BEYOND STUDY ABROAD TARIFFS FOR DIPLOMATS CRITICAL MINERALS DIPLOMACY PLUS PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION JUNE 2025
READ AROUND THE WORLD FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS. SCAN HERE TO LEARN MORE NEW ZEALAND REP. OF CONGO NETHERLANDS UGANDA MEXICO afsa.org/fsj SCOTLAND TANZANIA
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 5 30 Advancing U.S. Economic Interests Overseas in an Era of Rising Tariffs When tariff policy is a primary tool of economic statecraft, U.S. diplomats have a unique role to play. By Daniel Crocker June 2025 Volume 102, No. 4 FOCUS ON ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY 35 Fortifying Minerals Diplomacy: Four Nations, Four Solutions The Quad—an alliance of the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia—is emerging as a strategic force in critical minerals diplomacy while countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. By Mahnaz Khan 23 What We’ve Lost: Firsthand Accounts from the Field By Members of the Foreign Service Community COVER STORY 39 FAS: Agricultural Economic Diplomacy in Action Agricultural exports account for more than 20 percent of American farm income, and the Foreign Agricultural Service keeps them growing. By Evan Mangino 45 Cold War Insights for Evidence-Driven Tech Competition Today The traditional approach of deploying export controls may have sufficed in the past. But will it prove effective against more innovative foes like the People’s Republic of China? By Darrow Godeski Merton 39
6 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 59 Earning American Credentials Abroad Some Foreign Service kids want to stay overseas for college. What to do when a study abroad semester isn’t immersive enough? By Lauren Steed 73 Education at a Glance 74 What to Know When Considering French Schools Choices abound when considering the French school system for your child. Here are some tips to help guide your decision-making. By Martin Thomen PERSPECTIVES 7 President’s Views AFSA Is Here for You, and We Need Your Help By Tom Yazdgerdi 9 Letter from the Editor Standing Up for Service By Shawn Dorman 21 Speaking Out Not Just Specialists Anymore By Monica Jean Normil 88 Reflections State and Defense: Closer Than You Might Think By Robert Hilton 90 Local Lens Shanghai, China By West Follmer DEPARTMENTS 10 Letters 13 Letters-Plus 15 Talking Points 78 Books MARKETPLACE 83 Real Estate 86 Classifieds 87 Index to Advertisers 49 A FSA Governing Board Election Results 49 E xecutive Order Strips Labor Rights 50 S tate VP Voice—Speaking Up About Morale 51 USAID VP Voice—When Leadership Fails 52 FCS VP Voice—Gardening Our Community 53 In Case You Missed It 55 F S Retirees Rally to Support Legal Defense Fund 55 A FSA Governing Board Meeting, February 19, 2025 56 AFSA Treasurer’s 2024 Report 57 Tools for Navigating Career Transitions 57 FSJ Wins Silver Trendy Award 57 2024 AFSA-PAC Report 58 F SJ Editorial Board Hail and Farewell 58 A FSA Welcomes Director of Professional Policy Issues AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF AFSA ON THE COVER: Service Disrupted logo design by Aufa. Cover design by Caryn Suko Smith/Driven by Design. 90 59 55
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 7 AFSA Is Here for You, and We Need Your Help BY TOM YAZDGERDI Tom Yazdgerdi is the president of the American Foreign Service Association. PRESIDENT’S VIEWS I want to devote my column this month to reassuring our members that AFSA is still here for you. As you well know, a head-spinning slew of executive orders issued over the last few months have negatively impacted our members, AFSA, and the institution of the U.S. Foreign Service. But we have been fighting for you for more than 100 years, and we are not going anywhere. One recent executive order took away collective bargaining rights at State and USAID, where the vast majority of our members work. But we are fighting in federal court with everything we’ve got to restore those rights. And while this setback has serious consequences for accountability and transparency around any unilateral personnel actions this administration wishes to take, we continue to support and defend our network of active-duty and alumni members. We still maintain our status as a professional association—that will never change and cannot be eliminated by this or any other administration. Most members who use AFSA’s services know us through what we do as a professional association. Want to be sure the voice of the Foreign Service is heard on the Hill? Need legal advice on employment and security clearance issues? Thinking of filing a grievance? Are you the subject of an administrative inquiry or investigation and not sure where to turn? Are you a regular reader of The Foreign Service Journal? Will your child apply for a merit or need-based scholarship as part of the $350,000 that AFSA awards annually to college-aged children of members? Want to nominate a colleague for exemplary performance or constructive dissent awards? These benefits—and many more—will remain, regardless of what happens in court. For these activities to continue, however, we need your help. For decades, our six foreign affairs agencies deducted dues automatically from members’ government paychecks and retirement annuities. That is how most members have paid their AFSA dues, which are among the lowest of any labor union or professional association, federal or otherwise. Because of the recent executive order, State and USAID stopped collecting these dues as of April 17, including for retirees. In early May, AFSA rolled out a new way to pay your dues on an annual or quarterly basis directly on the AFSA website. It has taken a while to switch over to this direct payment system because we want to get it right and make it as easy as possible for members to continue to pay their dues. Even with this new system in place, AFSA may take a hit of 20 percent or more in lost dues revenue as some forget to sign up or choose to let their memberships lapse. But I am hopeful that by the time you read this, most members will have made the switch. I humbly ask those who have not yet done so to please make signing up for direct payments through the AFSA website a priority. Member dues pay for nearly 90 percent of AFSA operations, and there is no better way to ensure that AFSA can continue to serve its members than by paying your dues. AFSA is doing its part to find costsaving measures, such as not backfilling positions due to attrition and putting on hold planned hiring. We are also appealing to those who have provided largescale donations in the past to help AFSA in its greatest hour of need. I am confident that one day we will return to a situation where the administration values collective bargaining and understands that a strong AFSA helps create a strong workforce and a strong Foreign Service. In the meantime, we need your support so our incredible AFSA staff can continue to provide you the outstanding services you expect and deserve. Please let me know your thoughts at yazdgerdi@afsa.org or member@afsa. org. n There is no better way to ensure that AFSA can continue to serve its members than by paying your dues. As we go to press, a federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against the executive order stripping Foreign Service members at State and USAID of their collective bargaining rights, thus preserving AFSA’s role as their representative as legal proceedings continue.
