The Foreign Service Journal, April 2013

10 April 2013 | the foreign Service journal We seem to have rushed to inherit the troubling results from Great Britain. Britain today may not be what it once was, but I believe her diplomatic skills remain sterling. To remove the onus from our back and to save our lives, treasure, reputation and good will, I recom- mend we encourage her to establish and head an international commission to resolve the problems of her creation, perhaps under the auspices of the United Nations. Regarding the Afghanistan conun- drum, I was very encouraged to learn in early February about British Prime Min- ister David Cameron’s imminent talks in London with Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari. Let’s hope there’s some noteworthy progress prior to this letter’s publication. I hope Foreign Service Journal readers will take up this debate. Louis V. Riggio FSO, retired Hollywood, Fla. More Memories of Reginald Bartholomew The December 2012 letter by David T. Jones regarding the passing of Regi- nald Bartholomew provided a wonder- ful description of the great confidence several U.S. presidents and Secretaries of State had in the ambassador. As Mr. Jones highlighted, his leadership style was striking and always energetic. Yet, in addition to the “dark side of his brilliance,” there were angels, too—as I learned while serving under Amb. Bar- tholomew 30 years ago in Beirut. Oct. 23, 1983, is a historic day in the annals of the U.S. Marine Corps. That day, 241 warriors were lost in what has been called the largest non-nuclear explosion ever. That day was also Amb. Bartholomew’s first at post. I was on temporary duty there as a junior communications officer, alone in the office that morning. While an explo- sion had been heard earlier, its origins were not immediately known. Under- scoring the importance of U.S. govern- ment diplomatic communications, the ambassador’s first briefing was with the Communications Programs Unit. As I briefed him, the audible signal of flash traffic suddenly rang out. The next thing I knew, the ambassador and I were trying to decipher a series of flash cables which, one by one, screamed out an escalating horror: 20, 53, 125, 180…Marines confirmed dead. That earlier explosion was now fully, yet very sadly, understood. Given the situation, I was nervous. I was a bit shaky too, dropping one flash telegraphic tape to the floor. The ambas- sador noticed it, I’m sure. It was one of many moments in my Foreign Service career that would test my professional ability and composure. As he started to leave, Amb. Bar- tholomew paused at the door and said, calmly but firmly, “Tim, our work here has just become a lot tougher. But in honor of all those Marines, our outstand- ing team here, including you, will see it through.” The ambassador’s words helped me regain focus. And it was then that I saw an angel or two. Timothy C. Lawson Senior FSO, retired Hua Hin, Thailand Professionalism vs. Diversity? Foreign Service Specialist Krishna Das’s paean to diversity (January Let- ters) prompts me to ask: Which does Mr. Das consider the higher priority for State, attracting diversity or attracting AFSA Scholarship AFSA.org/Scholar Arlington Court Suites Arlingtoncourtsuites.com AKA StayAKA.com Clements Worldwide clements.com Diplomatic Automobile www.diplosales.com Embassy Risk Management Embassyrisk.com The Hirshorn Company hirshorn.com/afsa McGrath McGrathRealEstate.com ProMax promaxrealtors.com Tetratech Tetratech.com WJD wjdpm.com