The Foreign Service Journal, February 2003

A Role Model With the death of Roy Atherton on Oct. 30, 2001, we lost one of the truly great officers of the United States Foreign Service. In light of his unique role in the crafting and negoti- ation of the Camp David accords, we also lost one of the best professional assets we had at any time in the histo- ry of efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. Roy and I served together in Calcutta 40 years ago, and although we never had a common posting after that, our families stayed in close touch over the years. In addition to being a close personal friend, Roy was also a remark- able Foreign Service officer, one whose model I endeavored to follow. In developing the article that the FSJ published for me in October (Palestine — The Problem and the Prospect), I discussed the issues with Roy during a visit to his retirement home in Collington, Md., and we even talked about the article the day before he went into Sibley Hospital for surgery. Roy never stopped thinking clearly, cogently and fairly about Middle East issues. It touched me deeply that in a time of personal crisis he was still alert to opportunities for advancing possi- ble solutions to the problem. He said he very much appreciated my article and said that the statements and rec- ommendations were “right on target.” When I told him that I was receiving a great deal of criticism from friends of Israel, he said that of course I would take heat from hard-line Israelis and their supporters, but they needed to read and think about what I was saying. We shared the thought that given the great disparity in wealth and power between the Israelis and the Palestinians, fairness is a great deal more important than even-hand- edness, because most of what must be done to improve the situation must be done by Israel. Friends and professional col- leagues who knew Roy and his contri- butions quite well said at the memor- ial service for him that his death was the end of an era. But the era does not have to end. Roy left us an excel- lent model of the qualities good offi- cers must have, as well as a superb example of what we should expect from our best. As Secretary Powell recruits to rebuild the Service to meet a demanding future, he will not find a better model for the next generation of officers than the one provided by Roy Atherton. Terrell E. Arnold Minister-Counselor, retired Washington, D.C. No Scarecrow David Jones’ Speaking Out column in the December Journal notes that an FSO sent an e-mail to a colleague this past summer describing Rep. Ben Gilman, R-N.Y., as someone who “had no brain, like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz.” Rep. Gilman was my congressman for half of my adult life. He will always be known to his constituents as astute, hard-working — and responsive. I have to wonder how smart was the author of that e-mail? David Casavis U.S. Department of Commerce Where Has She Been? Senator Patty Murray recently said the U.S. should be “building stuff” to improve the lives of Third World chil- dren as, she says, Osama bin Laden has been doing. What does she think thousands of young (and old) Peace Corps Volunteers have been doing for the past 40 years? And doesn’t she realize that we’re also still the world’s biggest aid donor? Our ambasssador in Guatemala, to whom I was economic counselor, asked me to oversee Peace Corps work in that country, so I can tell you first-hand about the enthusiastic efforts of the 45 volunteers there. They were an impressive bunch of people — including a 70-year-old retired schoolmarm. They built wells, installed fish pools, built schoolhous- es and mother-child welfare centers, among many other projects. Maybe we’re just not tooting our own horn loud enough. Or maybe, beyond bombing some bad guys, our own legislators don’t know enough about their own government’s affir- mative activities around the world. David B. Timmins FSO, retired Salt Lake City, Utah L ETTERS F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7