8 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL www.sfiprogram.org SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE SFI-01268 Certified Sourcing Editor in Chief, Director of Publications Shawn Dorman: dorman@afsa.org Deputy Editor Donna Gorman: gorman@afsa.org Senior Editor Susan Brady Maitra: maitra@afsa.org Managing Editor Kathryn Owens: owens@afsa.org Associate Editor Mark Parkhomenko: parkhomenko@afsa.org Publications Coordinator and Content Strategist Hannah Harari: harari@afsa.org Business Development Manager— Advertising and Circulation Molly Long: long@afsa.org Art Director Caryn Suko Smith Editorial Board Vivian Walker, Chair Lynette Behnke, Gov. Bd. Liaison Suzanne August David Bargueño Ben East Hon. Jennifer Z. Galt Mathew Hagengruber Steven Hendrix Peter Reams Dan Spokojny THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS The Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published monthly, with combined January-February and July-August issues, by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board, or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by email. The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. AFSA reserves the right to reject advertising that is not in keeping with its standards and objectives. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply endorsement of goods or services offered. 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Email: journal@afsa.org Phone: (202) 338-4045 Fax: (202) 338-8244 Web: www.afsa.org/fsj Address Changes: member@afsa.org © American Foreign Service Association, 2025 PRINTED IN THE USA Postmaster: Send address changes to AFSA, Attn: Address Change 2101 E Street NW Washington DC 20037-2990 AFSA Headquarters: (202) 338-4045; Fax (202) 338-6820 State Department AFSA Office: (202) 647-8160; Fax (202) 647-0265 USAID AFSA Office: (202) 712-1941; Fax (202) 216-3710 FCS AFSA Office: (202) 482-9088; Fax (202) 482-9087 GOVERNING BOARD President Tom Yazdgerdi: yazdgerdi@afsa.org Secretary Sue Saarnio: saarnio@afsa.org Treasurer Hon. John O’Keefe: okeefe@afsa.org State Vice President Hui Jun Tina Wong: wong@afsa.org USAID Vice President Randy Chester: chester@afsa.org FCS Vice President Joshua Burke: burke@afsa.org FAS Vice President VACANT Retiree Vice President John K. 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Logan Wheeler: wheeler@afsa.org Whitney Wiedeman: wiedeman@afsa.org USAID Representative Christopher Saenger: saenger@afsa.org FCS Alternate Representative Jay Carreiro: jay.carreiro@afsa.org FAS Alternate Representative VACANT USAGM Representative Gunter Schwabe: schwabe@afsa.org APHIS Representative Joe Ragole: ragole@afsa.org Retiree Representatives Mary Daly: daly@afsa.org Edward Stafford: stafford@afsa.org STAFF Executive Director Ásgeir Sigfússon: sigfusson@afsa.org Executive Assistant to the President Jahari Fraser: fraser@afsa.org Office Coordinator Therese Thomas: therese@afsa.org PROFESSIONAL POLICY ISSUES AND ADVOCACY Director of Professional Policy Issues Lisa Heller: heller@afsa.org Director of Advocacy Kim Sullivan: sullivan@afsa.org Advocacy and Policy Manager Sean O’Gorman: ogorman@afsa.org FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Director of Finance Femi Oshobukola: oshobukola@afsa.org Director, HR and Operations Cory Nishi: cnishi@afsa.org Controller Kalpna Srimal: srimal@afsa.org Member Accounts Specialist Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org IT and Infrastructure Coordinator Aleksandar “Pav” Pavlovich: pavlovich@afsa.org COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH Director of Communications Nikki Gamer: gamer@afsa.org Deputy Director of Communications and Outreach Nadja Ruzica: ruzica@afsa.org Online Communications Manager Jeff Lau: lau@afsa.org Communications and Marketing Manager Erin Oliver: oliver@afsa.org MEMBERSHIP Director, Programs and Member Engagement Christine Miele: miele@afsa.org Membership Operations Coordinator Mouna Koubaa: koubaa@afsa.org Coordinator of Member Recruitment and Benefits Perri Green: green@afsa.org Counselor for Retirees Dolores Brown: brown@afsa.org Member Events Coordinator Hannah Chapman: chapman@afsa.org Program Coordinator Indigo Stegner: stegner@afsa.org OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Sharon Papp: papp@afsa.org Deputy General Counsel Raeka Safai: safai@afsa.org Senior Staff Attorneys Zlatana Badrich: badrich@afsa.org Neera Parikh: parikh@afsa.org Labor Management Counselor Colleen Fallon-Lenaghan: colleen@afsa.org Senior Labor Management Adviser James Yorke: yorke@afsa.org Labor Management Coordinator Patrick Bradley: bradley@afsa.org Senior Grievance Counselor Heather Townsend: townsend@afsa.org Grievance Counselor Ed White: white@afsa.org Attorney Adviser Erin Kate Brady: brady@afsa.org FOREIGN SERVICE CONTACTS www.afsa.org
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 9 Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. Standing Up for Service BY SHAWN DORMAN LETTER FROM THE EDITOR The FSJ dedicates this month’s cover to AFSA’s “Service Disrupted” public awareness campaign, which launched on May 9. More than 200 members of the Foreign Service community and allies gathered in Washington, D.C., to join a solidarity walk and share messages of support— to #StandUpForService. It was an inspiring kickoff to sound the alarm about what is lost when the Foreign Service is pulled from the field, and to build awareness and community. Learn more about the campaign and how to get involved at www.servicedisrupted.org. Be sure to check out the new website and hear the rallying cry of Ambassador Bill Burns, a Career Ambassador who served six presidents of both parties and most recently served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the first career diplomat in that role: I’ve never known a more combustible moment than the one we face today. Since January 20, 2025, nearly a quarter of our diplomatic corps has been lost. Hiring is frozen. The Agency for International Development has been dismantled. Voice of America has been silenced. And the future of our diplomatic service is uncertain at exactly the moment when we need it most. It’s time to be worried. This isn’t about jobs. This isn’t about sensible organizational reforms, which