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 43 a high school essay contest about the importance of diplomacy; • Using the Foreign Service Jour- nal to publicize and document what AFSA is doing and to air diverse opinions, and making sure that the magazine gets to all national legisla- tors and many libraries; • Publishin g Inside a U.S. Em- bassy , AFSA’s popular introduction to the Foreign Service, which reaches thousands; and • Hosting author appearances and public issues forums at AFSA headquarters, and conducting outreach to busi- ness organizations. …And Speak Out Beyond that, I would encourage AFSA to consider speaking out about the key foreign policy issues being de- bated nationally, when the practice of diplomacy is threat- ened. In fact, we have consistently maintained a high profile on the use of ambassador- ships as rewards for campaign con- tributors, a highly sensitive political issue. AFSA was successful in get- ting language into the 1980 Foreign Service Act to enshrine a preference for career personnel as ambassa- dors, but the results have been dis- appointing. We need to keep calling attention to this principle, even if we seem to be beating our wings on a lampshade, considering how little respect is paid to it in practice (including by the Obama administration). AFSA has also sprung to the defense of individual diplo- mats who have been pilloried publicly for reporting un- popular views from the field — e.g., “China hands” John Service, John Davies, et al. Yet we have consistently stopped short of taking positions on other foreign policy is- sues, even when basic principles are involved, on the grounds that the Foreign Service exists to implement pol- F O C U S The idea of taking on a union’s functions didn’t sit well with everyone in the Foreign Service in the early 1970s.