10 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS The Legal Defense Fund Needs You I joined the Foreign Service in 1969 and have been an AFSA member ever since. The AFSA Legal Defense Fund’s call for donations in the March-April FSJ prompted me to recall vividly a consequential personal encounter more than two decades ago with AFSA’s General Counsel, Sharon Papp, and the fund. It was summer 2000, and I was at the Foreign Service Institute preparing for an onward assignment overseas. Unexpectedly, Diplomatic Security asked me to come to their office, where two FBI special agents (female “good cop” and male “bad cop”) were lying in wait for me. Over three hours, they accused me of being a Russian spy, threatening to suspend my security clearance and cancel my career. I knew I needed legal help and went immediately to Sharon Papp’s office. Pointing out that the FBI had not yet acted against my clearance, Sharon explained that if my clearance were suspended, then the Legal Defense Fund could help me. In the meantime, she telephoned a lawyer specializing in security cases, and within an hour I was in his office. At the lawyer’s suggestion, the FBI agreed that if I passed a lie detector test, I could proceed to post. After the test, the polygraph technician commented that he had rarely seen such a flat lack of response to his questions. Looking back, I remember that when I entered Sharon’s office, I was dazed and bewildered about what to do next, but, thanks to her, by that evening I was confident about my plan of action. Knowing that the Legal Defense Fund would help if my clearance was suspended also calmed my anxiety. Since then, I have contributed to the AFSA Legal Defense Fund regularly, and I hope others will follow suit. Frederic “Fritz” Maerkle Senior FSO, retired Vallabrix, France Harbinger of Things to Come Long retired from the Foreign Service, I was nonetheless interested (and dismayed) to read Ambassador Eric Rubin’s March-April Speaking Out article, “What’s Wrong with the Ben Franklin Fellowship?” I share his concern about the BFF and the further “partisanization” of the Foreign Service that it seems to represent. However, we should have seen it coming. In 1990 I was bidding on several deputy chief of mission (DCM) positions, one under a Republican political appointee. Through my career development officer, I learned that the ambassador in question had some interest in my candidacy (I had previous DCM experience) but wanted to know my political affiliation before giving me further consideration. How common that kind of questioning was I cannot say, but it was apparently a harbinger of things to come. (I ended up being assigned to another late-opening DCM post, under a different GOP political appointee who, fortunately, never asked anything about my politics.) Jonathan B. Rickert Senior FSO, retired Bainbridge Island, Washington Where Are the Resignations? When President George W. Bush instigated a war with Iraq in 2003, many U.S. government employees, myself included, resigned in protest. In protest of the war against Iran, from what I have been able to gather, only two U.S. government employees have resigned. Is this correct? What has happened? Has the cancer of fear become so rampant that government employees lack the courage to sacrifice their careers? Are they and many others (e.g., educators, lawyers, military officers, news media officials) self-censoring out of fear of opening themselves to lifelong persecution for being considered an enemy of the current accepted thinking or administration? Are we following the path of nonresistance leading to an authoritarian nation? Gatherings for “No Kings” days send a message, and protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s extrajudicial actions and un-American behavior are commendable. That said, to assure a return to justice, current officials must be given notice that their actions are being carefully observed and fully documented and shall be subjected to future judicial review and appropriate punishment for any unconstitutional or illegal behavior. No one is above the law, so every official—federal, state, and local—should understand in no uncertain terms that “We the People” are watching and you will be judged. The United States of America inspired the world by its system of government, benevolence, decency, and willingness to help others, becoming the most admired nation in history. We need to bring back the values that made us great instead of being viewed as
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=