in truth are overdue. This is about national security. A weakened Foreign Service means a weakened America. It’s time to stand up for the people who have dedicated their lives to making America safe. It’s time to stand up against the dismantling of our institutions. It’s time to stand up for service. The FSJ is working with AFSA’s fantastic communications team to collect and share stories from FS members describing what is lost when offices are shuttered and funds for important work are frozen or eliminated. Please turn to page 23 to read the second collection of Service Disrupted stories (see the April-May FSJ for the first set, all from USAID FSOs). Consider submitting your own story (up to 500 words) for a future edition. Write to us at Humans-of-FS@afsa.org. So much has changed in the world since the FSJ Editorial Board decided that the June focus would be on economic diplomacy and trade. Working in a more complicated environment for authors and a daily-shifting U.S. trade landscape, we are pleased to bring you a strong set of articles. We begin with a primer for anyone struggling to keep up with the pingponging tariff situation: “Advancing U.S. Interests Overseas in an Era of Rising Tariffs,” by former Foreign Commercial Service Officer Dan Crocker. We believe it’s the first tariff explainer focused exclusively on what diplomats need to know and what their role in a tariff titfor-tat should be. And with all the talk about critical minerals in China and Africa that the U.S. needs for manufacturing, Mahnaz Khan’s “Fortifying Minerals Diplomacy: Four Nations, Four Solutions” offers a timely look. FSO Evan Mangino contributed “FAS: Agricultural Economic Diplomacy in Action” to explain how the Foreign Agricultural Service deals with tariffs and other trade barriers to protect and grow the U.S. economy. And FSO Darrow Godeski Merton looks to Cold War export controls for insights that are relevant today. In the Speaking Out, Foreign Service Specialist Monica Jean Normil pushes back on the status quo in “Not Just Specialists Anymore,” and Senior FSO Robert Hilton’s Reflection shows how State and Defense are “Closer Than You Might Think.” The June issue also marks the 30th anniversary of the semiannual Education Supplement. Parents of FS high schoolers—and high schoolers themselves—will appreciate Lauren Steed’s look at whether “Earning American Credentials Abroad” is the right move, while parents of younger children will want to read Martin Thomen’s explanation of the French school system as they chart their children’s academic course. As always, we’d love to hear from you. Send letters and article submissions (or pitches) to us at journal@afsa.org, and join the conversation on AFSA’s social media channels. Stay safe out there, wherever in the world you are serving. And remember: The work you do makes a difference. Thank you. n
10 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS A Postscript on Vietnam The April-May 2025 FSJ was a knockout. The juxtaposition of the “here and now” in Vietnam with the “back then” illustrates why the Foreign Service is a valuable national asset. I would like to add to Ken Quinn’s recollection of the 1968 Tet Offensive a note about the presence of the only Foreign Service officer inside the chancery in Saigon: Allan Wendt. Wendt, who would end his career as the first U.S. ambassador to the newly independent Republic of Slovenia, was the embassy duty officer and performed heroically, with a pistol in hand, calmly keeping telephone communications open to the U.S. military. He also helped carry a wounded Marine Security Guard up to the roof to be evacuated to safety when the helicopter finally arrived. His hair-raising firstperson account can be found on pages 37-43 in his ADST oral history: https:// bit.ly/Allan-Wendt. A postscript to Quinn’s marvelous account is that the senior official, George “Jake” Jacobson, was an Army colonel who had first served in Vietnam in 1954. After the Paris Accords were signed in 1973, he came back to the embassy to run field operations for agricultural activities in South Vietnam. He was one of the last embassy officers to leave Saigon, on the same helicopter with the then U.S. ambassador in 1975. Larry Butler U.S. Ambassador, retired Topsham, Maine The FSJ’s Vital Mission I would like to congratulate The Foreign Service Journal for its outstanding AprilMay 2025 edition featuring the evolution of U.S.-Vietnam relations. As a boy living a sterling example of how successful the Journal continues to be in fulfilling its vital mission. Joseph L. Novak FSO, retired Washington, D.C. A Memory Preserved In a brief note in the April 1948 edition of the American Foreign Service Journal, News From the Department reports on “Staff Corps Employees Killed in Saigon.” The two—Mrs. Jeanne R. Skewes, age 32, and Lydia Ruth James, age 30—died on March 7, 1948, while driving a jeep bearing an American flag at dusk on the outskirts of Saigon. French authorities discovered their bullet-riddled bodies and the burnedout jeep. Mrs. Skewes was a recent entrant into the Foreign Service, having previously worked for the Office of War Information before it was folded into State. She was charged with managing an informational library. Ms. James worked as a secretary in the consulate general. A former member of the Women’s Army Corps, she reportedly joined the Foreign Service out of a “sense of adventure.” French authorities surmised that the Americans inadvertently strayed outside the French security zone and were ambushed and machine-gunned by anti-French, pro-Communist Viet Minh guerrillas. Whether the killings were deliberate, or a case of mistaken identity, remains unclear. Consul General John Hamlin promised an investigation. A May 29, 1948, press report in The Evening Star speaks of an arrest and a claim that the in the Philippines, I vividly remember the end of the war in April 1975, including the arrival of thousands of refugees at Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base. It was a fraught era in many respects, but I enjoyed looking back and reading the articles on the slow and steady building of ties with Vietnam over the past five decades. Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dzung’s piece, for instance, thoughtfully underscored the point that diplomacy conducted in the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation can truly work wonders. I would also like to thank the Journal for its coverage of the ongoing fullfledged attack on the federal workforce by the Trump administration. The articles on the dismantling of USAID and the U.S. Agency for Global Media in the April-May edition were, of course, heartrending in the extreme. I strongly believe that these two agencies will be fully restored in the future when saner heads prevail. In the meantime, the harrowing impact of this situation on our displaced colleagues and the deleterious effects of eliminating the critical programs that they so honorably administered must continue to be at the forefront of all our minds. We’re living in a tumultuous period, and, now more than ever, the Journal is needed as a forum focused on subjects of importance to the Foreign Service community. The insider’s perspective it provides is invaluable as well as indispensable. The April-May edition is
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 11 killers mistook the neutral Americans for French and sought to hide evidence by setting fire to the jeep. Mrs. Skewes and Ms. James are believed to be the only women Foreign Service members to lose their lives in the decades-long conflict in Vietnam. Sadly, one wonders why their sacrifice has been overlooked for all these years. Ray Walser FSO, retired Broadlands, Virginia Surviving a National Disaster For the past 80 years, U.S. diplomats could proudly say they served the administration of the moment in bipartisan spirit, and the Foreign Service was at the forefront in helping our country build a uniquely peaceful and prosperous international order. Now the Service is being asked to serve a radical administration without a mandate (the president took less than 50 percent of the popular vote, and his opponent was only 1.5 percent behind him), which threatens to destroy the global order that generations of FSOs helped to create. So, what do they do now? The younger could resign and seek work elsewhere. The older are near retirement. It is the middle ranks of the Service with whom I sympathize, because they have invested into this profession years of life they cannot reclaim, and they have families to support. To them this septuagenarian retiree can only advise “hang on,” because the nightmare may pass; but in the meantime, remember that your highest duty is not to a particular administration but to the nation. And if that means subtly doing what you can to at least ameliorate the worst decisions of the current radicals (though actual sabotage is wholly against our ethic), then be of good conscience in doing so. Do what you can at the margins, because our duty is to the country, not to a fly-by-night eruption of fools. My fear is that, even if this administration proves to be an awful aberration, the break in the continuity of postwar foreign policy consensus that it has caused could prove enduring, such that in the future U.S. foreign policies may oscillate wildly from one administration to the next. That is no way to keep allies. And it is not a situation that will attract future talent into the Foreign Service. FSOs do not sign up to be hypocrites. Marc E. Nicholson FSO, retired Washington, D.C. Why We Should Care About USAID The Trump administration’s attempts to gut USAID reminded me how much I respect the agency’s work and the Foreign Service employees who carry it out. In 2004, as a Federal Trade Commission attorney, I served as a technical adviser to Indonesia’s competition agency. My six-month stint in Jakarta was administered through USAID, and I attended the weekly meetings of USAID’s economic team at the U.S. embassy. There, I met contractors who were engaged in parallel projects. I also met USAID and embassy staff, both American and Indonesian; and 20 years later, I still recall how impressed I was with them—smart people, dedicated to the mission of helping people and representing the United States. The contractors reported on their activities to help Indonesia become
12 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL a self-sustaining, modern economy. That included my work to upgrade Indonesia’s antitrust enforcement but also to conduct such diverse capacity building as streamlining business licensing, modernizing Indonesia’s banking system, and fighting corruption and money laundering. The goal was not to turn Indonesia into a version of the United States but to help the country build a stable democracy and modern economy. In 2004 Indonesia was emerging from the 1997-1998 Southeast Asian economic collapse. It was five years removed from a 30-year military dictatorship. It had recently held its first nationwide popular election for president. It was also in the throes of a small but dangerous Islamist insurgency; and, three years after 9/11, there was serious concern about a Muslim-majority country of 250 million people becoming a breeding ground for Islamic extremism. That was reflected in USAID’s presence but also in the presence of similar missions from developed Pacific Rim nations, including Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. Media coverage has focused on USAID’s humanitarian and public health programs. Images of starving children, food rotting in warehouses, and closed hospitals and treatment centers show the ugliest immediate consequences of emasculating this agency. But USAID’s mission is broader and more strategic than humanitarian and medical assistance alone. It includes direct financial support and technical advice and training in areas as diverse as socioeconomic development, education, and environmental issues. It is the boots on the ground worldwide for other agencies, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency. In the global contest of values between democracy and authoritarianism, the best way to help democracy flourish is to provide tangible support to countries, like Indonesia in 2004, that are at their tipping points. Despite federal court rulings to reinstate USAID programs and staff, the administration’s outrageous and unlawful efforts to gut USAID will cause incalculable damage to its mission and the employees, contractors, and