The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

T HE M AGAZINE F OR F OREIGN A FFAIRS P ROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly with a combined July/August issue by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal subscription: AFSAMembers - $13 included in annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mail- ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign Service Journal , 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. E-MAIL: journal@afsa.org . WEB: www.afsa.org . TELEPHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Association, 2007. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Printed on 50-percent recycled paper, of which 10 percent is post-consumer waste. J O U R N A L OREIGN ERVICE S F Editor S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY Senior Editor S USAN B. M AITRA Associate Editor S HAWN D ORMAN Ad & Circulation Manager E D M ILTENBERGER Business Manager A NDREW K IDD Art Director C ARYN S UKO S MITH Editorial Intern L AMIYA R AHMAN Advertising Intern F LORIAN H EINHOLD Editorial Board T ED W ILKINSON , C HAIRMAN K ENT C. B ROKENSHIRE S TEPHEN W. B UCK A NTHONY S. C HAN J OSH G LAZEROFF W ILLIAM W. J ORDAN L AURIE K ASSMAN K AY W EBB M AYFIELD C RYSTAL K. M ERIWETHER J OYCE N AMDE C HRISTOPHER L. T EAL C O V E R S T O R Y 21 / P OST R EPORTS , AFSA S TYLE Over 1,300 AFSA members responded to our survey of their experiences living and working at overseas posts. Here are the results. By Steven Alan Honley C ONTENTS J a n u a r y 2 0 0 7 Vo l ume 8 4 , No . 1 F E A T U R E S L OCATION , L OCATION , L OCATION ... / 37 Geographic Information Systems are powerful tools for visualizing complex problems. But, despite widespread interest, the technology is stalled at State. By Carol Christian J UDICIAL A SSISTANCE / 42 A consular case that starts with a presumptive death in a run-down Balkan hotel ends up making everybody happy, pursuant to the FAM. By Ann B. Sides P HOTOTROPISM / 50 A young American wife absorbs the shock of being transplanted to Lusaka and finds she can flourish. By Adrienne Scherger Cover illustration by Marc Rosenthal C O L U M N S P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS / 5 Sisyphus Chained: Overseas Locality Pay Sacrificed By J. Anthony Holmes S PEAKING O UT / 13 Long-Term Senior Interagency Education Could Be Privatized By John Bushnell I N R ESPONSE / 18 The U.S. Is Engaged in the South Pacific By C. Steven McGann R EFLECTIONS / 76 Soccer from Ulaanbaatar to Gothenberg By Jonathan Addleton D E PA R T M E N T S L ETTERS / 6 C YBERNOTES / 9 M ARKETPLACE / 10 B OOKS / 53 AFSA N EWS / 57 I NDEX TO A DVERTISERS / 74 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 3