THE MIGRATION CRISIS TODAY RIGHTSIZING EXPECTATIONS AVOCADO DIPLOMACY - American Foreign Service ...
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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 JUNE 2019
THE MIGRATION CRISIS TODAY
RIGHTSIZING EXPECTATIONS
IN AFGHANISTAN
AVOCADO DIPLOMACY
FOREIGN
SERVICE June 2019 Volume 96, No. 5
Education Supplement
53
The
“Why This College?”
Essay
This requirement for college
applications is more important—
Focus on Millions on the Move and easier to write—
than you may think.
B y Fr a n c e s c a H . K e l l y
20 30
Migration Seizes The Immigration
the Spotlight Debate
Migration is testing national policy Closing the distance between
in many countries. The questions legal requirements and humanitarian
it raises go to the heart of the instincts is a global, rather
international order. than national, enterprise.
By Andrew Erickson By David Robinson
25 34
Managing the From the FSJ Archive
Migrant Surge A sampling of coverage of
The present and looming migration migration issues from
crisis, with bad governance its main 1921 through 2001.
driver, requires all the tools
of statecraft to resolve.
62
By Timothy Carney AP vs. IB—
A Practical Comparison
Making high school curriculum
choices can be daunting for
Foreign Service families.
Here is some insight into
the AP and IB programs.
Feature By Marybeth Hunter and
Kristen A. Mariotti
37
Avocado Diplomacy: 64
Supporting Peace in Schools at a Glance
Colombia
By Marc Gilkey
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 5
FOREIGN
SERVICE
Perspectives 79 Departments
Family Member Matters
Home Alone: Why Repatriation
7 Is So Darn Hard 10 Letters
President’s Views
B y J e s s i c a Po w l e y H a yd e n
A Bipartisan Solution for State: 11 Talking Points
The Case for a 10 Percent Cap
By Barbara Stephenson
81
Reflections
Marketplace
9 Betty Friedan in Budapest
By Beatrice Camp
Letter from the Editor
72 Classifieds
Millions on the Move
By Shawn Dorman 82 74 Real Estate
16 78 Index to Advertisers
Speaking Out
Afghanistan—
Rightsizing Expectations
By Annie Pforzheimer
Local Lens
Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia
B y W i l l i a m Fo l l m e r
AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION
41 AFSA Honors Fallen Colleagues 50 Retirement Planning: 5 to 10 Years Out
42 Rolling Moment of Silence Across the Globe 50 Boosting Community-Owned Businesses
43 AFSA Holds Election Town Hall 51 Governing Board Meeting, April 2019
44 State VP Voice—The Terrible Twos
45 FAS VP Voice—Looking Forward to the
FSJ’s Bicentennial: FAS in 2119
46 The BUILD Act: AFSA Hosts Discussion on
New Economic Diplomacy Tool
41
47 AFSA on the Hill—Framing the Case for Diplomacy
48 Book Notes: The Back Channel with
Ambassador Bill Burns
49 AFSA Honors 2018 Sinclaire Language
Award Recipients
49 F
SJ Welcomes New Managing Editor
50 AFSA President in Sarasota
On the Cover—Silhouette of a migrant family. iStockphoto.com/bestgreenscreen by Getty Images.
6 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL
PRESIDENT’S VIEWS
A Bipartisan Solution for State:
The Case for a 10 Percent Cap
BY BA R BA R A ST E P H E N S O N
W
hen discussing the role of As attention has focused on the I referred lawmakers to the conclu-
the Foreign Service, I often extraordinary number of high-level sions I cite in my May column, namely:
turn to the soaring words vacancies at State and the large number of “The United States is an extreme outlier
of our founding legisla- American embassies with no ambassador, in the number of political appointees
tion. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 I have been asked to comment on where who serve as ambassadors and senior
(the current iteration of the 1924 law the fault lies. Is it the administration (for leaders in the State Department.”
creating the U.S. Foreign Service) says nominating unqualified candidates) or I asked them to reflect on the ambas-
the “career foreign service, character- the Senate (for foot-dragging on confir- sadors sent to Washington by the United
ized by excellence and professionalism, mations) that is responsible for leaving Kingdom, France, Russia—all are experi-
is essential in the national interest to American diplomacy diminished? enced career diplomats playing at the top
assist the President and the Secretary of When I recently had the honor of of their games.
State in conducting the foreign affairs of speaking to a score of senators about I noted that State has more political
the United States.” the state of State, I was asked again. It’s a appointees than the vastly larger Depart-
I then add a reminder that we, the serious problem, I answered. ment of Defense, more than any other
career Foreign Service, must operate As senators, I told them, you very cabinet department—which may well
above the partisan fray, always with reasonably want a steady pipeline of explain why it can be a struggle to oper-
an eye toward our country’s long-term highly qualified nominees coming before ate above the partisan fray.
national security interests. you for approval. While the power to Did I expect this idea to immediately
In this, my next to last column as nominate rests with the administration, take flight and win approval? I did not.
