The Foreign Service Journal, May 2011

M A Y 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 globe, according to its controller of strategy and business, Jim Egan. For instance, BBC Persian televi- sion, which launched in early 2009 and airs in Iran and elsewhere, has experi- enced numerous instances of jamming. The BBC Arabic TV news service has also been jammed recently across var- ious parts of North Africa during the recent uprisings in Egypt and Libya. “Governments who have an interest in denying people information, partic- ularly at times of tension and upheaval, are keen to do this, and it is a particu- lar problem now,” says Egan. Another area in which the BBC World Service is expected to use the U.S. money is to develop early-warn- ing software so it can detect jamming sooner than it currently does, relying on reports from users on the ground. Finally, the BBC plans to use the funds to combat Internet censorship, establishing proxy servers that give the impression a computer located in one country is, in fact, operating in another location, thereby foiling attempts by re- pressive governments to block Web sites. Observes Egan, “China has be- come quite expert at blocking Web sites, and one could say it has become something of an export industry for them — a lot of countries are keen to follow suit.” Dowell notes that the battle against jamming is likely to be an ongoing one, as repressive regimes develop methods to counter anti-censorship technology. “It is a bit of a game of cat and mouse,” a BBC source tells Dowell. The agreement comes at a propi- tious time for the BBC, whose World Service faces a 16-percent cut in its an- nual grant from the British Foreign Office, which would lead to elimina- tion of some 650 jobs. (The World Service currently receives 236.7 mil- lion pounds, approximately $380 mil- lion, allocated through a three-year budget.) The U.S. funds will be chan- neled through theWorld Service’s char- itable arm, the World Service Trust. — Steven Alan Honley, Editor More than Drugs and Thugs The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law En- forcement Affairs recently released its 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, covering calendar year 2010. While the primary function of this annual report, mandated by the Foreign Assistance Act, is to apprise Congress of the efforts (or lack there- of) of different countries to combat the global narcotics trade, its scope is con- siderably broader. The 2011 INCSR ( www.state.gov/ ) C Y B E R N O T E S 50 Years Ago... D iplomacy is always going to consist to some extent of serving people who do not know that they are being served, who do not know that they need to be served, who misunderstand and, occasionally, abuse the very effort to serve them. … Let us take special pride in the fact that we of this profession serve not because of, but in spite of, many of the popular attitudes by which our work is surrounded. It takes a special love of country to pursue, with love and faith, and cheerfulness, work for which no parades will ever march, no crowds will cheer, no bands will play. — George F. Kennan, “Diplomacy as a Profession,” adapted from his March 31, 1961, speech to AFSA; FSJ , May 1961.