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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 O CT O B E R 2 0 2 0
MAKING INCLUSION REAL
McCARTHYISM REVISITED
FOREIGN
SERVICE October 2020 Volume 97, No. 8
Focus on Advancing Diversity & Inclusion
22 35
Needed: Diversification
A Management Mindset in the Foreign
Achieving meaningful change requires Agricultural Service
a fundamental shift in the Department Launched five years ago, USDA’s Office
of State’s handling of its most of Civil Rights is working alongside the
important asset: its people. FAS to create a more engaging and
By Charity L. Boyette empowering environment.
B y Va l e r i e B r o w n
27
State’s Problems Are Not 37
New: A Look at the Record One Bureau’s Model
Despite a decades-old legal mandate, for Moving Forward
diversity has simply not been a priority With a spotlight on State’s lack
at the State Department. of diversity in the senior ranks, the
By Richard A. Figueroa Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
has stepped forward with a practical
30 program to create real change.
B y S t a c y D. W i l l i a m s
The Payne Fellowship:
Boosting Diversity 40
at USAID
Launched in 2012, Making Diversity
the Payne Fellowship has proven and Inclusion Real
itself a valuable program. in Foreign Affairs
MICHAEL AUSTIN
B y Yo u s h e a B e r r y Reports from the
Employee Affinity Groups
FS Heritage: McCarthyism Revisited
52 57 61
A Time of “Great Malaise” The Exile of a China Hand: From the FSJ Archive:
The experience of a distinguished John Carter Vincent The McCarthy Years
career FSO offers a look into the in Tangier Inside the
dark side of mid-century America. For the sin of accurately foreseeing Department of State
B y Fe l i c i t y O . Yo s t the success of Mao Tse-tung’s B y J o h n W. Fo r d
communist insurgency, Foreign
Service “China hands” were accused of
disloyalty and punished.
By Gerald Loftus
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 5
FOREIGN
SERVICE
Perspectives
Departments
10 Letters
7 81 12 Letters-Plus
President’s Views Reflections
Taking Stock and Looking Ahead Nixon in Moscow, March 1967 15 Talking Points
By Eric Rubin By Jonathan B. Rickert
73 Books
9 82
Letter from the Editor Local Lens
Continuing the Conversation Reykjavík, Iceland
By Shawn Dorman By Ásgeir Sigfússon
Marketplace
19
Speaking Out 76 Real Estate
Stop Shipping Your
78 Index to Advertisers
Personal Vehicle!
B y Wa r re n Le i s h m a n 79 Classifieds
AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION
63 AFSA Memorial Plaque 67 AFSA on the Hill—
Expansion Planned Hill Advocacy During
63 Announcing the 2020 the Pandemic
AFSA Award Winners 67 A
FSA Voter
64 State VP Voice—Blind EERs: Registration Guide
Would They Make Sense? 68 AFSA Member
65 USAID VP Voice—Some Shining Survey on Bias
in the Foreign Affairs
71
Stars Amid the COVID Dark
Agencies
65 Benjamin Phillips Joins
AFSA LM as Grievance Counselor 69 E xpanding Our Outreach, 71 USAID Rep Trevor Hublin
With Your Help Joins AFSA Governing Board
66 Retiree VP Voice—The Foreign
Service Act of 2022? 70 AFSA’s Legal Defense Fund 71 A
FSA Welcomes Several
Comes to the Rescue Incoming Classes
66 AFSA Names High School Essay
Contest Winner 70 AFSA Governing Board Meeting, 72 Social Security Tax Deferral
August 19, 2020
On the Cover—Photo courtesy of the Payne Fellowship Program/Maraina Montgomery. Payne Fellows gather at the National Press Club.
Top row, from left: Mariela Medina Castellanos (2016), Tracey Lam (2014), Taylor Adams (2013), Ellexis Gurrola (2016) and Hoang Bui
(2016). Bottom row: Suegatha Kai Rennie (2016), Jolisa Brooks (2016), Stephanie Ullrich (2016) and Brittany Thomas (2016).
6 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL
PRESIDENT’S VIEWS
Taking Stock and Looking Ahead
BY ERIC RUBIN
A
s I write this column, we are two us, COVID-19 hit and changed every- Our elected leaders need the advice
months away from November’s thing. The Foreign Service and AFSA have and contributions of senior career
elections. By the time you read been in battle mode ever since. We’ve all experts before they make critical foreign
it, only a month will remain helped support our global community policy decisions. There is no substitute
before we and our fellow citizens make through authorized departure, ordered for experience, and our members collec-
choices that have the potential to affect departure, separation of dependents, tively bring thousands of years of experi-
our lives, and those of our children and medical quarantine and crisis-level staff- ence to their jobs every day.
grandchildren, for many years to come. ing shortages. The Senate’s role of advice and con-
I don’t claim to know how the elec- We’ve worked with the leadership of sent to senior appointments must also
tions will turn out, and I would not even our agencies to support bringing new be restored, so that those carrying out
want to try to prognosticate. What I will members of the Foreign Service on board the American people’s business have
say is that every one of us, as proud citi- virtually, an unprecedented experiment the endorsement and confidence of two
zens of the United States, must vote. And that is now paying dividends every time branches of government, as the Founders
we must also comply with the Hatch Act a new class of talented and dedicated intended.
that governs political activity of federal Americans joins us. AFSA will work hard for change in the
employees. We’ve faced the national crisis of con- coming year: more career officers in chief
This year has been a year unlike any science over fundamental issues of race of mission positions, a more diverse and
in recent memory. Historians will debate and ethnicity in America, and its impact inclusive Service, and more hiring in all
and assess how we as a country and we on our Service and our agencies. As the foreign affairs agencies to compen-
as a planet coped with the challenges the September Journal and this edition sate for years of under-recruitment and a
that came our way, challenges that are demonstrate, AFSA is determined to play generational challenge in terms of retire-
ongoing. a role in shaping our response to these ment and retention.
