The Foreign Service Journal, March 2009

6 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 9 Thirty Years Ago in Kabul Feb. 14, 2009, marked the 30th an- niversary of the kidnapping and mur- der of U.S. Ambassador Adolph “Spike” Dubs at the Kabul Hotel in the center of the Afghan capital. It was the worst day in my Foreign Service career, for I knew him and served as his press and information officer. It was a time of great vulnerability for the American diplomatic community as the stability of the Marxist Taraki regime seemed very shaky. Subsequent events would prove that it was indeed destined for destruction. In the years since Amb. Dubs led our mission in Kabul, the Afghan peo- ple have been beaten and displaced re- peatedly, first by Soviet military forces occupying their country, then by vi- cious and bloody fights among com- peting factions for power inside the country, and now by resurgent Taliban forces and their allies in Pakistan and elsewhere who want to impose their totalitarian version of Islamic law. The U.S. decision to withdraw its diplomats fromKabul after the Soviet withdrawal of forces in 1989 proved to be very costly. U.S. efforts in Afghanistan since 2001, when we reopened our embassy, have greatly expanded, but the overall situation remains fragile. More re- sources and better strategies are need- ed to improve the lives of Afghans and cement our diplomatic ties. Although three decades have passed, we do not seem to be much closer to a stable gov- ernment and a prosperous country. This dismaying situation would trouble Amb. Dubs just as it does many of us who know the people and the country. We who have served there know that most Afghan people are friendly and peaceful and would rather build up their country than live under the yoke of another repressive regime. This has been the aim of American and international leaders and military and civilian forces in the country. Let us hope that in 2009 we will achieve greater progress with our Afghan allies and so honor the memory of all those Afghans and Americans who, like Spike Dubs, have lost their lives in service to our country and to the Afghan people in the quest for a bet- ter day for Afghanistan. Bruce K. Byers FSO, retired Reston, Va. Beyond Hotel Services? State employees are accustomed to living with the consequences of sudden decisions on overseas staffing that re- quire them to pretend that high-level, out-of-touch decisionmakers’ illusions can be implemented. But they gener- ally have no idea as to why and how the new staffing programs evolved. Shawn Dorman’s “Global Repositioning in Perspective” (January FSJ ) masterfully explains the many ways the global repositioning initiative failed to meet its goals and why the idea of American Presence Posts could not be realized. The eloquent testimony of Ralph Falzone and others in the field shows why almost none of the program’s goals could be achieved without being sub- stantially modified, as they were in In- donesia. Anyone hankering to imple- ment staffing changes should be re- quired to read this very useful article. State needs to decide whether it is going to do more abroad than serve high-level visitors and provide and maintain facilities for the agencies that operate overseas. If so, it will need to secure funding to allow personnel to leave mission fortifications and engage local populations. A first step to get State employees outside the walls more often would be to provide funding so posts can establish dedicated units that deal with all aspects of visitors’ pro- grams save note-taking. To achieve meaningful change, however, future staffing initiatives need to provide for five or 10 times the 285 L ETTERS