance ofa USAID mission in Russia, a countrywhich considers itself to be amongthe world’s major economic and polit-ical players. The United States cer-tainly validates this slightly inflatedself-perception by supporting Russia’scontinued participation in the annualGroup of Eight summits without anyconditionality for progress achieved inits political transition.

Latin American & Caribbean:Rule-of-Law Programs

The rule-of-law programs in LatinAmerica are funded and administeredby both the U.S. Department ofJustice and USAID, but coordinatedostensibly by the State Department inboth Washington and at the countrylevel. As such, they offer a good casestudy in interagency policy coordina-tion and coherence.

In a recent evaluation of the U.S.democracy programs in LatinAmerica, the GAO reported thatthese programs have had a “limitedimpact,” and that where gains have


The relationship among

USAID, State and the

Justice Department has

often been “difficult”

when it comes to

rule-of-law programs.

been made there are questionsregarding their sustainability. Thisaffects U.S. credibility in promotingdemocracy in the region. As the 2003report (GAO-03-358) states: “Inmany cases, the size and scope ofU.S.-supported programs have beenrelatively limited, and countries havenot adopted them on a national scale.The inability or unwillingness of hostgovernments to provide the necessaryfinancial, human, and political capitalhas often negatively affected democ-racy program outcomes in thesecountries.” As host-country politicaland financial resources to sustaindemocracy programs are difficult tomobilize, it is all the more importantthat U.S. government agencies man-age the assistance resources and pro-grams efficiently.

But, as the GAO report notes, therelationship among USAID, State andthe Justice Department has oftenbeen “difficult” when it comes to rule-of-law programs, one of the four ele-ments of U.S. democracy assistance,and this has hindered long-term jointplanning. The GAO goes on to state:“As we noted in a 1999 report, intera-gency coordination on rule-of-lawassistance has been a long-standingproblem.”

From a technical standpoint, theJustice Department focuses onstrengthening police forces (throughits International Criminal Investiga-tions Training and Assistance Pro-gram) and building up prosecutors’offices (through the Office ofOverseas Prosecutorial Development,Assistance and Training) in the opera-tional and tactical aspects of adminis-tration of law and implementing crim-inal (procedural) codes.

USAID, by contrast, assumes amore institutional or developmentalapproach to strengthen other jus-tice-sector actors, including mem-bers of civil society, to engendergreater respect for human rights andthe rule of law. Both approaches

have merit, and both are required toaddress the region’s complex chal-lenges.

The Justice Department has anally in the State Department’s Bureauof International Narcotics and LawEnforcement, which supports its“drugs and thugs” approach to pro-moting the rule of law. This strongemphasis on enforcement often over-looks the high level of corruption andlow level of institutional credibility ofmany of the region’s state securityforces. USAID democracy and gov-ernance programs struggle to supportthe institutional development ofcountervailing forces, such as nationalhuman rights ombudsmen and civilsociety watchdog organizations. Theydo so in an effort to help create checksand balances for state security forces,which for decades enjoyed impunityfor their human rights abuses underU.S.-supported semi- and authoritari-an regimes. Many of these regimeswere and continue to be U.S. allies inbrutal wars and counterinsurgencycampaigns, either as part of the ColdWar or more recently the U.S. war ondrugs.

Besides being unable to manageand balance multiple objectives ateither the policy or bureaucratic level,the State Department lacks sufficienttechnical knowledge and leadershipto synthesize the different approachesto promoting the rule of law. CharlesCall, of the Governance in War-TornSocieties Project at Brown Uni-versity’s Watson Institute for Inter-national Studies, conducted a detailedassessment of the ICITAP’s historyand performance. He concluded:“(W)herever political will for changeand institutional development havebeen lacking, (Justice Department)police training programs have had lit-tle or no success.”

Yet many ICITAP and OPDATprograms have been undertaken inthis kind of implementing environ-ment, usually at the insistence of the

State Department, which views themas integral to higher-priority policyinitiatives to promote regional stabili-ty or to complement anti-narcoticsprograms. The Justice and StateDepartments’ preoccupation with“going after the bad guys,” i.e., theirfocus on enforcement at the expenseof prevention and awareness, leadsthem to overlook recipient countrygovernment security forces’ consider-able shortcomings in their respect forhuman rights and the rule of law.

A forthcoming book titled Drugsand Democracy in Latin America:The Impact of U.S. Policy, edited byWashington Office on Latin Americastaffer Eileen Rosen, which evaluatesthe impact of such programs, rein-forces this conclusion: “The UnitedStates has spent more than $25 billionto date on international drug controlprograms without achieving its goal ofreducing the supply of cocaine andheroin entering the U.S. However,the escalation of the drug war haswrought varied but widespread, oftenprofoundly damaging, consequencesin the region, straining fragile democ-ratic political systems and turning ablind eye to abusive tendencies in theregion’s military and police forces.”

Asia & the Near East: TheMiddle East Partners Initiative

According to the State Depart-ment’s Office of the Middle EastPartnership Initiative Director AlinaRomanowski, MEPI seeks to: “sup-port economic, political, and educa-tional reforms, as well as women’sempowerment in the region. It pro-vides funding to the Arab private sec-tor, academic establishments, thinktanks, nongovernmental organizationsand other sectors of civil society,drawing upon ‘their creativity,resourcefulness and drive’ to encour-age reforms from within.”

The State-USAID Strategic Plantouts MEPI as an example of stronginteragency collaboration, but it, too,


suffers from a lack of coordinationand is a good example of the chal-lenge of cooperative program devel-opment and management. USAIDwould like to leverage MEPI toanchor its democracy and governanceprograms with a view to addressingthe political and institutional aspectsof democratic transition. The StateDepartment, on the other hand, iscompelled to consider other, morestrategic and/or commercial priorities,and as a result is more hesitant to con-front the crux of the democracy prob-lem: most of the states in the regionare governed by authoritarianregimes.

Daniel Brumberg underscoredthis assessment of MEPI: “Take aclose look at the State Department’sMiddle East Partnership Initiative,and you will find a longstandingemphasis on the usual liberalizationformula: economic reform, promotionof women’s rights and the building ofcivil society. These piecemeal reformprograms are designed not to tinkerwith the fundamental ruling institu-tions.” Other Middle East observersand experts, while commending thepresident for his bold statement ofprinciples, have expressed similardoubts and skepticism about the effi-cacy of MEPI, especially as its activi-ties are currently targeted, designedand implemented.

To begin with, problems exist withMEPI’s internal administration.Individuals in the USAID Democracy& Governance Office, responsible forrepresenting the agency in joint StateDepartment-USAID committee meet-ings for programming decisions onMEPI, have experienced great frus-tration in their dealings with State.State Department officials reach theirown decisions on how to allocate andprogram the money, with little inputfrom USAID. USAID generally hasvery little time, sometimes less than 24hours, to review and sign off on theState Department’s proposed program

and issue a request for application topotential grantees. Anyone familiarwith the USAID system of grantadministration, which is designed tooperate more flexibly than the con-tract procurement process, will recog-nize that it simply cannot functionunder these circumstances.

On the receiving end of thisprocess, representatives from U.S.nongovernmental grantees and for-profit contractors tasked with execut-ing MEPI projects, generally agreethat these circumstances providethem with little chance for success.They cite several reasons. First, theaccelerated project developmentprocess is often based on faultyassumptions and mis- or under-informed analysis of the implement-ing environment. Second, the pro-jects’ intended results are often unre-alistic because they generally targetstrengthening recipient-country, non-governmental political actors, whohave little power and no formalauthority to effect change at the insti-tutional level. Third, the level of

funding and the life of projects areboth relatively small, precluding anyrealistic chance of achieving lastingreform or even building a solid foun-dation.

Finally, recipient-country politicalactors put themselves at great risk byparticipating in the MEPI projects. Afront-page article in the Jan. 6, 2004,Washington Post detailed these risksfor Egyptian subgrantees of theNational Endowment for Democracy,many of whom were confronted withthe choice of either refusing to usethe grant funding for its intended pur-pose or going to jail. In taking thisapproach, the Egyptian government ishardly the exception in the region,which is dominated by authoritarianregimes considered to be strategicallies of the United States.

Africa: Economic Support inDemocracy Promotion

Economic Support Fund monies inAfrica have also been targeted atachieving “piecemeal reform,” even incountries that are considered to beU.S. strategic allies. Nigeria, theregion’s most populous country boaststhe second-largest USAID democracyand governance program in Africa.Compared to other, similar programsin the African region, Nigeria receivedone of the highest amounts by far ofESF and total funding for democracyand governance programs in both FY2003 ($7,373,000) and FY 2004($5,267,000).

According to the USAID/NigeriaFY 2004 Budget Justification, Nigeriauses its ESF monies to “fund anti-cor-ruption activities for civil society over-sight of national budget preparationand implementation, policy reformand advocacy” and “strengthen thecapacity of local NGO networks andconflict resolution practitioners tomediate conflict as well as the capaci-ty of community groups to instituteconflict avoidance and peace mainte-nance mechanisms.” Nigeria is an


The first program

component, anti-

corruption, was severely

hampered by the

Nigerian government’s

move to repeal the

Corrupt Practices and

Other Related

Offences Act.

excellent example of the challenge ofinteragency policy coordination andcoherence for the success of democ-racy programs. In Nigeria one canclearly see that U.S. democracy pro-motion efforts, such as these ESF-funded programs, would benefit if theState Department worked throughdiplomatic channels to generategreater political will for reform.

The first program component,anti-corruption, was severely ham-pered by the Nigerian government’smove in February 2003 to begin theprocess of repealing the CorruptPractices and Other RelatedOffenses Act. It is difficult to imag-ine the level of potential impact ofany such civil society-led effortswhen the regime in power repealsthe major piece of enabling legisla-tion needed as a starting point forsuch efforts. Moreover, PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo’s political cor-ruption, including his manipulationof the April 2003 presidential elec-tions to assure his re-election, castsadditional doubt on the level of hisregime’s political will for reform.

