APHIS TURNS 50 NEW CORE PRECEPTS - INSIDE
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
P U B L I S H E D BY T H E A M E R I CA N F O R E I G N S E R V I C E A S S O C I AT I O N APRIL 2022
APHIS TURNS 50
INSIDE THE
NEW CORE PRECEPTS
April 2022 Volume 99, No. 3
Focus On
New Core Precepts Cover Story
33 36 24
The New Core Precepts The Case for a Small but Mighty:
and What They Mean Foreign Service Core APHIS Turns 50
After the first significant overhaul Precept on DEIA APHIS’ compact cadre of FSOs
since 2015, the State Department Making engagement a requirement are on the front lines keeping
core precepts are lean and tuned to will help move support for diversity American agricultural trade
the diplomatic requirements of the and equity beyond words. healthy, flowing and growing
21st century. around the globe.
By Kim McClure
By Lisa Vickers By Karen Sliter and
Russell Duncan
Feature
40
The Little Book That Could:
Inside a U.S. Embassy,
Telling the Foreign Service
Story for More Than a
Quarter Century
This diplomacy primer introduces
the people of the U.S. Foreign Service
to a worldwide audience.
By Donna Scaramastra Gorman
FS Heritage FS Know-How
46 51
Jeannette Lafrance: How To Be a
A Pioneering Zooming Success
Foreign Service Woman With virtual meetings and hybrid
The upheaval of World War II opened arrangements likely to remain
opportunities for adventurous women, standard practice, this primer is
including in the U.S. Foreign Service. bound to come in handy.
By Larissa Moseley By Robin Quinville
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 5
FOREIGN
SERVICE
Perspectives
7 77
President’s Views Reflections Departments
The Big Impact of a Small Agency Touching the Ceiling
By Eric Rubin By Vincent Chiarello 10 Letters
9 78 14 Letters-Plus
Letter from the Editor Local Lens 17 Talking Points
Happy Anniversary, APHIS! Abu Dhabi, UAE
By Shawn Dorman B y A d a m We s t 64 Films
22 68 Books
Speaking Out
No One Was Listening: Russia, 1992
By Kristin K. Loken
Marketplace
72 Real Estate
75 Classifieds
76 Index to Advertisers
AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION
53 AFSA President Discusses Challenges 58 Consult AFSA’s Tax Guide Online
Facing the Foreign Service 59 AFSA Seeks Award Nominations for 2022
53 AFSA Meets with Secretary of State Blinken 60 AFSA President Speaks at Havana Syndrome
54 State VP Voice—The Need for Data-Driven Conference
DEIA Decisions 60 Daily Chatter Offers AFSA Discount
55 USAID VP Voice—FSO Scarcity: 61 AFSA Welcomes New Hires to the
Stretching the Limits Foreign Service
56 Retiree VP Voice—Foreign Service and 61 Become an AFSA Post Representative
AFSA Centennials
62 AFSA Welcomes New Publications
56 AFSA Governing Board Meeting, Jan. 19, 2022 Coordinator
57 AFSA Treasurer’s 2021 Report 63 Nominate Family Members for AAFSW
58 Save the Date: AFSA’s Foreign Service Day and DACOR Awards
Programming
On the Cover—Design by Caryn Suko-Smith of Driven by Design LLC. Photos from left: Dutch tulips, courtesy of Karen Sliter; a “hobby” sheep
farm threatened by foot-and-mouth disease during the 2001 outbreak in the United Kingdom, courtesy of APHIS Vienna; female medfly pumps
eggs into a ripe coffee berry, courtesy of Scott Bauer/USDA.
6 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL
PRESIDENT’S VIEWS
The Big Impact of a Small Agency
BY ERIC RUBIN
T
his month’s cover story high- AFSA takes seriously its mission to Foreign Service reform and moderniza-
lights the impressive work of represent and serve all members of the tion, we want to ensure that changes treat
our Foreign Service colleagues U.S. Foreign Service in the six federal the Foreign Service as one institution
in the U.S. Animal and Plant agencies and departments that host For- whenever possible. Our members have
Health Inspection Service of eign Service components: State, USAID, shared their ideas for change and their
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Commerce/FCS, USDA/FAS, USDA/ frustrations with the way things work (or
people of APHIS are unsung heroes who APHIS and USAGM/VOA. We are proud all too often, fail to work) in their agencies.
keep our agricultural and natural resource that all six bargaining units have elected We will coordinate closely with members
industries safe from invasive pests and AFSA as their sole legal union representa- and with staff in both houses of Congress
diseases, safeguard the transport of live- tive under federal labor laws. And we are to bring about legislative changes needed
stock and pets and help expand markets determined to avoid being seen as “State- to make our work more effective and our
for U.S. plant and animal products. centric” or, even worse, acting as such. careers more manageable and rewarding.
We’re highlighting APHIS, the second- With more than 80 percent of the Most importantly, we urge the Biden
smallest agency with a Foreign Service Foreign Service belonging to State, it is administration to act on the president’s
component, on the occasion of its 50th not surprising that many journalists, January 2021 Executive Order on Protect-
anniversary. The APHIS Foreign Service foreign diplomats and everyday citizens ing the Federal Workforce and April 2021
illustrates how a small group of highly think of the Foreign Service and the State Executive Order Establishing the White
skilled, highly qualified public servants Department as synonymous. Those of us House Task Force on Worker Organizing
can make a huge impact on our country’s who have served overseas with FS col- and Empowerment, which is chaired by
security and prosperity. leagues from agencies other than our own, Vice President Harris.
Here’s a great example: APHIS kept however, quickly learn that the phrase The executive orders call for federal
the New World screwworm from reinfect- “one team” is more than just a slogan. agencies and departments to work col-
ing American cattle herds after it was Both the Foreign Service Act of 1946 laboratively with federal employee unions
eradicated in the U.S. in 1966. Working and 1980 stipulated the establishment of to address problems and to negotiate sub-
closely with the governments of Mexico an advisory board of the Foreign Service, stantive changes before they are decided
and Central America, APHIS succeeded in in part to coordinate among branches of and announced. To date, we have not
eliminating this costly pest all the way to the Foreign Service. That board has never seen any significant implementation of
the Panama-Colombia border by 2006. really functioned. either order in any of the Foreign Service
Those efforts saved thousands of cattle The creation of the Office of Foreign agencies.
