F OCUS - American Foreign Service Association

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Forgetting History The April Cybernotes item, “Kosovo: A Risky Gambit,” correctly cites the potential negative consequences of our support for Kosovo’s independence. In addition to helping create those risks, U.S. policy failed to recognize that the history of Serbian- Albanian relations there did not begin with Milosevic’s repression of the Albanian population in 1989. The Albanization of Kosovo goes back to the “greater Albania” policy pursued by the Nazis during World War II, which led to significant movement of Albanians into Kosovo and forced emigration of Serbs. From 1945 to 1980, Tito conducted a general anti-Serb policy that included turning the Kosovo/Metohiya autonomous area over to the local Albanian communists, who continued to encourage, less brutally than the Nazis to be sure, the departure of the Serbs. This explains why the Serbian population in Kosovo fell to less than 10 percent. By ignoring that history, we fell into the error of believing that Serbia, because of Milosevic’s crimes, had essentially no rights in Kosovo. Serbia’s rejection of anything approaching the independence of Kosovo was totally predictable, as was Russia’s readiness to veto any U.N. Security Council resolution to that effect. Thomas Niles FSO, retired Scarsdale, N.Y. Bearing Arms AFSA has repeatedly made references to unarmed diplomats being sent to war zones, presumably a bad thing. Because the State Department is going to continue sending diplomats into harm’s way, AFSA should call for letting them be voluntarily armed. While controversial (to utopians who do not believe in the right to selfdefense), it would at least give our colleagues overseas a fighting chance in 8 FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL/JULY-AUGUST 2008 L ETTERS case they were kidnapped by terrorists or criminals. I cannot understand why otherwise intelligent people would be against this idea. After all, enshrined in the Second Amendment is the “right of the people to keep and bear arms.” When I joined the State Department, I understood there would be some restriction on my rights. Despite the First Amendment, I cannot publicly disagree with administration policy, but the department cannot totally prohibit me from expressing my opinions. Before the regional security officer can search my sleeping quarters for illegal guns, he’ll need a warrant. Or am I deprived of my Fourth Amendment rights, as well, when overseas? In some places, like Jamaica for example, certain personnel can keep a firearm in their sleeping quarters. Why isn’t the same true for those serving in active war zones? Before diplomats deploy to places like Iraq and Afghanistan, they get firearms training along with combat lifesaver and Humvee rollover training. They should be allowed to keep and bear arms if they so choose; otherwise, the firearms training is worthless. John Higi FSO Embassy Kuwait The Ambassador and His Servants My first post was Lagos in 1965. At that time, the Nigerian government was taking a hard look at embassy personnel’s duty-free imports. The problem was quickly and amicably solved, but in the process I consulted the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and then the 1815 Vienna Conventions, where reference was made to the ambassador “and his servants.” This seemed to refer to his retinue and his domestic servants. Anyway, it was all academic, because the 1961 convention clarified the reciprocal rights that the Foreign Service lives under today. American FS personnel representing their government in other countries are doing many of the same things they always did. Much of it is mundane and of no interest to our fans back home. Who is interested in postal rates, shipping, etc.? FS employees today are not servants, but they are doing jobs authorized and funded by the U.S. Congress. This is why the notion of AFSArecognized dissent draws outside criticism, as does outright vociferous refusal to accept a transfer to a dangerous post. I think much of the blame for the current problem lies in the whining, defensive attitude that some Foreign Service members have exhibited about these issues. Recent well-written articles in the Journal have covered a wide range of problems. But despite this, there still seems to be a lack of awareness about the day-to-day mission of the Foreign Service. To rectify this, I would like to propose the development of an AFSA Working Charter to refocus staff efforts and impress the U.S. Congress, the most important of all FS clientele. A charter could offer goals, reinforce good personnel policies and practices, and offer expert staffing advice to policy formulators. It could also help to define an ideal embassy for every situation. Above all, a charter could outline the collective will of the membership of the Foreign Service. Of course, such a document would not have legal or administrative status but would simply reflect the goals of AFSA. John Wellington Macdonald USAID FSO, retired Austin, Texas
A New State? In his March article titled “After the Surge,” Keith Mines reviewed the four alternatives for dealing with the future of Iraq. But he overlooked what is probably the easiest and, indeed, most productive one: making Iraq the 51st state. This would certainly be the solution to our oil problems, providing us with a permanent base in the Middle East, pleasing the neocons and giving both the Shiites and the Sunnis our “freedom of religion” umbrella. Max Fallek Minneapolis, Minn. Donor-Funded Programs Recently there have been several statements in the Journal and other media questioning the ability of cer- L ETTERS tain countries to administer donorfunded programs. Countries typically cited with management deficits include such post-conflict entities such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq and West Bank/Gaza. These doubts puzzle me, because any country may retain private-sector specialists to meet these deficiencies. Contractors already administer such programs throughout the world, for example, in Dubai, Mexico, Singapore and South Africa. The key to successfully administering programs is to apply leadership and political will along with the funds. When qualified personnel are not available locally, bringing in outside program managers is a reasonable, proven solution where resources exist. Otherwise, either donors need to build up in-country capacity, or recipient countries need to find other sources of funding to bring in outside program managers until they have the capacity to manage the programs themselves. Barney P. Popkin Environmental Protection Specialist, USAID Washington, D.C. ■ CORRECTION In the June issue, Belgrade should not have been listed in the box titled “Unaccompanied Posts as of March 2008” on p. 32. In addition, it is the capital of Serbia, not Yugoslavia as indicated there. JULY-AUGUST 2008/FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 9
Page 1: A TIRELESS “AFSA-CATE” ■ HONO
Page 6 and 7: CONTENTS AFSA NEWS DISSENTERS HONOR
Page 8 and 9: Getting History Wrong I was astonis
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Page 14 and 15: Saharan Africa, where the number of
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Page 24 and 25: of State’s attention to managemen
Page 26 and 27: In recent months, the growing secur
Page 28 and 29: Commission and the Judicial Reform
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Page 40 and 41: institutional memory, as well as th
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AFSANEWS American Foreign Service A
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V.P. VOICE: STATE ■ BY STEVE KASH
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2008 AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWAR
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2008 AFSA CONSTRUCTIVE DISSENT AWAR
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2008 AFSA OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE A
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AUSTIN TRACY Scholarship Winners Ho
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AFSA Issue Brief Foreign Service Re
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CLASSIFIEDS JULY-AUGUST 2008/FOREIG
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Cultural Diplomacy’s Finest Hour
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Lucius Durham Battle, 89, a retired
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ing French and Spanish literature a
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Comforts, that specialized in anima
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Washington, D.C., in 1941. There sh
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losing a battle with cancer. Born i
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Leasing and Management of Exception
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Seven months ago, I was living in a
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