The second component, conflictreduction and peace building, wasundermined by Obasanjo’s decisionto harbor Charles Taylor, Liberia’sformer president, after he fledLiberia under pressure from theinternational community and from arebel siege of Monrovia in August2003. Obasanjo refuses to handover Taylor, who is wanted by theUnited Nations-backed SpecialCourt for Sierra Leone on chargesof “murder, mutilation, abduction ofchildren and mass rape and …crimes (that) took place underTaylor’s orders…” Without a doubt,Taylor has created the greatestamount of conflict and violence inthe subregion, causing incalculablelevels of suffering and instability.His presence in Nigeria, theObasanjo regime’s protection of himand the U.S. tolerance of this deci-

sion all undermine the effectivenessand credibility of the USAID pro-gram activities aimed at preventing,reducing and mitigating conflict.

There may be any number ofexplanations for the apparent con-tradictions among U.S. governmentobjectives, but the most likely is thatthe State Department places a high-er priority on achieving the foreignpolicy objectives of maintainingstrong commercial ties to Nigeria,the fifth-largest petroleum productsupplier to the U.S. In addition, theU.S. government would prefer toreinforce the Nigerian government’scontinued leadership in the U.S.Department of Defense’s push for agreater African role within a mecha-nism, to be supported financiallyand logistically by the U.S., for arapid response to the region’s con-flicts. This mechanism would relyheavily on the leadership ofNigeria’s military, which is thelargest, best-equipped armed forcein West Africa. Unfortunately, theNigerian military’s leadership of theEconomic Community of WestAfrican States’ interventions overthe last 14 years has been character-ized by international and regionalcivil society organizations as ruth-less, including large-scale corrup-tion, looting property, arming localmilitias and conducting summaryexecutions.

Summing UpThe examples above illustrate the

challenges inherent in achievingmultiple foreign policy objectivessimultaneously, especially withouteither (a) an overriding policy ratio-nale or (b) the effective collabora-tion of the U.S. government agen-cies involved. When a tension existsbetween competing policy objec-tives, it will often disrupt the work-ing relationship between the organi-zations tasked with implementingthe policy.

The State-USAID Strategic Planfails to address these and associatedother challenges: How will the U.S.Department of State, through diplo-macy and other core functions, helpcreate a more enabling environmentwhere USAID democracy and gov-ernance programs can achieve suc-cess? Or, at the very least, how willState diplomats reconcile compet-ing, sometimes conflicting U.S. for-eign policy objectives more effec-tively and more consistently so as notto undermine USAID democracyand governance programs?

If the Bush administration istruly committed to elevatingdemocracy promotion to the samelevel as U.S. strategic and commer-cial interests in our foreign policy,then it must face up to several chal-lenges. Foremost among these is along-overdue restructuring of theforeign policy apparatus — not justUSAID, but also the Department ofState and all other organizationsthat play major and minor roles inU.S. foreign policy. This restructur-ing must assure a greater degree ofcoherence in the pursuit of multi-ple, sometimes competing strategicgoals and objectives.

As this article has tried to demon-strate, the United States ignores thelinkages between democracy promo-tion and other foreign policy priori-ties at its own peril. Doing so onlyreduces U.S. credibility as a partnerand ally, and detracts from its legiti-macy as the leader among theworld’s democracies. It is possible toprotect our interests without sacri-ficing our values, but doing so willrequire a concerted effort across theentire foreign policy apparatus tonarrow the gap between policyrhetoric and reality. Efforts to nar-row this gap will in large part deter-mine whether U.S. foreign policycan continue to secure peace andpromote prosperity, both at homeand abroad. ■



f all the memorials and historicalmuseums in this country, includingsome 220 administered by the federalgovernment alone, not one focuses onour relations with the rest of the worldor describes the proud record ofAmerican diplomacy.

This sad situation reflects the fact that in our country,diplomacy is neither highly valued nor well understood,and its contribution to the development of our modernnation is unappreciated. Many Americans have little ideawhat an embassy is, or what an ambassador does. Nor arethey aware that our diplomats and other Foreign Servicepersonnel work 24/7 around the world in the interest ofthe American people. They do not understand the antic-ipation we experience as we approach every new assign-ment, whether in Canada or Burkina Faso; the hoursdedicated to learning languages, new customs and laws,and meeting new people; or the pride we feel when wesee an important agreement that we have toiled oversigned, a business opportunity opened, an exchange stu-dent back home full of new experiences, a disputeresolved and hostilities averted, and Americans protectedabroad.

Several years ago, I discussed this problem with for-mer Senator Charles (Mac) Mathias, R-Md. He respond-ed: “Let’s do something about it.” And together, we start-ed to investigate the establishment of a new NationalMuseum of American Diplomacy on the WashingtonMall.

The timing for pursuing our initiative was auspicious.Through the private, nonprofit Association of DiplomaticStudies and Training located on the Foreign Service

Institute campus, I had already been involved in helpingcreate an exhibit and pamphlet called A Brief History ofAmerican Diplomacy. Working with Nick Burns, thenacting assistant secretary for public affairs, we had puttogether a diplomatic history display in Main State’sexhibit hall, which Secretary of State Warren Christopheropened in one of his last official public acts.

Then, in 1999, the White House called on every fed-eral agency to create a project celebrating the new mil-lennium. The United States Agency of InternationalDevelopment had moved out of Main State, and theGeneral Services Administration had provided thedepartment with over $350 million to renovate the oldestpart of the building — the part built and occupied by theWar Department from 1941 to 1947.

Seizing our opportunity, we approached Secretary ofState Madeleine Albright with our proposal to designatea space at the 21st Street entrance for public access to thedepartment for the prospective museum and a visitorcenter. She not only backed it, but presided over aground-breaking ceremony in November 2000, in whichSecretary Christopher and Senators Mathias and PaulSarbanes, D-Md., also participated.

But while State has agreed to provide the renovatedspace, staff and security, the cost for designing, fabricat-ing and installing the exhibitions and presentations mustcome from the private sector. To raise those funds, weset up a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, theForeign Affairs Museum Council, with Sen. Mathias aschairman. All living former Secretaries of State are hon-orary directors of the museum, and all have signed a let-ter of support, stating: “We believe that this is an impor-tant initiative that will stimulate considerable interest and

TELLING OUR STORY: THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF

AMERICAN DIPLOMACY

THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MUSEUM COUNCIL IS WORKING TO ESTABLISH THE DEPARTMENT OF

STATE VISITOR CENTER AND NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN DIPLOMACY IN MAIN STATE.

BY STEPHEN LOW

O

is deserving of the support of those who recognize theneed for a place to promote the public’s understanding ofdiplomacy.”

One of Secretary Powell’s first acts after taking officewas to reaffirm the department’s undertaking and hisstrong support of the museum: “I want to do a better jobof explaining to the American people why what we do isimportant to them and merits their support.”

To oversee the project (now known as “TheDepartment of State VisitorCenter and National Museum ofAmerican Diplomacy”), theUnited States Diplomacy Centeroffice was created in 2001,responsible to Assistant Secre-tary for Public Affairs RichardBoucher, and headed by SeniorForeign Service officer MichaelA. Boorstein. As SecretaryPowell declared, “The UnitedStates Diplomacy Center will bean important part of our effort tohelp free people everywhereunderstand the crucial role ofdiplomacy in keeping the peace and advancing the causeof freedom.” The Center has already put together amajor exhibition that has toured the country, “After 9/11:Messages from the World and Images of Ground Zero”(see p. 84).

The Way AheadA feasibility study conducted by a major fundraising

consultancy found that there was great interest in theproject among donors nationwide and concluded that themoney to build the project could be raised. RalphAppelbaum Associates Inc. was selected from a number

of firms to design the exhibits and work with the archi-tects of the building renovation: Karn, Charuhas,Chapman & Twohey.

Appelbaum — a former Peace Corps volunteer,USAID employee, creator of exhibits for the UnitedStates Information Agency and the country’s leadingmuseum designer — designed the exhibits for theHolocaust Museum, the Newseum, and the NationalConstitution Center in Philadelphia, and is now working

on the National Capitol VisitorsCenter, the Clinton Library andother museums all over theworld. He has completed theinitial concept design for theVisitor Center and Museum(see illustration, p. 86).

In a city of museums, ourshas to be compelling, first-classand state-of-the-art. I am con-vinced it will be among thefinest. Through interactivemedia, the Visitor Center willspotlight the work of theSecretary of State and American

diplomacy, and will explore the role of American diplo-matic posts abroad. The public will learn what theDepartment of State and the other foreign affairs agen-cies have done and continue to do for the nation everyday in helping to maintain security, promote prosperity,seek peace and expand American ideals. The museumwill invite visitors to explore highlights of Americandiplomatic history from Ben Franklin to the present, pro-viding insight into the way we practice diplomacy, andposing challenges with which individuals and groups cangrapple.

The museum administrators are working with ADST tomake use of its collection of over 1,200 oral histories.There will be stories that bring memorable artifacts to life,such as a blindfold worn by one of the hostages held inIran in 1979-1980; historic treaties portrayed in the set-ting in which they were signed; paintings relating to diplo-macy; items hallmarking important milestones for diplo-macy in technology and communications (including aWang computer!); and items related to arms control, suchas a pen made of titanium from a melted-down rocketonce pointed at the heartland of America and another,more ornate pen used to sign the optimistic Kellogg-


Retired FSO Stephen Low served as ambassador toZambia and Nigeria, among many other assignments, andcompleted his career with five years as director of theForeign Service Institute, during which time the new cam-pus was acquired and designed. Following five years asdirector of the Johns Hopkins Bologna Center, he returnedto Washington to serve as president, first of theAssociation for Diplomatic Studies and Training and thenthe Foreign Affairs Museum Council, both of which hewas instrumental in creating.

Providing a permanent home

from which to showcase

American diplomacy to the

public is a concept

well worth the effort.

While Americans werestruggling to copewith the trauma ofthe Sept. 11, 2001,terrorist attacks,

people from more than 160 countrieswere reacting to their own shock, andsending messages of outrage, comfort,hope and encouragement to Americanembassies and consulates. Many wrotemessages in black-bound formal condo-lence binders, while others broughtflowers, candles, flags, souvenirs ofU.S. visits, photographs, clothing, art-work, letters, poems,essays, CDs, videos, stuffedanimals, newspapers —indeed, almost every formof individual expressionimaginable.