For now, though, it is worth taking challenges and in shaping the Foreign AFSA has not always stood firm in
stock of what we have accomplished as Service of the future. defense of our members and our profes-
a Service and as an association under As this difficult year draws to a close, sion in the face of unjustified attacks and
trying circumstances. Beginning last fall the unfinished business of bringing the discrimination. We stand firm now, and
and continuing into this year, we stood Foreign Service back to the central role we will continue to do so going forward.
up—as a union and association, as a in American foreign policy formulation It is hard to imagine what 2021 will
Service and as patriotic Americans—to mandated in the Foreign Service Act of bring, after the disorienting changes and
support and defend our colleagues who 1980 remains. That means having Senate- challenges of 2020. But we will be there
were compelled to confirmed senior Foreign Service officers for our members and for the essential
participate in the serving as Under Secretaries and Assis- national institution that is the U.S. For-
legal process of tant Secretaries, or their equivalents, in eign Service.
impeachment. all six of the agencies we represent. Right We count on our members to let us
Just when we now, among those six agencies there are know how we can do better, and to stand
thought we had put only two Senate-confirmed FSOs serving together in solidarity as we look ahead to
that crisis behind at the domestic policymaking level. the next set of surprises. n
Ambassador Eric Rubin is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 7
FOREIGN
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8 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Continuing the Conversation:
Toward a Diverse, Inclusive Foreign Service
B Y S H AW N D O R M A N
T
he recent months of unease from release. Other articles in the Sep- And over at USAID, Youshea Berry
and disruption have presented tember edition have also struck a chord, serves as chair of the Payne Advisory
a unique opportunity to look contributing to broader discussions and Group and brings us the story of “Boost-
in the mirror, face the realities planning now ongoing inside the foreign ing Diversity at USAID” through the
of inequality baked into our society and affairs agencies. Payne Fellowship program.
our institutions, and consider practical It is clearly an important time to put Richard A. Figueroa looks at the
measures to effect real change. For these a spotlight on these issues. The mandate State Department’s record of resistance
reasons, we have decided to keep the for a Foreign Service that represents the to implementation of “even basic EEO
focus on race, diversity and inclusion for diversity of America appears to be an standards.”
a second edition. idea whose time has (finally) come. In “Needed: A Management Mindset,”
Judging from the response to our The September focus, “Addressing Charity L. Boyette makes a strong case
coverage so far and the new and renewed Race, Diversity and Inclusion,” included that to strengthen the Foreign Service
activity on the subject, members of the six articles that not only describe the through diversity, State must prioritize
U.S. Foreign Service and the foreign problems but offer recommendations for management tradecraft in hiring, tenure,
affairs community more broadly are change, actionable proposals for creating promotion and assignments decisions.
determined to put this opportunity to a more diverse, inclusive and equitable Elsewhere, in a practical and convinc-
good use. Foreign Service. We pick up from there in ing Speaking Out, Warren Leishman
How gratifying it is to hear that an this issue, bringing in voices from USAID, explains why everyone should “Stop
FSJ article inspired readers, giving many the Foreign Agricultural Service and from Shipping Your Personal Vehicle!” And
confidence and hope and a sense of com- 10 of the employee affinity groups, all Jonathan Rickert reflects on encounters
munity. So it has been with Julie Chung’s working toward “Making Diversity and with “Nixon in Moscow, March 1967.”
September essay, “The Making of a Real Inclusion Real in Foreign Affairs.” The special FS Heritage package,
American Diplomat,” a reflection on her Stacy D. Williams shares “One “McCarthyism Revisited,” includes Gerald
personal journey from child immigrant Bureau’s Model for Moving Forward,” Loftus on “The Exile of a China Hand: John
from Korea to senior-level diplomat for describing the establishment and the Carter Vincent in Tangier,” Felicity O. Yost
the United States of America. purpose of the Bureau of Western Hemi- on her father’s recollections in “A Time of
Julie Chung received an outpouring sphere Affairs Diversity Council. With ‘Great Malaise’” and excerpts from John
of support and thanks from colleagues innovative programs and outreach, this W. Ford’s 1980 article on his firsthand
around the world (as well as FS can- relatively new but already effective coun- experiences during “The McCarthy Years
didates, think-tanks and the Hill) for cil could be worth replicating in other Inside the Department of State.” Lessons
sharing her story. The bureaus and agencies. for today shine through in each piece.
article was viewed Valerie Brown introduces us to “Diver- In his column AFSA President Eric
thousands of times sification in the Foreign Agricultural Ser- Rubin requests your feedback on how
in the first two weeks vice.” Starting her Foreign Service career AFSA can do better, considering the tri-
19 years ago as the only Black woman als of 2020 and preparing for the chal-
Shawn Dorman is the FSO in FAS, and currently co-chair of the lenges—and opportunities—ahead.
editor of The Foreign Civil Rights EEO Committee for FAS, she’s Please keep in touch and help con-
Service Journal. the right person to tell this story. tinue the conversation. n
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 9
LETTERS
The Roots of State’s Coming to terms with the tarnished
Racist Legacy legacy of our founders, in my view, will
I was moved by the candor and cour- contribute to the conversation that
age of Ambassador Michael McKinley’s Ambassador McKinley so eloquently
Speaking Out, “Changing Mindsets on calls for.
