The Foreign Service Journal, February 2004

GFK : Serving in Moscow after the war, in the winter of ’46, the ambas- sador was gone and I was chargé d’af- faires. I had written for Harriman three longer articles about how I saw the Soviet Union, coming back after seven years’ absence. I handed them to Harriman as my chief, to do what he wanted with them. They were not regular dispatches; they were rather literary papers. They appear as annex- es to the first volume of my memoirs. And then I wrote this long telegram, which for some reason struck this very, very responsive bell back in Washington, and it was circulated all around. It was made required reading for officers of the armed services in the Pentagon. [James] Forrestal was then the Secretary of the Navy and was interested. And when I came home from Russia I was assigned as the first civilian deputy commandant of the National War College, in the first year of the college’s existence. I had to set up political instruction. And during that time Gen. Marshall came into office as sec- retary of State, made his trip to Europe and came back extensively worried. He decided to set up a plan- ning unit in the Department of State similar to one that he had had in the War Department. He had very much on his mind the problem of Europe. Something had to be done about Europe and done in a hurry. He could not go through the bureaucracy if he wanted to move quickly. So he said, “I’m going to take you away from the National War College. I want you immediately to set up a small staff in the Department of State.” And he gave me the rooms right next to his office. He said, “I want you to tell me, within a matter of two to three weeks at the most, what this government should do about Europe.” So not only did I have to find quarters in the F O C U S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 The modern Foreign Service, to my mind, dates from the immediate aftermath of World War II. Home Suite Home The next time you’re going to be in DC for an extended stay, make yourself at home at Georgetown Suites. With our discounted monthly rates and large, comfortable suites, you’ll feel right at home. Plus we’re near the State Department. Call today! Georgetown Suites the fun place to stay in DC 1-800-348-7203 www.georgetownsuites.com sales@georgetownsuites.com