and billions of dollars in agricultural Assistance (“F”) at State in 2006 has led There is strength in unity, and as one
resources. It’s not surprising that most to significantly improved coordination Foreign Service we can better achieve our
Americans don’t and information sharing between State nation’s foreign affairs, national security
know what APHIS and USAID bureaus and offices. It also and foreign assistance objectives. AFSA
does for them. It is has its detractors, who complain that it welcomes your ideas on how we can
surprising, however, added layers of bureaucracy and review work to achieve the vision of one Foreign
that many of us in to already complicated decision-making Service, in service to our country. As
the Foreign Service processes. always, please let us know your thoughts
don’t know either. As AFSA refines its priority goals for at member@afsa.org. n
Ambassador Eric Rubin is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 7
FOREIGN
CONTACTS
SERVICE
www.afsa.org
Editor-in-Chief, Director of Publications
Shawn Dorman: dorman@afsa.org
Senior Editor
Susan Brady Maitra: maitra@afsa.org
Managing Editor
Kathryn Owens: owens@afsa.org AFSA Headquarters: FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Associate Editor (202) 338-4045; Fax (202) 338-6820 Director of Finance and Facilities
Julia Wohlers: wohlers@afsa.org State Department AFSA Office: Femi Oshobukola: oshobukola@afsa.org
(202) 647-8160; Fax (202) 647-0265 Manager, HR and Operations
Publications Coordinator
USAID AFSA Office: Cory Nishi: cnishi@afsa.org
Hannah McDaniel: mcdaniel@afsa.org
(202) 712-1941; Fax (202) 216-3710 Controller
Business Development Manager— FCS AFSA Office: Kalpna Srimal: srimal@afsa.org
Advertising and Circulation (202) 482-9088; Fax (202) 482-9087 Member Accounts Specialist
Molly Long: long@afsa.org Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org
GOVERNING BOARD
Art Director IT and Infrastructure Coordinator
President
Caryn Suko Smith Aleksandar “Pav” Pavlovich:
Hon. Eric S. Rubin: rubin@afsa.org
pavlovich@afsa.org
Editorial Board Secretary
Alexis Ludwig, Chair Daniel Crocker: crocker@afsa.org
COMMUNICATIONS
Hon. Robert M. Beecroft Treasurer
Jane Carpenter-Rock Director of Communications
Hon. John O’Keefe: okeefe@afsa.org
Daniel Crocker Ásgeir Sigfússon: sigfusson@afsa.org
State Vice President
Joel Ehrendreich Manager of Outreach and Internal
Thomas Yazdgerdi: YazdgerdiTK@state.gov
Harry Kopp Communications
USAID Vice President
Bronwyn Llewellyn Allan Saunders: saunders@afsa.org
Jason Singer: jsinger@usaid.gov
Jess McTigue Online Communications Manager
FCS Vice President
Joe Tordella Jeff Lau: lau@afsa.org
Vivian Walker Jay Carreiro: Jay.Carreiro@trade.gov
Awards and Scholarships Manager
Hon. Laurence Wohlers FAS Vice President
Theo Horn: horn@afsa.org
Lisa Ahramjian: ahramjian@afsa.org
Retiree Vice President
THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS MEMBERSHIP AND OUTREACH
John K. Naland: nalandfamily@yahoo.com
PROFESSIONALS Director, Programs and Member Engagement
State Representatives
The Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), Christine Miele: miele@afsa.org
Joshua Archibald
2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is Manager, Outreach and
published monthly, with combined January-February Camille Dockery
Strategic Communications
and July-August issues, by the American Foreign Service Kimberly Harrington
Association (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Nadja Ruzica: ruzica@afsa.org
Maria Hart
Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the Membership Operations Coordinator
writers and does not necessarily represent the views of Christen Machak
Erin Oliver: oliver@afsa.org
the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries Hui Jun Tina Wong
and submissions are invited, preferably by email. The Coordinator of Member Recruitment
USAID Representative
Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, and Benefits
Sharon Carter
photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. Perri Green: green@afsa.org
All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. FCS Alternate Representative
Counselor for Retirees
AFSA reserves the right to reject advertising that is not Vacant
in keeping with its standards and objectives. The appear- Dolores Brown: brown@afsa.org
FAS Alternate Representative
ance of advertisements herein does not imply endorse- Member Events Coordinator
ment of goods or services offered. Opinions expressed in Vacant
Frances Raybaud: raybaud@afsa.org
advertisements are the views of the advertisers and do USAGM Representative
not necessarily represent AFSA views or policy. Journal Steve Herman
subscription: AFSA member–$20, included in annual LABOR MANAGEMENT
APHIS Representative
dues; student–$30; others–$50; Single issue–$4.50. General Counsel
For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, Vacant
Sharon Papp: PappS@state.gov
$36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., Retiree Representatives
and at additional mailing offices. Indexed by the Public Deputy General Counsel
Mary Daly
Affairs Information Services (PAIS). Raeka Safai: SafaiR@state.gov
Philip A. Shull
Senior Staff Attorneys
Email: journal@afsa.org
Zlatana Badrich: BadrichZ@state.gov
Phone: (202) 338-4045 STAFF
Neera Parikh: ParikhNA@state.gov
Fax: (202) 338-8244 Executive Director
Labor Management Counselor
Web: www.afsa.org/fsj Ásgeir Sigfússon: sigfusson@afsa.org
Colleen Fallon-Lenaghan:
Executive Assistant to the President
© American Foreign Service Association, 2022 FallonLenaghanC@state.gov
Amber Dukes: dukes@afsa.org
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Senior Labor Management Advisor
Office Coordinator
James Yorke: YorkeJ@state.gov
Postmaster: Send address changes to Therese Thomas: therese@afsa.org
Labor Management Coordinator
AFSA, Attn: Address Change
Patrick Bradley: BradleyPG@state.gov
2101 E Street NW PROFESSIONAL POLICY ISSUES AND
Washington DC 20037-2990 Senior Grievance Counselor
ADVOCACY
Heather Townsend: TownsendHA@state.gov
Director of Professional Policy Issues
USAID Labor Management Advisor
Julie Nutter: nutter@afsa.org
Certified Sourcing Sue Bremner: sbremner@usaid.gov
SUSTAINABLE
FORESTRY Director of Advocacy
INITIATIVE Grievance Counselors
www.sfiprogram.org Kim Greenplate: greenplate@afsa.org
SFI-01268
Benjamin Phillips: PhillipsBE@state.gov
Policy Analyst
Briana Odom: OdomB@state.gov
Sean O'Gorman: ogorman@afsa.org
8 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Happy Anniversary, APHIS!
