The Foreign Service Journal, February 2003

16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 3 D iplomacy has long been a dan- gerous profession, to put it mildly. But perhaps never has that been truer than in the post-Sept. 11 environment. With anti-American- ism on the rise, and a real possibility, as we go to press, that we may soon be fighting Iraq (and perhaps North Korea) in addition to al-Qaida and its supporters around the globe, even hith- erto placid posts are experiencing a new sense of fragility and vulnerability. Accordingly, it seems especially appropriate for this issue of the Journal to focus on how the Foreign Service is coping, professionally and personally, with the growing uncertainties of what may someday come to be known as the “Era of Evacuations.” Associate Editor Susan Maitra leads off our coverage by going behind the scenes of the State Department’s Operations Center. As she reports, whether the Ops Center is responding to a natural disaster, a breakdown in security, or a terrorist attack, it is indeed “State’s Nerve Center for Crisis Response” (p. 17). When conditions in a country deterio- riate, it may be necessary to evacuate Americans, both private citizens and those at post. Journal Business Manager Mikkela Thompson explains how such determinations are made and imple- mented in “Evacuations 101” (p. 21). While CA’s Barbara Ensslin details the Consular Affairs Bureau’s role in “Responding to Crises Abroad” (p. 25), an interview with Faye Barnes, director of State’s Family Liaison Office, explores FLO’s role as “Point of Contact for Employees & Families” (p. 36). Turning to some case studies, we offer side-by-side accounts of the 1998 evacuation from Guinea-Bissau. Ambassador Peggy Blackford tells us about the embassy’s role in rescuing Americans caught up in “A Coup in Guinea-Bissau” (p. 30), while watch officer Raymond Blackwell — whose first post had been Bissau — gives us the Ops Center perspective (p. 31). Remaining in Africa, we also offer an account of the last year’s Cote d’Ivoire evacuation by Peace Corps Country Director Kristi Ragan (p. 39) and “Lessons Learned in the 1991 Zaire Evacuation,” as compiled by USAID FSO Linda Gregory (p. 44) . Last, but certainly not least, we are proud to present a roundup of vignettes (p. 49) contributed by Foreign Service personnel and their families, in response to our appeal for stories of life in danger zones and evacuations. These run the gamut from lessons learned (and not) to humorous anecdotes and more poignant memories. In fact, we received so many responses that we will run more next month. — Steven Alan Honley, Editor D IPLOMATS IN D ANGER Z ONES E D I T O R ’ S I N T R O D U C T I O N Page 21 Page 30 Page 31 Page 25