The Foreign Service Journal, March 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2017 19 leadership. More than 100 former defense, foreign policy and national security officials—both civilian andmilitary—who served in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations signed a letter on Jan. 30 urging that President Trump “revisit and rescind this Order.” The Jan. 27 order imposed a 90-day sus- pension on visa issuance and entry to the United States for nationals from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen pending a review of procedures. It also suspended the admission of any refugees for 120 days, stopped the acceptance of Syrian refugees indefinitely, capped the total number of refugees for Fiscal Year 2017 at 50,000, suspended the Visa InterviewWaiver Program, called for expansion of the Consular Fellows Pro- gram and ordered a review of all nonimmi- grant visa reciprocity agreements. “This Order not only jeopardizes tens of thousands of lives, it has caused a crisis right here in America and will do long- termdamage to our national security,” the Jan. 30 letter, addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly, then Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and Acting Secretary of StateThomas A. Shan- non, states. Leading signatories include former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, former CIA Director Michael Hayden, former Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and Presidential Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL John R. Allen, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe James Stavridis and many other top officials. The letter explains the rigorous vetting procedures that are subject to continuous review and improvement, noting that not Secretary of State John Kerry (at podium) with, from left to right, Under Secretary for Management Pat Kennedy and former Secretaries Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright at the Jan. 10 Diplomacy Center ceremony. DEPARTMENTOFSTATE a single major terrorist attack has been perpetrated by travelers from the countries named in the order since 9/11. Signatories express concern over the order’s apparent lack of vetting by the agencies bound to enforce it (including the State Department), and urge officials in the three agencies to use the discretion given themunder the order tomitigate its damage and draw on the insight of department professionals to recommend its revocation. “A blanket ban of certain countries or classes of people is inhuman, unnecessary and counterproductive from a security standpoint, and beneath the dignity of our great nation,” the letter concludes. Following the hold put on the order by U.S. District Judge James Robart of Seattle on Feb. 3 and the administration’s appeal of that decision on Feb. 7, many of the letter’s signatories, and others, filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court upheld the hold on the immigration order on Feb. 10. The brief argues that the order harms the interests of the United States and that maintaining the hold while the underly- ing legal issues are adjudicated would not jeopardize national security. —Susan B. Maitra, Managing Editor U.S Diplomacy Center Ceremonial Opening O n Jan. 10, Secretary of State John Kerry was joined by four of his prede- cessors for the ceremonial opening of the U.S. Diplomacy Center, a museumon the history of American diplomacy scheduled to open formally in 2018. The center was conceived under Madeleine Albright’s tenure as Secretary of State and, at the event, she stated: “Diplomacy is about people. It’s about relationships. We want the Diplomacy Center and Museum to tell the untold stories of diplomacy and the never-heard stories of the people involved.” Speaking at the event, Hillary Clinton took the opportunity to praise American diplomats and underline the critical importance of diplomacy. “Diplomacy is one of the greatest forces for peace and prosperity and progress the world has ever known,” Clinton stated. “I’m excited about the historic artifacts and the cutting-edge exhibits that will be here to teach and inspire future gen- erations about the work of our country’s diplomats,” she continued. “Students and visitors alike will be able to simulate high- stakes diplomatic negotiation, learnmore about resolving disputes in our increas-