The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

fer process really works. HST is our corporate headquarters. Support ser- vices are so important that they should remain in the headquarters, where they are now conveniently situated. Mette Beecroft President Emerita Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide Washington, D.C. Consider Keeley on the Middle East Thank you for Robert Keeley’s excellent contribution to the Journal ’s December issue (“Toward a New Foreign Policy Agenda”). It is as sen- sible and simply put a statement on Middle Eastern affairs and needs as it is rare. The Journal deserves congrat- ulations for presenting it, for the “poli- tics” of Palestine/Israel seldom receives such treatment in the American media. However, one may reasonably wonder whether his proposals will ever be given any serious official consideration. Lee Dinsmore FSO, retired Elcho, Wis. More Kudos for Karen Hughes Very senior officers, including Under Secretary Nicholas Burns, sent in letters regarding the comments made about U/S Karen Hughes in the October issue (Shawn Zeller, “Dam- age Control: Karen Hughes Does PD”). Both letters referred to mid- level Foreign Service officers on her staff, of whom I am one. I began in the Bureau of Public Affairs (R) as a special assistant this past August, and I can assure you that it is one of the most inspiring places to be in this building. There is no one with the commitment, enthusiasm, charisma, humor, energy and loyalty to the department that I have observed in U/S Hughes. She genuinely wants to learn and listen, and is open to everyone’s suggestions. She wants to know what you know, and she wants you to tell her the truth. Before enter- ing her office, I respected her from afar for the task she had agreed to under- take. After being here five months, I can understand the admiration and affection that her staff feel for her. We just wound up the Global Public Affairs Officer Conference (Jan. 8-10), attended by 171 officers from around the world. U/S Hughes was outstanding. She gave hours of her time to interact with the PAOs during numerous breakout sessions, where she solicited questions and ideas, and encouraged criticism — with the goal of continuing to improve our public diplomacy efforts. She is always searching for the new and inno- vative, while continuing unstinting support to our tried and true program- ming. Her support for the Foreign Service, and for those of us in it, is clear-cut and often voiced. As U/S Burns noted in his address to the PAOs: Karen has chosen to be here — an extraordinary resource for us all — revitalizing the world of R, and instituting legacy programs that will not depend on her strong bond with the president, but that will live on in embassies around the world, what- ever the administration. And she has made the public diplomacy cone one of the most exciting and desired among incoming officers. I feel particularly privileged to have been chosen for this position and to count myself one of the team in R. Karyn Posner-Mullen FSO, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Washington, D.C. Republish the PD Issue The October Journal , with its five articles on public diplomacy, was out- standing in the way the writers explained the complexities and chal- lenges of PD, a term that seems to have come of age since 9/11. As a 32- year veteran of USIA, I particularly liked the article by Kushlis and Sharpe, “Public Diplomacy Matters More Than Ever,” because of the examples of successful PD efforts, among other astute observations. Joe Johnson’s arti- cle put public diplomacy challenges in the current communications environ- ment in perspective. Because these five articles so excel- lently cover the subject, one would think that republication of them in pamphlet formwould be of great value to students and scholars of PD, espe- cially at schools where it is taught. Allen C. Hansen USIA FSO, retired Falls Church, Va. PD Lessons Shawn Zeller’s account of Karen Hughes’ foreign trips (October) might leave the impression, if one rushed to judgment, that they were unmitigated disasters. However, it should be obvious that, at the very least, much can be learned from them. For example, the incidents highlight one of the most important public diplomacy functions of any embassy: to do everything possible to assure that the visit of an official who is going to meet the public will be as productive as possible and to try to assure that the visitor will not be embarrassed. This requires a judi- cious choice of venues for encounters with the public and the selection of audiences who will treat the visitor with respect, however much they dis- agree with the views expressed. In most countries, it would not be wise to program a visitor to speak in a stadium open to the general public. An alternative might be a televised meeting with a limited number of representative students. For that option to be maximally effective, M A R C H 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 L E T T E R S