The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2012

AFSA NEWS J U L Y - A UGU S T 2 0 1 2 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 49 American Foreign Service Association • July-August 2012 I nconjunctionwith theMay issue of the ForeignService Journal ,whichfocusedon “Snapshots of Challenge & Hope: The ArabSpring,AYearLater,”onJune6AFSA hosted a panel discussion drawing on the expertise of three Foreign Service profes- sionals. Two of the panelists were on the front lines at that historic juncture: Ambassador GeneCretzwas chief ofmission inTripoli when Libyans rose up against Moammar Gaddafi, andAmbassadorMargaret Scobey experienced firsthand the tumult of Tahrir Squareandthedownfall ofHosniMubarak. The thirdpanelist, FSOVictoriaTaylor, served in Tunisia from 2006 to 2008, and returned to the country in February to assess developments. (She shared her insights fromthat visit intheMay FSJ .) And the panel moderator, retired Ambassador DavidNewton, spent 22 of his 36 years in the Foreign Service in the Arab world, including tours as ambassador to Iraq and Yemenanddeputy chief ofmission inSyria and Yemen. Before introducing the panelists, Amb. Newtonnoted thatwe have begun“a chal- lengingdecade forAmericandiplomacy in the region.” He pointed to the role of Al- Jazeera and other information outlets, including the Internet and socialmedia, in fomenting the revolts and changes in gov- ernance that have collectively constituted the Arab Spring. Each panelist then shared his or her experiences dealing with the former regimes and the ongoing transitions, high- lighting the role of Foreign Service profes- sionals in reaching out to the democratic opposition in these countries, as well as monitoringandreportingondevelopments and making policy recommendations to Washington. Amb. Scobey, who is nowdeputy com- mandant and international affairs adviser at the National Defense University, noted that neither shenor anyone else “couldpre- dict [the] incredible collapse of the regime” of President Mubarak. Amb. Cretz stressed that a person had AFSA Panel Assesses Prospects for the Arab Spring BY EVA M.A. MOSS, AFSA STAFF AFSA Announces 2012 Award Winners O n June 26, with a large audience filling the StateDepartment’s BenjaminFranklin Room, AFSA honored the winners of the 2012 AFSA Constructive Dissent and OutstandingPerformanceAwards. Winners received a certificate of recognition, a monetary prize and the AFSA Globe. Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Ambassador William Lacy Swing Constructive Dissent Awards TheWilliamR. RivkinAward: Joshua Polacheck, Washington Outstanding Performance Awards The Nelson B. DelavanAward: James R. Velez, Mazar-e-Sharif TheM. Juanita Guess Award: Sara Hurst Butler, Port-au-Prince The Avis BohlenAward: Leila Gupta, Nairobi AFSAPost Representative of the Year: Jeff J. Jacob, Kabul Profiles of the winners begin on page 53. AFSA hosts FS experts on the Arab Spring. From left, Executive Director Ian Houston, Ambassador Margaret Scobey, Ambassador David Newton, AFSA President Susan Johnson, FSO Victoria Taylor and Ambassador Gene Cretz. Continued on page 58