The Foreign Service Journal, September 2010

“I t is the first respon- sibility of every cit- izen to question authority.” These words, writtenbyBenjaminFrank- lin and cited by AFSA PresidentSusanR.Johnson inherintroductoryremarks at the AFSA awards cere- monyonJune24,exemplify thespiritoftheawards,par- ticularly those recognizing constructivedissent. Direct- or General Nancy Powell R epresentative Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., who chairs the House Appropria- tions Subcommittee on State and ForeignOperations, appeared at AFSAon June 15 to present a legislative view of the ForeignService. The talk, part of theAFSA- LockheedMartin lecture series, “Promoting Excellence and Deepening Impact — Resources and Skills for Diplomacy and Development in theAge of Smart Power,” wasmoderatedbySeniorNBCCorrespon- dent Andrea Mitchell. Rep. Lowey has a long and respected record as an appropriator and is a noted expert on funding for humanitarian, refugee and development programs. She is the key decision-maker on foreign assis- tance spending, ForeignService staffing and A LEGISLATIVE VIEW OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE Nita Lowey and Andrea Mitchell Team Up for Provocative Discussion BY FRANCESCA KELLY AND LAURA CATON Continued on page 56 Continued on page 53 Continued on page 57 American Foreign Service Association • September 2010 AFSA NEWS PATRICK BRADLEY AFSA HONORS COURAGE AND EXCELLENCE Award-Winners’ Accomplishments Have Global Impact BY ASGEIR SIGFUSSON AND FRANCESCA KELLY AFSA Rep of the Year James Fox regales the crowd at the AFSA annu- al awards ceremony on June 24 at the State Department. To his left is AFSA President Susan Johnson, and seated to the right is AFSA Executive Director Ian Houston. STATESMEN OR HAGGLERS? Diplomatic Negotiations Are Focus of Two AFSA Book Discussions BY FRANCESCA KELLY A FSA recently held twomore events in its popular BookNotes series, in which authors are invited todiscuss their foreign affairs-relatedbookswith the public at AFSA headquarters. On May 24, author Fredrik Stanton spoke on Great Negotiations: Agreements that Changed the Modern World (West- holme Publishing, 2010). Thoughnot an FSO,Mr. Stantonclearly conducteda great deal of research in diplomatic history for his book, which uses eight case studies spanning two centuries of U.S. diploma- cy to elucidate the principles thatmake for successful — and unsuccessful — nego- tiations. “Words, as much as weapons, have changed the course of history,” Stanton noted. FromBenjamin Franklin’s secur- ing of crucial French support for the Rep. Nita Lowey, right, listens as Andrea Mitchell frames a question, at AFSA HQ on June 15. MICHAEL LAIACONA Fredrik Stanton gives an engaging and thought- ful talk at AFSA, May 24. MICHAEL LAIACONA S E P T EMB E R 2 0 1 0 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 49