AFSA president, I return to first prin- there is a legislative fix Congress could I hoped to start a conversation about
ciples, to founding documents, to explore make that would address this issue in a the impact on American diplomacy of
again the purpose of the Foreign Service, structural and lasting way. having such an extraordinary number of
with the aim of making sure we col- Section 304(2) of the Foreign Service political appointees. That conversation
lectively act as stewards of our beloved Act of 1980 currently states: “Positions has begun. And as I prepare to move on
institution, keeping it strong and pointed as chief of mission should normally to my next assignment as deputy chief of
north as we fulfill our vital role. be accorded to career members of the mission in Baghdad, I ask you to carry it
Throughout my presidency, I have Service, though circumstances will war- forward.
sought to model this behavior, to avoid rant appointments from time to time of We must become articulate advo-
being drawn into divisive, sometimes par- qualified individuals who are not career cates for structural reforms that bring
tisan, debates and members of the Service.” the operation of American diplomacy
instead to identify I told the senators that AFSA proposes into line with established best practice
common ground replacing “from time to time” with “not around the world. Reducing the per-
where a bipartisan to exceed 10 percent of all ambassadorial centage of high-level positions filled by
majority can stand appointments,” noting that this recom- political appointees will help ensure that
together in defense mendation was put forth in the 2015 the Foreign Service can operate above
of America’s global American Academy of Diplomacy report, the partisan fray—and always in the
leadership. American Diplomacy at Risk. national interest. n
Ambassador Barbara Stephenson is the president of the American Foreign Service Association.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 7
FOREIGN
CONTACTS
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8 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Millions on the Move
B Y S H AW N D O R M A N
B
efore introducing this month’s the Spotlight,” a look at how migration is
focus, I want to thank everyone testing national policy in many countries,
who came by the FSJ Centennial while raising issues that go to the core of
Exhibit in the U.S. Diplomacy the international order.
Center. What a boost it has been to see the Ambassador (ret.) Tim Carney shares
proud story of the U.S. Foreign Service on his perspective having witnessed two
display for two months—to be reminded major refugee flows during his career—
that American diplomacy has been around from Indochina and from the Caribbean.
for more than a century, through numer- He takes on the governance angle, pointing
ous episodes of “will diplomacy survive?” to the primary role the political environ-
and rounds of “reform or perish.” ment in each country plays in managing or
Through it all, the essential bottom failing to manage migration.
line—that our country and the interna- Ambassador (ret.) David Robinson,
tional community needs U.S. diplomacy— formerly a deputy assistant secretary for
means that it will almost certainly be with the Bureau of Population, Refugees and
us in another 100 years. Migration, describes the scope and context
The opening of the exhibit in March for the migration debate, concluding that
gave us a chance to introduce people to the one viable option is to take a global
the new open-access digital archive of all approach and work through international
100 years of Journals, now searchable and agreements to address the reality of 65 mil-
discoverable. lion people on the move.
On May 13, the exhibit was In Speaking Out, “Afghanistan—
“de-installed” and awaits its next home, Rightsizing Expectations,” a recent acting
whether that be at a local university deputy assistant secretary for Afghanistan
(Georgetown SFS, Elliott School, who’s shares her views on the way forward.
first?) or military institution, or on the I’m delighted to share another story
Hill. We’re fielding offers, so do be in for the Diplomacy Works collection,
touch if you have ideas. “Avocado Diplomacy: Supporting Peace
This month we take on the seemingly in Colombia,” from a senior FSO for
impossible topic of migration, putting a USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspec-
diplomacy lens on it and offering food tion Service, Marc Gilkey.
for thought from three retired diplomat The Education Supplement includes
experts on how to approach managing two practical articles: a guide for college
an unprecedented applicants on how to write the “Why This
movement of people College?” essay, and a look at the choices
today. to make when considering AP and IB
FSO (ret.) Andrew programs.
Erickson starts us off As always, we look forward to hearing
with, “Migration Seizes from you. n
Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 9
LETTERS
The Iraq Tax EPAPs we do have—the oir Farewell to Foggy Bottom) and his
I couldn’t agree more with positions are great for son Everett E. Briggs (also ambassador
Ambassador Stephenson’s our many qualified family multiple times, and responsible for help-
April “President’s Views” members, and our political- ing bring Panamanian dictator Manuel
column on the need to refund economic team would be Noriega to justice) are also an eminent
the so-called “Iraq tax” and even more overworked with- father-son pair of ambassadors.
restore positions to many of out their amazing EPAP. T. J. Morgan
our understaffed, overworked posts. But while EPAPs have FSO, retired
In Riga, where I have been deputy chief an important place in many missions, Keswick, Virginia
of mission (DCM) since 2017, we have they’re not a long-term substitute for U.S.
seen a tenfold increase in congressional direct-hire positions. It’s time we matched Multigenerational
delegations (CODELs) since 2014, and a resources with policy goals and began Ambassadors
much larger increase in flag-rank Defense restoring positions to our embassies. I read the letters about the families
Department visitors. In just the past year, Paul Poletes that have produced father and son
our small political-economic section deliv- FSO ambassadors, and I wanted to report that
ered 152 demarches, 50 percent more than U.S. Embassy Riga my family has had three generations of
the previous year—we use the equivalent career ambassadors (four individuals).
of one entire full-time equivalent (FTE) Speaking of Father-Son My father, Sheldon Whitehouse, was in
just delivering routine demarches. Ambassadors the Foreign Service for 30 years and served
We’re lucky here in that when Mis- I missed the December FSJ interview as our chief of mission to Guatemala
sion Russia was forced to reduce posi- with Ambassador Ronald Neumann that (1930-1933) and to Colombia (1933-1934).