B Y S H AW N D O R M A N
I
n early March, winding my way for the first time in more than five years. the 1940s and ’50s: “Jeannette Lafrance:
through the snaking security line at We present two complementary vantage A Pioneering Foreign Service Woman.”
the airport on St. Thomas, USVI, on points on the changes, including the The FS Know-How from Robin Quin-
my way back to Washington, I was addition of a dedicated diversity and ville gives tips on “How To Be a Zooming
practically jumping up and down at inclusion precept. Success” in the new virtual and hybrid
the sight of one big poster after another The first inside look is from a human working world. In Reflections, Vincent
aiming to keep U.S. pigs safe and pre- resources perspective, by Director of the Chiarello remembers “Touching the
vent the spread of African swine fever Bureau of Global Talent Management’s Ceiling” of the Sistine Chapel. And in
across borders. Office of Performance Evaluation Lisa the Speaking Out, Kristin Loken takes us
The posters were from the Animal Vickers, who describes how the new pre- back to Russia in 1992, when “No One
and Plant Health Inspection Service, the cepts came to be and what the changes Was Listening.”
small federal agency we celebrate this mean. This month’s reviews merit special
month as it turns 50. No one here in line The second, by FSO Kim McClure, mention: Eric Rubin on the new memoir
knows what APHIS is, I thought, and a senior policy adviser in the Office of by Marie Yovanovitch, Lessons from the
they should! Diversity and Inclusion, describes why Edge, and Laura Kennedy on Tog-
I had to resist showing off the April a diversity precept is a “game changer,” zhan Kassenova’s Atomic Steppe: How
proof pages about APHIS on my iPad as giving every employee a direct role in Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb. And in a
I put the device on the belt. No sense in advancing DEIA. special film review, Jane Carpenter-Rock
causing a ruckus with the Department And while “core precepts” may sound and Maryum Saifee reflect on the mid-
of Homeland Security, and we went on like internal bureaucracy, other agencies February PBS release, “The American
through, pork-free and clear. and even private sector entities should Diplomat.”
It is my great pleasure now to be take note, as this move may (or may not) As we go to print with this rather
able to introduce our cover story on prove to be an effective step toward real positive, dare I say uplifting, edi-
the “Small but Mighty” APHIS Foreign cultural and institutional change. tion, Russian forces push deeper into
Service—protecting the health of U.S. The April feature from Donna Scara- Ukraine. The impossible is becoming
agriculture and promoting trade oppor- mastra Gorman, “The Little Book That very real, the devastation palpable.
tunities for American producers—by Could: Inside a U.S. Embassy, Telling the As of mid-March, it is difficult to see a
veteran (and veterinarian) APHIS FSO Foreign Service Story for More Than a diplomatic path out of what Russian
Karen Sliter and APHIS FSO Russell Quarter Century,” is another anniversary President Vladimir Putin seems to be
Duncan. celebration (albeit a few months late). marching into.
This month’s focus is on the State It’s been 25 years since the publication As a monthly, we cannot cover
Department’s new core precepts—the of the first edition of AFSA’s popular breaking news, but we will continue to
criteria by which book and 10 years since the publication keep a diplomacy lens on what is hap-
State Foreign Ser- of the third edition—and the book keeps pening. To our readers with experience
vice employees are on selling, introducing the people and in the region, especially recently, we
evaluated for promo- the work of the U.S. Foreign Service. invite you to please share your perspec-
tion—which were In FS Heritage, Larissa Moseley tells tive on Russia's war on Ukraine. Write to
renegotiated recently the story of an FSO who blazed a trail in journal@afsa.org. n
Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 9
LETTERS
Retirees, Rejoin AFSA! GWOT Truth-Telling generation of diplomats may not experi-
Last year, I began planning in earnest Larry Butler’s “The Global War on ence constant personal interaction with
for retirement after 30 years of service Terror and Diplomatic Practice” (Sep- foreigners, a hallmark of the profession for
as a Foreign Service officer. I’d always tember 2021) is thoughtful, a “whole-of- centuries—not to mention missing out on
placed the highest value on my long- career” reflection on GWOT and diplo- “sauntering among the local people.”
standing membership in AFSA, so I matic malpractice. And it is unsparing. After finishing the piece, I felt a little
researched the benefits accorded to Good of the FSJ to run it, not run from it. depressed by its truth-telling but, as
retiree members. Butler employs to in the familiar paradox, buoyed by its
Looking at its easy-to-use great effect his histori- truth.
website (afsa.org), I discov- cal and institutional Fletcher M. Burton
ered that retiree members matrix, looking at FSO, retired
receive many perks, including distinct periods (Cold Nashville, Tennessee
a subscription to the invalu- War, interwar, GWOT,
able Foreign Service Journal now great power Moscow Signal Concerns
and numerous discounts from competition) and Jim Schumaker’s “Before Havana
retailers. Moreover, retiree considering policy Syndrome, There Was Moscow Signal”
members can sign up to receive frameworks (multi- (January-February 2022) stirred concerns
the Daily Media Digest and the lateral, bilateral and and questions in us. Here’s our story.
AFSA Retiree Newsletter. AFSA unilateral). I was assigned to Embassy Paris in 1969
also includes retiree members in That’s insightful for my first tour as what is now referred to
focused events and discussions. for those of us who lived as an office management specialist. I met
These are just some of the tangible through these periods and worked within my husband, Leo Cyr (U.S. Air Force), in
aspects of membership. The intan- these frameworks. It should be used in January 1970 while he was assigned to the
gible facets are as important given that A-100 training. Defense Intelligence Agency’s security
AFSA retiree membership is a bridge And Balkan hands will appreciate his office at the Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam.
to continued engagement in interna- reference to their struggles in the 1990s, We married in Paris in April 1972, soon
tional affairs. A retiree can live any- seen by many of their colleagues at the after the proscription against FS women
where in America or the world and still time as a curious obsession, quixotic. marrying was abolished.
play a vital part in the AFSA collective. Striking for me: Twice he cites a Dip- We returned to Washington in 1973:
Through membership, a retiree is also lomatic Security assistant secretary (by Ann to State; Leo to the Pentagon. Leo
directly supporting the premier platform name no less), but not a single Secretary retired from the USAF in 1974 and a few
devoted to representing and serving the of State; he also recognizes the impor- months later joined the State Department
foreign affairs community. tance of U.S. military regional commands, as a “communicator.” We arrived in Beirut,
I should also note that membership but doesn’t mention State’s regional our first tandem assignment, in March
dues are low. Rates are pegged to the bureaus—all of which, especially the 1975—a week later, the civil war began. I
approximate level of a retiree’s annuity omissions, illustrate his points. Unsparing. was evacuated to Athens in April 1976; Leo
and can be deducted automatically. Butler argues that not only is State was evacuated in June.
