The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2013 39 ment Dissent Channel is basically a fraud. As she states, “The mechanism does more to pacify than empower dissenters.” Dissent as Steam Valve Gurman cites a group of reformers during the 1980s, known as “the Sages,” who declared that the channel was “merely a management tool for letting the system vent bottled-up pres- sures...without affording these dissenting voices a real impact on policy.” “The metaphor of a steam valve,” Gurman adds, “is apt. The system will allow internal dissenters to let off steam, provided that it doesn’t seep out of Foggy Bottom.” I thought that resignation, rather than going through the Dissent Channel, was the most effective way to publicize my dissent and give it an impact—not only within State but, more importantly, throughout the world. Ten years on, I still think that leaving the Foreign Service was the best way to express my dissent in a significant way. I’d like to close with two thoughts. First, let me express my admiration for former FSO Peter Van Buren, whose blog— named for his 2011 book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People —docu- ments his struggle with the State Department over his use of the Internet to express his personal opinions. Unlike me, he did not resign from the Service, but instead challenged the department’s procedures for dealing with social media. He deserves praise for this. Second, I would note that deciding how “free” diplomats should be in sharing their personal views on foreign policy questions in cyberspace is a thorny issue (which the must-read blog DiploPundit deals with superbly). Though it has legal implications that exceed my competence to evaluate profes- sionally, I think all government employees should be allowed to speak their minds as openly as possible without endanger- ing national security—a term regrettably all too often used as an excuse to shut them up. n I was sad to abandon a profession I loved, but relieved no longer to be part of a military adventure that was a catastrophe for the U.S. and its public diplomacy. Moving? Take AFSAWith You! Change your address online, visit us at www.afsa.org/address_change.aspx Or Send change of address to: AFSAMembership Department 2101 E Street NW Washington, DC 20037