Over the months, boxesof messages arrived at ourmissions from students,church groups, business employees,rescue workers and community mem-bers, and were sent back to the StateDepartment, filled with the outpouredsympathies of countless individuals.Together the messages symbolized agiant hug from the world’s people for astunned and grieving America.

Many in the United States did notknow about these messages.Regrettably, Americans were caughtup in fear and uncertainty, not realizingthat beyond our borders, people werereaching out to them. One way tocommunicate the heartfelt hope fromother lands was to create an exhibitionof the many items sent, together con-

veying that healing and resiliencywould prevail after a great nationaltrauma.

The United States DiplomacyCenter partnered with the Museum ofthe City of New York and the designfirm of Whirlwind, Inc. to capture thefeelings through an exhibition, “After9/11: Messages from the World andImages of Ground Zero,” that openedin 2002. This was the first travelingexhibition of the United StatesDiplomacy Center, combining 108messages with 32 images taken by Joel

Meyerowitz (the only pho-tographer granted artisticfreedom at the World Tradesite). The Meyerowitz pho-tos had already traveled toover 100 U.S. embassiesthrough the State Depart-ment’s Bureau of Edu-cational and Cultural Affairs.

Many offices and individualsthroughout the State Departmentassisted the United States DiplomacyCenter to make the exhibit possible,including the Office of Protocol, theOffice of Records, the Historian’sOffice, the mail rooms, and the Officeof Language Services.

Additional photos of 150 artifactsappear in flip books and, together withthe displays, 120 countries are repre-sented in the exhibit. To symbolize thefact that all the artifacts were originallysent to U.S. embassies and con-sulates, whether electronically, by postor by hand, the display cases are pre-sented as packing crates. Each

crate/case comprises a differenttheme:

• “Getting the Message” displaysthe media people used to convey theirthoughts, and presents a video of theevents of Sept. 11, 2001.

• “Innocence from Abroad” voicesthe friendship and fears of children.

• “The Power of the Word” commu-nicates messages in diverse lan-guages.

• “Symbols and Icons” shows howflags, hearts, hands and peace cranesbecome replacements for words.

• “From the Heart” communicatesthe emotions that people shared.

• “What Is Your Message?” enablesvisitors to write a message about 9/11on a long roll of butcher-block paper,which the museum can then keep as aremembrance of the traveling exhibi-tion.

There is no cost to the museumsthat host “After 9/11.” The Gerald R.Ford Presidential Museum in GrandRapids, Mich., was the first facility torequest the exhibition, and it openedthere in September 2002 to commem-orate the first anniversary of theattacks. So popular was its appear-ance that a record was broken for visi-tors in a single day, and attendancetripled over the course of its stay. The


After 9/11: Messages from the World

By Priscilla Rachun Linn


George H. W. Bush Museum and Libraryin College Station, Texas, was the exhi-bition’s next venue. Former PresidentBush and former First Lady BarbaraBush opened the exhibition, where hewrote the message, “God bless themall.” Two additional venues in Floridaalso drew significant crowds. “After9/11” is now at the Jimmy Carter Centerin Atlanta, Ga., for the third anniversaryof the attacks. In the winter of2005, the exhibition will travel toNevada.

There will be a place for the“After 9/11” exhibition for years tocome, to remind us all that duringone of our worst nationaltragedies, the world was there tooffer sympathy and hope.

Priscilla Rachun Linn, D.Phil., thecurator of the “After 9/11” exhibi-tion, works in the Bureau of PublicAffairs’ United States Diplomacy Center.

Briand Pact. There will be audioand video clips of first-personaccounts, and opportunities to relatethe economic, social, educational,environmental and tax profile ofeach state to treaties, cultural pro-grams, sister-city programs, com-mercial pacts and other aspects ofdiplomacy.

A theater in the Visitor Centerand Museum will create an immer-sion experience for the audience,providing a sense of the commit-ment, courage and resourcefulnessof those serving in the diplomaticcommunity. Classrooms will enablethe Visitor Center and Museum topursue robust education and out-reach programs. The Visitor Centerand Museum will have a dedicated

area commemorating those whohave fallen in the line of duty. Anadjacent conference center andauditorium — a rebuilt and expand-ed East Auditorium — will feature

lectures, discussions and perfor-mances.

The Foreign Affairs MuseumCouncil has already collected $1.25million in seed money toward an esti-mated $25 million in private fundsneeded for the project. It is a tallorder to fill, but providing a perma-nent home from which to showcaseAmerican diplomacy to the public is aconcept well worth the effort. Thosewho would like to know more aboutthis project and how they can helpmake it happen can call (202) 736-9040 or e-mail [email protected].

If we work together on this, offer-ing ideas, artifacts and funds for build-ing the exhibits, we can respond toSen. Mathias’ directive by saying withsatisfaction, “We did it.” ■


All living former

Secretaries of State are

honorary directors

of the museum.


BOOKS

MexicanMemories

The U.S. and Mexico: The Bear and the PorcupineJeffrey Davidow, Markus WienerPublishers, 2004, $24.95, paper-back, 254 pages.

REVIEWED BY TED WILKINSON

Every few years, American read-ers can reasonably expect to see afirst-rate book by an old hand withexpertise in U.S.-Mexican relations.Alan Riding’s Distant Neighbors(1986) immediately comes to mind,along with Sydney Weintraub’sMarriage of Convenience (1991),Andres Oppenheimer’s Borderingon Chaos (1998), and Clint Smith’sInevitable Partnership (2000). JeffDavidow’s The U.S. and Mexico: TheBear and the Porcupine sets a new,even higher standard.

The most recent of seven careerFSOs to serve as chief of mission inMexico City during the past half-cen-tury (including John Negroponte),Davidow has given us an engrossing,revealing, vivid and, at times, hilariousaccount of four historic years (1998-2002) that spanned two Mexican pres-idencies — the last two-and-a-halfyears of Ernesto Zedillo and the firstyear-and-a-half of Vicente Fox.(President Bush had observedDavidow at work from his office inAustin while still governor, and whilevisiting Fox’s ranch in Guanajuatoearly in his administration, asked him

to stay on for what turned into a four-year term. When Davidow leftMexico in the summer of 2002, he wasthe longest-serving ambassador in aU.S. diplomatic post.)

It was a tenure replete with bothtriumphs (such as PAN candidateVicente Fox’s election to the presi-dency in 2000, ending more than 70years of continuous PRI rule) andtragedies (such as the 9/11 attacks’disastrous impact on Mexico’s agen-da with the U.S.).

Davidow deftly takes us throughthe last years of the Zedillo adminis-tration, the dramatic 2000 election,and his own efforts to avoid feedingMexican paranoia about real or sup-posed U.S. intervention. But thehighlight of the book comes whenFox takes office, raising hopes of atransformed bilateral relationship.Both leaders were former state gov-

ernors, businessmen in cowboyboots, and Christian conservatives,who could sit down without inter-preters and level with each otherabout real problems on the ground.Indeed, at their first meeting, Bushand Fox quickly reached an agree-ment in principle on Fox’s top agen-da item, setting up a task force todeal with the spectrum of Mexicanimmigration issues. In return, Foxagreed to make up the shortfalls inRio Grande water allocations toTexas, a burning issue on Bush’shome ground.

So what went wrong? Certainlythe 9/11 attacks made everythingmuch more difficult, but Davidowbelieves the problem began earlier.Both leaders were naïve, andthought they could deliver far morethan they could. As he ruefullyobserves, “Important and powerfulpolitical forces did not favor change.They rarely do.” The Mexican sidein the bilateral talks, led by ForeignMinister Jorge Castaneda, a charm-ing political maverick, didn’t makethings any easier by insisting on “thewhole enchilada” of migrationreforms at one time. Similarly, Fox’sefforts to fulfill his promise to deliv-er Rio Grande Treaty-mandatedallotments of water came to naughtwhen the relevant northern stategovernors found ways to ignorethem.

Davidow actually begins hisaccount in the distant past, describ-ing an apocryphal Aztec codex thattells how the porcupine became the

Davidow offers afar-reaching, non-partisan

action program forimproving U.S.-Mexican relationsthat would serve uswell no matter

which party winsin November.

�


mascot of Montezuma’s forebears,showing them how to fend off withits spiny barbs the great bear thatroamed in the northern forests.Though the fable is entirely of theauthor’s own making, it proves aneffective device, both because thebilateral relationship is indeed fre-quently prickly and becauseDavidow himself (probably thetallest U.S. ambassador since JohnKenneth Galbraith) would be prettyimposing in a bearskin.

Looking ahead to 2025 in his con-clusion, Davidow shows equal cre-ativity in scripting a bilingual dia-logue between the American andMexican presidents about the (imag-ined) perfidy of their CanadianNAFTA partner, who is still strug-gling with separatism. After the call,President Gonzalez’s glance falls onthe displayed inaugural gifts he gotfrom his mother’s birthplace inJalisco. He then walks into the OvalRoom at the White House to beginhis day’s schedule.

A Chicano president of theUnited States in 2025? Not so far-fetched, if you reckon that ourHispanic minority, at some 13 per-cent of the population, has alreadysurpassed the African-Americandemographic, and if you posit freermovement and greater integration inthe next 20 years, as NAFTA gainsforce. Operating on that assump-tion, Davidow then outlines a far-reaching, nonpartisan action pro-gram for the coming years thatwould serve us well if the winningparty were enlightened enough toadopt it in November.

The U.S. and Mexico is mustreading not just for the manyForeign Service people serving orplanning to serve in the country, butfor all Americans who have somesense of how closely linked our owndestiny is with our 100-million-plusimmediate neighbors. As one indi-

cation of its broad appeal, theSpanish-language version, publishedin Mexico some nine months earlierthan the U.S. version, has alreadysold over 25,000 copies!

Ted Wilkinson, a former minister-counselor in Mexico City, now servesas a retiree member of the AFSAGoverning Board and on the JournalEditorial Board.

