The Foreign Service Journal, April 2018

62 APRIL 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL DEFINING DIPLOMACY for YEARS Above inSILVERFOILonCover FSJ January 1997 Does a Sense of Humor Have a Place in Diplomacy? A sense of humor is generally considered a desirable trait and it used to be one of the qualities rated on Foreign Service fitness reports. …Particularly at posts where life is difficult, a sense of humor, and specifically a willingness not to take oneself too seriously—which may mean a willing- ness not to get too worked up about local government inefficiency or unresponsiveness—is often essential to establishing a rapport with someone who expects the new diplomat to be a pain in the fundament, like some of his diplomatic colleagues. –Richard B. Parker, retired FSO and former ambassador FSJ April 1997 In the Post– Cold War World, U.S.-Europe Relations Are Cooling FSJ December 1997 Integrating USIA into State Now a new reorganization is under way. The remarkable and virtually unprecedented thing about today’s USIA-State Department consolidation is that it’s proceeding without a serious study of the issues or the feasibility of integration and, so far, without spirited debate. With the Cold War over and the new Information Age expanding worldwide, there is no question that the role of information, education and cul- tural programs has changed in today’s more complex world. –Mark B. Lewis and Eugene Rosenfeld, retired FSOs FSJ January 1998 How Congress Views FSOs While Congress and the Foreign Service have never been buddies, their historically tense relationship has become more adversarial in recent years, with Congress putting the foreign affairs agencies through the wringer with deep budget cuts, forced consolidation of agencies and employee layoffs.Why such a clash? A large part of the reason is that Congress and the Foreign Service have differing world views. The Foreign Service focuses on how foreign governments and international organizations can help or harm U.S. national interests, while Congress looks to the interests of supporters and constituents at home. Both are legitimate views and both need to be integrated into United States foreign policy. –Marguerite Cooper, retired FSO FSJ March 1998 In Search of Scapegoats In 1978, Congress mandated the creation of independent, agency-specific inspectors general to provide a means of identifying and addressing problems in agency economy, efficiency and effectiveness, as well as to prevent and detect fraud and abuse. The 1978 law also specified that IGs had two masters: the agency head and Congress. …No agency, institution, or career service is above human frailties; larcenous behavior has been found even among those who see themselves as the best and brightest. However, IGs are not infallible either; and they are under pressure from their primary client to find $500 hammers and comparable fodder for press releases. Twenty years later, it is time to ask, “Who is guarding the guardians?” –Daniel W. Fisk, former senior Republican staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee June 1965 FSJ