Race at State,” in the July-August Journal. Bob Rackmales
There is indeed, as he underscores, FSO, retired
an urgent need for a “genuinely open Belfast, Maine
conversation about racism at State” as
part of the broad national debate now State Is Not a
swirling around us. Bastion of Racism
Understanding the roots of our legacy Ambassador Michael McKinley’s con-
of institutional racism requires examin- tribution to the July-August FSJ relates
ing the ways in which the architects of personal and family experiences with
our institutions built their racial biases book draft Kennan advocated denying racism within the Department of State.
into how the Foreign Service functioned Blacks voting rights since “we are kinder In line with the old Foreign Service
in its early decades. One of the few books to those who, like our children, are adage that one always fires back at criti-
to focus on this issue is Martin Weil’s openly dependent on our kindness than cisms of one’s country, I would respond
ironically titled A Pretty Good Club: The to those who are nominally able to look that in 26 years in the Foreign Service, I
Founding Fathers of the U.S. Foreign after themselves.” never witnessed an example of white on
Service. Thirty years later, during his first visit Black racism, never heard one racial slur
Weil draws on a wide range of unpub- to Africa, Kennan would write that there coming from a colleague. Rather, racial
lished manuscripts and personal inter- was no reason “to suppose that a reversal conversation turned on “affirmative
views to paint a convincing portrait of of South African policy designed to force action,” on what could be done to recruit
how racial bias became embedded in the racial integration on a reluctant white minorities. The ambassador suggests
nascent Foreign Service through such population by legislative enactment that, in general, things are going down-
devices as the examination and assign- would have consequences any more hill at State. Why should that be?
ment process: “The oral interview before attractive than those which just such a Although the ambassador claims
a panel of Foreign Service officers was policy seems to have produced on many that the vast majority of State employ-
really all that mattered. … The standards a number of great American cities.” ees do not consciously discriminate,
were those of a fashionable Washing- As we approach the outskirts of the he lets no one off the hook; rather, he
ton club. ‘Is he our kind of person?’ No centenary of the Rogers Act, signed into places the blame for endemic racism on
one who clearly was not would pass. If law by President Calvin Coolidge on May “underlying mindsets,” on the “waters of
a black slipped through the net, he was 24, 1924, we should not forget that on inadvertent bias.” Now, that goes really
sent to Liberia until he resigned.” that very same day Coolidge also signed deep, deeper than actual behavior and
Some of the most striking evidence the National Origins Act of 1924, deemed performance, and deep into the realm of
of the racial views of one of the first a “triumph for racial theory and racial “thought control.”
generations of FSOs is contained in the classification.” Thought control, Merriman-Webster
diaries of George Kennan, edited by his- Although the leaders of the new tells us, is “the practice by a totalitarian
torian Frank Costigliola and published Foreign Service did not succeed in government of attempting … to prevent
in 2014. It is jarring to read of Kennan’s convincing Secretary of State Charles subversive and other undesired ideas
complaint, after returning to the United Evans Hughes to approve regulations to from being received and competing …
States from Moscow in 1937, that the prohibit Blacks from entering the new with the official ideology and policies.”
“buses to Alexandria are full of negroes Service, they managed, as noted above, Does the ambassador envisage correc-
and unhealthy, unbeautiful whites.” to practically achieve their goal through tive psychotherapy or, even, the use of
The following year, in an unpublished other means. microchip brain insertions?
10 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALThis insistence on some unending have to be to warrant extraordinary there is a trade-off here—we will have to
presence of white superiority in the action being taken. Reasonable people accept the occasional mistake (or even
Department of State, this suggestion can disagree on this. injustice) in exchange for getting rid of
of the need for the department to exert I don’t know if any of the signers had “Casper Milquetoast” evaluations that
power over the whole employee—even to stand by and watch a business they promote the mediocre.
over their thinking—amounts to despo- had put their life’s savings into looted There is one possible ameliorative,
tism. As someone once noted: “Liberty is and burned. Nor do I know if any of them which may already be in effect: If promo-
independence not only from the tyranny or their loved ones were beaten, blinded, tion boards are to put total faith in the
of a king but from that of an employer.” hit by a brick or killed during “mostly evaluator, let them first review all or
Further, it was not fitting for the peaceful” riots. the majority of their previous employee
ambassador to have publicly kicked the I hope they have not suffered so. But evaluations to get a sense of the evalua-
institution that has given him so much if they had, they might have a different tor’s credibility.
professional success. With tone and perspective on this issue. That may require a greater invest-
content, his contribution suggests that Dennis K. Hays ment of time by promotion boards, but
the Department of State is what it is not, Ambassador, retired if we’re always urging more positions for
a bastion of racism. Reston, Virginia a “float” to support adequate language
The writer should have kept his training for officers, why should we not
unfortunate private encounters within More Honest Evaluations be willing to invest more time in identify-
the department, if not to himself, and not I’m prompted to write by Bill Burns’ ing and promoting the “best and the
broadcast them for the world to see. article earlier this year in The Atlantic brightest” who are to be the core of the
Richard W. Hoover about what the State Department should Foreign Service?
FSO, retired do to reinvent itself in a post-Trump era, Marc E. Nicholson
Front Royal, Virginia perhaps after 2020. One thing it could FSO, retired
do is to make the personnel evaluation Washington, D.C. n
Restoring Order process more honest.
