The Foreign Service Journal, May 2011

10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 1 1 France’s Diplomatic Corps Speaks Out Growing criticism of France’s for- eign policy in the wake of the recent uprisings in North Africa has prompt- ed a group of anonymous French ca- reer diplomats, active-duty and retired, to respond. In a Feb. 22 opinion piece in Le Monde ( www.lemonde.fr ), th e group, which calls itself “Marly,” ana- lyzes the failings of the country’s diplo- macy and argues for more profession- alism, experience and consistency. The anonymous diplomats declare that “France’s voice has disappeared from the world” due to poor decisions made at Élysée Palace (the presidential residence), not Quai d’Orsay (where the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located). For example, they assert that President Nicolas Sarkozy’s deci- sion to view Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali as “southern pillars” was made without taking into account the analyses from French embassies. Their letter continues that a French WikiLeaks would show that those diplomats, like their American col- leagues, produced reporting that was critical of these regimes. The group goes on to identify four main problems that have led to poor foreign policy decisions: impulsivity, amateurism, preoccupation withmedia attention and a lack of consistency, par- ticularly regarding the Middle East and North Africa. ‘Marly’ sharply rebukes Pres. Sar- kozy for basing his decisions on short- sighted domestic politics instead of forming and maintaining a clear, con- sistent foreign policy. In their public letter, France’s career diplomats call for a return to a foreign policy that once again relies upon values of soli- darity, democracy and cultural respect. Their message is simple: Professional diplomacy is not the cause of Paris’s problems, but the solution. — Danielle Derbes, Editorial Intern BBC and State to Team Up? Writing in the March 20 edition of The Guardian ( www.guardian.co.uk ) Ben Dowell reports that the British Broadcasting Corporation’s renowned World Service plans to sign an agree- ment with the U.S. Department of State to receive a “significant” but undisclosed sum to help combat cen- sorship of BBC television and Internet services in various countries, including Iran and China. Dowell speculates that the U.S. government has decided the reach of the World Service makes such an investment worthwhile. In what is believed to be the first deal of its kind, State Department money and technical assistance would enable the World Service ( www.bbc. co.uk/worldservice ) to invest in de- veloping anti-jamming technology and software. The grant, understood to be in the low six-figures, is also expected to be used to educate people in coun- tries with state censorship in how to circumnavigate the blocking of Inter- net and TV services. The deal, which is expected to be formally announced on International Press FreedomDay, May 3, follows an increase in incidents of interference with World Service output across the C YBERNOTES I know there have been times where perhaps the United States took this region for granted. [But since then] virtually all the people of Latin America have gone from living under dictatorships to living in democracies. This is the outstanding progress that’s been made here in the Americas. … It’s important for us to learn from our history, to understand our history, but not be trapped by it — because we’ve got a lot of challenges now and, even more importantly, we have challenges in the future that we have to attend to. — President Barack Obama, speaking at a joint press conference with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago on March 21, www.santiagotimes.cl .