tions, the European and Eurasian Affairs referenced father-son ambassador pairs My husband, Robert Blake, was in the
Bureau (EUR) moved some of the FTEs (who had served in the same capitals) from Foreign Service for more than 30 years and
to Riga. Our neighboring Baltic posts and the Neumann and Adams families, but saw capped his career as ambassador to Mali
many others across Europe haven’t been Steve Muller’s April letter regarding the from 1970 to 1973.
as fortunate in terms of new positions, Francis family father-son ambassadors. My son, Robert Blake Jr., enjoyed his
although they have seen similar increases That brought to mind another notable 31-year diplomatic career, during which he
in workload as Riga. father-son duo: Selden Chapin and his son, served as ambassador to Sri Lanka and the
At the recent EUR budget workshop, we Frederic. Selden served as chief of mission Maldives (2006-2009), and ambassador to
heard that over the past decade the Bureau in Hungary (as “Envoy Extraordinary and Indonesia (2013-2016). Between those two
of Budget and Planning has approved Minister Plenipotentiary”), Netherlands, assignments he served as assistant secre-
exactly zero new overseas positions in EUR. Panama, Iran and Peru. However, his most tary of State for South and Central Asia.
This lack of new positions stands in sharp notable achievement was assembling My brother, Charles Whitehouse, also
contrast to an enormous, bureauwide and herding the 1947 Foreign Service Act had a very distinguished career in the
increase in workload, particularly since through Congress; he was also the first Foreign Service, serving as ambassador to
Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Director General of the FS. Laos (1973-1975) and to Thailand (1975-
When I was in the DCM class in 2014, Frederic Chapin served as ambassador 1978). He also served as president of AFSA
then Under Secretary for Management Pat in Ethiopia and Guatemala. (1981-1982).
Kennedy told us to forget about getting John Treacy His son, Sheldon Whitehouse, is the
FTEs because they were too expensive. He FSO, retired junior senator from Rhode Island and a
urged us to request appointment eligible Evanston, Illinois great supporter of the Foreign Service.
family member Expanded Professional I must add that each of them felt it had
Associates Program positions instead. The Briggs Father-Son Pair been a great honor to serve our country.
We’ve done that in Riga, but about half our Regarding Steve Muller’s letter in the Sylvia Blake
requests for EPAPs have been denied. April FSJ, seven-time Ambassador Ellis FS Family Member
Nevertheless, we’re thankful for the O. Briggs (author of the classic mem- Washington, D.C. n
10 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALTALKING POINTS
“I Am a Champion…”
Contemporary Quote
S ecretary of State Mike Pompeo
presented the new “Ethos” vision he
described as operating principles for the
Foreign Service professionals are every bit as patriotic and service-
oriented as members of our military, and often face similar challenges
State Department in a celebratory event in far corners of the globe. We can’t forget that their family members serve
held in the C Street lobby on April 26, the our country too and, as a result, can find it difficult to secure employment
one-year anniversary of his swearing in. opportunities of their own. On this Foreign Service Day, Senator Van Hollen
The event got going with loudspeakers and I have introduced the Foreign Service Families Act, legislation
booming Pharrell’s “Happy” followed by to bolster employment opportunities for Foreign Service families
Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.” The Sec- wherever they are called to serve.
—Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), in a May 3 Facebook video
retary’s address was punctuated by the
unveiling of a large poster spelling out
the new mandate (see photo), which he Director General of the Foreign Ser-
said was “inspirational, aspirational and vice Ambassador Carol Perez gave brief
[a] unifying statement that captures the remarks highlighting a new ethos award,
attitude that I hope will become part of the which she said will be rolled out this sum-
State Department DNA.” mer. Everyone at State is eligible.
Sec. Pompeo reviewed the changes at
State during his tenure, including lifting Lavender Legislation
the hiring freeze on family members and
rebooting entry-level hiring. He spoke
about making good on his promise to “get
O n May 1, 19 Democratic senators
reintroduced the Lavender Offense
Victim Exoneration Act, or LOVE Act,
the team back on the field.” which, if passed, would direct the State
He also elaborated on one of his earlier Department to search its archives and
commitments: “I promised … I would identify all employees who were fired
communicate to you. [I] wouldn’t be or forced to resign based on their sexual
somebody holed up on the seventh floor, orientation and formally correct their
who you never saw or heard from, that employment records.
didn’t have any idea what the heck he was The LOVE Act was first introduced in
doing or what his team was doing.” 2017, shortly after then-Secretary of State
Pompeo spoke of a third promise, to “That course,” Smith said, “will intro- John Kerry formally apologized for the
bring the State Department team together. duce our new employees to the role and department’s past discrimination. The
He said he’s welcomed debate and unique history of this proud institution, as Act is named for the “Lavender Scare”
“engaged with multiple State Department well as to our principles and the behavior of the 1950s and 60s, when government
leaders with whom there are disagree- we expect of all of us with regard to one employees suspected of homosexuality
ments. We don’t have a process that’s another and our professional conduct. were forced out of their jobs.
controlled by a handful of people here in The training will supplement, particularly The legislation directs the department
the State Department.” in the case of the Foreign Service, but not to create a formal reconciliation board
The ethos initiative will include a new supplant our existing training. under the Director General to contact all
common training program that brings “But with regard to Civil Service and surviving employees or family members
State’s communities together: Foreign Ser- non-career staff,” he continued, “it will of those employees and offer them a
vice, Civil Service, non-career and political represent an important departure from chance to tell their story for the official
appointees. Foreign Service Institute the past insofar as many of our Civil Ser- record. It also calls on Congress to issue a
Director Dan Smith provided details on the vice and non-career colleagues receive formal apology for its role in the purge.
