The Foreign Service Journal, March 2013

8 MARCH 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS Henderson High Jane Loeffler (December, “Beyond the Fortress Embassy”) has given us a very informative and timely review of consid- erations that must always be taken into account in constructing our diplomatic facilities, including the two that are most important: design and location. To the photographs she included to illustrate her points, I’d like to add another, of Embassy Tehran. Built in the 1950s in a style I’d say resembles the U.S. suburban schools of those days, the building was nicknamed “Henderson High,” after Ambassador Loy Henderson. The offices were built in Tehran’s busiest and newest commercial district at the time. Heavily fortified by the time of the 1979-1981 hostage crisis, the building became better known as “Fort Apache”— an ironic title for those who remember it best for its prison facilities. Today, Henderson High is used by Iran’s regime as a training facility for its Revolutionary Guards, and as a museum highlighting the alleged accomplish- ments of the revolution. Those of us who knew it then are confident that the classic real estate con- siderations of design and location will be given better informed attention when, inshallah, there are once again American diplomatic facilities in Tehran. Bruce Laingen Ambassador, retired Bethesda, Md. Good Reason to Be Proud Ben Barber’s article in your January issue, “The Millennium Challenge Cor- poration: Off to a Good Start,” is informa- tive and balanced. Even so, it does not recognize the full extent of what the MCC has already achieved in a relatively short period of time. The fact is that MCC partner coun- tries, including the nine that have com- pleted compacts as of the end of 2012, can boast of truly remarkable progress on delivering tangible benefits for their citizens through needed policy reforms, improved institutional capacity and the building of desperately needed infra- structure. Examples of successful policy reforms include legislation that gives women in Lesotho full legal rights, improved prop- erty rights in a number of countries, and massive increases in financing for road maintenance in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. Not only do these reforms contribute to the sustainability of MCC investments, but they also create a better environment for long-term economic growth. MCC programs vary according to each partner country’s priorities and what it needs to overcome specific constraints to economic growth. Programs completed so far have improved transportation in critical commercial corridors, increased access to electricity and clean water, expanded irrigated agriculture, and helped farmers transition to high-value agriculture. Our partner countries are justifiably proud of what they have accomplished with U.S. support to help themselves break the cycle of aid dependency and create a future of greater economic opportunity. And so is the MCC. Patrick Fine Vice President for Compact Operations Millennium Challenge Corporation Washington, D.C. Pros of International Schools I read with interest the December article by Elizabeth Power on home- schooling (“No, Really, the World Is My Classroom! Homeschooling in the Foreign Service”). While I believe all Embassy Tehran during the 1950s. Bruce Laingen