The Foreign Service Journal, May 2008

democratic institutions and nations” must be spelled out. Visa officers or other embassy officials must submit their cases to the Bureau of Consular Affairs and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs in Washington, with P making the final call. The Case for Implementation The case for broadening the implementation of Proclamation 7750 is compelling. Corruption devalues the foreign assistance dollar: after skimming at each level, only a relatively small fraction gets to the intended project or beneficiary, and its productivity is thereby greatly reduced. And, under some circumstances, institutionalized graft makes private investment absolutely prohibitive, thus undermining the basis for economic growth and prosperity. As Colin Powell noted in his explanatory cable: “Corruption fundamentally threatens public trust and the integrity of basic institutions, and therefore undermines both democracy and security.” He linked 7750 explicitly to the formula for eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Account, whose aims and objectives its use would com- plement. Powell also noted in his 2004 cable that the initiative is linked to the “No Safe Haven” approach. Indeed, two years later, at their 2006 summit in St. Petersburg, the G-8 underlined its importance: “Corruption by holders of public office can deter foreign investment, stifle econom- ic growth and sustainable development, and undermine legal and judicial systems. The net effect of corruption is felt most directly, and disproportionately, by the poor.” They also called for greater cooperation on prosecution and implementation of the OECD Anti-bribery Convention, regional and bilateral trade agreements, fis- cal transparency, combating money laundering, and glob- al ratification and implementation of the U.N. Convention Against Corruption. So far, however, according to Global Financial Integrity, a think-tank based in Washington, D.C., the declarations have not blocked the entry of corrupt officials to any of the G-8 countries as intended. Clearly this mul- tilateral initiative needs some leadership. Suspension of U.S. visas does not require indictment or conviction in the judicial sense; it simply entitles and obliges consular officers to deny entry to persons “we believe have engaged in corruption.” The measure is sound, ethical, potentially effective and not hegemonic. Alas, we seem to lack the backbone to use it. In fact, it is nearly impossible to obtain any clear, con- crete information about 7750’s use to date. While U.S. visa law understandably forbids divulging the findings of individual cases, the reluctance of government officials even to mention the measure in public echoes the scene from “Dr. Strangelove” in which a nasal and stressed American Peter Sellers addresses a stolid Soviet Peter Sellers: “But Dmitri, if you had a doomsday weapon, why didn’t you tell us you had a doomsday weapon?!” Lesson: deterrence works only if you talk about it. A Patriotic Act Making Presidential Proclamation 7750 an effective deterrent by actually using it will cost the American tax- payer nothing. It will engage the United States in a valu- able multilateral effort and will demonstrate that Washington means business without creating perceptions of swaggering, which the populations of many developing F O C U S M A Y 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 47 A Cameroonian view of a U.S. ambassador preparing his exit from an African country. His carry-on luggage is marked “Champion in the struggle against the fat cats of corruption.” He thinks: “I just hope I will have left a legacy.” Meanwhile, “the corrupt and the pillagers” piled into a wheelbarrow collectively ruminate: “Whew, finally he’s on his way. Now we’ll have some breathing room.” By Nkumbe Joseph Epie, in The Humorist.