new integrated training, whose pilot will no training upon entry into the State Additionally, it mandates a board
start in the summer. Department.” to review issues facing current LGBTQ
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 11diplomats and their family members, quadruple the number in the previous
and it creates a permanent exhibit on fiscal year and the highest total since 2004.
the Lavender Scare at the U.S. Diplo- Specifically, the FAM now empow-
macy Center. ers consular officers to take into account
Liz Lee, the president of GLIFAA evidence that visa applicants—or their
(LGBT+ pride in foreign affairs agencies), family members, including those who are
told the Journal that the organization U.S. citizens—have ever received non-
deeply appreciates and supports the cash benefits such as housing vouchers,
LOVE Act. subsidized school lunches, public health
“Over decades, thousands of LGBT+ vaccinations and enrollment in Head Start.
patriots were purged from the State Critics concede that the changes to
Department and other federal agen- the FAM are not the only reason for the
NDU
cies on account of who they loved, or increase in refusals. But applicants are On May 9 Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch
were suspected to love,” Lee said. “While being denied on public-charge grounds, was inducted into the National Defense
University National Hall of Fame at a cere-
many of those targeted by discrimination lawyers say, even when they can docu-
mony on the Fort McNair campus in Wash-
are no longer with us today, we should ment their financial independence. ington, D.C. From left, FSI Director Amb-
ensure that their stories are still heard On Nov. 28, 2018, the city of Baltimore assador Dan Smith, Amb. Yovanovitch and
filed a federal lawsuit, Baltimore v. Trump, NDU President Vice Admiral Fritz Roegge.
and their official records corrected.”
seeking to overturn the more stringent
A Charge to Keep Out public-charge criteria. On March 22, 2019, novitch will leave her post permanently on
M ost consular officers have probably
had occasion to invoke Section 212
(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality
a coalition of 19 states, 16 cities and coun-
ties, 10 civil rights organizations and five
Maryland immigrant advocates joined
May 20, with no replacement in place and
no nominations to fill the position.
Foreign Policy notes that Amb. Yovano-
Act, known as the public charge exclusion, Baltimore in describing the many differ- vitch, who has been outspoken about the
in refusing an application for a nonim- ent harms caused by what they call an need to crack down on Ukrainian corrup-
migrant visa. “unlawful and discriminatory change” to tion throughout her nearly three years in
That provision reads, in part: “Any the definition of a public charge. Kyiv, was thrust into the spotlight in March
alien who, in the opinion of the consular State has declined to comment, citing when Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy
officer at the time of application for a the litigation, which is ongoing. But the Lutsenko claimed, without evidence, that
visa, or in the opinion of the attorney Federation for American Immigration the ambassador had outlined a list of
general at the time of application for Reform defends the tightening of the people he should not prosecute. News-
admission or adjustment of status, is public-charge policy as “common sense.” week reports that Lutsenko is a contact of
likely at any time to become a public President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy
charge is inadmissible.” Bowing to Pressure, Guliani.
Until the Trump administration took Foreign and Domestic The U.S. State Department called the
office, that provision had rarely been
invoked in processing immigrant visa
(IV) applications. In Fiscal Year 2015,
U .S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie
Yovanovitch, a highly respected
career Foreign Service officer, is being
claim by Lutsenko an “outright fabrica-
tion.” In April, Lutsenko walked back the
statement in a separate interview, but
fewer than 900 IV applications were recalled ahead of her scheduled depar- the unfounded charge has continued to
refused on that ground. ture following public political attacks by circulate.
But, as Reuters reported on April 15, conservative media outlets and Donald Yovanovitch then faced a slew of criti-
since the State Department revised the Trump Jr. cism from right-wing media figures. The
Foreign Affairs Manual in January 2018 An informal internal State Depart- president’s son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted
to make it easier to apply that exclusion, ment management notice, according to about unsubstantiated claims circulating
the number of IV refusals shot up to nearly columnist Josh Rogin’s May 7 Washington on Fox News in late March.
13,500 by the end of the 2018 fiscal year— Post column, noted that Ambassador Yova- “We need more @RichardGrenells
12 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALand less of these jokers as ambassadors,” statement: “The White House’s outra- was being recalled early, a State Depart-
Trump Jr. wrote, referring to the U.S. geous decision to recall Amb. Yovanovitch ment spokesperson said Yovanovitch was
ambassador to Germany, who has been is a political hit job and the latest in this “concluding her three-year diplomatic
an outspoken political supporter of the administration’s campaign against career assignment in Kyiv in 2019 as planned.”
president. State Department personnel. It’s clear that The spokesperson did not comment on
The wave of criticisms raised alarm this decision was politically motivated, Engel and Hoyer’s statement.
bells for former U.S. ambassadors to as allies of President Trump had joined Among her many assignments over
Ukraine, who worried Lutsenko and other foreign actors in lobbying for the ambas- a distinguished 33-year Foreign Service
Ukrainian officials were exploiting political sador’s dismissal. career, Amb. Yovanovitch previously
fissures in the United States to retaliate “In what is an increasingly disturbing served as ambassador to Armenia,
against Yovanovitch. trend,” the congressmen continued, “we ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic and
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have seen foreign officials attack our own deputy chief of mission in Kyiv.
