The Foreign Service Journal, September 2008

p?id=2068 ). The bill orders NARA to set standards for capturing, manag- ing, retrieving and preserving e-mails and other electronic communications and to issue regulations within 18 months requiring all federal agencies to preserve such communications in an electronic format. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group known as CREW, is critical of the legislation. The group issued a report in April, “Record Chaos: The Deplorable State of Electronic Re- cord Keeping in the Federal Govern- ment,” charging that the bill “fails to make the substantial changes neces- sary to bring the federal government into the 21st century” ( www.citizens forethics.org/recordchaos ) . — Susan B. Maitra, Senior Editor A Chilean Perspective on Lessons of the Iraq War Heraldo Muñoz, Chile’s ambas- sador to the United Nations, has penned a diplomatic memoir that chronicles his experiences during the run-up to the Iraq War from a “behind the scenes” perspective. Specifically, A Solitary War: A Diplomat’s Chronicle of the Iraq War and Its Lessons, published recently with a foreword by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, exam- ines the Bush administration’s tactics in organizing backing for the U.N. Security Council resolution authoriz- ing military action against Iraq ( www.fulcrumbooks.com/ ) . Ambassador Muñoz received his Ph.D. in international political econo- my from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies, where he was a classmate of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the book begins with a “telling call from Condi.” A former president of the U.N. Security Council, Muñoz looks at the United States’ controversial decision to take a unilateral stand and its reper- cussions for both the U.S. and the rest of the world. According to Muñoz, Washington badgered its allies and repeatedly threatened the “Undecid- ed 6” nations — Chile, Mexico, Cameroon, Pakistan, Guinea and Angola —with trade reprisals in order to pressure them into voting in favor of the invasion. Washington’s aggressive tactics were not limited to trade reprisals, but included spying on its allies in the Security Council and various acts of bullying, bribery and “diplomatic bel- ligerence.” In Muñoz ’s view, this ap- proach has left a legacy of “deep mis- trust” between the U.S. and its allies in Europe and Latin America, as well as other nations. Chile’s effort to offer an alternative resolution to the Security Council was viewed as “an unfriendly act” by the Bush administration, according to re- ports in the Washington Post. While the book contains grisly details of misguided diplomatic tactics, its focus is on what lessons can be learned as a new American president prepares to take office. “The most important lesson of the second Iraq War is that in a world characterized by global media, new threats and inextri- cably interwoven political and eco- nomic interests, the U.S. needs the support of significant allies and multi- lateral organizations for the long haul,” Munoz writes. The author then discusses ways to avoid future conflict and rebuild trust among the international community, noting that the most important price the U.S. paid for its Iraq diplomacy was “in terms of losing authority and respect as a leader of the international community.” An extensive interview with Amb. Muñoz is available at www.democra cynow.org/2008/3/27/ . n — Ariana Austin, Editorial Intern 12 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 8 C Y B E R N O T E S u 50 Years Ago... W hile legislation involving the State Department or foreign aid always causes considerable controversy in the House, Foreign Service legislation always goes rather smoothly. ... For a group that has no lobby, no pressure group support, the Foreign Service does very well. — Rep. John M. Vorys, R-Ohio, “Observations on the Foreign Service,” Sept. 1958 FSJ .