The Foreign Service Journal, April 2019

6 APRIL 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 60 Reflections The Achille Lauro Affair, 1985 By Tom Lo n go 62 Local Lens Guilin, China By An d re a Na g y 45 AFSA Seeks Award Nominations for 2019 46 State VP Voice: Foreign Service Furlough Stories 47 FAS VP Voice: Government Shutdowns Shut Out U.S. Farmers 48 AFSA on the Hill: Advocacy in a Divided Congress 49 AFSA Retirees: From International Careers to Local Engagement 50 Retiree Corner: Change Your Health Plan? 50 Webinar: Planning for Retirement 51 AFSAWelcomes Newest FSOs 52 FS Day: Letters to the Editor Are Back 52 AFSA Greets Newest FS Specialists AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION On the Cover— NATO Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs meet at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 14, 2010, to prepare for the 2010 NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: U.S. Department of Defense. Inset: President Harry S Truman signs the Washington Treaty establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 4, 1949, in Washington, D.C. Credit: Abbie Rowe/National Archives and Records Administration. Composition by Driven By Design LLC. Marketplace 55 Classifieds 57 Real Estate 59 Index to Advertisers FOREIGN SERVICE 7 President’s Views Time to Refund the Iraq Tax By Ba r ba r a S t e p h e n s o n 9 Letter from the Editor NATO: An Enduring Alliance By Sh awn Do rma n 20 Speaking Out Straight Talk on Bidding: What You Need to Know Before Trying for That Heavily Bid Job By Pa u l Po l e t e s Perspectives Departments 10 Letters 14 Talking Points 53 Books 45 52