The Foreign Service Journal - January/February 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 43 Coordinating public affairs was an issue. At first, the respec- tive press spokespeople were mutually critical. We needed to work on a change in public posture. Cardinal Casaroli had the Vatican spokesperson talk of “serene cooperation” with the United States, while Marlin Fitzwater at the White House said that the Vatican was doing “a fine job.” By Jan. 4, 1990, Noriega had had enough of living in the papal nunciature. With possibly menacing crowds outside in addition to those patient U.S. forces, he asked for his uniform and general’s cap and then walked out to meet U.S. officials. For those of us at the U.S. embassy to the Holy See, it had been 10 days of pure old-fashioned diplomacy— admittedly, backed by those troops in Panama. Diplomacy, with mutual interests at play, worked. James Creagan spent three decades in the Foreign Service, serving in Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Brazil, Portugal, Italy and at the Holy See. He was named U.S. ambassador to Honduras by President Bill Clinton in 1996. After retiring from the Service in 1999, he became president of John Cabot University in Rome, Italy. Defeating Communism with Cars Eastern Europe, 1990s • Bob Powers In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the countries of Eastern Europe were undergoing radical challenges to their govern- ments. Democratic forces were rapidly organizing to defeat the communist-led dictatorships that had existed during the era of Soviet domination. During much of this period, I served as director of the Regional Program Office in Vienna. RPO was responsible for pro- viding public affairs support to our embassies in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Naturally, communist governments in Eastern Europe were challenging the efforts of the newly forming democratic forces, which were sorely in need of help. Considerable help was being provided from the United States. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Republican and Democratic parties, Freedom House, the George Soros Foundation and others were giving money to buy newsprint, audio/video devices, cars, ballot boxes and seals, and other needed equipment. RPO received an allotment increase of $150,000 from USAID to pay for copying equipment, comput- ers, printers, the printing of ballot forms, election seals, bands and stamps. The cars and equipment were picked up in Austria by representatives of the non-communist parties, who drove them to their home countries. Countries in need of help turned to RPO to provide guidance as well as active support for their efforts. In Bulgaria, for exam- ple, opposition leaders were sorely in need of transportation. Although nongovernmental funding was available, the vehicles themselves were impossible to procure in Sofia. Donors turned to RPO for assistance. Since speed was of the essence and non- governmental funds were being spent, I concurred with RPO’s executive officer, Johannes Schmiedt, that as long as no NGO funds passed through our hands, he did not have to apply strict governmental procurement rules, which would have delayed the process considerably. Schmiedt and his assistant George Mathew worked with contacts in Germany, who bought used vehicles on the open market and had themmoved to Vienna. They also arranged for local procurement of other equipment. Bulgarian representa- tives then picked up the cars and drove them to Sofia. No money ever passed through RPO’s hands in this unusual but effective procedure. In Bulgaria, the government controlled the sale of all news- print, thereby preventing democratic challengers from printing newspapers presenting their views. When RPO was asked to help procure newsprint, I immediately contacted FreedomHouse, which promised to provide the $70,000 needed for the purchase of newsprint from an Austrian paper mill. When we called to place the order, however, the mill demanded immediate payment. Since the funds were from an NGO and would take several days to reach the company, I asked if they would deliver the newsprint based on my personal guarantee—making me personally liable for the entire amount if FreedomHouse reneged. The newsprint was quickly shipped to Bulgaria. And, of The government controlled the sale of all newsprint in Bulgaria, thereby preventing democratic challengers from printing any newspapers presenting their views. –Bob Powers “ ”