The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

4 AFSA NEWS • JULY-AUGUST 2005 AFSA’S 2005 DISSENT AWARD WINNERS G eoff Pyatt was selected for the 2005 William R. Rivkin Award for his intellectual courage and initiative while serving as political minister-counselor at Embassy New Delhi, one of the largest U.S. missions in the world. He is being recognized for his contribution to the construction of a new agenda for U.S.-India partnership on issues of nuclear proliferation and strategic collaboration that were longstanding irritants in the relationship. According to the nomination, Pyatt took the lead in pushing against “the bureaucratic incre- mentalism and status-quo approach that traditionally marked U.S. policy toward India on nuclear proliferation and strategic collaboration” to identify new opportunities for greater coop- eration on these technical and controversial issues. Pyatt worked persistently to overcome the longtime culture of suspicion of the U.S. role in South Asian regional issues to successfully establish a pattern of U.S.-India cooperation and mutual trust, particularly during the response to the Nepalese crisis in February. His efforts over three years, according to the nomination, “transformed mutual suspicion and often conflict- ing policies into a new habit of cooperation that strengthened both countries’ influence over the course of events in Nepal.” He skillfully balanced his efforts to extend the limits of U.S. policy toward India with an extensive public outreach to high- level and influential Indian officials, resulting in greatly improved relations between the two countries. His intellectual courage played a major role in the success of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership initiative, which includes expanded coop- eration between the U.S. and India on civilian nuclear activi- ties, civilian space programs, high-tech trade and a dialogue on missile defense. He pushed Washington policy-makers at State, the Defense Department, the White House and else- where to identify new opportunities for strategic collaboration with India, and he convinced Indian officials that U.S. attitudes were changing. Pyatt has served in Delhi since May 2002 — his second posting in New Delhi and third in South Asia. Prior to this India assignment, he served as trade policy officer at U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong from 1999 to 2002. From 1997 to 1999 he was principal officer at the U.S. consulate in Lahore. His Washington assignments include director for Latin America on the National Security Council staff (1996-1997), special assistant to the deputy secretary of State (1995-1996) and staff assistant to the assistant secretary of State for Latin America (1994). He was a political officer in New Delhi from 1992 to 1994 and economic officer and a vice-consul in Tegucigalpa from 1990 to 1992. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Pyatt worked with The Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. He grew up in La Jolla, Calif., and holds a master’s degree in inter- national relations from Yale and a B.A. in political science from the University of California at Irvine. He and his wife Mary have two children, William and Claire.  Above: From left: Urdu-language newspaper editor Zaheer Mustafa, Geoff Pyatt, embassy FSN, and Political Section FSN Dinesh Dubey at the Immabara, a revered tomb for Indian Shias, Aug. 2004. Below: Geoff Pyatt and Defense Attaché Col. Steve Sboto (far left), and their families, on a whitewater rafting trip down the Ganges River in October 2003. William R. Rivkin Award FOR A MID-LEVEL FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER Geoffrey R. Pyatt The constructive dissent awards publicly recognize individuals who have demonstrated the courage to challenge the system from within. Stories by Shawn Dorman