With these facts in hand, I’m proud to sidelined in Washington, but the Foreign There’s actually a rather long story
say that my first act after retirement was Service is marginalized out in the field as involved; but to fulfill our 18 months
to rejoin AFSA! I strongly recommend the culture has become “inward-looking, abroad before home leave and transfer to
that foreign affairs professionals entering preoccupied with security, suspicious of Hong Kong, we were sent to Moscow on
the retirement portal consider joining, locals and unwilling to take risks.” Very temporary duty from August to October
as well. regrettable. His most acerbic critique. 1976.
Joseph L. Novak Hard to imagine the Balkan hands This was supposedly at the end of
FSO, retired back in the day trying to operate under the microwaving. The majority of my
Washington, D.C. such constraints. And, sadly, the new time was spent in the science and com-
10 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALmercial sections. The other OMS in the In a pre–Foreign Service existence, I An Unnatural Death
science section was quite often ill for spent four years working as a contractor in Russia, 1873
a variety of reasons. This appeared to at our embassy in Moscow (my office Jim Schumaker’s recent article on the
happen with several family member was the second oval window from the “Moscow Signal” (January-February)
employees throughout the embassy. left on the second floor). reminds of the special challenges associ-
Leo and I were shuffled from one I was there from 1993 to 1997, a little bit ated with postings in Russia—whether
apartment in the embassy building to after most of the events in the article, but in the Russian Federation, the Soviet
another whenever a family in the com- we were still aware of high-level observa- Union or Imperial Russia. Among those
munications section went on vacation— tion efforts. The “new” embassy building, recognized on the C Street lobby AFSA
all apartments faced the main ring road. the one full of Soviet bugs, stood testa- Memorial Plaques is Madden Summers,
We regularly had to have blood tests ment to those efforts. who died from “Exhaustion” in Moscow
taken, and the explanation was: “There’s I have wondered about the long-term in 1918.
nothing wrong. This is just a precaution- effects of sitting by a window in that Not currently included on the
ary course of action.” Special screens were embassy for four years. Thankfully, to memorial is the chief of mission in
installed on the windows facing the ring this point, I seem not 1873, James Lawrence Orr, who died
road. Again, management said: “There’s to have been affected. in St. Petersburg on May 5,
nothing wrong; this is just precautionary.” However, I did see 1873, at age 50 of pneumonia,
Approximately a week before we were potential evidence of two months after presenting
scheduled to leave, I developed medical harmful effects. his credentials at the court of
problems, was prescribed medication There used to be the tsar.
and had to have bed rest to keep my legs a long row of trees The vast majority of our
raised because the doctor was afraid of along the Garden 19th-century diplomat predeces-
blood clots occurring. Luckily, nothing Ring Road in Mos- sors who died in service over-
further happened along these lines. We cow. For miles seas fell to infectious diseases,
participated in the Johns Hopkins study along this major not violence or natural disaster.
on the microwaving but never heard a Moscow bou- St. Petersburg, built by Peter the
thing from anyone. levard a tree had been Great on former marshlands to be
Can we attribute the fact that our planted roughly every 20 feet. The trees his “Window to Europe,” was Imperial
eyesight declined to our tour in Mos- immediately in front of the old embassy Russia’s capital for two centuries (1712-
cow? I had cataracts removed in Kuala building, however, were dead. Yet the 1918). In addition to a showcase of
Lumpur in 1999 and Washington, D.C., others along the ring road seemed to stunning architecture, it was a notorious
in 2001. In the intervening years after flourish. cesspool of disease. In 1889 St. Peters-
our 1976 Moscow service, Leo also had That served, at least to me, as stark burg gifted the world the pandemic
a detached retina and cataracts, and has evidence that something different was known as the Russian flu. Medical care
been undergoing injections for macular going on in the area of the embassy. there was notoriously substandard.
degeneration since 2010. I am by no means an arborist, but it Orr lived a full life before dying
Ann I. Cyr and Leo J. Cyr seems to me that the trees may have prematurely as chief of mission in St.
FSOs, retired been susceptible to microwave beams Petersburg. However, the back story of
Delray Beach, Florida aimed at that building. Orr, appointed by President Ulysses S.
Thanks again for your excellent Grant to be minister to Russia in part as
Telltale Trees? coverage of the Foreign Service com- an act of post–Civil War reconciliation,
Your January-February article on munity. I read every issue with great is complex, as I learned recently after
the Moscow Signal (Jim Schumaker, interest. discovering we are distantly related.
“Before Havana Syndrome, There Was Dave Citron He finished the University of Virginia
Moscow Signal”) sure brought back a lot FSO, retired with a degree in law at age 19. As a
of memories! Westminster, Maryland member of the South Carolina State
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 11House from 1844 to 1848, Orr was a for Black people (a majority of South designations certainly didn’t stop them
slave-owning supporter of states’ Carolina residents between the Revolu- from using terror as a weapon. Neither
rights who opposed John C. Calhoun’s tionary and Civil Wars), but not passage was it helpful nor accurate to lump these
“Nullifier” pre-secessionist efforts. of the 14th Amendment. subnational separatist groups in with
Elected to the U.S. House of Repre- Orr joined the Republican Party in radical leftist and extremist sectarian
sentatives for five terms starting at age 1870 and endorsed President Grant’s entities like the Red Brigades, Red Army
28, Orr was the 22nd Speaker of the anti–Ku Klux Klan initiatives at the 1872 Faction, Shining Path, Hamas, the Lord’s
House (1857-1859) by age 37. Republican convention. In a recipro- Resistance Army and Islamic Jihad.
Following President Abraham cal gesture of North-South reconcilia- This goes beyond the notion that one
Lincoln’s November 1860 election, Orr tion, Grant, in turn, nominated Orr as person’s terrorist is another’s freedom
attended South Carolina’s December con- minister to Russia, a diplomatic posting fighter. The Stern Gang’s Yitzhak Shamir
vention that voted unanimously to leave cut prematurely short by his 1873 death and Irgun’s Menachem Begin are prime
the Union. After outgoing President James along the banks of the Neva. examples of how avowed terrorists can be
Buchanan refused to turn over control of Orr made the news on Juneteenth later politically rehabilitated and hailed
federal forts along South Carolina’s coast 2020 when Speaker of the House Nancy as leaders.
to the state, Orr was one of three commis- Pelosi ordered the removal of official por- (Shamir even gave himself the nick-
sioners sent to Washington after Lincoln’s traits of four former Speakers who had name “Michael” because of his admi-
inauguration to negotiate a handover of actively participated in the Confederate ration for IRA leader Michael Collins,
the forts to avert armed conflict. military and political efforts to secede. who—after directing numerous “The
Lincoln refused and instead attempted George Kent Squad” assassinations of British officials
to resupply Fort Sumter in Charleston Senior Foreign Service officer and their Irish informers—signed the
Harbor, triggering the bombardment of Washington, D.C. Anglo-Irish Treaty.)
