The Foreign Service Journal, February 2004

icy-making process. He relished his responsibilities. His notable impact rested on the depth and force of his analyses and recommendations, on the reputation he and his staff earned by their initial success with the Marshall Plan, and on the access afforded him by Secretaries of State Marshall and Acheson. Kennan’s defeats in 1949 on such policy issues as the division of Germany and the decision to proceed with H- bomb research, however, combined to leave this sensitive and emotional man feeling frustrated and pessimistic. His opposition to nuclear weapons was deeply felt and passionately expressed, but he could not convince Acheson, who rejected his proposals for international control of atomic energy. The Secretary of State later claimed that he told Kennan that, “if that was his view he ought to resign from the Foreign Service and go out and preach his Quaker gospel but not push it within the department.” However, as with much Acheson later claimed to have said to and about Kennan, there is not the slightest evidence to support his recollection. Nonetheless, the planning chief increasingly sensed a real change in the importance given his counsel after Acheson replaced Marshall. He suspected that Acheson valued him more as an in-house dissenter and intellectual gadfly, but he did not possess the tempera- ment to play these roles on a permanent basis. He wanted to influence policy and his growing inability to do so troubled him both professionally, because he believed the wrong course was being charted, and per- sonally, because he was denied the rich satisfaction of having his advice accepted and implemented. He once explained to Joseph Alsop that “the policy recommen- dations of an official like himself, with long expert training, should be treated like the diagnosis and pre- scriptions of a doctor.” And Kennan preferred patients, so to speak, who did not seek second opinions. He simply found it difficult to accept that his Planning Staff would not function “as the ideological inspirer and coordinator of policy.” His disillusionment mounted as he realized that Acheson considered him just another F O C U S 30 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 4 You know that intimate, boutique all-suite hotel that everyone wants to find? The one that has cutting-edge style and service, but is still reasonably priced? You just found it! • Located minutes from State Department Headquarters • Government per diem accepted all year • Newly Renovated suites with full kitchens • Visit our new restaurant “Dish” For more information please visit www.theriverinn.com or call (202) 337-7600. L OTS OF S TYLE , N OT A LOT OF P R I CE 9 2 4 2 5 T H S T R E E T , NW W A S H I N G T O N , DC 2 0 0 3 7 Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE”  finder5@IX.netcom.com Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619 Executive Lodging Alternatives