The July-August Journal reports that For decades, State sought fairness CORRECTION
more than 500 former U.S. officials by offering the employee a look and In the September editor's letter,
have signed a statement in opposition a “review” of his supervisor’s perfor- we erred in referring to author and
to “the use of the U.S. military to put mance evaluation. Meant to eliminate retired Minister-Counselor James
down peaceful protests” (Talking Points, the occasional injustice, what it mostly Dandridge as “Ambassador (ret.).”
“NatSec Professionals Respond to Use of did, however, was to produce a negotia- While he did serve as chargé at two
Military on U.S. Streets”). tion process between supervisor and posts, he did not receive an ambas-
This is a position no one disagrees employee that neutered real evaluations sadorial appointment during his
with, and no official has advocated oth- and allowed the mediocre and worse to career. That said, we continue to
erwise. So it is unclear what the purpose “get by” because their bosses didn’t want think of this senior statesman as an
of the statement is. to face confrontation with underper- ambassador!
Presidents of both parties have forming employees.
called on the military to restore order But if FSO supervisors are not to be
in moments of crisis. This is not just trusted in the main to be just and honest
permitted under the Constitution; it’s an in their evaluations, then they cannot be Share your
obligation for the president to preserve trusted at all, and that would be a damn- thoughts about
domestic tranquility. ing indictment of the Service. I do not this month’s issue.
Perhaps the authors of the state- believe it.
ment have a view on how much violence My proposal is this: Performance
Submit letters
to the editor:
against our fellow citizens is tolerable evaluations should no longer be shared journal@afsa.org
and how overwhelmed local officials with or reviewed by those rated. Yes,
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 11LETTERS-PLUS
IN RESPONSE TO THE JULY-AUGUST FOCUS ON PANDEMIC DIPLOMACY
Consulate Monterrey Helps Secure
U.S. Food Supply During Pandemic
BY REE D L AN G E RU D
I
arrived in Monterrey last fall as a Farmers’ concerns still required an in-person interview. We
first-tour consular officer, eager expanded our remote team processing
to adjudicate visas in one of the
about getting H-2s to include adjudicators through-
highest-volume posts in the world. the workers they out Mexico, Europe, the Middle East,
I was briefed about the high season
from March to June, when 3,000 or more
needed for harvest Asia and Africa. Officers in Monterrey
oversaw these adjudications and also
Mexican workers gather on the sidewalk reached a fever pitched in with the work of local staff,
in front of our consulate every day before pitch. printing and pasting visa foils.
dawn, as part of a carefully orchestrated With our new global corps of H-2 adju-
route to supply U.S. farms dicators coordinated by the Kentucky
with labor in time for UST 2020
Consular Center, we have been able
J U LY-A U G
harvest. to satisfy visa demand, a remarkable feat.
ION
A S S O C I AT
N SERVICE
N FOREIG
E A M E R I CA
E D BY T H
PUBLISH
Colleagues hustled all accounted for nearly two- Farms will still face challenges because
winter to prepare our team thirds of them. of falling demand from restaurants,
with the knowledge and As the world’s largest distribution disruptions and the hurdles
resilience for the workload processor of H-2 visas, Con- of implementing public health recom-
surge. We held workshops sulate General Monterrey mendations at worksites. However, with
and training sessions, DIPLOMACY
was in a critical position and the help of Consulate General Monterrey,
PANDEMIC
and even set up a relax- EALS had to act quickly to help concerns about manual labor short-
TO OUR ID
LIVING UP
ation room for the needed avoid a catastrophic labor ages have been alleviated.
breaks. We were ready. But shortage. But we also had to Though the relaxation room is on
just as this year’s peak season arrived, mitigate the public health risks posed by hiatus for obvious reasons, the sense
COVID-19 hit, and everything had to our intake process. of camaraderie and pride at securing a
immediately change. In coordination with Embassy Mexico critical link in the U.S. food supply chain
No longer could we guide thousands City and Consular Affairs Bureau col- is exactly what our team needed at this
of workers a day through our waiting leagues in Washington, D.C., our section moment to maintain morale. Sure, I
room for interviews. At the same time, sprang into action. We implemented did not experience the peak season I
farmers’ concerns about getting the social distancing procedures in the office expected. But I have been able to see
workers they needed for harvest reached and waiting room, split our workforce something much more remarkable:
a fever pitch. Workers on H-2 visas carry into teams to minimize contact and the adaptability, responsiveness and
out a large portion of U.S. farm and other halted all interviews beginning March calm of my colleagues as we drastically
manual labor. In FY 2019, U.S. embas- 24. Our managers even made masks for overhauled operations and procedures
sies and consulates worldwide issued everyone to wear at the office. without an interruption in service.
more than 300,000 H-2 visas. Monterrey We cleared a plan for demonstrably I am hopeful that Americans—and
approvable H-2 workers to be issued communities around the world—will
Reed Langerud joined the State Department visas without in-person interviews, continue to find new ways to come
in 2019 and is a first-tour consular officer while maintaining secure adjudication. together and support one another
serving in Monterrey, Mexico. Individuals with a potential ineligibility through this crisis. n
12 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALIN RESPONSE TO THE MAY SPEAKING OUT COLUMN, “THE DIPLOMAT AND THE STATE”
Diplomacy and the The task at home is not the same as
abroad, and different people are differ-
Foreign Service P U B L I S H E D BY
ently talented in each case; but the
change was intended to make sure
T H E A M E R I CA
N FOREIGN SE
RVICE ASSOC
I AT I O N
M AY 2 0 2 0
that policymakers in Washington rec-
BY GEO RG E L AM B RA K IS ognize the need to act within chang-
ing environments—not just among
A
Americans at home, but also among
s an old-timer with 31 years Should Not Be governments and populations abroad.