Fort Sumter that began the Civil War. Orr Pegging Gerry Adams as a terrorist
immediately organized the South Carolina Rethink the Approach until 2006 and Nelson Mandela as one
First Regiment, known as Orr’s Rifles, to Separatist Groups until 2008, moreover, made us look out
assigned to Stonewall Jackson’s Second The Dec. 6, 2021, centennial of the of touch with historic developments well
Corps as part of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Anglo-Irish Treaty, in which the British underway in Northern Ireland and South
Northern Virginia. agreed to withdraw from all but the six Africa.
Orr returned to politics full time in northern provinces of Ireland, reminded During my 1996-1998 assignment to
1862, serving in the Confederate Senate me that a discussion of how best to deal Ethiopia, Oromo representatives told me
from 1862 to 1865, including as chair with nationalist and resistance move- repeatedly that although the OLF sought
of the Confederate Foreign Relations ments typically dismissed as unrepentant independence for Oromia, it would be
Committee. “Orr’s Rifles” were present terrorist organizations is long overdue. amenable to greater power-sharing with
at Appomattox for Lee’s April 1865 sur- It is time to make an objective the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolution-
render to Ulysses S. Grant. appraisal of our past dealings (or lack ary Democratic Front in Addis Ababa,
After the war, Orr switched tack, thereof ) with subnational insurgencies led at the time by former Tigray People’s
seeking to secure South Carolina’s full with territorial aspirations such as the Liberation Front fighters.
restoration of rights within the Union. Irish Republic Army, the African National The Oromo representatives rejected
He served as South Carolina governor, Congress, the Palestine Liberation OLF’s designation as a terrorist orga-
including as the state’s first elected Organization, Hezbollah, the Kurdistan nization, contending that its leaders
executive, from 1865 to 1868, as Recon- Workers’ Party, the Basque Homeland would negotiate if given the chance. Not
struction began. and Liberty (ETA) group and the Oromo surprisingly, they pointed out parallels
Reform and reconciliation drove Liberation Front. with the PLO.
Orr’s postwar positioning, which some Merely designating them as terrorist Once Yasser Arafat and the PLO were
political rivals derided as opportun- groups and refusing to acknowledge their accorded official recognition and oppor-
ism. He advocated limited voting rights grievances has accomplished little. Our tunities to parlay with Israeli authorities,
12 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALFatah-instigated violence decreased mark- The American International School of
edly; and, even more amazingly, security Monrovia became a part of that shared
cooperation with our encouragement and history when it opened in 1960 as the
support was initiated. American Cooperative School. Liberia’s
This past January marked 50 years brutal civil wars, and later Ebola, forced
since Bloody Sunday in Derry, Northern the school to close several times over the
Ireland—arguably the most appalling decades.
incident of The Troubles. It unleashed a Today, despite setbacks from COVID-
tit-for-tat period of wanton violence that 19, AISM is reenergized and focused on
took the lives of numerous innocents the future. This year, AISM accepted its
throughout Northern Ireland and Great first high school students, with plans in
Britain. place to expand to a fully accredited high
That tragedy was commemorated by the school within just a couple of years.
Irish band The Cranberries in an anguished As part of the bicentennial initia-
and haunting lament, “Zombie.” I believe tive, AISM will also launch a scholarship
our entry-level officers should have a program beginning with the 2022-2023
session listening to that song, along with school year.
“Peace Train” by Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) At this historic moment, AISM seeks to
before having a heavy-duty discussion on reconnect with alumni, especially those
whether there are tools other than wanton who attended the American Coopera-
violence to achieve nationhood or address tive School. If you or your family member
irredentist claims. attended ACS or AISM, we’d love to hear
Hopefully, a future FSJ edition will from you!
debate the merits of negotiating with sub- Please contact administration@
national separatist organizations or having aismonrovia.org with the subject line
nothing to do with them. “Alumni”.
George W. Aldridge Sunshine Ison
FSO, retired FSO
Arlington, Texas Monrovia, Liberia n
Seeking Monrovia School
Alums CORRECTION
On Jan. 7, 2022, Liberia kicked off a In the March book review on Vision
year of events to mark the bicentennial or Mirage, the name of the national
of the arrival of free Black settlers from security adviser dispatched to Riyadh
the United States. These settlers, many of should be Jake Sullivan. We regret
the error.
whom were born into slavery, would join
indigenous Liberians and other Black
immigrants to found Africa’s first indepen-
dent republic. Share your
Liberia: The Land of Return, as the thoughts about
initiative is called, hopes to commemorate
this month’s issue.
Liberia’s shared history with the United Submit letters
States and attract visits and investment to the editor:
by the diaspora and others, with a special journal@afsa.org
focus on African Americans.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 13LETTERS-PLUS
RESPONSE TO JANUARY-FEBRUARY APPRECIATION, “COLIN POWELL (1937–2021): LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP”
My Role Model, Guiding Light
and North Star for 30 Years
BY STACY D. WI L L IA M S
O
n Oct. 18, I learned In graduate school at
sadly that the man Southern University in
I admired and 1996, I watched to see
sought to emulate if the former chair-
over 30 years had man of the Joint Chiefs
died. Colin L. Powell was a driv- of Staff would run for
ing force for much of my adult president.
life. I was fortunate over three A year later, when I
decades to have my own Master joined the State Depart-
PJF MILITARY COLLECTION/ALAMY
Class through the words, deeds and expe- ment as a presidential management
riences of General Powell, as he pre- intern, a mentor gave me Colin Powell’s
ferred to be called, the man who created My American Journey (Random House,
“Powell’s 13 Rules” and is widely quoted 1995) so I would become a voracious
as saying: “It is not where you start, but reader and get a better understanding
where you finish.” of how leaders became leaders. She suc- Secretary of State Colin Powell walks with
Indonesian President Susilo Yudhoyono
The beginning for me was in Shreve- ceeded on both counts. (on Powell’s immediate left) in Banda
port, Louisiana. At the ripe old age of 18, I I read it from cover to cover within Aceh, Sumatra, on Jan. 5, 2005, days
was scanning television channels one day weeks, along with other books on Powell. after the deadly tsunami struck.
and came across an African American I was impressed to find that many of the
standing tall in a military uniform, brief- life lessons and values I was taught in my
ing the press on a war that was underway household and community, Powell had The Nation’s Top Diplomat
in the Middle East. He was poised and received during his upbringing. “Never Then in 2000, President-elect George
controlled the room. forget where you came from.” “Don’t W. Bush named Colin Powell Secretary
Through my mother’s subscriptions to shame this family.” “Don’t take shortcuts of State, the first African American to
Ebony and Jet magazines, I subsequently in life.” “There is no substitute for hard serve as the nation’s top diplomat. Talk
learned that was General Colin L. Powell. work.” about exhilaration and instant jubilation!