(D-Md.) and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chair- U.S. ambassadors and Foreign Service offi- She is the recipient of the Presidential
man of the House Foreign Affairs Commit- cers for performing their jobs and advanc- Distinguished Service Award and the
tee, expressed strong concerns of their own ing U.S. interests.” They described the Secretary’s Diplomacy in Human Rights
in an April 12 letter to Sec. Pompeo. ambassador as “a dedicated public servant Award. While ambassador to Armenia, she
When they received no response, Engel and diplomat of the highest caliber.” was profiled in AFSA’s bestselling book,
and Hoyer went public in a May 7 joint When asked whether the ambassador Inside a U.S. Embassy (FS Books, 2011).
50 Years Ago
Henry of the Tower
O n a crisp London day in the autumn of 1780
a thickset, firm-jawed South Carolinian
stood unhappily beside the Thames River, look-
back home. His guards stepped forward
and the silent procession moved inside.
They led him over a footing of slick stones
ing upward at the stones of the ancient fortress to cramped prison quarters and left him,
known as the Tower of London. coughing and adjusting his cape against the
The day was October 6, and the name was Tower chill.
Henry Laurens of Charleston. A month earlier The South Carolinian was one of a hand-
the English had encountered upon the high ful of notables dispatched abroad in the
seas the brigantine Mercury, en route from diplomatic service of the nascent American
Philadelphia to Europe, and had seized and sailed away government. Among them were Benjamin Franklin in Paris,
with Laurens, the newly commissioned Minister to the John Jay in Madrid, and John Adams at The Hague. It was
Netherlands in the fledgling foreign service of the Conti- an eminent little group whose resourcefulness would be
nental Congress. It was a commission he had accepted commemorated in history books of the future. Whatever
reluctantly, for he was 56 and had spent many years in achievements and errors of judgment might be attributed
the public life, during which he had served the revolution- to each in his turn, all were then engaged, with honor and
ary government of South Carolina, and the Continental sacrifice, in helping to lay the cornerstone of their coun-
Congress as president. try’s foreign service. It was Laurens alone, however, who
Laurens, ailing and resentful over his consignment as was to have the rueful distinction of residence in the Tower
a prisoner to the Tower, gazed with melancholy eyes upon of London.
the Thames, a puny stream, as he might well have reflected, —Retired FSO Ralph Hilton, excerpted from his article by
compared to the wide sweeps of the Ashley and Cooper the same title in the June 1969 Foreign Service Journal
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 13Guilty Plea for Department of Justice, Claiborne failed to introduced the Defending United States
Former State OMS report multiple contacts with PRC intel- Citizens and Diplomatic Staff from Politi-
C andace Claiborne, a former State
Department office management
specialist, pleaded guilty April 24 to
ligence agents, who gave her and her fam-
ily members “tens of thousands of dollars
in gifts and benefits,” including tuition at a
cal Prosecutions Act of 2019 to address
the ongoing wrongful detentions of U.S.
citizens and diplomatic staff by the Gov-
a charge of conspiracy to defraud the Chinese fashion school for a family mem- ernment of Turkey.
United States, by lying to law enforce- ber, a furnished apartment and cash. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who has
ment and background investigators, and Sentencing in the case has been actively supported efforts to secure the
hiding her extensive contacts with, and scheduled for July 9. The maximum statu- release of political prisoners around the
gifts from, agents of the People’s Republic ary penalty is five years in prison. world, is an original co-sponsor of the
of China, in exchange for providing them legislation, along with Sen. Marco Rubio
with internal documents from the U.S. Legislation to (R-Fla.), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and
State Department. Defend U.S. Citizens Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
The 63-year-old Claiborne began and Diplomatic Staff The bill would require the U.S.
working as an OMS in 1999 and was in Turkey administration to impose sanctions on
posted in Baghdad, Khartoum, Sudan,
Beijing and Shanghai. According to the O n April 9 Senators Roger Wicker
(R-Miss.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.)
all senior Turkish officials responsible for
the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens
Heard on the Hill
We Are Not Going to Approve Bipartisan Support for Soft Power
This Budget Reduction I believe in our strong power by ultimately
I don’t know if I speak for every member of believing in our soft power. I think General
the committee, but I certainly speak for myself, Mattis said it best when he testified before
for sure, and most of us. We are not going to this committee and at least one other by say-
approve this budget reduction. It’s insane, it ing that if you want to cut our foreign aid bud-
makes no sense, it makes us less safe. I don’t get, buy me more bullets. It is not directed at
know who writes these things over in the White you, Mr. Green. I’ve known you a long time. I
House, but they clearly don’t understand the know your feelings; you are here to represent
JOSH
value of soft power. If you’re going to win this the administration’s budget, but I think we
war, you better be on the ground, and you better have a number of things we are going to want
have something to offer other than the terrorists,which is a to say about that budget as we go forward. One of the things
hopeful life vs. a glorious death. Senator Graham and I have done, and before him Senator
So I am confident this committee will restore the 23 McConnell and I, is try to get this bill out with strong bipar-
percent cut below the 2019 enacted level. Again, to me, from tisan support because USAID and our soft power should not
the administration’s point of view, this is a very short-sighted be a partisan issue; it should be an American issue, and we
approach to the problems we have in the world. If you don’t are going to try to keep it that way.
have some developmental aid available to you, you better —Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), ranking member of the
really build a military a lot bigger than it is today because Senate Appropriations Committee, in his opening statement
that is the only option left to you. at the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
—Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chairman of the State, Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee FY20 Budget Request for USAID, on April 30.
of the Senate Appropriations Committee,
in his opening statement at a SFOPS hearing on the
FY20 Budget Request for USAID, on April 30.