organizations that carry it out. The administration’s attack on USAID is short-sighted, based on the false belief that USAID is rife with fraud and abuse and support for a left-wing policy agenda. While there may be programs that should be reviewed for efficacy, those are trivial compared to USAID’s success in saving lives, improving health, fostering social and economic development, fighting corruption, and supporting democracy. However imperfect and inconsistent the United States may be in living up to our ideals, we are still the world’s most important advocate for democratic values and the rule of law. USAID’s soft diplomacy is a critical part of that advocacy. Its role in promoting our values and interests may be off the radar for Americans concerned about the price of gas and eggs, but we in the United States are safer and more secure because of USAID’s work. That’s why I care, and why I am so grateful for the work that the members of the Foreign Service do. David Newman Senior Attorney, retired Federal Trade Commission San Francisco, California The Value of FSOs in the Field To anyone who might question the value of Foreign Service officers and embassies in the field, I provide this link to journalist Nick Davidson’s article, “The Balloon That Fell from the Sky,” which recently appeared in The Atavist Magazine (https://bit.ly/Atavist-Davidson). Davidson had interviewed me and other officers familiar with an incident in which a racing balloon carrying two Americans was shot down over Belarus in 1995. Both individuals were killed. It was among three balloons carrying Americans that had crossed into Belarus and were forced to land. The true hero of the story was U.S. Consular Officer Janine Boiarsky, who deftly, tactfully, and ultimately successfully dealt with the Americans, both the living and the dead, and the Belarusians. It is a story familiar to many Foreign Service officers who have helped Americans in crises abroad but were perhaps not appreciated by many of our fellow citizens. Although I had left U.S. Embassy Minsk as deputy chief of mission shortly before this incident and dealt with it from my new position in Washington, I am proud to have served with Ms. Boiarsky, who was the epitome of a dedicated, professional Foreign Service officer. George A. Krol U.S. Ambassador, retired Middletown, Rhode Island n Share your thoughts about this month’s issue. Submit letters to the editor: journal@afsa.org
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 13 LETTERS-PLUS Pulling the Plug on RFE/RL and Voice of America BY LISA SORUSH RESPONSE TO APRIL-MAY 2025 LETTERS-PLUS, “REQUIEM FOR THE VOICE THAT CARRIED A NATION’S CONSCIENCE” Steve Herman’s “Requiem for the Voice That Carried a Nation’s Conscience” in the April-May issue reminded me of my own connection to the important work of the journalists at the Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). In 2002, just months after the fall of the Taliban, the people of Afghanistan felt like they were able to breathe for the first time in years. I was a medical student at Kabul University of Medical Sciences. Like many young Afghan women, I believed we were entering a new era. While a student, I also served as the director of the Afghanistan Girls Cultural Center, a role that allowed me to advocate for women’s rights at a time when simply raising one’s voice was still dangerous. I met with female university students in Kabul. The girls came from far-off provinces to study in the capital, but the city wasn’t ready for them. With no dormitories and no family nearby, they had to live with distant relatives, often in overcrowded, unsupportive, and even unsafe environments. I told their stories to anyone who would listen, including President Hamid Lisa Sorush specializes in conflict analysis, focusing on South and Central Asia. She is a media commentator, an advocate for Afghanistan, an author, and a student in the Executive Master of Arts in National Security Affairs program at the Institute of World Politics. Karzai. He responded by ordering the evacuation of a building that had been a government-run girls’ hostel before 1992, when the Taliban reportedly gave the property rights to Kabul University professors. President Karzai ordered that the building be turned into a women’s dormitory once again. Some people, including the university professors, had negative opinions about women’s rights—views not unlike those of the Taliban—and opposed this move. Wazeri, a lecturer in Pashto literature at Kabul University, threatened me and told me to “stop fighting” to open the hostel. “One bullet is enough for you,” he said. It wasn’t just a threat; it was a reminder of what pushing for change meant in Afghanistan, a country where the U.S.-NATO forces fought for democracy and women’s rights, and sought to rebuild the country after decades of war and terrorism. When I told one of my classmates what was happening, he introduced me to a journalist from RFE/RL Afghanistan Service, also known as Radio Azadi. When the journalist covered these girls’ stories, airing them on the radio, it drew international attention. This media coverage led directly to USAID’s construction of a hostel for women, which now stands as an example of how media and aid help not only to support the freedom of all people to receive a free flow of information, but also to promote a better world for Afghan women. In that small apartment in Kabul, those young women believed someone would fight for them. And someone did. A reporter with a microphone, a radio signal, and a commitment to the truth. That single broadcast not only gave voice to the voiceless girls, it changed the course of their lives. That’s why the Trump administration’s recent move to shut down VOA and RFE/RL is not just wrong—it’s dangerous. Destroying VOA, RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Farda is a risk to national security. These platforms are America’s most cost-effective tools for influencing abroad with soft power. They counter disinformation, build trust, and win the hearts and minds of the people—not with weapons but with truth. RFE/RL and VOA have never just been broadcasters. They’ve been lifelines.