The Model of aModernAmbassador

The 21st Century Ambassador:Plenipotentiary to ChiefExecutive Kishan S. Rana, MediterraneanAcademy of Diplomatic Studies(Diplo Handbooks), 2004, 21 euros(approx. U.S. $25), paperback, 258 pages.

REVIEWED BY EDWARD MARKS

Diplomats, as a class being moreor less literate, produce a stream ofarticles and books as they pass intoretirement. Apart from classic mem-oirs, they discuss either foreign policy(what is or was done rightly or wrong-ly and what should be done) or thepractice of diplomacy, usually how ithas changed or is changing in themodern world.

Retired Indian AmbassadorKishan S. Rana‘s book, The 21stCentury Ambassador: Plenipotent-iary to Chief Executive, falls into thelater category. As his title indicates,he focuses on the ambassador as aninstitution that continues to representthe cutting edge of the internationaldiplomatic system, and considersways in which that institution’s func-tioning can be optimized in today’s

environment. Rana’s argument is based on

today’s political and bureaucratic real-ities and not on nostalgic memories ofa golden age. He illustrates that it isprecisely because of social, politicaland economic changes that the insti-tution of ambassador is a necessaryelement in effective governance inthis increasingly global world. Herecognizes the changes that lead someto dismiss professional diplomacy asno longer valid: modern communica-tion technology, the major role ofother departments, direct capital-to-capital dealings, the explosion of thenumber of subjects that are the busi-ness of modern diplomacy, and theloss by the ministry of foreign affairsof its historic gatekeeper role.However, he argues, beginning with aquotation from a State Departmentmemo of 1970, that these changesonly mean the need is for a “newbreed of diplomat — managers.”

As such, the modern ambassador“sheds the baggage of pomp and con-centrates on the promotion, outreach,negotiation, feedback, managementand servicing functions” of the bilater-al relationship. The chief of mission isobviously not master of the entireenterprise — not even the foreign


B O O K S

�

Rana recommends that

ambassadors “shed the

baggage of pomp” and

concentrate on

managing the bilateral

relationship.

minister or Secretary of State is — buthe or she is the only senior officialoccupied full-time with that particularbilateral relationship. Rana’s detaileddiscussion of the contemporaryambassador’s role in both the externalworld and the domestic arena will(one hopes) not be news to Americanambassadors, but is instructivenonetheless.

Rana’s own career (including fiveambassadorships in countries as dis-parate as Kenya and Germany), com-bined with extensive research, givesthis book credibility. In particular, hisexperiences representing a majorcountry in the (so-called) Non-Aligned World provide a refreshingperspective to occasionally ethnocen-tric American eyes.

And the sheer breadth of coverageis impressive in itself, with chaptertitles such as “The TransformedPlenipotentiary,” “Ritual and Re-form,” “Partners and Techniques,”“The Multilateral Ambassador,” “TheDomestic Dimension,” and “Leader-ship in the Embassy.”

As we all know, the StateDepartment is not very diligent atprofessional education. (It doesoffer its personnel a certain amountof training to perform functionsranging from issuing visas to draftingmemos and cables, but not muchinstruction in the meaning and pur-pose of diplomacy.) The 21stCentury Ambassador could servevery well as a preparatory text, per-haps for the A-100 course, but cer-tainly for the DCM and ambas-sadors’ courses — or even for newsenior political appointees in theState Department. The book hasmuch to say and provides muchthoughtful guidance on how to doeffective diplomacy in today’s andtomorrow’s world.

Also, by the way, AmbassadorRana is an excellent drafting officer.

Ambassador Edward Marks, aretired FSO, is a former member ofthe Journal’s Editorial Board.

Turkish Tales

SavaronaJ. Patrick Hart, PublishAmerica,2004, $19.95, paperback, 218 pages.

REVIEWED BY

STEVEN ALAN HONLEY

It is a cliché that Foreign Servicefiction is most often really thinly-veiled autobiography, with judiciouschanges to the historical record torender the protagonist more sympa-thetic or sagacious than was the casein real life. But this tale of interna-tional and bureaucratic intrigue, setmostly in Turkey, appears to be anexception to that rule, which is — toadopt classic State-speak — bothgood and bad.

To get the only significant prob-lem with Savarona out of the wayup front, its plot is hard to followand makes very little sense. Nor

does it help that J. Patrick Hart (thenom de plume of a current FSO)splits the narrator duties betweenGeorge McCall, a well-meaning buttroubled consular officer inIstanbul, and Bill Bigelow, the clas-sic American Citizens Services casefrom hell. Bigelow suffers frommental illness yet inexplicably man-ages to con several other characters,Turkish and American, into trustinghim at crucial junctures. It maywell be that Hart is thereby makinga subtle point about the fragile psy-chological state of many ForeignService employees, or the inherentunreliability of all storytellers, but ifso, it eluded me.

Nevertheless, I warmly recom-mend this novel to Foreign Servicereaders. Hart has a rare gift for mak-ing his characters three-dimensional(even if what some of them do isfrankly unbelievable). The world-weary McCall, trying to decidewhether he can both continue in theForeign Service and save hisfoundering marriage, is an enor-mously sympathetic protagonist, andBigelow, while too surreal for mytaste, is not someone I will soon for-get, either. They are joined by a hostof other vivid characters, major andminor, each with their own set ofvirtues and flaws.

Hart also captures, as well as anyForeign Service writer I’ve everencountered, the rhythm of lifeoverseas, the excitement and ennuiof consular work, and the tensions ofbalancing work and a personal life.And while I’ve never been to Turkey,his descriptions of the sights, soundsand smells of that exotic locale ringtrue, as well.

The bottom line: if you’re look-ing for a plot-driven spy novel, thisisn’t the book for you. But if youwant to read about characters thatevery Foreign Service member hasworked with, encountered, or been,


B O O K S

�

Hart has a rare gift for

making his characters

three-dimensional, even

if what they do is

sometimes frankly

unbelievable.

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REFLECTIONSI Just Shake My Head Sometimes

BY JOHN D. BOYLL

“I need some help.”“What seems to be the problem?”“There’s a snake in my office!”“This is Security. We deal with

security issues. I’ll transfer you.”“Isn’t a snake a security concern?”“Is the snake holding a gun?”“Well, no. But he’s making threaten-

ing gestures.”“Do you feel he may explode at any

moment?”“No, but…”“That’s another department.

I’ll transfer you.”

“This is Maintenance.”“I have a problem.”“I’ll transfer you.”“No, wait — you don’t know what my

problem is.”“We don’t handle problems. We deal

with paint, appliances — that kindof stuff.”

“But there’s a snake in my office!”“Oh, that’s Human Resources.

I’ll transfer you.”“Why?”“We don’t deal with that.”“Why not?”“Every office has at least one snake

in it.”“No, I mean a real snake — an animal

with fangs.”

“Oh, that’s Pest Control. I’ll transfer you.”

“There’s a snake in my office.”“A snake?”“Yes, a snake.”“Well, don’t tell Maintenance; they

won’t let you keep it.”“I don’t want to keep it. I want it

removed.”“Oh, then you need to tell

Maintenance. I’ll transfer you.”“No, Maintenance just transferred me

to you.”“Sorry, but we’re Pest Control.”“A snake isn’t a pest?”“Well, is it bothering you?”“Yes, it’s bothering me!”“Oh, then you need to fill in Form

SF-1108.”“Okay.”“Then you need to bring that form to

this office between 8 and 10 a.m.”“But the snake is rattling at me right

now.”“Rattling? What kind of snake is it?”“What? Do you want me to ask it?”“Well, if it’s a rattlesnake, you need a

different form.”“What?”“You need a different form: SF-1109.

SF-1108 is for non-poisonoussnakes.”

“Okay — but come quickly!”“I beg your pardon?”“How soon can you get here?””You need to fill in an SF-1109 first

and bring it down between 8 and10 a.m.”

“But this is an emergency — it couldbite people!”

“Oh, why didn’t you say so? You needa different form for emergencyrequests.”

“What!?”“You need a different form: Form

FS-9811.”“FS-9811.”“Yes. As soon as you can fax that form

to us, we’ll get right on it.”“Okay. Form FS-9811.”“And Form SF-1109.”“Two forms?”“Yes, one for the snake and one for

the emergency.”“Okay, okay. I’ll send Form FS-1198

and Form SF-8911.”“What!? You have an alligator in your

office?!”“What?!”“Form FS-1198 is for alligators.”“You just said it was for poisonous

snakes.”“No, that’s Form SF-1109. How long

have you had an alligator in youroffice?”

“I…”“Maintenance won’t let you keep it.”“I — I guess I mean SF-1109.”“That’s fine, but it won’t help if you

have an alligator.”“I don’t have an alligator – it’s a

snake!”“Oh. I did think it’d be odd to have a

rattling alligator, you know.”“Look, I need you to come right away

— I’ll send the fax immedia —Ow!”

“I beg your pardon?”“The snake just bit me!”“Oh, that’s another department.

I’ll transfer you.” ■


John D. Boyll currently works with theU.S. embassy in Mexico City and hasserved with the State Department inManila and Frankfurt. He enjoys writ-ing works of fiction and humor in hisfree time. The stamp is courtesy of theAAFSW Bookfair “Stamp Corner.”