My career path quickly became almost
Stacy D. Williams, deputy director in the Office of Haitian Affairs, is chair of spiritual. It felt like someone up above
the Diversity Council in the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere was charting a path specifically for me
Affairs. He joined the State Department as a presidential management intern that would now include the one person I
in 1997 and has held Civil Service assignments in the Office of the Inspector revered most.
General, the Under Secretary for Management’s Office, the Office of the Director Early on in his tenure as Secre-
General, the Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, the U.S. Mission to the Organi- tary, Powell met with members of the
zation of American States and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He has also served as Thursday Luncheon Group. Imagine my
president of the Thursday Luncheon Group. The views expressed in this article are those of the excitement in serving on the planning
author, and not necessarily those of the Department of State or the U.S. government. committee for the event, beaming with
14 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALanticipation and a new sense of purpose
so early in my career. In subsequent
years, he would publish congratulatory
letters during TLG’s respective 40th and
45th commemoration programs.
In his first week as Secretary, Powell
stated: “I am not coming in just to be the
foreign policy adviser to the president.
I’m coming in as the leader and manager
of this department.”
To address staffing issues that had
plagued the department since the
mid-1990s, Powell announced that the
Diplomatic Readiness Initiative would
hire 1,158 employees above attrition to
ensure officers could secure leadership
and other longer-term training opportu-
nities between assignments, as is done
in the Department of Defense. He took
his case to Congress, securing additional
resources for the groundbreaking initia-
tive.
Powell then announced that he
wanted the makeup of the department to
reflect America’s diverse demographics.
Suddenly I was among those called on
to participate in photo and video shoots,
to serve as the face of the State Depart-
ment’s new and improved recruitment
strategy.
Similarly, Powell’s morale-boosting
decision to have a desk officer brief Presi-
dent George W. Bush prior to his first
trip to Mexico immediately reverberated
throughout our domestic offices, U.S.
embassies and consulates around the
world. Powell noted that the desk officer
maintains the expertise and should be
the one tapped for such a high-level
briefing.
This established newfound confidence
that the Secretary would actively call on
a broad range of talent to advance our
foreign policy imperatives and spoke
directly to his “One Team, One Mission”
philosophy.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 15U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
The 2006-2007 Powell Fellows. Front row, from left: Shelby Smith-Wilson, Catherine Rodriguez, Secretary Powell, Stacy D. Williams,
Robert Rhodes. Back row, from left: Susan Raymie, Anna Mansfield, Jeffrey Collins, Aaron Jost, Jessica Davis Ba, Jody Buckneberg,
Stuart Denyer, John Galbraith, Daniel Mahanty and Anish Goel.
Present in the Lives and stood to pose for photos with each and specialists and Civil Service employ-
of His Team retiree, an unassuming male walked up ees and bring them together three or four
At State many offices traditionally for his turn. Thinking that the gentleman’s times a year for training and networking.
host holiday parties during the first two coat needed adjusting, Powell grabbed I was fortunate to be selected in the
weeks of December. It is a welcome way it, pulled on it tightly and stood shoulder 2006-2007 Powell Fellows cohort and
to reconnect and network with colleagues to shoulder for the photo. This hilari- could not wait for our meeting with
and friends over food and drinks. With ous moment broke the monotony of the General Powell at his office in Alexan-
no advance notice, Secretary Powell event, and gave the retiree a remarkable dria, Virginia. Sixteen years after I came
appeared at one of the parties to the story to share with his family and friends to know and admire the name Powell, I,
surprise and amazement of gathering for years to come. along with my cohort, now had an audi-
employees. Regardless of his travel schedule, Pow- ence with this intellectual, statesman, war
The next year, every officer brought a ell made it a priority to officiate at swear- hero and larger-than-life figure.
camera to their party; and, indeed, Powell ing-in ceremonies for U.S. ambassadors More than anything else, I felt a strong
came each year, demonstrating that a and senior principals. He made a point of sense of responsibility because of all the
leader needs to be present in the lives of thanking the families and children who opportunities I had been given. In that
his team members, from senior officers to sacrificed so much so that their fathers or moment, I reimagined myself as a ser-
basement parking attendants. mothers could commit to advancing our vant-leader in the Colin Powell mold. As
Always mindful of his celebrity, Powell foreign affairs relationships and endeav- he once said, and I paraphrase here: Find
would find a way to inject humor and put ors around the globe. His dynamic pres- something larger than yourself, and use
his audience at ease. While someone was ence at these functions created a strong all your talents and abilities to advance it.
introducing him, he would make a show sense of community, especially in light of This is the essence of public service.
of looking at his watch and use his fingers a changing post-9/11 world. As a teenager, I would watch Donnie
on the other hand to create an endless Simpson on Black Entertainment Televi-
circular motion. This would inevitably The Model of sion close each show with the following:
draw a chuckle from the audience and a Servant-Leader “Reach for the moon; even if you miss it,
encourage the presenter to speed up the After Powell’s departure in 2005, you will be amongst the stars.” I submit
formalities. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insti- today that following my polestar, Colin
During a retirement program one year, tuted the Colin L. Powell Fellows Program Powell, I have achieved far more than I
after Powell had completed his remarks to identify promising midlevel FS officers could ever have imagined. n
16 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALTALKING POINTS
Russia Invades Ukraine
Contemporary Quote
O n Feb. 24, Russia began a full-scale
invasion of Ukraine in the largest
conventional military attack on a sover-
This situation [in Ukraine] echoes our history. Kenya and almost every
African country was birthed by the ending of empire. Our borders were
eign state in Europe since World War II. not of our own drawing. They were drawn in the distant colonial metropoles
U.S. embassy operations in Ukraine of London, Paris and Lisbon, with no regard for the ancient nations that they
were moved from Kyiv to Lviv on Feb. cleaved apart.
