The Foreign Service Journal, June 2011

J O U R N A L OREIGN ERVICE S F P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS / 5 The Ambassador: Linchpin of Field Diplomacy By Susan R. Johnson S PEAKING O UT / 13 Is the Foreign Service Still a Profession? By George B. Lambrakis R EFLECTIONS / 108 Room Service By Lyn H. Waters L ETTERS / 7 C YBERNOTES / 9 M ARKETPLACE / 11 B OOKS / 61 I N M EMORY / 64 I NDEX TO A DVERTISERS / 106 Cover and inside illustration by Jeff Moores J U N E 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 3 C ONTENTS June 2011 Volume 88, No.6 F O C U S O N L a t i n A m e r i c a U.S. P OLICY IN THE W ESTERN H EMISPHERE / 16 There is no one-size-fits-all policy for Latin America and the Caribbean. Our diplomacy must acknowledge the dynamism and diversity of the region. By Cynthia J. Arnson M EXICO ’ S A NGUISHED D ECADE / 22 The last time U.S. and Mexican presidents took office in the same year, 2000, many predicted closer relations. So what happened? By Ted Wilkinson B RAZIL AND THE U.S.: R EMAKING A R ELATIONSHIP / 27 The conflicts Washington and Brasilia sometimes experience are only to be expected when two powerful countries deal with one another. By Peter Hakim H UGO C HÁVEZ : N O F RIEND OF THE U NITED S TATES / 32 The Obama administration’s cautious, low-key approach is the way to handle the real threat Hugo Chavez poses to U.S. interests. By Robert Bottome F S H E R I T A G E G ETTING THE M ESSAGE A CROSS : M ALCOLM T OON AND THE M OSCOW P RESS / 39 Mac Toon had an opinion on everything, and was nearly always happy to express it in weekly briefings from 1977 to 1979. By Robin Knight S P E C I A L R E P O R T T HE F OREIGN S ERVICE B LOGOSPHERE IN 2011 / 44 The Foreign Service blogosphere has grown steadily in size and stature during the past two years. Here is our third survey of this brave new world. By Danielle Derbes