The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2021

18 JULY-AUGUST 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 50 Years Ago To Moscow—With Nostalgia T he Foreign Service has a number of unstated conven- tions. One of these is the reticence with which Foreign Service officers speak of their past posts. All of us, I am convinced, accumulate over the years a collection of mov- able feasts along with some less digestible experiences. Inwardly we compare our good posts much as old Paris hands roam the world, the comparative merits of Paris bis- tros programed forever into their minds. A voice within us vibrates when we hear, at a remote distance, of a remark- able accomplishment of our former country of assignment, or when a face, a tune or a picture brings to life again the experiences which made the old post a part of ourselves. Yet we seem to think that this mental baggage is too frail to stand exposure. To hear Foreign Service officers exchange small talk over sherry at an AFSA luncheon is to be in a world where housing, amenities and the idiosyncrasies of ambassadors are the only things that matter. Moscow exemplifies this con- vention. A good word is seldom heard about it. Our diplomats and journalists have produced over the years a sizable body of literature that usually reads like an article in Foreign Affairs to which a touch of the Post Report has been added. —Excerpted from an article with the same name by former Foreign Service Officer Peter Semler in the July 1971 Foreign Service Journal. Call for Urgent Action on Afghan Special Visas N early 100 former U.S. officials, including four former U.S. ambas- sadors to Afghanistan, urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to do more to provide visas to Afghans who assisted U.S. forces, Reuters reported on May 13. “U.S. history is replete with instances where we failed to understand or prepare to mitigate the terrible consequences that might confront those ... who stood beside us and believed in us when the going was tough,” the former officials wrote to Blinken and Austin. “We have a moral obligation to do better this time.” President Joe Biden has announced that the United States would withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. The former officials called on the Biden administration to process special immigrant visas (SIVs) more quickly, and to raise quotas on admittance on an emergency basis when the United States withdraws from the country. Biden already has shown an interest in making sure Afghans who helped the United States war effort can immigrate to the United States. He issued an execu- tive order on Feb. 4 for a review of the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghan and Iraqi allies who have helped the U.S. military. U.S. Ambassadors to Russia Speak I n May the Middlebury Institute of International Studies’ Monterey Initia- tive in Russian Studies launched “The Ambassadorial Series,” a one-of-a-kin d docuseries featuring in-depth interviews with eight former U.S. ambassadors who reflect on decades of complex relations between the United States and Russia. Meant to be a service to scholars and students of American diplomacy vis-à-vis Russia, the series is “a unique resource for those who want to better understand the evolving relationship between the two countries,” the introduction to the accom- panying transcript states. The hourlong videos, the first known set of interviews of all but one of the living U.S. ambassadors to the Soviet Union / Russian Federation, are hosted by Jill Dougherty, former CNN Moscow bureau chief. Covering the period from 1987 to 2019, the series includes the follow- ing former ambassadors to Russia: Jack F. Matlock, Thomas R. Pickering, James F. Collins, Alexander Vershbow, John Beyrle, Michael McFaul, John F. Tefft and Jon Huntsman Jr. The ambassadors recall their experi- ences, sharing insights, nuanced analyses and thoughts on the challenges and geopolitical issues they dealt with and the changes they witnessed. Payne Fellowship Establishes Resource Group I n 2020 a group of Payne alumni estab- lished the Payne Fellowship Network Employee Resource Group to build greater awareness of and support for the Payne Fellowship at USAID. The PFN was created to support the recruitment, onboarding and retention of talented FSOs; to provide Payne Fellows and alumni means to better support one another; and to leverage the existing