NUCLEAR DIPLOM
ACY TODAY
of service in State and USIA, Specialists”). Thus, Third, those environments abroad
THE DIPLOMAT AN
D THE STATE
I was impressed by Chris- the argument is almost always include situations of
TEX HARRIS, LAR
topher Smith’s effort in the drawn once again, GER THAN LIFE war and peace. Still, I would not use
May FSJ (Speaking Out) to as often in the past, the term “management of power” to
describe U.S. diplomats as managers of of generalists vs. specialists. describe U.S. diplomacy, Christopher
American power after his 15 years as a We are thereby in old territory, with Smith’s clever distinctions of soft, sharp,
diplomat, often working and studying arguments that are useful to review. I smart and hard power notwithstanding.
with the U.S. military, and espousing the had my own crack at this in the FSJ some Surely policies to promote democracy,
military’s specialization as the only way years ago (“Is the Foreign Service Still a humanitarian values, peace and coopera-
for State to impress its professionalism Profession?” June 2011), but have since tion all rely at least as much on virtue at
on others in the U.S. government and its had time to reconsider. home and effective persuasion abroad as
citizens. First, as British Prime Minister Anthony on U.S. “power” abroad (especially in an
Smith calls for much more formal Eden once exclaimed (perhaps conscious age of “America First”).
training on the specifics of diplomatic of his mistakes in the Suez crisis): “Events, Smith quotes Harvard’s Profes-
action than now available for U.S. diplo- my boy, events!” A key strength of the For- sor Samuel Huntington at length. But
mats (but available to the military), an eign Service is that it is always on guard, Huntington’s starting point was always
argument that I take to heart as a former day and night, to changes in the political, the military, and his theories of political
director of training assignments in State’s military, economic or public relations development (which I studied at Tufts’
Career Development Office. environments everywhere in the world, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy)
But in the July-August FSJ, Ambas- and is usually able to come up with rec- were based on his appreciation for
sador (ret.) Michael Cotter retorts that ommendations to address those changes efficiency of action as exemplified by
becoming expert on one or two countries in America’s interest. militaries around the world.
would mean abandoning the sacred This is not “managing power,” but it American diplomats are not American
principle of worldwide availability and certainly sets State apart from every other soldiers, even if Secretaries of State like
would expose officers to the old charge of government organization (including the General Colin Powell can make valuable
“going native” clientelism (Letters, “FSOs National Security Council, lodged near contributions, such as introducing spe-
the president in the White House). This cific leadership training (which people
George Lambrakis served with the U.S. Infor- also makes the Foreign Service more like me had to learn on the job) and get-
mation Agency in Vietnam and Laos and relevant to wise foreign policy than even ting extra money from Congress, which
with the State Department in Guinea, Ger- the many-voiced press. is traditionally much more responsive to
many, Israel, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Second, after the diplomatic service the military than to State.
Lebanon, Iran, Guinea-Bissau, Swaziland, was put on a professional basis with the Christopher Smith correctly notes
and in Washington, D.C., and New York Rogers Act of 1924, it was “Wristonized” that one reason why the American public
City. He subsequently taught international in the 1950s, so that diplomats now help knows less about its diplomatic service
relations and diplomacy for two decades in make policy in Washington, as well as than its military is the huge difference in
London and Paris. He recently published a continuing to report on events abroad numbers. He argues that an additional
memoir, So You Want to Be a Diplomat? that the policy is meant to address. reason is that diplomats have not defined
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 13for the public “who they are and what Smith and me); and some specialists in Finally, there is certainly a need for
they represent.” other functional areas like nuclear issues much more training guided by Foreign
Yet State has always tried hard to or climate change as those areas grow in Service practitioners, along with outsid-
address gatherings of people interested importance around the world. ers, and a recognition by selection boards
in foreign affairs at universities, public But we shall always need generalists, that people in training might also merit
conferences, world affairs councils, busi- as well. (Secretary of State Henry Kissinger promotion (to reduce the tendency of
nesses, think-tanks, military organizations imposed a program in the 1970s requiring high-flyers to avoid long-term training
and more. at least one assignment elsewhere, even assignments).
One reality is that far more American for area specialists.) At the very least, gen- But this will take more money
families are personally affected by fam- eralists who attain senior ranks often act from Congress and is only likely to
ily members in the military, and those as umpires weighing the zeal of specialists happen gradually, with much work
relations being killed or wounded when in the overall balance of American policy needed on State’s presence and con-
fighting abroad—and this is reflected in as seen from the White House. nections both in Congress and beyond
Congress. All officers must serve at home and the NSC, in the White House, to explain
So what is to be done? Clearly, there is abroad, but some will be more attracted State’s unique selling points—continuous
a need for some area or country special- to, and be better at, one job or the other. enlightened reporting from abroad, and
ists within the political, economic and The Service is already sensitive to this, the ability to prevent wars or pick up the
public diplomacy cones; some politico- and natural selection usually tends to the pieces once the U.S. military has
military specialists (like Christopher assignments. done its job. n
14 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALTALKING POINTS
Political Ambassadors:
Where the Candidates Contemporary Quote
Stand
The [State] Department has a long-standing policy of limiting
T he president appoints all U.S. ambas-
sadors. The use of ambassadorial
positions as rewards for campaign donors
participation in partisan campaigns by its political appointees
in recognition of the need for the U.S. Government to speak with one
voice on foreign policy matters. The combination of department policy
and “bundlers” is not new; it is a relic and Hatch Act requirements effectively bars you from engaging
of the old spoils system of government. in partisan political activities while on duty, and, in many
Though long the norm, the practice is not circumstances, even when you are off duty.
only controversial; it violates the Foreign
Service Act of 1980. —State Department Memo “Rules on Political Activities” from State Legal Adviser,
According to Section 304.32 of that law: updating employees on the restrictions on political participation while in any
State Department position, released Dec. 3, 2019.
