The Foreign Service Journal, March 2011

M A R C H 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 When the ambassador returned after Thanksgiving, she taped a per- sonal audio/print message for posting on the embassy Web page. Even with- out any press release, the news agen- cies picked up her statement and the story went everywhere. Because of her personal engagement, our “human face” diplomacy helped garner signifi- cant amounts of sympathy for Ameri- can diplomats — both by depicting them not as culprits but, rather, as among the victims in this incident; and by recognizing that they had been doing their jobs responsibly. The message that we consistently used had two elements: first, regret for any harm caused to our contacts due to the breach of privacy; second, deter- mination to learn from the incident and use it as a moment for reflection on how and what we report, and how we can better protect that information. We did not comment on the con- tent of the leaked documents, how- ever. Rather, we sought to educate the public about the context and process of cable writing — including the fact that no ambassador or Secre- tary of State personally drafts all the ca- bles bearing his or her name. Finally, we reaffirmed a commit- ment to openness and transparency, while stressing the need for everyone, including journalists, to handle some information only on the basis of confi- dentiality. Diana Page Public Affairs Officer Embassy Buenos Aires Defining Freedom of Speech I am less troubled by what Wiki- Leaks has revealed — that we are a Foreign Service actively engaged in protecting freedom at home and pro- moting it abroad, and opposing terror- ists, drugs and arms dealers, nuclear proliferation, human trafficking and many other threats to liberty and secu- rity for all — than by the precedent the posting of our cables establishes. In the name of freedom of speech, freedom of speech is destroyed. How can one speak freely if some people proclaim themselves arbiters of what should be part of a private conversa- tion? And what should be forever searchable, quoted and misquoted? Since when does freedom of speech mean that I have a right to make pub- S P E A K I N G O U T