The Foreign Service Journal, May 2012

M A Y 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 tenure is just one month shorter than that of Angolan President Jose Ed- uardo dos Santos.) After strong inter- national pressure, spearheaded by South African Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu, the organization reit- erated that decision last October. Sadly, the third time proved to be the charm for Obiang. On March 8, Agence France-Presse ( www.afp. com ) re ports, the UNESCO board voted to accept the donation, which will fund an annual award of $300,000 to be shared by up to three laureates, C Y B E R N O T E S SITE OF THE MONTH: http://ambassadorsperspectives.wordpress.com As its name suggests, Ambassadors Perspectives: Online Commentary on Cur- rent World Issues presents short commentaries on major international and national security developments by non-career U.S. ambassadors who have served presidents of both parties. Co-chaired by Jim Rosapepe, ambassador to Romania from 1998 to 2001, and G. Philip Hughes, ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean from 1990 to 1993, the forum offers diverse perspectives. Consider a pair of contrasting op-eds on handling Iran’s nuclear ambitions. In “Iran: The Course Ahead,” Thomas Graham Jr., former FSO and Special Representa- tive for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament from 1994 to 1997, coun- sels patience and a continued emphasis on diplomacy. But Bruce S. Gelb, head of the United States Information Agency from 1989 to 1991 and ambassador to Belgium from 1991 to 1993, warns in “What Is the Best Course of Action in Response to Iran- ian Pursuit of a Nuclear Program?” that the use of force may soon be unavoidable. Other recent postings include “Sub-Saharan Africa Is Losing Ground,” “Sudan: Erratic Diplomacy at Best” and “A Fresh Challenge for India,” all by John Price, who was ambassador to Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros from 2002 to 2005, and “Assad’s Survival Is Not Syria’s Destiny,” by Edward M. Gabriel, ambassador to Mo- rocco from 1997 to 2001 (and Jean AbiNader, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a founding board member of the Arab American Institute). The Council of American Ambassadors ( www.americanambassadors.org ), ad - ministrator of Ambassadors Perspectives , is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization made up of more than 200 former and incumbent non-career United States ambas- sadors. The Council supports the role of the American ambassador and the country team in carrying out U.S. foreign policy at embassies around the world. In this vein, it offers advice and assistance to the U.S. Department of State, as appropriate, and endeavors to educate the public on foreign policy issues affecting the national inter- ests. CAA also organizes ambassadorial orientations, conferences, international affairs and public diplomacy fellowships, international missions and a roundtable luncheon series. In addition to Ambassadors Perspectives , the organization also produces the Diplomatic Dispatch newsletter and a foreign policy journal, The Ambassadors RE- VIEW , published twice a year. — Steven Alan Honley, Editor