14 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALSITE OF THE MONTH: ALL OVER THE MAP
N ational Geographic has long been a
treasure trove of images and stories
about nature, faraway places and maps.
unacceptable and politi-
cally incorrect stereotypes,
certain powers’ influence
“All Over the Map” is National Geograph- over maps and the future
ic’s blog, with maps of all kinds and their of mapmaking are all
surprisingly intriguing histories. Since addressed on the blog.
their debut post in May 2016 (“If You Love Some maps fit the tradi-
Maps, This Blog is for You”), coauthors tional textbook profile: politi-
Betsy Mason and Greg Miller have created cal, physical, climatic and
nearly 100 more posts covering topics as economic. Others, however,
varied as pirate maps and the history of have a more sociohistoric
the word “gerrymander.” framing, such as the history
As they write in the first post: “Maps of charting New York City or
are time machines, too. They can take you the discovery of the Americas.
into the past to see the world as people Map sources include
saw it centuries ago. Or they can show you the Library of Congress,
a place you know intimately as it existed public libraries, university
before you came along, or as it might look and National Geographic
in the future. Always, they reveal some- archives, books of maps and
thing about the mind of the mapmaker. personal map collections.
Every map has a story to tell.” The blog is updated with a new post several times
Each post includes a selection of maps tied together a month, and at the end of each post there are links to
by an overarching theme, with in-depth explanations of more National Geographic webpages on maps and car-
the artistic, historical or cultural significance. tography. The blog’s coauthors have also published an
Cultural implications of how maps are drawn, era- illustrated book on the topic, All Over the Map (National
specific assumptions of various peoples, now socially Geographic, October 2018).
and staff, including barring the officials new legislation, Sen. Wicker said: citizens and personnel,” Wicker con-
from travel to the United States and “More than two and a half years have tinued. “The bipartisan measure we are
freezing any U.S. assets. passed since Serkan Gölge, an Ameri- introducing today puts Turkey on notice
The move came after the plight of can citizen, was detained in Turkey. that it can either quickly resolve these
Metin Topuz, a longtime employee of Since then, we have witnessed the sham cases and free our citizens and local
the U.S. consulate in Istanbul and one convictions of two Americans, includ- staff or face real consequences. Turkey
of three consulate employees arrested ing Pastor Andrew Brunson, and one is a valuable NATO ally—I expect it to
by Turkish authorities, made the news local employee of the U.S. government start acting like one.” n
once again on March 28, when a Turkish on baseless terrorism charges. At least
court ordered his continued detention two other local staff of our consulate in This edition of Talking Points
and delayed his trial until May. Istanbul continue to face similar politi- was compiled by Donna Gorman,
Turkey is also detaining NASA sci- cally motivated convictions without Shawn Dorman, Dmitry Filipoff,
entist Serkan Gölge, a dual U.S.-Turkish credible evidence of wrongdoing. Steven Alan Honley and Jacob Borst.
national, on charges of terrorism. “Turkish authorities should imme-
In a press release announcing the diately cease this harassment of our
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 15SPEAKING OUT
Afghanistan—Rightsizing Expectations
BY ANNIE PFORZHEIMER
A
fghanistan is a country that experts who have focused on Afghanistan ber or care about the consequences of
I love. My friends there are over the decades would argue that we another power vacuum in their country.
men and women of great need to maintain security support to fight The optimism kicks in when they imagine
character and bravery, who an enduring terrorist threat and avoid a future free of war, albeit with our con-
make me laugh and make me think. The predatory behavior by regional powers. tinued support, at a minimal level that
Afghan people’s surmounted traumas Afghans, for their part, use historical keeps the predatory neighbors at bay.
are legendary. A 50-year-old Afghan has examples to bolster their unique blend
lived under six forms of government or of catastrophizing and optimism. What Identifying Our Interests
political authority: a monarchy, a social- could break out, they caution us, is The United States must let history
ist republic, a communist dictatorship, another civil war like the one they had inform the present and avoid acting in a
anarchy and civil war, a theocracy and a in the 1990s, when Washington deserted way we are likely to regret in the not-
democracy. Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal. too-distant future. We have, sadly, seen
I have served twice in Kabul, as politi- That led to millions of refugees, hundreds this movie before, when a U.S. decision
cal counselor (2009-2010) under a new of thousands killed, a flattened capital to “move on” from our support to the
U.S. Democratic administration and and, eventually, the Taliban takeover and anti-Soviet fighters gathered momentum,
as deputy chief of mission (2017-2018) the use of their territory by al-Qaida and with dire consequences. The film “Charlie
under a new U.S. Republican administra- the masterminds of 9/11. Wilson’s War” ends pointedly with a
tion—and both defined their policy in This warning sounds like a weird congressional rejection of funding in the
large degree by rejecting the policy they suicide threat—holding a gun to the early 1990s to rebuild Afghan schools. The
just inherited. only victims in the conflict, themselves. vacuum unfilled by a government led to
Looking ahead to 2020, there is no That said, they are right to threaten and the rise of the Taliban who offered order.
