The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2010

ized an utter failure in our understand- ing of what was going on in Iran. (I’m not sure we are doing any better in that regard now, three decades later, either.) The Iranians are tough-minded bar- gainers, obsessed with intrigue and gen- erally suspicious of the intent of others. I’m often asked what policy lessons we learned in the hostage experience, and at the top of my list is that we should have applied better a funda- mental lesson in diplomatic practice: al- ways challenge conventional wisdom. Our policy during the shah’s reign in Iran is a classic example of our failure to do that. FSJ: Shortly after your release from captivity in Tehran, the Foreign Service Journal interviewed you. In that arti- cle, which ran in the April 1981 issue, you made the following prediction about Iran’s future: “The hard-line cler- ics are unrealistic and impractical. Their system, as conceived by [Ayatol- lah Ruhollah] Khomeini, cannot last. … There will be a growing influence of pragmatism coming to bear on the rev- olutionary zeal of the clerics.” Nearly three decades later, are you still san- guine about prospects for change in Tehran? LBL: Well, not quite as much as I used to be, but I am still a determined optimist about the place. I have never been back to Iran; nor have any of my fellow hostages. I came close on one occasion, accepting a speaking assign- ment in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, so — like Sarah Palin and her view of Rus- sia from her kitchen window — I can say I’ve seen Iran from my hotel bal- cony! I have consistently advocated dia- logue with that regime; 30 years later that has not yet happened, but in time it must. Our interests in that part of the world are not served without it — not least in the area of nuclear energy and the long-term purposes of the regime there concerning nuclear weapons. My own judgment remains that while, in the final analysis, they will not become an open nuclear-weapons state, they will also not be denied the right to continue nuclear enrichment, purportedly for peaceful purposes. So I don’t see how we can go on not talk- ing to the Iranians. We also need to keep in mind that the Iranian Revolution happened just a little more than three decades ago. So their society is going to keep evolving, and our diplomacy needs to evolve, too. I am encouraged that one of my fellow hostages, Ambassador John Limbert, is now our deputy assistant secretary for Iranian affairs. He certainly has the right perspective and the experience for the job. FSJ: At the end of that same inter- view, you said, “I’m a Foreign Service officer on active duty and I expect to be assigned to some productive work.” That work turned out to be six years as vice president of the National Defense University. What were some of your achievements in that capacity? LBL: I’ve always believed in the value of the political-military function; along with intelligence, it is an essential element in the practice of diplomacy. So I did my best, both at NDU and elsewhere, in active public speaking to promote closer cooperation between Defense and State. Many people don’t know that For- eign Service officers serve as the chief civilian leaders at all military schools, which has proved to benefit both DOD and us. FSJ: When you resigned from the Foreign Service in 1987, upon reach- ing age 65, what came next? Was the transition to retirement difficult? LBL: No, I’ve kept plenty busy! I spent the next three years as executive director of the National Commission on Public Service, also known as the Volcker Commission. I also wrote three books: Yellow Ribbon: The Secret Journal of Bruce Laingen ; Growing Up: Life on a Minnesota Farm, 1922- 1940; and Life in the U.S. Navy During World War II: The Philippines Cam- paign, 1943-1946 . I have done some teaching and serve on several public service boards. And I’ve continued public speaking. And in 1991, I became president of the American Academy of Diplomacy, serving in that capacity until 2006. One more reminiscence: In 1983, I had the special honor of being asked to speak for the Foreign Service at the centennial celebration of the Pendle- ton Civil Service Reform Act. There I saluted our Civil Service colleagues as “partners in the noble profession of public life, unsung heroes in the busi- ness of government.” I feel that sense of partnership even more strongly today. FSJ: Any final thoughts, Ambassa- dor Laingen? LBL: It’s been a long journey since growing up on that Minnesota farm. But it’s been an adventure all the way, and I don’t regret a moment of it. And that includes those long days and nights as a hostage in Tehran— a learning ex- perience above all. I could not be more honored than I am to be accepting this lifetime achieve- ment award from my colleagues at the American Foreign Service Association. FSJ: Thank you very much. ■ “I have consistently advocated dialogue with Iran; 30 years later that has not yet happened, but in time it must.” 44 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 1 0