The Foreign Service Journal, March 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2015 63 AFSA NEWS Ambassador’s Memoir Illustrates Diplomacy in Action AFSA BOOK NOTES On Jan. 8 the American Foreign Service Association hosted Ambassador Chris- topher Hill at AFSA head- quarters for a Book Notes discussion of his new memoir, Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy. Currently dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, Amb. Hill is a retired career diplomat and four- time ambassador, whose last post was Baghdad (2009- 2010). Prior to that, he served as assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs (2005-2009); ambassador to South Korea (2004-2005); ambassador to Poland (2000-2004); ambas- sador to Macedonia (1996- 1999) and special envoy to Kosovo (1998-1999), among many other assignments. Over the course of his Foreign Service career, Hill received many State Depart- ment awards, including the Secretary of State’s Distin- guished Service Award and the Robert A. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations. AFSA President Robert J. Silverman introduced Hill by observing that reading Hill’s memoir reminded him of “how cool it is to be a Foreign Service officer.” Hill opened with a light- hearted jab at his writing experience. “I never thought I’d write a book,” he said. “In the Foreign Service, I don’t think I ever wrote anything longer than two pages, and no one ever read page two,” he continued. “It was kind of weird to get to page three and realize I was in terra incog- nita.” Though diplomacy is “not the oldest profession in the world,” Hill observed that it has “been around for a long time.” He emphasized the importance of building rela- tionships in the practice of diplomacy, citing their value when he served as special envoy to Kosovo, negotiated with the North Koreans and led Embassy Baghdad. Describing Iraq as “one of the most difficult issues for the Foreign Service,” Hill noted that “the State Department put itself in the position where we were seen as the organization that would somehow provide the continuity once the military was gone: war by other means.” However, he noted, “we should not be sending soldiers to do a diplomat’s job, and to some extent I think that’s what happened in Iraq.” Hill added that he does not call Iraq a “big mistake” in his book, but “we need to think things through a little better before we find ourselves in circumstances of that kind.” Before taking enthusiastic questions from the capacity audience, Hill declared that the Foreign Service profession is in “good shape.” He also pointed out that he dedicated his book not just to his own family, but to all the men and women of the Foreign Service and their families. “Anyone who has been to the outposts knows that you don’t always have the option of waiting for guid- ance,” he said. “You have to make decisions; you have to take a chance; you have to make these tough calls. And the men and women of our Foreign Service have done that very, very well over the decades.” n —Debra Blome, Associate Editor Secretary of State John Kerry swears in FSO Ted Osius as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam on Dec. 10. His spouse, former AFSA Governing Board member Clayton Bond, their son, TABO, and Osius’ mother, Nancy Zimmerman, look on. Amb. Osius is the first openly gay officer to serve as a U.S. ambassador in Southeast Asia. AFSA/DEBRABLOME AFSA/DEBRABLOME Ambassador Christopher Hill.