President’s Views

BY TOM YAZDGERDI

This edition of The Foreign Service Journal focuses on the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the 30th anniversary of renewed relations with Vietnam. As our nation reflects on these milestones, we should look at the lessons they may hold for this time of upheaval, including the dismantling of USAID and what appears to likely be a thinning out of our career Foreign Service.

First, it is noteworthy that, as in rebuilding relations, the dedication of the U.S. Foreign Service was conspicuous on the ground during the Vietnam War itself, as Ambassador Kenneth Quinn reminds us in his riveting reflection on the 1968 Tết Offensive.

Like Quinn, hundreds from the State Department and USAID served under life-threatening conditions in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam’s Civil Operations and Rural Development Support (CORDS) program, and other efforts over more than a decade.

Once diplomatic relations were reestablished in 1995, a series of U.S. ambassadors built on the successes of their predecessors to augment and deepen our relationship with Vietnam. In this edition, four career diplomat ambassadors offer firsthand accounts of this work.

The U.S.-Vietnam relationship’s evolution from the depths of war and destruction to a dynamic and constructive partnership is “a remarkable story of diplomatic accomplishment,” writes Ambassador Ted Osius, the sixth U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, to sum it up in his overview.

Ambassador Ray Burghardt completed the process of normalization, building the groundwork for a more strategic relationship. Ambassador David Shear led the work to deepen trust.

Current U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper oversaw the largest peacetime deployment of U.S. military equipment to Vietnam since the war—for the 2024 International Defense Expo. As Knapper points out, “ensuring Vietnam has the capabilities needed to protect its interests … provides security for the United States as part of our strategy to keep the Indo-Pacific free and open.”

The U.S. and Vietnam now enjoy a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). Buttressed by bipartisan support and leadership from Congress, the impressive turnaround underscores the importance of diplomacy and development assistance.

Vietnam’s Ambassador to the United States H.E. Nguyen Quoc Dzung writes in this edition that “the Vietnam-U.S. relationship serves as a powerful testament to the spirit of reconciliation and healing between the two nations, exemplifying a model for promoting peace and cooperation in the future.”

Marc Gilkey, an FSO with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), highlights “stone fruit diplomacy” as one aspect of the mutually beneficial economic relationship.

But how does this all relate to the present-day circumstances? In a word, the U.S.-Vietnam relationship is outstanding evidence of the critical value of a well-supported career Foreign Service.

Without respect and understanding for what professional diplomats do and the need for people and resources to do it, durable successes like this will not happen. Our rivals, particularly China, will move to fill the void, and our country will only be worse for it.

As we at AFSA continue to reach out to our congressional champions to shore up bipartisan support for the Foreign Service, I have to remain hopeful.

Though AFSA can’t stop reductions in force (RIF) from happening, we can and will hold management to account on following the regulations. Please see the FS Know-How article on RIFs by FSO David Roberts and guidance in AFSA News. Because the rules on RIFs were not followed at USAID, AFSA is preparing a class action suit to challenge the process. Meanwhile, our lawsuit asserting that the dismantling of USAID is unconstitutional is awaiting summary judgment.

Please also read the poignant stories of our USAID colleagues in the collection, “Service Disrupted.” No one can hear these voices and be unmoved by the chaos that has befallen these patriotic Americans for working to protect U.S. interests and make the world a better place.

Please let me know what you think at yazdgerdi@afsa.org or member@afsa.org.