“(1) An individual
appointed or assigned
to be a chief of mission
should possess
clearly demonstrated report on the demon- In 2020, the only presidential candi-
AGGELER
competence to perform strated competence of date to promise not to nominate politi-
the duties of a chief of that nominee to perform cal donors as ambassadors was Senator
mission, including, to the duties of the position Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
the maximum extent in which he or she is to Democratic presidential nominee
practicable, a use- serve.” Joe Biden “has refused to rule out giving
ful knowledge of the Over decades, the aver- ambassadorships to big-time campaign
principal language or age number of “political” as donors and fundraisers,” Politico reported
dialect of the country in opposed to “career” ambas- on Aug. 11. “Instead, he’s indicated that, if
which the individual is to serve, sador appointments has been in he wins the presidency, he’ll continue the
and knowledge and understanding of the the range of 30 to 40 percent, with 60 to 70 longstanding, bipartisan practice.”
history, the culture, the economic and percent coming from the career Foreign Last December, according to the
political institutions, and the interests of Service. The Trump administration has Associated Press, while campaigning in
that country and its people. appointed more political ambassadors Iowa, Biden said, “I’m going to appoint the
“(2) Given the qualifications speci- than any president since Ronald Reagan. best people possible. Nobody, in fact, will
fied in paragraph 1, positions as chief of Eighty-one out of President Trump’s be appointed by me based on anything
mission should normally be accorded to 189 ambassadorial appointments, or 43 they contributed.” He added: “You have
career members of the Service, though percent, have been political, according some of the people out there … that are
circumstances will warrant appointments to the AFSA Ambassador Tracker—a fact fully qualified to head up everything from
from time to time of qualified individu- highlighted in an Aug. 18 NPR report, being the ambassador to NATO to be
als who are not career members of the “Under Trump, More Big Donors Are ambassador to France ... who may or may
Service. Named Ambassadors—and Controversies not have contributed.”
“(3) Contributions to political Have Followed.” Ambassador Rubin has reiterated that
campaigns should not be a factor in the As AFSA President Eric Rubin told The presidents should follow the requirements
appointment of an individual as a chief of Guardian on May 30, “We are concerned of the Foreign Service Act of 1980. Accord-
mission. that the percentage of political appointees ing to the Aug. 11 Politico article, Rubin
“(4) The President shall provide the is higher than at any time in recent history, noted that the law indicates that “political
Committee on Foreign Relations of the and also with the number of nominees appointments as ambassadors should be
Senate, with each nomination for an who do not appear to be qualified for their rare and that all nominees must be fully
appointment as a chief of mission, a positions.” qualified. That is the law of the land.”
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 15“Diplomacy in Crisis” exchange, they must be guaranteed the • Restore and commit to minimum
Report Issued support of their leadership and a work vetting standards;
S enate Democrats released a report on
July 28 blasting the Trump administra-
tion’s management of the State Depart-
environment free from politicization and
discrimination,” the report continues.
The report makes 10 recommenda-
• Prioritize and fill senior leadership
slots;
• Maintain an independent inspector
ment. The 46-page document, “Diplomacy tions to bolster the State Department: general; and
in Crisis: The Trump Administration’s • Rebuild and retain expertise in the • Enforce accountability for improper
Decimation of the State Department,” was State Department’s ranks; personnel practices and manage-
prepared for the Committee on Foreign • Reduce barriers to restoring lost ment.
Relations by its minority staff. expertise and for former diplomats Ambassador (ret.) Tom Shannon, who
“The Trump administration’s negli- and civil servants to return to the served as Under Secretary for Political
gence and its attacks on our diplomatic department; Affairs from 2016 to 2018, praised the
corps, who serve on the frontlines of our • Promote more career employees to report. “For me, the recommendations in
global pandemic response, have left dip- senior positions; this report are the beginning of a larger
lomats devoid of leadership and cost the • Increase diversity at senior ranks and conversation about what needs to be
United States valuable time in prepared- throughout the department; done—in the executive branch and in
ness and response efforts,” the document • Formalize the State Department’s the legislative branch—to ensure that the
states. exit survey process; Department of State and its officers—For-
“Every day, our diplomatic profession- • Initiate a review of how the “corridor eign Service and Civil Service—can con-
als work to ensure American safety and reputation” system at the department duct the analysis, the interagency work,
security, sometimes placing their lives enables or exacerbates the chal- the implementation and the diplomacy
on the line in their patriotic service. In lenges outlined in this report; necessary to ensure the peace and pros-
Site of the Month
Covid Controls: A Travel Dashboard (www.covidcontrols.co)
T rying to figure out where you are
allowed to travel in the midst of
the pandemic? Check out the Covid
States” from the Travel
History (Last 14 Days)
dropdown menu on
Controls dashboard for all the latest the home page.
info. The site, which is
The dashboard lets you see on updated daily, tracks
a color-coded map which coun- more than 500 official
tries people can travel to, as well as sources, including the
whether you will need to lock down U.S. Department of
on arrival. You can also drill down to Health and Human
individual American states to see Services, local tour-
what restrictions you might face. ism boards and official foreign research at the intersection of
The dashboard also contains a travel advisories. big data, design and travel,” Mohit
variety of COVID-19 statistics, such The dashboard was launched by a Shah, one of the creators, told CNBC.
as the number of deaths or currently team of researchers who met at the “We created it because we saw there
sick, as well as how things are trend- Singapore–Massachusetts Institute of was no comprehensive Covid-19
ing around the globe. Technology Alliance for Research and dashboard specifically geared toward
To see current restrictions on Technology. travelers, especially at a time when
American travelers, select “United “We were a team conducting the situation is changing so rapidly.”