14 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL RFE/RL’s Afghanistan service, Radio Azadi, was first broadcast in the Dari and Pashto languages during the fighting in the 1980s. After a hiatus, it picked up again in 2002 to keep people in the loop through all the conflicts and crises. RFE/RL and VOA have never just been broadcasters. They’ve been lifelines. In countries where freedom of the press doesn’t exist—Afghanistan, Iran, China, Russia, and other authoritarianstyle governing powers—these outlets remain trusted sources of accurate, independent information. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghanistan’s once-vibrant media has been silenced. The United Nations reports that hundreds of media outlets have disappeared. Journalists have been imprisoned, tortured, and even killed. Women’s voices have been erased from the mainstream media. Radio Azadi and VOA remain the only recourse for women in Afghanistan who want to tell their stories and see themselves reflected in international conversations. To cut off these services now betrays those women and hands a victory to the Taliban. The vacuum will likely be filled by authoritarian state media narratives and disinformation. It is not just about losing radio and TV stations; it’s about losing freedom of thought. It will not “fix” anything—it just torches a tool that has been working well for decades. Closing these stations isn’t just a bad move; it is a gut punch to free speech and what America stands for. As the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” Shutting RFE/RL and VOA is a giant step toward unraveling democracy and abandoning our credibility as a role model for free speech in a free world. n
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 15 TALKING POINTS Rubio Reorg at State Secretary of State Marco Rubio has unveiled a sweeping reorganization of the State Department, pledging to cut domestic staff by 15 percent and shutter or consolidate more than 100 bureaus and offices worldwide. The announcement was made on April 22 via social media and detailed in documents released by the State Department. Framing the move as essential to President Trump’s “America First” policy, Rubio told employees in a departmentwide email that the State Department must shed “bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources.” Under the plan, which addresses domestic offices and not overseas posts or positions, 734 offices would be consolidated into 602, and 137 would relocate within the department to “increase efficiency,” according to a fact sheet circulated internally. Among the most notable changes: the closure of the Office of Global Women’s Issues, the elimination of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the disbanding of several bureaus under the former Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. Although some functions will be reassigned, the move reflects a broader rollback of the department’s traditional soft power tools, many of which had already been weakened following the dismantling of USAID and the U.S. Agency for Global Media earlier this year. In an April 27 interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rubio insisted that it was about aligning operations with purpose, not simply cutting costs. “We haven’t slashed anything yet,” he said, explaining that bureau heads—many of whom are career Foreign Service officers—would be tasked with proposing staff reductions of 15 percent after internal assessments. defense spending and a 65 percent boost for homeland security, totaling $375 billion—largely for border security and deportation. OMB Director Russ Vought, a key figure behind Project 2025, frames the budget as a push to end wasteful spending and prioritize security and tax cuts. Together with the State Department reorganization, the budget signals a sweeping, security-centered shift in U.S. governance and global engagement. Untenured FSO Appointed to Lead Global Talent Bureau The appointment of an untenured Foreign Service officer to temporarily lead the State Department’s Bureau of Global Talent Management (GTM) triggered a wave of concern and condemnation from current and former U.S. diplomats. Lew Olowski, who joined the Foreign Service in 2021 and has completed just one overseas tour, was named senior bureau official (SBO), effectively making him the acting Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service. AFSA criticized the decision, noting that the role has traditionally been reserved for senior or retired career officers with decades of experience. “Placing an untenured, entry-level officer who has only served one complete overseas tour into this critical role, even in an acting capacity, not only disregards The reorganization aims to prioritize regional bureaus over functional bureaus. It comes as Secretary Rubio assumed a dual role as both Secretary of State and interim National Security Adviser, following President Trump’s nomination of Mike Waltz to the United Nations. White House officials say Rubio is expected to serve in both roles for at least six months, and there are discussions about making the arrangement permanent. Rubio is also serving as acting Administrator for USAID and acting archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration. Related, President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal on May 2, which would reduce non-defense discretionary spending by 23 percent, the sharpest drop since 2017, and cut $163 billion from federal agencies. The State Department and USAID would be among the hardest hit. The budget proposes a $50 billion cut to State Department funding and calls for the absorption of USAID into the department. These cuts come alongside administrative moves already underway through the new Department of Government Efficiency, which is coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to codify the reductions through a pending rescission package. The Trump administration’s budget proposes a 13 percent increase in Voice of America showed me the kind of life that was possible if you were free to express yourself, use your mind and imagination, your talents and skills, and pursue your dreams. —Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, in a declaration to a U.S. federal court in support of one of the lawsuits against Kari Lake and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, April 11, 2025. Contemporary Quote