Foreign Service, he noted that “our value-added is our expertise, and we do it betterthan anyone else in the U.S. government.”He pointed out that the efforts in which hewas involved were collective, and the honorshould be shared with colleagues in Israeland Iraq. Keith W. Mines was awarded the

William R. Rivkin Award for his dissent-ing view on Iraq policy. In his acceptanceremarks, Mines warned that Iraq’s futureis “too important to allow ideology to

On June 24, AFSA heldits annual awards cer-emony honoring those

within the Foreign Serviceranks who have the courage todissent and who exemplify thevery best of American diploma-cy. The ceremony, held in theornate Benjamin FranklinDiplomatic Reception Room atthe State Department, was offi-ciated by Director General ofthe Foreign Service W. RobertPearson and AFSA PresidentJohn Limbert. Amb. Richard B. Parker, a three-time

ambassador and the first non-native speak-er of Arabic to achieve a 4/4 rating in thespoken and written language, was recog-nized for his 31-year career in the ForeignService and outstanding achievements inretirement with the award for LifetimeContributions to American Diplomacy.Amb. David Newsom (the 2000 lifetimecontribution winner) accepted the awardon behalf of Amb. Parker, calling him a“pioneer in understanding the (MiddleEast) region.” He expressed their sharedconcern that Middle East Studies programsin the U.S. have been criticized as beingunpatriotic at a time when governmentexperts in the field are in short supply.Four awards were given for construc-

tive dissent. Deputy Assistant Secretary forNear Eastern Affairs David Satterfield pre-sented Senior Foreign Service officerRonald L. Schlicher with the Christian A.Herter Award for his service as consul gen-

eral in Jerusalem and later as a provincialcoordinator in Iraq. Schlicher acknowl-edged that he was surprised to win a “dis-sent” award for doing his job; for honestreporting and analysis, and for using his bestjudgment. Praising the work of the

American Foreign Service Association • September 2004

Inside ThisIssue:

BRIEFS: FAS SCHOLARSHIP...............2IRAQ TO PARIS? .................................3FCS: MEETING EXPECTATIONS? .......4CANDIDATE FOR DIPLOMACY............5AFSA ACHIEVEMENT WINNERS.........6BILL GOING NOWHERE FAST ............8Q&A: INVENTORY...............................9

AFSANEWS2004 AFSA AWARDS CEREMONY

AFSA Recognizes Courage and ExcellenceBY KRISTOFER LOFGREN, EDITORIAL INTERN

Continued on page 9

AFSA President John Limbert and FSO Beth Payne hold a June 17 AFSA press briefing to present viewson Foreign Service work in Iraq and to urge passage of the State authorization bill. Story on page 4.

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Amb. Parker (left) receives the Award for Lifetime Contributions toAmerican Diplomacy from Director General W. Robert Pearson.

AFSA Press Conference on Iraq Service

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CFC: Support American DiplomacyIt is that time of year again: time to consider aCombined Federal Campaign contribution. AFSAurges members to consider donating to one of thetwo AFSA CFC funds.

AFSA SCHOLARSHIP FUND: CFC #2422The AFSA Scholarship Fund provides over$150,000 each year to Foreign Service children tohelp meet college expenses. Please supportForeign Service families by donating to this fund.

AFSA FUND FOR AMERICAN DIPLOMACY: CFC #2460AFSA strives to build a constituency for theForeign Service through the activities of the Fundfor American Diplomacy. Through nationwideeducation programs — including the Speakers’Bureau, Elderhostel, the AFSA High School EssayContest, the Inside a U.S. Embassy book, the awardprogram and more — AFSA shows the Americanpublic how U.S. diplomacy promotes America’sinterests abroad.

For more information on the programs support-ed by these funds, go to www.afsa.org/scholar/index.cfm for scholarships andwww.afsa.org/pubresources.cfm for FAD.Information is also available from AFSA CFCCoordinator Lori Dec, reachable by phone: (202) 944-5504 or by e-mail: [email protected]. AFSA thanks you in advance for your support.

Briefs • Continued on page 8

2 AFSA NEWS • SEPTEMBER 2004

AFSANEWSBRIEFSFirst Patterson Scholarship Awarded

On July 14 at a recruiting lunch for the Foreign Agricultural Service, AFSAannounced the winner of the first Martin G. Patterson Scholarship. Therecipient of the $1,700 scholarship for 2004 is Natalie Jones, a juniorstudying nursing at Brigham Young University. Natalie is the daughter ofJeff Jones, an FSO with FAS.

The Patterson Scholarship was created to honor the memory of Martin“Marty” G. Patterson, an FSO with the Foreign Agricultural Service whopassed away in July 2003. Each year the recipient of the PattersonScholarship, which goes to the child of a FAS or APHIS Foreign Service officer,will be provided biographical information about Patterson and his family.

As of early July, over $17,000 had been donated by 92 individuals insupport of this perpetual scholarship. The scholarship was created in2003 as an AFSA Financial Aid Scholarship program, and only the interestis used for the award, so it will not be depleted.

More information about Marty Patterson and the scholarship can befound at www.martinpattersonscholarship.com. A donation form is atwww.martinpattersonscholarship.com/donation%20Letter.doc. Donationscan be made online or by mail, e-mail or fax. Credit-card donations arewelcome. In addi-tion, checks payableto the “AFSAScholarship Fund”with “In Memory ofMartin Patterson” inthe memo line, canbe sent to Lori Dec,ScholarshipDirector, AFSA,2101 E St. N.W.,Washington, DC20037.

Staff:Executive Director Susan Reardon: [email protected]

Business DepartmentController Kalpna Srimal: [email protected] Assistant Steven Tipton: [email protected]

Labor ManagementGeneral Counsel Sharon Papp: [email protected] Management Attorney Zlatana Badrich: [email protected] Management Specialist James Yorke: [email protected] Senior Labor Management Advisor Douglas Broome: [email protected] Office Manager Asgeir Sigfusson: [email protected] Attorneys Charles Henderson: [email protected] and Neera Parikh:

[email protected] Manager Christine Warren: [email protected] Clerk Marques Peterson: [email protected]

Member ServicesDirector Janet Hedrick: [email protected] Cory Nishi: [email protected] site & Database Associate Meijing Shan: [email protected] Assistant Ana Lopez: [email protected]

Outreach ProgramsRetiree Liaison Bonnie Brown: [email protected] of Communications Thomas Switzer: [email protected] Affairs Director Ken Nakamura: [email protected] Relations/Executive Assistant Austin Tracy: [email protected] Director Lori Dec: [email protected] Issues Coordinator Barbara Berger: [email protected]

AFSA HEADQUARTERS:(202) 338-4045; Fax: (202) 338-6820STATE DEPARTMENT AFSA OFFICE:(202) 647-8160; Fax: (202) 647-0265USAID AFSA OFFICE: (202) 712-1941; Fax: (202) 216-3710FCS AFSA OFFICE: (202) 482-9088; Fax: (202) 482-9087

AFSA WEB SITE: www.afsa.orgAFSA E-MAIL: [email protected] NEWS: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected] VP: [email protected] VP: [email protected] USAID VP:[email protected] FCS VP: [email protected] VP: [email protected]

AFSA NewsEditor Shawn Dorman: [email protected](202) 338-4045 x 503; Fax: (202) 338-8244

On the Web: www.afsa.org/news

How to Contact Us: Governing Board:

PRESIDENT: John W. LimbertSTATE VICE PRESIDENT: Louise K. CraneUSAID VICE PRESIDENT: Bill CarterFCS VICE PRESIDENT: Charles A. FordFAS VICE PRESIDENT: Laura ScandurraRETIREE VICE PRESIDENT: George F. JonesSECRETARY: F.A. “Tex” HarrisTREASURER: Danny Hall STATE REPRESENTATIVES: Pamela Bates,

Scot L. Folensbee, John C. Sullivan, Jim Wagner

USAID REPRESENTATIVE: Thomas OlsonFCS REPRESENTATIVE: William CrawfordRETIREE REPRESENTATIVES: Gilbert Sheinbaum,

David E. Reuther, Theodore S. Wilkinson, III,Stanley A. Zuckerman

IBB REPRESENTATIVE: Alex BelidaFAS REPRESENTATIVE: Michael Conlon

Front row: Alicia and Constanza Valdes-Patterson. Back row:Bill Westman, Mike Conlon, Eric Wenberg and KyleCunningham, all instrumental in establishing the scholarship.

http://www.martinpattersonscholarship.com

http://www.martinpattersonscholarship.com/donation%20Letter.doc

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SEPTEMBER 2004 • AFSA NEWS 3

Which comes first, the assignment or the promotion?The eternal conundrum. Let’s accept as a given thatyou’re a proven performer. Now, some think it is

a given that the place where you perform affects your chances for promotion. Personally,I am not convinced. There is important and substantive work being done in BuenosAires and Tokyo. This work is not confined to the Kabuls, Baghdads and other grave-danger-cum-greater-hardship posts. If it were, then Paris, London and Rome wouldbe among our lesser posts, which they manifestly are not. AFSA has spent several weeks visiting all the regional bureaus. We did this because

we see unaccompanied posts like Baghdad as needing a hefty annual influx of new tal-ent. Right now, there are 12 posts for which the assignments are for one year, unac-companied. This means more than 400 Foreign Service employees every year mustbid on positions at these posts that by their very designation are not salubrious or con-ducive to relaxation, touring or lounging by the sea under an umbrella with a fruit-gar-nished drink in hand. At several of these posts, for the good Lord’s sake, your livingspace is half a shipping container with sand bags piled on the roof! And you have towear a helmet and body armor when you venture out. Having spent a year under these conditions, employees will naturally seek a safe post

with good schools where their children will thrive, where there’s a chance to restore fam-ily life, and where the pace won’t be so frenetic. My friends, there are not enough suchposts to satisfy all of you! Colleagues, the system cannot "reward" you all for hardship service. Here’s why.