16 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALperity of the United States. Nothing less is shape. We as Americans need these vital and values of the American people both
at stake and nothing more is at risk.” institutions performing at the top of their here at home and around the world,” the
Ambassador (ret.) Barbara Stephen- game as we face rapidly rising competi- spokesperson said. “At the core of this suc-
son, a former AFSA president and now tion, competition for global leadership.” cess is the dynamic and talented team that
vice provost for global affairs at UNC– Asked for comment on the report, forges ahead each and every day with one
Chapel Hill, added: “This report focuses a department spokesperson said, “The mission, and toward one future.”
on issues that have long been important State Department’s swagger is fully back,”
but have become increasingly urgent. according to the July 28 Politico. Pompeo Overturns
The Department of State and the Foreign “From day one, Secretary Pompeo Tradition, Speaks at RNC
Service, in particular, are not in good
50 Years Ago
has delivered on advancing the interests
S ecretary of State Mike Pompeo
broke with tradition—and his own
department’s policy—when he recorded
a political speech from Jerusalem that
Black Students and the Foreign Service aired on Aug. 25 at the Republican
National Convention.
”W hat do black students want?
Who are their real lead-
ers? Why aren’t there more blacks
world,” one intern said. “I would no
more think of going through the door
of the State Department than you
According to media reports, previous
Secretaries of State—mindful that they
represent the United States as a whole,
in the Foreign Service of the United would about having lunch in the Soul
not one political party—have not even
States?” Kitchenette.”
attended a political convention for sev-
When I was stationed in It is time for change
eral decades, and none have spoken at a
West Africa some of these on both sides. If U.N.
convention in 75 years.
questions were frequently statistics are reasonably
Recent guidance from the State
raised by African students correct, more than half
Department came in the form of a July 24
and cabinet officials, the world’s population
cable, “2020 Hatch Act/Political Activi-
and my answers were is under 30 years of age,
ties” (20 State 71636). The cable states:
second-hand. Thus I was and the majority of that
“It is important that the department’s
pleased to spend part of population is non-white.
employees … adhere to the Hatch Act
last summer in a training By honestly and clearly
and department policies in their own
program for 40 New discussing “the black
political activities.”
Jersey ghetto teachers. experience” as a central
Further, the cable states: “Presiden-
It meant working with a cross-section part of American his-
tial and political appointees and career
of young blacks in their early 20s tory and culture, we are helping find
SES are subject to significant restrictions
and translating this experience into another bond between audiences
on their political activity; they may not
language that might say something in the Third World and the United
engage in any partisan political activ-
about this segment of current States; and to the extent that the
ity in concert with a partisan campaign,
America to non-Americans. … Foreign Service pursues an ener-
political party, or partisan political group,
Some of the interns asked about getic minority recruitment program
even on personal time and outside of the
life in Africa, but only a few were in the United States, it helps close
federal workplace.”
interested in the Foreign Service, in the generation and color gap which
part because of an ingrained hostility confronts America in its representa-
toward the Establishment, but also tion abroad.
Israel-UAE Peace Deal
because few have been exposed
to the Foreign Service. It has not
—Former Public Affairs Officer
Frederick Quinn, excerpted from
T he Trump administration helped
broker a peace deal that was
announced between Israel and the
figured as a career option for most of his article with the same title,
United Arab Emirates on Aug. 13.
them to date. “You live in a different October 1970 FSJ.
The UAE becomes the third Arab
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 17HEARD ON THE HILL
Diplomats’ Tremendous Work does for our people every day, and the chal-
[We were] forced to pull back thousands lenges get more numerous and complex.
of our diplomats and their families, but We want to support a State Department
you didn’t just pack up and go without a that is up to the task, fully funded, staffed and
thought of your fellow Americans. Instead equipped to advance U.S. national interests
the department launched an unprecedented on all fronts.
mission to help return more than 100,000 —Chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), at
Americans safely home. All of us who par- the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
JOSH
ticipated in that are greatly appreciative of hearing, “Review of the FY 2021 State
the department’s work in that regard. Department Budget Request,” July 30.