16 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL that tradition but also sends a clear message about the value this administration places on experience and professional progression,” AFSA said in an April 7 press release. The American Academy of Diplomacy echoed the alarm, calling Olowski “unqualified” and criticizing the administration for circumventing Senate confirmation by installing him as a “senior bureau official,” a designation without formal legal standing. “Avoiding Senate confirmation ... makes a mockery of the law and generations of diplomats who have served under difficult conditions,” the academy said. Olowski, a lawyer by training and a former senior counselor at the Department of Homeland Security during the first Trump administration, has drawn additional scrutiny for his past writings in conservative publications, many of which criticized U.S. immigration policies. State Department officials defended his appointment, pointing out that Olowski’s appointment is temporary, and that he remains a career officer. Olowski’s arrival comes amid heightened anxiety across the State Department’s 70,000-strong global workforce. President Trump, backed by key allies like Elon Musk, has already eliminated thousands of federal positions across agencies and directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revamp the Foreign Service to ensure what he called “faithful and effective implementation” of administration policy. Meanwhile, broad leadership changes continue at State. Notably, Career Ambassador and former Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Tibor Nagy, who was recalled to service by the new administration as undersecretary for management, stepped down after less than three months in the role. Excellence Above All Mr. Hankinson [a senior research fellow at Heritage Foundation] said it correctly, I don’t care what my heart surgeon looks like, I care about whether or not he or she is the best at what she does. So, when you say that “if we only base it on merit, that’s a mistake,” I disagree. I think having the best and the brightest, regardless of what they look like, is the only thing that should matter. —Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing, “Deficient, Enfeebled, and Ineffective: The Consequences of the Biden Administration’s Far-Left Priorities on U.S. Foreign Policy,” April 8, 2025. The Price of Retreat Any member who has traveled around the world and met with world leaders and met with ambassadors knows every time the United States removes a dollar from foreign aid, every time we withdraw and create a vacuum, China is coming in and making more friends than the United States, having more leverage, having more influence. —Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing, “Deficient, Enfeebled, and Ineffective: The Consequences of the Biden Administration’s Far-Left Priorities on U.S. Foreign Policy,” April 8, 2025. 21st-Century Department for 21st-Century Threats The reason we promote diversity in our diplomatic corps, from the most senior ambassadors to the most junior foreign officers, is because we need their experience, we need their perspective. … Merit counts, it’s imperative. But if we say merit is the only thing, then we end up with a State Department that looks like it did in the 1940s. That’s not what we want. We want a State Department that is prepared for the challenges of 2025 and the century ahead, with a rising China, a threatening Iran, and a threatening Russia. —Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing, “Deficient, Enfeebled, and Ineffective: The Consequences of the Biden Administration’s Far-Left Priorities on U.S. Foreign Policy,” April 8, 2025. Foreign Exchange Programs These foreign exchange programs are really some of our strongest soft power assets. They are great human capital investments that help promote American values and create lasting partnerships. —Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on nominations, April 8, 2025. JOSH Heard on the Hill
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2025 17 No timeline has been announced for nominating a permanent Director General. Public Diplomacy 2025 Winners Announced The Public Diplomacy Council of America (PDCA) announced two winners of the 2025 Award for Achievement in Public Diplomacy. The Northstar team in the State Department’s Office of Global Public Affairs won for the “design, development, and deployment of the Northstar AI-powered global media analytics tool.” The tool enables the department to efficiently track real-time news as it occurs, with AI translation of more than a half million news articles and social media posts per day. Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Liz Allen estimates that it has saved 180,000 annual labor hours and freed up significant amounts of contract dollars. The U.S.-Saudi Higher Education Partnerships Forum received the award for its work that “markedly enhanced U.S.-Saudi education and research partnerships, positively impacted bilateral relations, and helped support American colleges and universities.” The Partnership Forum was developed by U.S. Embassy Riyadh’s cultural affairs office personnel and representatives of the Institute of International Education. It has led to a memorandum of understanding outlining both countries’ commitment to educational and scientific collaboration, as well as a Saudi commitment to increase the number of Saudi students in the U.S. by 2,000 per year over the next five years. PDCA President Joel Anthony Fischman said of this year’s winners: “Both sets of recipients demonstrate the creative use of diplomacy in advancing U.S. interests and model the opportunities available to other public diplomacy practitioners in the State Department.” Architecture of Peace 50 Years Ago T he greatest threat to our future security and welfare lies in the disintegration of the international order. We talk of a “structure of peace,” yet seldom in history have so many existing structures fallen apart. The United Nations system of collective security has broken down, the Bretton Woods financial system has broken down, the GATT system of open and