14 before relocating to the Polish city of At independence, had we chosen to pursue states on the basis of ethnic,
Rzeszow, near the border with Ukraine, a racial or religious homogeneity, we would still be waging bloody wars these
week later. Before departing Kyiv, embassy many decades later.
staff had been instructed to destroy We chose to follow the rules of the Organisation of African Unity and the
computer workstations and networking United Nations charter, not because our borders satisfied us, but because we
equipment and to dismantle the embassy wanted something greater, forged in peace.
telephone system, the Wall Street Journal We believe that all states formed from empires that have collapsed or
reported. Many embassy employees have retreated have many peoples in them yearning for integration with peoples in
been relocated stateside; several hundred neighboring states. This is normal and understandable. ...
people have been evacuated, including However, Kenya rejects such a yearning from being pursued by force. We
family members. must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that
On Feb. 28, a day after Belarus revoked does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression.
its non-nuclear status, U.S. Embassy Minsk We rejected irredentism and expansionism on any basis, including
suspended operations and all American racial, ethnic, religious or cultural factors. We reject it again today.
staff departed the country.
—Kenyan U.N. Ambassador Martin Kimani, in a Feb. 22 speech at the U.N. Security Council.
In a statement issued the day of the
invasion, AFSA President Eric Rubin said
the following: “As fervent believers in the need. They should not be abandoned at During an interview with the Federal
primacy of diplomacy as the principal this terrible time.” News Network’s Federal Drive podcast on
alternative to war and the human suffering Ambassador Rubin, who served in both March 1, Rubin said he’s certain the Rus-
it brings, we watched in horror as Russia Russia and Ukraine earlier in his career, sian government can obtain the employee
shattered the post-WWII and post–Cold emphasized the plight of FSNs in a Feb. 26 directory of the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, and
War settlements: no forcible change of bor- interview with CBS News. Foreign Service the Ukrainians who worked there might
ders, respect for every nation’s sovereignty nationals in Kyiv were given no guidance be singled out for retaliation.
and territorial integrity, and rejection of as to what they should do in the lead up to In an effort to support local staff who
historical grievances as a cause for aggres- the Russian invasion, Rubin told CBS. served at U.S. Embassy Kyiv and their
sion and violence. “What we’re hearing from both our families, former FSO Nathan Schmidt set
“At this wrenching time, AFSA will American colleagues who have left up a fundraiser on GoFundMe through his
support our colleagues and their family Ukraine and from our more than 600 nonprofit organization, Mountain Seed
members who have been evacuated from Ukrainian colleagues … is there was no Foundation. Funds will cover the cost of
Embassies Kyiv and Minsk, as well as our information when it was decided that the lodging in western Ukraine and neighbor-
remaining colleagues in Moscow who American employees would leave,” he ing countries, as well as food and other
continue to serve under the most severe stated. “They left with very little notice. essential needs.
hardships imaginable. We are also deeply They shut down the embassy, they welded By mid-March, the United Nations
concerned for the welfare and safety of the doors shut, and our local employees estimated that more than 2 million people
local national employees in Ukraine and did not have information about what to do had fled Ukraine, crossing into neighbor-
urge the Department of State and other and where to go, if anywhere, would they ing countries to the west such as Poland,
USG agencies to do more to help them be paid, and how they were going to be Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova.
get to safety and provide the support they protected.” U.N. High Commissioner Filippo Grandi
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 17called it “the fastest growing refugee crisis death “removed a major
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
in Europe since World War II” as Russian terrorist threat to the
attacks intensified. world.”
In response, the U.S. imposed unprec- A senior ISIS deputy
edented and extensive sanctions against was also killed in the
Russia, including an executive order raid, although U.S.
Secretary Blinken announced plans to open the new embassy
announced by President Joe Biden on officials did not name during a virtual meeting held on Fiji with Pacific Island leaders.
March 9 banning Russian energy imports. him. There were no U.S.
“We will not be part of subsidizing casualties. The move comes after rioting rocked
Putin’s war,” he said in a press conference. A notorious militant known as the the nation of 700,000 in November
During a visit to Moldova in early Destroyer, Qurayshi became the ISIS 2021. The unrest stemmed from long-
March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken leader in 2019, following the death of simmering regional rivalries, economic
pledged America’s support to the small his predecessor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi problems and concerns about the
former Soviet republic and spoke to U.S. (who, likewise, killed himself and three country’s increasing links with China
Embassy Chisinau staff on March 6. of his children by detonating his suicide after it switched allegiance from Taipei to
“What Russia is doing, what Vladimir vest as he fled U.S. military forces in Beijing three years ago.
Putin is doing, is not only terrible violence northern Syria). The U.S. had operated an embassy in
to men, women, and children,” he said. It is difficult to gauge how his death will the Solomons for five years before closing
“He’s doing terrible violence to the very affect the group. ISIS no longer controls it in 1993. Since then, U.S. diplomats in
principles that lie beneath [the interna- large swathes of Iraq and Syria as it did nearby Papua New Guinea have been
tional] order and are working to keep at the height of its power. The group has accredited to the Solomons, which has a
peace and security around the world. We been struggling for resurgence with deadly U.S. consular agency.
can’t let either of those things go forward attacks in Afghanistan and the region. The State Department said it didn’t
with impunity, because if we do, it opens a expect to build a new embassy immedi-
Pandora’s box that we will deeply, deeply New U.S. Embassy ately but would initially lease space at a
regret not just in Europe but potentially in the Pacific setup cost of $12.4 million. The embassy
around the world.”
The private sector has also made moves
to cut ties with Russia. Netflix, TikTok,
F oreign Service members dreaming
of an assignment to the tropics, take
heart: Secretary of State Antony Blinken
would be located in the capital, Honiara,
and would start small, with just two U.S.
employees and about five local staff.
Google, Apple and Microsoft, among oth- confirmed in February that the State The Peace Corps announced in
ers, suspended services within the country Department will open an embassy in 2019 its plan to reopen an office in the
in early March, and on March 8, The New the Solomon Islands, the largest Pacific Solomon Islands and have its volunteers
York Times reported that McDonald’s, Island nation without a U.S. mission. serve there, and several U.S. agencies are
Starbucks and Coca-Cola had announced President Biden’s new strategy for the establishing government positions with
suspension of operations. Indo-Pacific, released on Feb. 11, empha- portfolios in the Solomons.
sizes deepening partnerships with allies
ISIS Leader in the region “to meet urgent challenges, Executive
Killed in Syria from competition with China to climate Branch
Support
T he leader of the Islamic State terror-
ist group, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi
al-Qurayshi, set off a blast killing himself
change to the pandemic.”
The State Department said Solomon
Islanders value their history of alliance
for
Unions
and members of his family on Feb. 3 as U.S.
forces raided his northern Syria hideout.
