The Foreign Service Journal, April 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2017 13 LETTERS-PLUS Diplomacy: What We Do, and Why We Do It BY THOMAS M . COUNTRYMAN On Jan. 25, career FSO Tom Countryman was on his way to Rome for an arms control conference when he received word to return home. He was one of the senior State Department officials asked to step down from their positions. The gracious and inspiring remarks he made at his Jan. 31 retirement ceremony circulated quickly inside and outside of the State Department. As part of the Journal ’s ongoing discussion about loyalty, dissent and the responsibilities of members of the Foreign Service, we share Mr. Countryman’s remarks (as prepared) here, for the record. —The Editors Thomas M. Countryman joined the Foreign Service in 1982 and retired in January 2017. He served as acting under secretary of State for international security affairs from October 2016 through January 2017 and as assistant secretary of State for international security and nonproliferation from September 2011 through January 2017. He served overseas in Belgrade, Cairo, Rome and Athens. In Washington, he served in high-level positions at the State Department and at the National Security Council, and in New York City at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Preparing my retirement ceremony remarks on fairly short notice, I intended them to be a quick personal reflection on why the Foreign Service meant so much to me. I was surprised and pleased that many colleagues found my talk inspiring and shared it. One month later, my apprehension— that this White House will not learn to depend upon the knowledge and talent at State—has only grown. What has also grown is my admiration for those who remain in the department and who persist in dedicated and imaginative service to the American people. I hope readers find my remarks of value as they ponder how each of us can best serve our nation while staying true to our personal values. I recommend more strongly the farewell address of one of our great ambassadors, Dan Fried, who bril- liantly explained how U.S. foreign policy has served well the rest of the world and our own most noble values. * Some of you have asked if recent events have left me disgruntled. The answer is no; I am probably the most “gruntled” person in the room. When Ambassador Robert Pel- letreau retired 20 years ago, he said, “The State Department doesn’t owe me anything. It has given me everything.” It is the same for me. In my very first tour, the department gave me more than I could ask for in a lifetime. It sent me to Belgrade, where in 1984 I met my wife, Dubravka Trklja, the greatest thing ever to happen to me. She reminds me often that she could have had a better hus- band, but I suspect she feels what I feel so strongly: that I could never have had a better friend. And as a result, I have something else, the only thing for which you should envy me: Stefan and Andrew, the two best sons and the two most remarkable young men anyone could have. The department gave me and my family the opportunity to see the world, and not just as tourists. It allowed me to see the reunification of families divided by the Iron Curtain, and to see Israelis and Palestinians negotiate face to face. I saw—and contributed a little to—the restoration of democracy in Serbia. And for the last few years, it’s given me the chance to speak for the United States about a priority shared by 11 successive presidents: reducing the risk of a nuclear holocaust. High Road, Hard Ball This career gave me a constant resur- gence of energy in the form of bright young officers with brilliant careers ahead of them, people like Rafik Man- sour, Patrick Connell, Daniela Helfet, Seth Maddox, Lizzie Martin and David Kim. It allowed me to work for ambas- sadors legendary in the Foreign Service (some of them here today), like David Anderson, Dick Miles, Barbara Bodine, Emil Skodon, Patrick Theros, Skip Gnehm, Frank Wisner, Bob Pelletreau, Marc Grossman and Charlie Ries. From them I learned the four words central to diplomatic success: “High Road, Hard Ball.” And it gave me the great honor to stand beside exemplary Secre- taries of State like Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.