nondiscriminatory trade has broken down. The survival of human civilization will depend on mankind’s capacity to fashion a new international order. —Richard N. Gardner, from “The Challenge of Multilateral Diplomacy” in the June 1975 edition of The Foreign Service Journal. PDCA promotes excellence and honors achievement in public diplomacy professional practice, academic study, and advocacy. Its 500 members include American diplomats, scholars, rising professionals, and retired Foreign Service and Civil Service officials interested in the public dimension of U.S. statecraft and in educational and cultural exchange. The awards program was established in 1993. Open Letter Warns of Threats to Democracy More than 200 former U.S. diplomats, national security officials, and senior government leaders have issued a forceful open letter warning that American democracy is under serious threat. Titled “The Assault on American Democracy: A Call to Action,” the letter expresses deep concern over what the signatories describe as President Donald Trump’s erosion of democratic institutions at home and weakening of U.S. leadership abroad. Signed by former ambassadors, assistant secretaries, military officers, and intelligence officials from both political parties, the letter argues that the moral foundation of American power—democracy, liberty, and human rights—is “in grave danger.” The authors cite actions by the administration that they claim undermine alliances, damage the global economic order, intimidate the free press, politicize the judiciary, and dismantle key institutions such as USAID. The signatories call for immediate action, urging former senior officials, business leaders, universities, media outlets, and legal institutions to publicly defend democratic norms. They warn that waiting passively for electoral solutions risks allowing authoritarian practices to become entrenched.
18 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL “No American should be silent,” the letter reads. “Each of us must speak out, mobilize, and defend our way of life. The moment requires nothing less.” See https://bit.ly/42zaeOz to read the full letter. Trump Order Ends Workplace DEI The Trump administration has rescinded all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at the State Department and other foreign affairs agencies, framing the move as a return to “neutral and nondiscriminatory principles” in federal hiring and promotion. A March 19 executive order signed by President Donald Trump directs the elimination of what the White House described as “discriminatory DEI ideology,” ordering agencies to dismantle any programs, offices, or policies created to advance equity or address systemic discrimination. The order mandates the removal of any language referencing DEI from official agency documents, including Foreign Service promotion precepts, performance evaluations, and position descriptions. Affected offices include the State Department’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which is now slated for closure. According to a White House fact sheet, the decision aims to ensure that “selection and advancement in the Foreign Service be based solely on merit and competence.” The administration’s shift coincides with the release of the 2024 Human Rights Report, which notably omitted discussions of LGBTQ+ rights and genderbased violence in several countries, T his month, we highlight Service Disrupted, an advocacy site developed by AFSA to raise awareness about the critical threats facing the U.S. Foreign Service, diplomacy, and development. The site is part of a broader outreach campaign to educate the public and policymakers about real-world consequences of diplomatic understaffing and politicization. Service Disrupted outlines how hiring freezes, budget cuts, and structural upheaval have led to a sharp decline in Foreign Service personnel, which undermines U.S. economic leadership and diplomatic capacity. The site effectively breaks down how a weakened Foreign Service can result in increased military interventions, missed economic opportunities, diminished global influence, and a retreat from democratic values on the world stage. Through accessible storytelling and data-driven insights, it makes a compelling case for restoring and strengthening America’s diplomatic corps. Service Disrupted is a timely resource for anyone interested in U.S. foreign policy, global leadership, and the future of American diplomacy. Read more at https://servicedisrupted.org. Site of the Month: Service Disrupted The appearance of a particular site or podcast is for information only and does not constitute an endorsement. according to a Politico analysis. Critics see the omissions—and the executive order—as part of a broader rollback of rights-based diplomacy and civil rights enforcement. Some Foreign Service advocates have warned that dismantling DEI programs will harm recruitment and retention, particularly among underrepresented groups, and undermine U.S. credibility abroad on issues of human rights and inclusion. Without consultation with AFSA on the previously agreed-on precepts, the State Department instructed all employees and their raters/reviewers to remove any reference to DEI in annual reviews being prepared for the rating period ending on April 15, 2025. Ambassador Tracker As of late April, the administration had slowly but steadily rolled out nominations for senior posts and ambassadorships. The Senate has confirmed a few, but many more have yet to make it through the confirmation gauntlet. AFSA is tracking 23 appointments to senior positions at the Departments of State, Commerce, and Agriculture. As of April 30, only four of those individuals have been confirmed. Only one of those nominations has gone to a career member of the Foreign Service: Andrew Veprek, who was nominated to be assistant secretary of State for population, refugees, and migration, remains unconfirmed. There have been 48 nominations for ambassadorships since late January, and every single one of those nominees is a political appointee. By April 30, only 10 of those had been confirmed, to lead posts in China, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Panama, Türkiye, United
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