The 400-plus annually who leave the dangerous, difficult and unaccompanied posts willnot all be sent on to Paris or Tokyo or Bermuda. Of the 254 posts the Foreign Servicestaffs, 68 percent are designated hardship, and 50 percent (127) have a differential of15 percent or greater. That leaves only 30 percent of all posts in the category of non-hardship.So, knowing that it will not be possible to reward the onward aspirations of those

exiting Kabul et al., AFSA sent the following messages to the regional bureaus and HR:“Look favorably at bidders who may be new to your bureau. Do not lock in your

favorite bidder early. It’s against the negotiated rules anyway. It will make AFSA madand it violates transparency that the Service now needs more than ever. AFSA’s wordto the wise for management! You will not get the 400-plus bidders you need annual-ly unless there is the expectation their onward bids will be given due consideration.”AFSA wants to see fair share applied with even greater rigor. If you or a dependent

has a condition that precludes service at greater hardship posts, search for a hardshipposting that MED will bless. One geographic bureau suggested that AFSA abandonour commitment to fair share, arguing it doesn’t begin to fill the need at hardship postsand is too easily gamed. Our response is that while we agree that the number of fair-share bidders in any one year (200 or so) does not begin to fill the slots at the hardshipposts, it does share the sacrifice and it does demonstrate a commitment to worldwideavailability. Meanwhile, AFSA will continue to work to prevent gaming the system. CDAshould insist fair-share bidders with limited clearances prove there is no hardship postthat can accommodate them or their families. MED should try harder to help fair-sharebidders find onward assignments. ▫

V.P. VOICE: STATE■ BY LOUISE CRANE

Iraq to Paris? Don’t Hold Your Breath

AFSA BOARD MEMBER SWORN IN ASAMBASSADOR TO ANGOLA

Cynthia EfirdHeads to Angola

Secretary of State Colin Powellpresided at the swearing-in ceremo-ny for AFSA Governing Board

member Cynthia G. Efird, newly appoint-ed U.S. ambassador to Angola, in a joyfulgathering in the State Department’sBenjamin Franklin Room on July 20. Aftergiving an overview of Efird’s 27-yearForeign Service career as a public diploma-cy officer, Sec. Powell expressed his con-fidence that she will rise to the challengesshe faces in her assignment in Luanda,including assisting in preparations for thecountry’s first democratic elections in 2006.Noting that AFSA has benefited fromEfird’s service on the Governing Board,Powell commented that it is not the onlybody to benefit from Efird’s contributions.She is also a senior warden on the vestryof St. Paul’s K Street Episcopal Church inWashington. He then administered theoath of office. In her remarks, Efird praised the

Secretary for his leadership and thankedher Foreign Service mentors and colleaguesfor teaching her the true meaning of“public service.” She then discussed theimportance of cultivating U.S.-Angolanrelations and ensuring that the upcomingelections go smoothly so that the coun-try can fulfill its great potential. She con-cluded by reading, first in Portuguese andthen in English, a stirring patriotic poemby Angola’s founding president, AgostinhoNeto.In addition to Cynthia’s FSO husband,

Neil, daughter and other family members,the audience included the Angolan chargéd’affaires, many FS colleagues, and a con-tingent from St. Paul’s including the rec-tor, Father Andrew Sloane, who gave theinvocation. AFSA will miss having Cynthia on the

board but wishes Ambassador Efird all thebest for this new and challenging assign-ment. ▫

V.P. VOICE: FCS■ BY CHARLES FORD

FCS at a Quarter-Century:Have We Met Expectations?


PUSH FOR AUTHORIZATION BILL

Iraq Vets UrgeFunding forDifficult DiplomacyBY KRISTOFER LOFGREN, EDITORIAL INTERN

AFSA President John Limbert andConsular Officer Beth Payne, bothof whom recently returned from

Iraq, were featured speakers at a June 17AFSA press briefing at which they high-lighted the challenges that Foreign Servicepersonnel face in Iraq today. Amb.Limbert and Ms. Payne called on theSenate to pass the State authorization billin order to give Foreign Service personnelthe support necessary to contribute to thereconstruction of Iraq in a productive way. Limbert recently returned from a

three-month assignment in Iraq andPayne served as a consular officer in Iraqfrom June 2003 to April 2004. Both offeredstark accounts of the dangers they encoun-tered in Iraq, which included several rock-et attacks. Payne provided a brief account of her

work and offered a poignant reminder ofthe dangers that Foreign Service person-nel face each day. She recalled giving aidto a wounded colleague after a rocket attackon her hotel (for which she earned a hero-ism award). Payne described the securi-ty situation in Iraq for members of theForeign Service as “Russian roulette, notas a game, but as your work.”Nevertheless, both Limbert and Payne

expressed their determination to see Iraq

Beth Payne showing slides from Iraq.

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During our last meeting with management to review theyear’s accomplishments, we congratulated ourselves onthe approval of important new policy documents. Bill

Crawford and I presented an agenda for our second and finalyear as AFSA representatives that included support for majorreform of the human resources office. Then talk turned to plan-ning for the agency’s silver anniversary in 2005. While this ini-tial discussion focused on planning a celebratory program, Ibelieve the silver anniversary also offers us the opportunity formore serious introspection. Have we met the expectations of the policy-makers whosaw the need for an independent foreign affairs agency to better promote U.S. com-mercial interests abroad?

In terms of the quality of overall management of the agency by Commerce, it ishard to be generous. Despite recent achievements resulting from hard work and strength-ened cooperation between AFSA and management, the systemic challenges facing a small

foreign affairs agency in a largedomestic Cabinet departmentappear insurmountable. The facts are striking. Almost

all of the current members of ourSenior Foreign Service will retirewithin three years. Almost a third

of all officers are untenured or retiring. Rising costs have created pressures to restruc-ture or close overseas offices. Despite these challenges, I am not aware of a strategicplan for recruitment, training or staffing overseas missions. Staffing of the Office of Foreign Service Human Resources has been allowed to fall

to historically low levels. In July, OFSHR had one staff member to serve 99 ForeignService employees, while the ratio was 1 to 48 in the department’s parent trade agency.The Foreign Service personnel office has been chronically understaffed and under-graded and has never found a comfortable home at Commerce. Unacceptable servicehas been the result. Selection Board results that used to take a few weeks to approvenow languish for nine months. With enthusiastic AFSA support, over a year ago man-agement developed a plan to improve basic service, yet the department has not allowedit to go forward. Staffing levels have declined further, as has morale.

In terms of FCS programs and services, there is no doubt that our business clientsare more satisfied than before. But they cry out for a more strategic approach in a worldwhere national interest and the interests of global companies are not the same as they were25 years ago. With 11 director generals in 24 years, it is no wonder that our vision is firm-ly locked into the rear-view mirror. Guidance for determining the national interest forregulatory policy advocacy and new programs for service exports and investment are des-perately needed if we are to be as energized and effective in the future as we have been inthe past. FCS was created as a key component of the trade agenda of its day, but it nolonger plays that central role. We must rethink and retool our approach to ensure thatcommercial diplomacy once again has a central role in the national trade agenda.As US&FCS makes plans to celebrate an anniversary next year, I welcome thoughts

on both the celebration itself, as well as the answer to the question of whether the agencyhas lived up to the expectations that called for its creation in 1980. ▫

In terms of the quality of overall

management of the agency by

Commerce, it is hard to be generous.


get back on its feet, despite the risks to per-sonnel. Limbert called Iraq a “crucial mis-sion,” and Payne said she would serve inIraq again if necessary, saying, “it is tooimportant [to refuse].”With the difficulties in Iraq and the

determination of the Foreign Service as abackdrop, Limbert questioned why diplo-matic work has been shortchanged byCongress. He noted that there has been

no State authorization bill passed since1999. He said there has been a “failure ofthe legislature to support the civilian sideof the effort in Iraq.” Limbert urged theSenate to end its “paralysis” and its “par-tisan politics and maneuvering,” and toapprove the State authorization bill. While the bill unanimously passed out

of the Senate Foreign Relations Committeein March, the full body has not taken upthe measure for a vote. Limbert askedwhether perhaps the Senate did not feel thatthe work of the Foreign Service was impor-tant, and called on the senators to value the“great hardship and sacrifice” of theForeign Service enough to pass an autho-rization bill providing the resources need-ed.Reporters from several major media

entities, including the Los Angeles Times,the Baltimore Sun, the Dallas MorningNews, the Federal Times, four major tele-vision networks and three wire services,attended the briefing. Articles about thebriefing have appeared in the Los AngelesTimes, the Federal Times, the BostonGlobe, the Washington Post and on theAssociated Press wire. Payne was also inter-viewed on CNN-TV on June 26 as part ofthe network’s coverage of the transfer ofsovereignty. ▫

In the fall of 1956, in the midst of the presidential election cam-paign, one of my fellow freshly-minted FSOs and I fell to dis-cussing politics. I asked him who he was for, and he said

he would vote for whoever he felt would do the most for theForeign Service. I was stunned. Here I was, trying to decidethe fate of the world (which my vote would undoubtedly deter-mine), and my friend was concerned exclusively about his job,looking for the candidate who would give the Foreign Servicea greater role. I thought he was crazy.Now, 48 years later, we are in the midst of another presidential election, and my views

have moved closer to those of my friend. I still believe, then as now, that neither candi-date is likely to make strengthening the Foreign Service one of his priorities, and expect-ing either one to give any thought to it in the heat of a campaign was and is foolish.Nevertheless, both candidates back then were at least aware that we hada Foreign Service,and knew — we hoped — that our ability to carry out foreign policy successfully depend-ed, at least in part, on its quality and dedication. But my friend was on to something beyond simple self-interest. What matters most

is not whether the successful candidate forpresident sees the Foreign Service as impor-tant, but whether he sees diplomacy as impor-tant. If he does, then sooner or later in hisadministration, he will come to recognize thathaving the best Foreign Service in the worldworking on behalf of the United States andits interests is an enormous asset that must bemaintained and rewarded. At a time when American soldiers are being killed daily in combat, no one would

question the importance of the military or its essential role in support of U.S. interests.But if the war in Iraq has demonstrated nothing else, it has surely shown the limitationsof what military force alone can achieve. When it became clear that military victory was,as always, just the beginning of the mission to be accomplished, two career FSOs — oneas head of the Coalition Provisional Authority and the other as U.S. ambassador — weresuccessively called on to help create the conditions under which our military can be with-drawn. Many other Foreign Service people are working to support these efforts. ForeignService retirees have written to ASFA asking whether they can serve in Iraq. As U.S. citizens and as members of the Foreign Service family, we need to insist that

the candidates for president recognize that the United States, powerful as it is, cannotsimply impose its will on the world and that to try to do so will do long-term damageto our interests. Carrying out a successful foreign policy means engaging the rest of theworld in a dialogue about the kind of world we want and how to make it, and recog-nizing that our allies — and even sometimes our enemies — can contribute to that dia-logue. A presidential candidate who does not believe in dialogue, in diplomacy, will notserve his country well.

And so my friend was right after all, even if it took me a half-century to admit it.What matters most is not which candidate claims to have the best policy for Iraq, NorthKorea, Venezuela or global warming. What matters is which candidate appreciates thevalue of diplomacy, and therefore of the Foreign Service, in crafting and executing thosepolicies. ▫

What matters is which

candidate appreciates the

value of diplomacy in crafting

and executing those policies.