In some cases, this involved convincing countries to
reopen their airspace for flights and roads for transport. Diplomacy’s Strength
In other places, you even chartered planes to get our Of course, as we all know, the strength of our diplomacy
American people home. There are lots of folks who may starts and ends with the strength of our diplomatic corps.
never come in contact with the department, yet now —Ranking Member Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), at the
there are more than 100,000 Americans who can person- Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, “Review of
ally attest to the tremendous work that the department the FY 2021 State Department Budget Request,” July 30.
country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in to join the Israel-UAE peace deal, but that Civil Service member subject to an equal
1994, to normalize relations with Israel. As Riyadh said it won’t join an agreement until employment opportunity complaint of
part of the deal, Israel agreed to suspend Israel “has signed an internationally recog- merit should be excluded from serving on
plans to annex part of the West Bank. nized peace accord with the Palestinians.” any selection board for two to five years, as
“Normalizing relations between Israel determined by the Director General of the
and the United Arab Emirates is a historic Diversity & Inclusion Foreign Service.
step that will enhance the security and Proposals Go to State The groups requested the creation of
economic interests of both countries,” Management a new office to address toxic workplace
NBC quoted Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
as saying. “This breakthrough is a power-
ful example of how diplomacy can bridge
T hree State Department employee
affinity groups sent a memo to Dep-
uty Secretary of State Stephen Biegun on
dynamics and reports of microaggression
and discrimination.
They also requested that the bureaus of
historic divides and advance the United July 8 requesting reforms they say would Global Talent Management and Medical
States’ interests.” “enable employees of color to success- Services provide Foreign Service mentor-
On Aug. 19, The New York Times fully thrive and rise through the ranks of ing and counseling services to support
reported that the Trump administration the Department of State.” employees of color at every stage of their
is planning to sell F-35 stealth fighters The three groups—the Thursday careers.
and advanced drones to the Emirates, but Luncheon Group, Pickering and Rangel They also said that the department
that “without the support of the Israeli Fellows Association, and Blacks in Gov- should include “Diversity and Inclu-
government, it is unlikely Congress would ernment–Carl Rowan Chapter—called for sion Effectiveness” as a fourth tenet of
support the sale.” Netanyahu, the NYT six reforms in the areas of accountability, employee evaluation reports, and that
reports, has strenuously denied “that he retention and career advancement. senior performance pay should be linked
gave even tacit consent for the sale of the The groups urged the department to to the promotion of diversity and inclu-
F-35s … as part of recent diplomatic nego- reform the FS selection board process sion. n
tiations with the White House.” “by mandating the inclusion of an affinity This edition of Talking Points was com-
Al Jazeera reported Aug. 20 that Presi- group representative on all boards.” piled by Cameron Woodworth and Shawn
dent Donald Trump expects Saudi Arabia They also said any Foreign Service or Dorman.
18 OCTOBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALSPEAKING OUT
Stop Shipping Your Personal Vehicle!
B Y WA R R E N L E I S H M A N
I
am not a “car guy.” While I enjoy the
freedom of the open road and appreci-
On a practical level, everyone would benefit from
ate the large SUV that has followed our a more formalized method for gathering and
family from post to post, courtesy of sharing information about the local duty-free
the federal government, it is the “util-
ity” of the SUV that is key for me and,
vehicle market.
perhaps, for many others in the Foreign
Service. Although we might really enjoy
our particular ride, we recognize that the choose the default approach of ship- a flat rate depending on destination
hazards of overseas life are likely to bring ping a vehicle to post. This can result in, (e.g., from continental U.S. [CONUS]
scratches, dents, fender benders and to use my latest experience, shipping a to West Africa, one to Europe, one to
definitely a lot of hard miles. One best not well-used vehicle with an optimistic Kelly South America) or as some portion of the
become too attached. Blue Book value of $7,000 from Amman quoted shipping cost. Either approach
Yet under current practice, foreign to Accra at a shipping cost to the U.S. gov- would result in substantial cost savings
affairs agencies are spending millions ernment of $2,400, not including demur- for the government, and the increased
of dollars each year shipping privately rage and in-country transport. This is not flexibility would reduce some of the
owned vehicles (POVs) around the world the economic decision I would make if I hassles associated with the PCS process.
for members of the Foreign Service like were footing the transport bill myself. Adding this allowance would not
me. I would prefer to purchase a vehicle By my rough estimate, the State require any major regulatory changes or
on arrival at post but have chosen not Department spent more than $21 million legislative fixes. The Secretary of State
to repeatedly because it doesn’t make shipping POVs in 2018. Based on data already has the authority to pay expenses
economic sense. from the Transportation Management related to a PCS under 22 U.S.C. Section
Simply put: The lack of good informa- Office, Foreign Service members shipped 4081. The stipend could become part of
tion about the relatively closed and quite more than 4,500 POVs to and from over- the benefits package administered by the
limited markets for expat cars at most seas posts that year. The costs are enor- Office of Allowances. Like the Foreign
posts makes it difficult to find the right mous, and they do not take into account Transfer or Home Service Transfer
car at a fair price. the substantial in-house administrative Allowances, the POV election would be
Rather than risk it, many FS members and logistical work hours required to get another section of the SF-1190 to com-
all those vehicles from point A to point B. plete at the time of transfer.
Warren Leishman is a This new approach would shift some
USAID Foreign Service Another Option burden to FS members to more carefully
officer serving as the super- What if FS members were given a consider their options at the new post.
visory resident legal officer choice when planning a permanent On a practical level, everyone would ben-
at the agency’s regional change of station (PCS): ship your vehicle efit from a more formalized method for
mission in Accra (although currently to post at government expense, or receive gathering and sharing information about
teleworking from West Virginia). Previous a POV stipend? That stipend could be the local duty-free vehicle market.
assignments include Jordan, Ethiopia and used for the purchase of a new car at So often, transitioning officers and
Washington, D.C. This article reflects his post, applied toward public transport specialists are guided only by a handful of
personal views and not necessarily those costs or used however you see fit. classified ads in the post newsletter and
of USAID or the Department of State. The stipend could be calculated as anecdotal chatter. The uncertainty this
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2020 19You can also read
