The Foreign Service Journal, January 2008

AMB. CHAMBERLIN ON U.S.-PAKISTAN RELATIONS AFSA Launches the Adair Speaker Series on American Diplomacy BY MARC NIELSEN, EDITORIAL INTERN A mbassador Wendy Chamberlin, president of theMiddleEast Institute in Washington, D.C., inaugurated theCaroline andAmbassador CharlesW. Adair Speaker Series on AmericanDiplo- macyonNov. 14, addressing some110 fac- ulty and students at AmericanUniversity’s School of International Studies. Amb. Chamberlin—who servedasU.S. ambas- sador to Pakistan from 2001 to 2002, ambassador to the Laos People’s Demo- cratic Republic from1996 to 1999, and as deputy high commissioner for refugees from 2004 to 2006 — spoke on “The Critical Role of the Foreign Service in Defending National Interests.” While servingas ambassador toPakistan in themonths following theSept. 11attacks in 2001, Amb. Chamberlinworked close- ly with President Pervez Musharraf to advance the Bush administration’s coun- terterrorism policies. In her talk, she described the challenges she faced, includ- ing managing the complex relations with thePakistangovernment concerningmul- tiple crises, including the U.S. military buildup in Pakistan related to operations against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Her descriptionof the delicate person- al relationship with Pres. Musharraf was especially timely. Offering insights into Pakistan’s current leadership crisis, Amb. Chamberlin recommended that the U.S. continue to call for Pres. Musharraf to resign from the military (as he later did) andallowfree and fairdemocratic elections. “Our relationship iswith thePakistani peo- ple and is not based on Musharraf,” she stressed. Speaking about current U.S. relations with Islamabad, Amb. Chamberlin said, “Wedon’t have the influenceoverPakistan thatwe think, and that Pakistanis fear.” She highlighted the importanceof Pakistanand the roleofMusharraf inthe region, but con- demnedhis suspensionof the constitution. “He is not comfortablewith themessiness of democracy,” she said. The event was made possible through an endowed gift to the Fund forAmerican Diplomacy from former AFSA President Marshall Adair andGingerAdair. This lec- ture series will serve to educate students, business leaders, senior citizens and the mediaon the importanceof diplomacyand a strong Foreign Service. The Adair family created the endow- ment in2006 inmemoryofMarshall’s par- ents. Charles Adair, a retired ambassador who spent 35 years in the Foreign Service, passedaway at age92 in2006;Carolinehad passed away 10 years earlier. Carol Adair Finn, daughter of Charles and Caroline Adair, attended the program on behalf of the Adair family. The perpetual gift fromtheAdair fam- ily to the Fund for American Diplomacy will be used to support and expandone of AFSA’smost successful outreachprograms, theAFSASpeakers Bureau. The fund sup- ports a varietyof publicprograms that raise awareness about the importance of diplo- macy and the U.S. Foreign Service. J A NU A R Y 2 0 0 8 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 65 A F S A N E W S New Reports Highlight State Staffing Deficit Reports continue to accumulate documenting the deficiencies in funding and staffing of the State Department Foreign Service: • The June 2007 “Managing Secretary Rice’s State Department” report by the Foreign Affairs Council documented a 1,100-position deficit (www.facouncil.org/reports.html) . • The October 2007 “Embassy of the Future” report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies found a 1,015-position shortfall in current needs plus an additional 1,079-position deficit in training and related needs (www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/embassy_of_the_future.pdf ). • The November 2007 “Smart Power” report by CSIS cited a deficit of “more than 1,000” positions to meet training and related needs (www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/071106_ csissmartpowerreport.pdf). An op-ed on Foreign Service staffing and funding issues by AFSA President John Naland, “Nation Lacks Bench Strength for Diplomacy,” was published in the Nov. 26 Federal Times. AFSA continues to urge lawmakers to make at least an initial immediate down payment toward filling these staffing gaps, either in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget or in the Iraq supple- mental request. AFSA also continues to urge the administration to make the strongest possi- ble push to obtain additional staffing resources for diplomacy. AFSA NEWS BRIEFS DACOR Scholarships The DACOR Bacon House Foundation offers scholarships and fellowships to children and grandchildren of U.S. Foreign Service officers to study at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., and at Yale University. All awards are based on merit. The deadline to apply is March 14. For more information about the DACOR awards and to find out how to apply, please contact Program Coordinator Kasia Helbin- Travis at (202) 682-0500, ext. 17, or prog.coord@dacorbacon.org . Leadership Changes at USAID and State In November, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Henrietta Fore for the positions of USAID administrator and director of United States foreign assistance. The Senate also confirmed Patrick Kennedy to be the under sec- retary of State for management, suc- ceeding U/S Fore. AFSA looks for- ward to working with them. Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin at the podium. Marc Nielsen