V.P. VOICE: RETIREE■ BY GEORGE JONES

A Candidate for Diplomacy

Limbert urged the Senate

to end its “paralysis” and its

“partisan politics and

maneuvering,” and to approve

the State authorization bill.

AFSA Member Achievement AwardC. Edward Dillery

Ambassador C. Edward Dillery was honored with the 2004 AFSAMember Achievement Award for his contributions to ForeignService youth through his many years of service as chair of the

AFSA Scholarship Committee. Following a distinguished 38-yearForeign Service career,Amb. Dillery has contin-ued to serve the ForeignService. He has givencountless hours of histime to the AFSA scholar-ship program, whichhelps support ForeignService children withfunds for college. Dillery has also served asthe AFSA vice presidentfor retirees. He lendsfurther assistance to theassociation as a speakerfor AFSA-sponsoredElderhostel programs. The AFSA Scholarship Committee (also known as the Committee

on Education) oversees the administration of the AFSA ScholarshipProgram. This includes the Academic Merit and Art Merit AwardsProgram, which bestows awards in the spring, and the Financial AidAwards Program, which bestows awards in the fall. Every year thecommittee awards approximately $150,000 to Foreign Service depen-dents around the world. The committee determines the policies of thescholarship program, reviews the performance of its $4.5-millionendowment, provides guidance on fundraising and other scholarshipissues, and monitors the scholarship program budget.“Ed presides over the scholarship committee meetings and is a

great chair,” says AFSA Scholarship Administrator Lori Dec, whoworks closely with him. “Even with short notice he is always availableto represent the AFSA Scholarship Committee, be it attending theAFSA Finance Committee meeting or accepting a scholarship check.” Dillery joined the Foreign Service in 1955 and during his long

career served in Tokyo and Kobe; Brussels; Quang Ngai (duringthe Vietnam War); London; Nicosia; Suva; and Washington, D.C.His last overseas posting was as ambassador to Fiji from 1984 to1987, where he was also accredited to Tuvalu, the Kingdom ofTonga and the Republic of Kiribati (the former Gilbert Islands).After retiring from theForeign Service in 1993,he served for one year inthe office of the undersecretary of state formanagement. Amb. Dillery was

born in Seattle, Wash.He earned his B.A. fromSeattle Pacific Universityand an M.S. degree fromThe George WashingtonUniversity. He and hiswife, Marita, have threechildren and eight grand-children.


CONTROVERSY AT VOICE OF AMERICA

VOA Employee PetitionLaments “Dismantling”BY SHAWN DORMAN

Over 450 current Voice of America employees — represent-ing almost half of the agency’s work force — have signeda petition protesting what they see as a growing loss of inde-

pendence of the agency. The petition, submitted to Congress July6, accuses the managing Broadcasting Board of Governors of set-ting out to dismantle the 62-year-old service, and calls for an imme-diate congressional inquiry. “U.S. international broadcasting is seriously threatened,” the peti-

tion begins, “at a time when strong and substantive American voic-es to other countries are more important than ever. Although broad-cast hours have been increased to the Middle East and Islamic world,taxpayer-funded, pop-music networks have replaced comprehen-sive news reporting and analysis there. … Since 9/11, actions takenby the Broadcasting Board of Governors (the oversight entity forU.S. international broadcasting) have limited the scope and effec-tiveness of the Voice of America and its sister grantee radios.”Many of the VOA employees see the July 1 transfer of VOA

News Director Andre de Nesnera to a correspondent position aspart of the board’smove to gain morepolitical control overbroadcasting. DeNesnera, known forhis strong commit-ment to balancedreporting, was hon-

ored with an AFSA constructive dissent award in 2002 for his insis-tence on airing an interview with Taliban leader Mohammed Omardespite strong pressure not to do so. The board has established various new entities to broadcast into

the Middle East, including Radio Sawa, al-Hurra (TV) and RadioFarda (for Iran). It has decided to pull Radio Free Iraq, which broad-cast in Arabic, as of Sept. 30. The petitioners expressed concernthat the new formats were not established under the 1976 VOACharter, which was designed to ensure that VOA provides a “reli-able and authoritative source of news” and to prevent governmentinterference with reporting. The new programs offer a mix of newsand entertainment, with much less time devoted to news than thetraditional VOA programming. Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson

issued a statement in response to the petition, noting that the pro-fessional standards of the new programs are “similar to those ofthe 1976 VOA charter” and that all services must follow the “high-est professional standards of broadcast journalism.” He also stat-ed that the news coverage must be “consistently reliable, authori-tative, accurate, objective and comprehensive.” ▫

Amb. Dillery presents a scholarship certifi-cate to 2004 merit award winner MichaelYoung on Foreign Affairs Day, May 7.

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Amb. Ed Dillery (right) receives the AFSAMember Achievement Award from AFSAPresident John Limbert.

The petitioners expressed

concern that the new formats

were not established under the

1976 VOA Charter.

David JesserEmbassy Pretoria

David Jesser was chosen as an AFSA Post Representative of theYear for his work in Pretoria. Jesser previously served as AFSArep in Muscat. “His sustained diligence as an AFSA rep for

nearly five years makes him a worthy recipient of the AFSA Post Repof the Year award,” says AFSA Labor Management Specialist JamesYorke. Jesser is consistently available for AFSA members when theyneed help, and has skill-fully translated his roleas AFSA rep into aneffective advocacy posi-tion. He also does anoutstanding job ofkeeping AFSA head-quarters up-to-date onemployee concerns at post. Jesser explains that as

AFSA became moreinvolved with issues of concern tospecialists in the mid-1990s, hiscontact with AFSA increased.With help from an AFSA lawyerand support from the OIG, Jesserwon a grievance case. “Buoyed byall the support and guidance AFSAhad given me in correctly address-ing that particularly difficult issuein the workplace,” Jesser says, “Ienthusiastically became an AFSA rep at an onward assignment.”Over the past two years, Jesser has worked hard to secure benefits

for those at post in the “administrative and technical” staff category. A & T personnel in Pretoria are not given the same benefits as those onthe “diplomatic list.” In Pretoria, Jesser investigated reciprocity issues inan effort to lessen the hardships on A & T personnel. In one example,he determined that South African A & T personnel serving in the U.S.were allowed to purchase a car duty-free during the duration of theirassignments, while American A & T personnel in South Africa couldonly do so during their first six months at post. The result of his advo-cacy on this issue was inclusion in an OIG inspection report of a recommendation that post and the Office of Foreign Missions takesteps to rectify the inequity. In addition, he worked to eliminate theinequity that gives access to Pretoria’s duty-free stores to American mis-sion members on the diplomatic list but not to A & T personnel. “The job of AFSA rep is what ones makes of it,” he says. “I see it

as a valuable leverage tool between embassy staff and post manage-ment when circumstances warrant.” When difficult situations arise,the choice, says Jesser, “is to stick my head in the sand and grin andbear it, or to speak out against unpopular issues and policies. I chosethe latter and, in turn, AFSA ensured that I never had to go it alone.”David Jesser was born in Providence, R.I. He has a B.A. and an

A.A. from the University of Maryland. He served for four yearswith the U.S. Coast Guard before joining the Foreign Service in1988 as an information management specialist. He has served inHong Kong, Cairo, The Hague, Muscat and Pretoria, and is mar-ried to Joann Wernig.

Randy J. KreftEmbassy Moscow

Randy J. Kreft was selected as a winner of the 2004 AFSA PostRep of the Year Award for his work as the AFSA representativefor Embassy Moscow. The management officers who nominat-

ed him noted that in their combined 50-plus years in the ForeignService, “Randy is the single-best AFSA representative we have seen.… He combines the attributes of passion and judgment in a balancedfashion, speaking in a forceful yet judicious voice on behalf of ForeignService employees as a reasoned interlocutor with management.” In Moscow, Kreft has made sure he is accessible to all members,

has kept his ear to the ground, and has been diligent in making surethat AFSA headquarters is aware of issues that need attention. He hasbeen so effective at post because he developed a relationship withembassy management based on mutual trust. The high regard inwhich he is held allowed him to effectively represent his clients. Theworkplace in Moscow was the better for this constructive relation-ship. Kreft is a proactive AFSA representative. He meets quarterly with

the deputy chief of mission, briefing him on specific concerns thatemployees have as well as on the general state of morale at EmbassyMoscow and the consulates. Kreft’s temporary duty travel allowshim to be an extra set of eyes for the DCM at the constituent posts. Kreft regularly sits in on briefings for newcomers. He wants peo-

ple to know his face — not just his telephone number. For the new-comers, he provides an informative but brief presentation about whatan AFSA rep can do. He reminds people that if they are to be inter-viewed by the regional security officer on any matter, they mayrequest that the AFSA rep sit in on that interview. Kreft also makes itclear that his door is open to any employee for consultations, AFSAmember or not, U.S. citizen or not.While Kreft has intervened on behalf of post employees in

numerous cases, one example bears noting. When the Russian StateCustoms Committee began holding up shipping entitlements foradministrative and technical staff, he played an important role in liais-ing between post management and members at post. His involve-ment helped keep a difficult situation from becoming divisive withinthe embassy community. Summing up his many contributions, the officers who nominated

Kreft say: “Randy’s proactive, constructive skills and abilities as anAFSA representative are key to resolving problems early and makingthis mission the great workplace it is.”

Randy Kreft wasborn in Twin Falls,Idaho, and graduatedfrom Idaho StateUniversity School ofApplied Technology inLaser Optics. He servedin the U.S Army from1983 until 1992, joiningthe State Department in1994. He has served inWashington, Frankfurtand Moscow. He andhis wife, Petra, have ayoung daughter.


AFSA President John Limbert presenting thePost Rep Award to Randy Kreft on June 24.

Jesser receiving his award fromAFSA President John Limbert.

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Jesser discussing AFSA issues withManagement Counselor Elizabeth P. Hinson.

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AFSA 2004 Post Representative of the Year Award(This award replaces the Active Member Achievement Award, and now comes with a cash prize.)

