The Foreign Service Journal, June 2005

J U N E 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 A Giant of a Man I had three glimpses of our great- est 20th-century diplomat which, among the many tributes you will receive for the late George Kennan, I would like to reco rd. First, in 1981, when I was doing research on the Non-Aligned Move- ment under a Chapman Cox sab- batical grant ( The U.N., the Non- Aligned and the Superpowers , Praeger, 1983), Ambassador Kennan generously shared recollections and written materials of the early non- aligned years in Belgrade. Second, he visited Casablanca in 1987 when I was consul general there to complete the Moroccan chapter of his Sketches from a Life. One morning he asked for a copy of the Koran, which he had not previ- ously read. On my return from work that evening, he had identified and was ready to discuss a dozen or so of the fundamental similarities and dif- ferences between the Koran and the Bible. Finally, in 1999, when I became president of Anatolia College in Thessaloniki, Kennan, then 95, sent me a kind and humorous note. What a giant of a man, given his age and sweeping interests, to trouble himself about the fortunes of a school in G reece and a former FSO’s second career. Richard L. Jackson FSO, retired President, Anatolia College Thessaloniki, Greece Kennan and Harriman The death of George Kennan brought to my mind — in addition to his string of accomplishments and cel- ebrated writings — a less-publicized time in his career, when he was deputy to Ambassador Averill Harri- man in Moscow during the closing days of World War II. In 1985, the department sent me to the Library of Congress to review the “personal papers” Harriman had deposited there a few months earlier. The library had discovered thousands of classified documents accumulated during Harriman’s service from 1940 until he left government in 1969, which had been stored in the base- ment of his Georgetown house. I spent 10 months devouring the fasci- nating record created by this man-of- affairs. Of special interest to me as an admirer and follower of Kennan’s in- and-out influence on U.S. policy was his period as deputy chief of mission to Harriman in Moscow from 1944 to 1945. Kennan was likely the leading U.S. expert on the area — and proba- bly considered himself such. Harri- man was well acquainted with Soviet leaders, but did not speak Russian and was hardly an expert in comparison to Kennan. The DCM submitted sever- al drafts to his chief for review and approval, analyzing the Soviet struc- ture and policies and likely future relations with the U.S., Germany and others. The ambassador returned each, asking for the “sources.” Since the source was obviously Kennan’s own expertise, the ambassador’s queries were never answered and the messages were never sent. When Harriman departed Moscow for a leisurely trip to Washington via the Pacific, he left Kennan in charge. During his absence, the department sent a cable to key embassies inviting comments and suggestions on postwar relations with the Soviet Union. Kennan seized the opportunity to finally get his personal views and analysis before the eyes of Washington policy-makers. The result was the famous “Long Telegram” (published in full in his Memoirs ), dictated at least in part while he was confined to bed with the flu. The Long Telegram later served as the genesis of the “X” article in Foreign Affairs. Jack Sulser FSO, retired Alexandria, Va. How Could You? The articles in the Februa ry FSJ covering the change of command at State were, for the most part, well chosen. The attack from left-wing academics concerning Latin America policy was predictable, considering the source, and while unbalanced and overly critical avoided personal attack. The same cannot be said about the nasty personal attack on Colin Powell launched by ex-FSO Dennis Jett. I believe the FSJ made a serious edito- rial misjudgment by publishing this blatantly one-sided and totally obnox- L ETTERS