President Joe Biden disclosed the over-
with Americans on the battlefields of
World War II, but that the U.S. is in danger
of losing its preferential ties as China
I n a recent
report, the
White House
night raid by American special operations “aggressively seeks to engage” politicians Task Force on Worker Organizing
forces later that day, saying Qurayshi’s and businesspeople there. and Empowerment says federal agencies
18 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALshould be at the forefront of minister and the cabinet. Local
fostering positive relations media reported deaths among
with federal employee unions attackers and the government’s
and improving communica- security team. Embaló later
tions with labor groups. accused a former navy chief with
The task force, established links to the drug trade of orches-
by executive order last year trating the assassination attempt.
and chaired by Vice President While the underlying causes
Kamala Harris and Labor Sec- and mechanics of attempted
retary Marty Walsh, is made takeovers are different from one
up of more than 20 federal nation to another, the trend has
agency heads. Its first report renewed unease about corrup-
to the president in early tion and economic and political
February contains nearly 70 instability in parts of the African
recommendations. continent.
“The Biden-Harris According to the Council on
administration will be the Foreign Relations, this unrest
first to take a comprehensive opens the door for countries
approach to [empowering such as Russia, China, Turkey
workers and strengthening and some Persian Gulf States to
their rights] with the exist- exploit instability and support
ing authority of the executive regimes that allow them to exer-
branch,” the task force wrote. cise influence, extract resources
“Our goal is … to model and legitimize their own anti-
practices that can be followed by state Spate of Coups democratic systems.
and local governments, private sector in Africa Freedom House reported in late 2020
employers, and others.
“Workers face increasing barriers to
organizing and bargaining collectively
T he past two years have seen seven
coups and coup attempts in African
nations. In Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea,
that democracy in dozens of countries
across Africa is worse off amid the pan-
demic.
with their employers, and in 2021, only Mali and Sudan, military leaders suc-
10.3 percent of the workforce was repre- ceeded in seizing power; in Niger and Afghanistan’s
sented by a union, down from more than Guinea-Bissau, they did not. Humanitarian
30 percent in the 1950s.” The current wave of uprisings began Emergency
The report’s recommendations center
on two points. First, federal agencies
should set an example for other employ-
in Mali in August 2020 after former
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was
arrested at gunpoint by government
O n Jan. 30, SIGAR, the Special
Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction, released to Congress its
ers by engaging labor groups through forces. Nine months later, in what many 54th quarterly report, the first since the
labor-management forums before policy deemed a “coup within a coup,” Mali’s U.S. exit from the country.
decisions are finalized, and removing military arrested the interim civilian The 189-page document highlights
barriers from unions trying to increase president and prime minister whose the crisis facing the Afghan population as
membership or organize new bargaining appointments the military had overseen. the result of record drought, rising food
units. The most recent attempt took place in prices, internal displacement and the
Second, agencies should be more Guinea-Bissau in February, when Presi- severe economic downturn and collapse
transparent with unions and employees dent Umaro Sissoco Embaló said heavily of public services following the Taliban’s
alike, and coordinate with each other to armed men attacked the government return to power in August 2021.
be more transparent on labor issues. palace in an attempt to kill him, the prime The United Nations Development Pro-
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2022 1925 Years Ago to ravage the country. The Afghan-Japan
Communicable Disease Hospital, Kabul’s
Strains over NATO Expansion only dedicated COVID-19 facility, reported
a lack of oxygen supplies critical to patient
O pen policy differences introduce obvious
strains into the U.S.-European relations, but
even areas of apparent agreement can conceal
care and shortages in generator fuel, food
and basic supplies like examination gloves.
Supplies of some 36 essential medications
differing European and American perspectives. had already run out by mid-December
One such area is NATO expansion eastward. Here, as 2021.
Thomas L. Friedman pointed out recently, while the Western Europeans Last quarter, the State Department
have gone along with the American initiative, they have done so in part because and USAID told SIGAR that they had
military integration of a state like Poland into NATO may pose fewer immediate suspended all contact with the Afghan
problems than economic integration into the EU, something eastern Europeans government and terminated or suspended
seek just as ardently. Assuming that Russian hostility can be contained by the all on-budget assistance, or funds provided
United States, and that America will bear the lion’s share of the cost of bringing directly to and controlled by Afghan
the armed forces of new members up to NATO standards, Western Europeans authorities. This quarter, USAID said it has
prefer to expand NATO before expanding the EU. resumed some off-budget, or U.S.-man-
In the minds of some European leaders who profess support for NATO expan- aged, activities in Afghanistan.
sion is also the awareness that there are powerful opponents to expansion in Other findings shared in the report
the U.S. Senate, which will have to approve any formal commitment to increase relate to governance and social policies.
the number of countries covered by American security guarantees. The road The Taliban announced a ban on forced
to NATO expansion, in other words, has non-European checkpoints that do not marriages in the country on Dec. 3, 2021,
exist on the road to EU expansion. stating: “A women is not property, but a
Why has the climate of transatlantic relations changed and how can it be noble and free human being; no one can
improved? The explanation and the means of improvement must be sought in give her to anyone in exchange for peace
both Europe and the United States. Liberated from the constraints of the Cold … or to end animosity.” The declaration
War, especially from the need to hang together in order not to hang separately, came amid numerous reports of Afghan
Europe and the U.S. are less inclined to subordinate their separate continental parents selling their daughters to feed the
interests to the common good or to suppress traditional old world/new world rest of their families as starvation grips the
rivalries and prejudices. Each in its own way is preoccupied with internal prob- country.
lems and acts in isolation from the other. The Taliban have also said they are
Is American leadership really indispensable? It certainly is until Europeans developing a new education curriculum
get their act together and agree on common EU foreign and security policies. for 2022. While State told SIGAR it has no
—Monteagle Sterns, retired FSO, from his article, “America & Western Europe,” evidence that such a curriculum has yet
in the Focus on Strained U.S.-European Relations, April 1997 FSJ. become operational, a December 2020
report from the group’s education com-
gramme reported in September that up to dire straits. Aid continues to flow into the mission reveals a central theme: the desire
97 percent of Afghanistan’s population was country—albeit at reduced levels. to remove “foreign influence” and music
at risk of slipping below the poverty line “As of January 2022, the United States, from the school curriculum.
by mid-2022. The World Health Organiza- the single largest donor, was provid- The U.S. Congress established SIGAR
tion and the U.N. World Food Programme ing $782 million in humanitarian aid in in 2008 to provide independent, objective
estimated that 3.2 million Afghan children Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in oversight of Afghanistan relief and recon-
under age 5 will have suffered from acute the region,” SIGAR states. “Funds will struction projects, for which approximately
malnutrition this past winter. flow from USAID through independent $146 billion has been approved since 2002.
The U.S. and the international com- humanitarian organizations.” (Military spending accounted for another
munity have not ignored Afghanistan’s Meanwhile, the pandemic continues $800 billion.) It has been led since 2012
20 APRIL 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALYou can also read