Turn It Off in D.C.On July 1, using a cell phone without

a hands-free device while driving in theDistrict of Columbia became illegal. Thepenalty is a fine of $100 and a point onthe driver’s record. The law applies toall drivers in the city, regardless of placeof residence. The language of the billcan be found at the D.C. Council’s Website: http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/images/00001/20030110124412.pdf

BOOKFAIR Opens Oct. 15For months, volunteers have beenpreparing for the 44th AnnualBOOKFAIR of the Associates of theAmerican Foreign ServiceWorldwide. BOOKFAIR opens onFriday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m. in theExhibit Hall at Main State.Employees and their escorted guests,and retirees and their spouses, arecordially invited. During the week,from Oct. 18 through 22, this samegroup of people will be admittedfrom 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. BOOKFAIRis open to the general public on twoweekends: Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.Some items are marked down tohalf-price on the final day of the fair.VISA, MasterCard and checks areaccepted. Questions? Please call:(202) 223 5796.

Position with FSYFThe Foreign Service Youth Foundation

is seeking a Foreign Service TeenCommunity Service Program Director inthe Washington, D.C., area. The pro-gram director develops, implementsand oversees monthly Foreign Serviceteen community service events in theNorthern Virginia area. The salary is$20 to $25 per hour for five to sevenhours per week. Hours are flexible, butthe candidate must be available onsome weekends and afternoons. Pleasecontact FSYF Executive Director MelanieNewhouse at [email protected] for a full jobdescription. ▫


AFSA has been persistent in itsattempts to help bring the StateDepartment authorization bill to

conference. Although the House passed itsversion of the bill, H.R. 1950, in May 2003,the Senate’s S. 2144 has still not been con-sidered on the floor. Despite the bill’s non-controversial nature, as well as SenatorLugar and SenatorBiden’s strong support,approaching electionsand increased politiciza-tion resulted in the sus-pension of this key pieceof legislation. AFSA responded by voicing its disap-

pointment over the Senate’s inaction. Inlate June, AFSA launched an extensive presscampaign in an attempt to publicize theimportance of the bill, which contains sig-nificant provisions for the Foreign Service.Because of limited floor time, however, theSenate did not vote on S. 2144. AFSA willcontinue to seek passage of the provisionsimportant to the Foreign Service.

AppropriationsThe Defense Appropriations bill made

its way rapidly through the House and theSenate. The bill was reported out of con-ference on July 22. It included $95 millionin humanitarian aid for Sudan and $685million for Embassy Baghdad ($665.3 mil-lion for diplomacy and consular programs,and $20 million for embassy construction).Appropriations for the Commerce-

Justice-State bill, however, were still underway as of this writing in late July. The billwas passed by the House in early July withan appropriation of $8.4 billion for the StateDepartment, a 5.3 percent increase fromFiscal Year 2004 appropriations. Althoughthis amount is $121.4 million below theadministration’s request, it does allow for110 new positions in visa adjudication, pub-lic diplomacy, and anticipated staffing

requirements for Sudan, Libya and Haiti.The request for worldwide security pro-grams has been met at $1.5 billion, allow-ing for 71 new diplomatic security positions.There was good news for the increasinglyimportant public diplomacy function:the House appropriated $319 million forpublic diplomacy, $10 million above

request. The bill alsofunds a new Office ofStabilization and Recon-struction and continuesto support the concept of“rightsizing.” AFSA expects the

Senate will take up CJS appropriationswhen Congress returns from recess inSeptember.

Comparability PayAFSA persists in seeking to eliminate the

pay disparity between the Foreign Serviceabroad and in the U.S. Overseas (non-Senior) personnel currently do not receivethe 15-percent increase in salary that per-sonnel at home earn in the form of local-ity pay. The Senior Foreign Service payscale, however, was switched to a pay-for-performance system in January to rectifythis problem, in effect creating a two-tieredForeign Service abroad. As a result, diplo-matic readiness and morale have beenundermined. AFSA is consulting with theState Department and others to resolvethese discrepancies and develop an accept-able salary program.

Retiree IssuesAFSA supports the repeal of the

Windfall Elimination Provision and reformof the Government Pension Offset, bothof which reduce Social Security benefits forsome FSRDS annuitants. AFSA also con-tinues to monitor legislation regardingPremium Conversion and PrescriptionDrug Parities. ▫

AFSANEWSBRIEFSContinued from page 2

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Going Nowhere Fast: State Authorization Bill

BY VICTORIA SPROW, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS INTERN

AFSA has responded by

voicing its disappointment

over the Senate’s inaction.

http://www.dccouncil.washington


JUNE 2004 • AFSA NEWS 9

PersonnelCare for Inventory

BY JAMES YORKE, LABORMANAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Q: When I left my last post, the GeneralServices Office charged me for damageto carpets and furniture in my apartment.How can I avoid this at my new post?

A: This is something that youneed to pay attention to from

the day you move into your new hous-ing. Obviously, you need to take care ofeverything in your apartment or houseduring your occupancy. But it is also veryimportant to make sure that all parties —you, the GSO and the Housing Office —are aware of what is provided to you andits condition when it first comes into yourpossession. There are several ways ofdoing this:

Inventory: Make sure that the inven-tory is accurate, that it shows all the itemsthat you have in your house or apartment,and none that you do not have.

List condition: Make sure that thecondition of each item is noted on theinventory. If there are any stains, wearor damage on any furniture, carpets orfittings, then be precise about where thedamage is located and its nature.

Photographs: Take photographs ofcarpets and furniture. Make sure younote the date the photograph was takenand give copies to the Housing Office orGSO.

Track Changes: Make sure that anychanges to the inventory during youroccupancy are promptly and accuratelydocumented, and take photographs ifnecessary. Next, throughout your occupancy,

you should take care that the furnitureand fittings are treated well. If any dam-age occurs, make a note of the extent ofit and when and how it occurred. Thiswill ensure that you are not taken by sur-prise when the check-out inspection turnsup any damage, and will enable you toidentify damage that was not caused byyou or your family. ▫

Q&A

trump experience or imagination to trumpreality.” In the finest tradition of courageousdissent, while Mines did not agree with thepolicy, he was nevertheless one of the firstto volunteer for an Iraq assignment.Diplomatic Courier Elizabeth A.

Orlando was honored with the F. Allen“Tex” Harris Award for her efforts to inter-cede on behalf of coworkers facing unfairtreatment. Orlando said her belief that “youtreat people well” led her to risk her careerfor the sake of others, and that winning theHarris Award was a “huge morale boost.”The W. Averell Harriman Award for

constructive dissent by a junior officer wentto Steven T. Weston. Weston, however, wasin Ireland staffing President Bush’s visit andwas unable to attend. His colleague atEmbassy Luxembourg, Mary Jo Fuhrer —herself the winner of the Nelson B.Delavan Award for extraordinary contri-butions by an office management special-ist — accepted the award on his behalf.Fuhrer shared the Delavan Award withJenny A. Jeras, OMS at Embassy Kabul,who joked that she was “thankful for thechance to get out of Kabul.” Susanne A. Turner was recognized with

the M. Juanita Guess Award for her effortsas community liaison officer at Embassy

Bishkek. Helene Dejong and Dawn SewellMcKeever were awarded the Avis BohlenAward for their assistance to underprivi-leged communities in Uganda, especiallythrough work on literacy and library expan-sion. Unable to attend the ceremony, theysent a message thanking AFSA for the

honor but noting that “post managementhas neither recognized our work noracknowledged the award.”Amb. C. Edward Dillery was honored

with the AFSA Member AchievementAward for his service as chair of theScholarship Committee. David P. Jesserand Randy J. Kreft earned the AFSA PostRep of the Year Award for their determinedefforts on behalf of AFSA members inPretoria and Moscow, respectively. (Articleson these winners begin on page 6.)Following the ceremony, several media

entities carried articles highlighting theaccomplishments of the dissent honorees.On June 28, theWashington Post ran a half-page story, with particular emphasis onMines. The Agence France-Presse and theAssociated Press also carried stories aboutthe event. Barry Schweid’s AP article, whichfocused largely on Schlicher’s influentialdecisions on Near East policy, was pickedup by dozens of newspapers around theworld, including theNew York Times, theGuardian, the Los Angeles Times, theMiami Herald, the San Francisco Chronicleand the Charlotte Observer.The ceremony was followed by a recep-

tion in which attendees could personallycongratulate award recipients on their dis-tinguished service and spirited dissent. ▫

Awards • Continued from page 1

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near East AffairsDavid Satterfield (left) presents the Herter Awardto Ronald Schlicher.

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AFSA Award winners during the June 24 awardsceremony. From left: Keith Mines, Betsy Orlando,Mary Jo Fuhrer, Jenny Jeras and Susanne Turner.

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a TTo Rney, Fo RMeR Fo Reig n seR-vice o FFiceR: Extensive experience w/ taxproblems peculiar to the Foreign Service.Available for consultation, tax planning, andpreparation of returns:M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & pilger, p.c .307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180. Tel: (703) 281-2161.Fax: (703) 281-9464.E-mail: [email protected]

TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES

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PROPERTY MANAGEMENTWil l s/esTa Te pl a nning by attorneywho is a former FSO. Have your will reviewedand updated, or new one prepared:No charge for initial consultation.M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & pilger, p.c .307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180. Tel: (703) 281-2161.Fax: (703) 281-9464.E-mail: [email protected]

H.a . g il l & so n, inc .: Family-ownedand operated firm specializing in the leasingand management of fine single-familyhouses, condominiums and cooperatives inWashington, D.C. and Montgomery Countysince 1888. While we operate with cutting-edge technology, we do business the old-fash-ioned way: providing close personal attentionto our clients and their properties. We provideexpertise in dealing with jurisdictional legalrequirements, rent control, property registra-tion and lead paint requirements. We closelyscreen all tenant applications and are onlinewith Equi-fax Credit Information Services whichprovides our firm with instantaneous hard-copycredit reports. You can rest assured while youare abroad that your property will be in themost capable hands. Please call John Gill Jr.at (202) 338-5000 or e-mail him at:

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