The Foreign Service Journal, April 2004

A P R I L 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 3 T HE M AGAZINE F OR F OREIGN A FFAIRS P ROFESSIONALS Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly with a combined July/August issue by the American Foreign Service Association, a private, non-profit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by e-mail. Journal subscription: AFSAMembers - $13 included in annual dues; others - $40. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mail- ing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Foreign Service Journal , 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. Indexed by Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply the endorsement of the services or goods offered. FAX: (202) 338-8244 or (202) 338-6820. E- MAIL: journal@afsa.org. W EB: www.afsa.org. TE LEPHONE: (202) 338-4045. © American Foreign Service Association, 2004. Printed in the U.S.A. Send address changes to AFSA Membership, 2101 E Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2990. J O U R N A L OREIGN ERVICE S F Editor S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY Senior Editor S USAN B. M AITRA Associate Editor S HAWN D ORMAN Ad & Circulation Manager E D M ILTENBERGER Business Manager M IKKELA V. T HOMPSON Art Director C ARYN S UKO S MITH Editorial Intern D WIJEN J AYDEV M EHTA Advertising Intern W EI T AN Editorial Board J UDITH B AROODY , C HAIRMAN M ARK W. B OCCHETTI S TEPHEN W. B UCK P ATI C HAPLIN T ATIANA C. G FOELLER C AROL A. G IACOMO W ILLIAM W. J ORDAN L AURIE K ASSMAN H OLLIS S UMMERS B ILL W ANLUND T ED W ILKINSON F O C U S O N F S S T A F F I N G 18 / F OREIGN S ERVICE S TAFFING : E DITOR ’ S I NTRODUCTION By Steven Alan Honley 20 / T HE DRI R IDES TO THE R ESCUE After a decade of struggle and attrition, the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative has revitalized the State Department’s operations. By Niels Marquardt 29 / L IBERATING FSN S FROM T HEIR “CAJE” The Computer Aided Job Evaluation Process is intended to give Foreign Service Nationals their due, but it isn’t working as well as it should. By Alexis Ludwig 33 / O N THE W ORK F ORCE R OLLER C OASTER AT USAID Following more than a decade of radical downsizing, the U.S. Agency for International Development is rebuilding to meet new challenges. By Shawn Zeller 41 / C OMPETITIVE C ONTRACTING : A N A VENUE FOR I MPROVEMENT Despite the Bush administration’s push and demonstrated cost savings, the competitive contracting program is advancing only slowly. By Ron Utt C ONTENTS A p r i l 2 0 0 4 Vo l ume 8 1 , No . 4 F E A T U R E S R EMEMBERING R WANDA : A N E YEWITNESS TO THE H ORROR / 47 In April 1994, an estimated three-quarters of a million men, women and children were brutally slaughtered in the tiny Central African country of Rwanda. It was one of the worst cases of genocide in the 20th century. By Alex Belida T OWARD A N EW U.S.-U.N. R APPROCHEMENT / 51 If the United Nations did not exist, it has been said, it would have to be invented. Perhaps it’s time to reinvent this imperfect but invaluable institution. By Ronald Spiers T HE L AST F LIGHT OF THE B LACK S WAN / 58 The tale of a downed fighter plane brings an American and a Frenchman to a better understanding of their countries, past and present. By Douglas W. Wells A PPRECIATION / 62 An American Diplomat Who Made a Difference Warren Zimmermann, 1935-2004 By Roscoe S. Suddarth Cover and inside illustration by David Coulson C O L U M N S P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS / 5 If Not Now, When? By John Limbert S PEAKING O UT / 15 The Weakest Link in Our Foreign Policy Arsenal By William P. Kiehl R EFLECTIONS / 76 By Max Uphaus D E P A R T M E N T S L ETTERS / 7 C YBERNOTES / 12 B OOKS / 66 I NDEX T O A DVERTISERS / 67 AFSA N EWS / C ENTER I NSERT Page 18