doubt that both political parties will cam- remind us, because we do stand to lose, I do support the current decision to
paign to end our “war.” But U.S. govern- as well. Our memory is famously poor, downsize our embassy, military presence
ment career officials and some outside and Afghans do not assume we’ll remem- and civilian assistance over time. But
it would be contrary to our interests to
Annie Pforzheimer, a recently retired career diplomat with the personal cut off assistance to the Afghan security
rank of Minister Counselor, was until March 2019 the acting deputy assistant forces before there is a genuine peace
secretary for Afghanistan. From 2017 to 2018, she was the deputy chief of and a path toward regional buy-in to
mission in Kabul. Prior to that, she directed implementation of the Central Afghan stability. We have the responsi-
America strategy at the National Security Council (2014-2015). She also bility to finish at least some of what we
led the Office of Andean Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs during Colombia’s started, and to do that we need a clear
peace process, and the Office for Peacekeeping, Sanctions and Counterterrorism in the Bureau analysis on which to base a way forward.
of International Organizations. She was the director of the International Narcotics and Law One way to get clarity is to consider
Enforcement program in Mexico City, political counselor in El Salvador, and the human rights our interests as if we were looking at the
officer in Turkey and South Africa. Her first assignment was in Colombia. Ms. Pforzheimer region for the first time. If we did so, we’d
received the State Department’s 2001 award for human rights reporting. The opinions and value the fact that we have the makings of
characterizations in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those an important and well-located strategic
of the U.S. government. ally. With a sustainable peace, that ally
16 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALwould be able to take economic advan- It would be contrary to our interests to cut off
tage of its mineral wealth, nearby energy
resources and trade with important
assistance to the Afghan security forces before
markets in the region. there is a genuine peace and a path toward
There have been some very posi- regional buy-in to Afghan stability.
tive U.S. steps in the past two years,
chief among them the appointment of a
special representative who is highly and
uniquely qualified, and whose “special” attention span at home, stand in contrast we put in exhausting amounts of effort:
mandate is better defined than oth- to the long-term nature of the problems so many plans, proposals, grants, vision
ers have been in the past. He is on the we try to solve. We have had a succession statements, exchanges, visits, cultural
job to catalyze a peace agreement, and of sometimes mutually exclusive goals promotion, monitoring and evaluation
unlike previous Special Representatives and approaches. One example is our reports, conferences, lessons-learned
for Afghanistan and Pakistan (known as love-hate relationship with fighting cor- statements, technical assistance, envi-
SRAP), he has focused on the intricate ruption, which we pursue vigorously— ronmental impact reports, engineering
and interwoven negotiations with the except, unfortunately, when we don’t (in studies, community meetings, training,
Taliban and the government, and leaves the name of security). equipping, “key leader engagements”
other elements of U.S. policy to the South An example of this inconsistency and, of course … cups of tea.
and Central Asian Affairs Bureau. is our support for regional strongman From all this we wanted a beautiful
Atta Noor, a former governor of Balkh reflection in the mirror. Instead we got
What Changes and province. If we care about corruption, ordinary, mixed results that might have
What Stays the Same he should be reined in from his activi- been considered pretty impressive—if
In my two tours, there have been ties, including dominance over border they were achieved somewhere else,
some constants from my Afghan hosts: and customs revenues. But for stabil- with fewer illusions.
tea at every meeting; manifold expres- ity’s sake, we keep him on our side to I would argue that whether our inter-
sions of gratitude for what we have done, head off even more Russian influence in vention “worked” or “failed” depends on
along with accusations that their enemies Afghanistan’s north. one’s politics or confirmation bias. And
are corrupt; and those allusions to being We may be fighting a series of “one- how do you tell, really? No one agreed at
deserted in the 1990s and the chaos that year wars,” but the Afghans have been the outset how we’d measure progress,
ensued. watching us closely for 17 years. And and metrics changed constantly.
Also constant in two tours, almost a they have learned a great deal about our When I was at post in 2010, success
decade apart: a newly minted U.S. strat- inability to stick with a goal. was based on how much foreign assis-
egy that combined, supposedly forever, tance per month was “burned,” because
the strands of what we wanted to achieve Distorted Mirror, that proved that the civilian effort was
with what we thought was truly achiev- Distorted Policies as serious as the military one. (That is a
able, including a new framework for our In addition to our inconsistency, our metric we now regret when faced with
civilian assistance and evolving military policies suffer from a Pygmalion com- inspection reports showing how hastily
goals. The strategies—one called for a plex. We wanted a miracle—to trans- designed some of our programs were, and
surge in civilian personnel and aid fund- form a country economically, politically how we should have watched our U.S. and
ing, and the other called for a refocusing and culturally and to end bitter rivalries local contractors more carefully.)
from “nation-building” to counterter- that tore it apart two decades ago. Are we there to promote women’s
rorism—constituted only two of the We paid for this miracle, or so we rights, or stop al-Qaida, or promote
multiple, contradictory, fully fledged thought. Several thousand U.S. and self-sufficiency, or change the culture
strategies since 2002. allied troops have died, as well as many of impunity? We can and did explain to
The turnover of U.S. diplomats and thousands of Afghan military personnel visiting congressional delegations that
military officials, and our short political and civilians. And less profoundly, progress had been far more good than
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 17What should our optimal presence be in the
future, and how do we get there rationally,
without creating opportunity costs or a chance
for competitors to increase their influence?
bad, pointing to a huge jump in indica- taking a deep breath and admitting that
tors for gross domestic product, life it will remain a problem beyond short-
expectancy, education, maternal health, term fixes. That is not the same as giving
and access to electricity, TV and the rest up, which would be a massive strategic
of the world. We also acknowledged the blunder and a disservice to those who
other side: intractable poverty rates, have worked and sacrificed so much on
violence and corruption. all sides.
A colleague once observed to me that “Why are we still there?” is the
we overidentified Afghan progress with wrong policy question. I would counter:
our own self-worth. I sat in countless “Why wouldn’t we be there?” We have
meetings with U.S. officials saying they embassies all over the world. We have a
were personally offended by failures of military presence in dozens of locations
Afghan governance, whether or not it worldwide that we consider to have
involved our funds. Our requirement geostrategic importance.
for their military transformation has The right policy question is this:
included well-meaning technological “What should our optimal presence be
dependence that proves unworkable in in the future, and how do we get there
practice (for example, aircraft that need rationally, without creating opportunity
higher-level maintenance than Afghans costs (such as having to return after
will be able to afford in the future). withdrawing too precipitously) or a
Members of the Afghan political chance for competitors to increase their
class—learning our ways better than we influence?”
have been learning theirs—know that we Seeing this country for what it is, and
want to hear pledges of reform; but they is not, would generate a more rational
know equally well what the minimum policy debate. Afghanistan is a mid-
will be to satisfy us. sized, poor country with an increas-
ingly better-educated and more urban
Rightsizing Our population, many of whom have lived
Expectations, Presence as refugees abroad and speak English. It
and Timelines is landlocked, but near massive energy
We need an articulation of long-term reserves, and possesses mineral wealth
U.S. goals for engagement in the country and agricultural riches. It is socially
and the region, something equivalent to conservative. And it is situated near
more consistent policies that have sur- countries we want to keep an eye on.
vived partisan changes over time, such as Congressional and U.S. public opin-
containment in Europe or trade promo- ion appears to blow hot and cold, which
tion in Latin America. This requires put- may have much to do with how they
ting Afghanistan in proper perspective, hear the issues framed during a talk or
18 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALin the media. And groups visiting the
country see what they came to see.
What is currently at play are issues
such as the size of our remaining forces;
the mandate of those forces, which
is also up to the Afghan government
and NATO, with discussion in private
with the Taliban; our payment for and
enabling of the Afghan security forces,
who are doing the bulk of the fighting;
the size of the U.S. civilian assistance
budget; and the size of our embassy.
The most vital of these is our support
for the Afghan security forces, includ-
ing both funding and training. We have
to continue this support to meet the
goals of the White House’s 2017 South
Asia Strategy, our most current stated
policy—to achieve through political
settlement a stable Afghanistan that will
be a viable partner for regional security.
We need to consider this assistance
in terms of the ongoing and abiding U.S.
interest in supporting pro-democratic
forces and denying safe haven to terror-
ists in Afghanistan, with a commitment
of resources that would decrease in
scope over a medium-term horizon.
A disciplined and depoliticized
agreement by both U.S. political parties
on this goal is essential before the 2020
election cycle introduces even more
rhetoric, the inevitable twisting of facts
and further policy reversals. We have an
obligation to get the next stage and end
game right, even if we stumbled along
the way. n
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 19FOCUS MILLIONS ON THE MOVE
Migration Seizes
the Spotlight
Migration is testing national policy in many
countries. The questions it raises go to the
heart of the international order.
BY ANDREW ERICKSON
T
ied to labor requirements in more Conflicts and poverty in the Middle East boost migration.
advanced countries or asylum Turkey hosts nearly four million refugees and also generates eco-
claims from refugees, migration nomic migrants. Europe also hosts millions. In 2016, motivated
has traditionally been an experts’ in part by concerns over immigration, Britons voted to leave the
issue, discreetly handled. This is European Union. The rise of far-right parties across Europe is also
changing rapidly. In 2016 migra- tied to the impact of immigration. An American president with
tion exploded internationally as a strong views on migration was elected. Recent elections in Ger-
major domestic political issue in many, Italy and Sweden further underscore the deep unease with
many countries. which elements of our electorates view immigration.
In the United States, how we deal with visitors, migrants and Today the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
asylum-seekers is a political hot potato that repeatedly ends counts about 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide,
up in the courts. On our southern border, questions about who including 40 million internally displaced, 25.4 million refugees
gets asylum and why play out against the backdrop of policy (among them 5.4 million Palestinians) and 3.1 million asylum-
decisions on the fate of beneficiaries of the DREAM Act and seekers.
unaccompanied minors. While Mexico grapples with address- When I was stationed in Geneva as a migration officer at the
ing transit migration toward the United States, South America beginning of the 21st century, the discussion was largely focused
struggles with fleeing Venezuelans. In Africa refugee numbers on the need for more refugee slots in the developed world.
soar as countries struggle to sustain millions fleeing conflict Today a less one-sided dialogue is required. A comprehensive
and crisis. Australia’s approach to asylum-seekers is a major diplomatic approach should include revisiting the 1951 Refugee
political issue there. Convention to recast the rights and responsibilities therein. This
Andrew Erickson, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer, was refugee coordinator for the former Yugoslavia from 1996 to 1997, then
liaison on migration issues to the Luxembourg Presidency of the European Union. At U.S. Mission Geneva from 1998 to 2002, he
worked with the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees; the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees;
the International Organization for Migration; and other humanitarian agencies. He has served at the U.S. Mission to the European
Union and worked in conflict zones including Bosnia, Afghanistan, Colombia and the Horn of Africa. He lives in Europe.
20 JUNE 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNALYou can also read
