The Foreign Service Journal, September 2010

holds passports fromU.S. citizens resident in foreign countries during the passport- renewalprocess. Unabletoreceivetheaward in person, Kiser was represented by friends Sara Revell and Vanessa Zenji. DeputySecretaryofStateJacobLewpre- sented the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award to Ambass- adorL.BruceLaingen . Laingen joined the Foreign Service in 1949 after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His FS assignments includedGermany, Iran, Paki- stan and Afghanistan; he was appointed ambassadortoMaltain1977. Aschargéd’af- fairesinTehran,hewasoneofthosedetained for14monthsafterdemonstratorstookover the U.S. Embassy there in 1979. Amb.Laingensubsequentlyreceivedthe StateDepartment’sAward forValor, along withseveralotherhonors,in1981. Heretired from the Foreign Service in 1987 and later served as president of the American Aca- demy of Diplomacy. Amb. JohnLimbert, whohadalsobeen heldinIran,warmlyintroducedLaingen. At the lectern,Amb. Laingendevotedmuchof hisspeechtothankingthemanypeoplewho havehelpedandinspiredhimovertheyears, mentioning that itwashiswife, Penne,who started the “yellow ribbon” tradition in America. With a nod to Limbert, hemen- tioned that he is “still hopeful for normal diplomatic relations with Iran.” Butperhaps the remark that amusedthe audience most was his reaction upon see- ingthebeautyofthereceptionhall. “Wow,” he said, looking aroundhimat thebrocade drapes, crystal chandeliers andoriginal por- traits of the FoundingFathers. “This room makes up for a lot.” For more information, please read Editor Steve Honley’s interview with Amb. Laingen in the July-August issue of the Foreign Service Journal, online at www.fsjournal.org . There you will also find detailed profiles of all dissent and per- formance award winners. ❏ A F S A N E W S 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 57 Ambassador L. Bruce Laingen, the 2010 winner of the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplo- macy Award, after the ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Reception Room. F. ALLEN “TEX” HARRIS American Revolution, to Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev’s laying of the groundwork to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons, he described what each party brought to the negotiating table, the stakes, and theobstacles to success andhow they were overcome. Stantonobserved that diplomacy in the modern age has had great triumphs and bitter failures, from the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which narrowly spared humanity fromanuclearwar, to theTreaty of Versailles afterWorldWar I, which cre- ated problems that still confront us today. He closed his thoughtful presentation by answering questions from the audience. Formore information about Stanton’s book, please refer to Patricia H. Kushlis’ review in the June issue of the Foreign Service Journal . On June 7, AFSA’s Book Notes series featuredAmbassadorRichardH. Solomon, who, along with Nigel Quinney, is the author of AmericanNegotiating Behavior: Wheeler-Dealers, Legal Eagles, Bullies and Preachers (USIP Press, 2010). Amb. Solomon, who has been presi- dent of theUnitedStates Institute for Peace since 1993, remarked that “negotiation is more effective if we understand our own negotiating style and howothers perceive us.” He listed five dynamics that affect negotiating behavior: 1) the issues at play (political, security, economic); 2) the per- sonality of the negotiator; 3) institutions that shape decision-making; 4) geopolit- ical context; and 5) the culture of the soci- eties involved, including their history. Inwriting this book, Solomon and co-auth- or Quinney interview- ed 60 foreign diplo- mats, asking them to describe the idiosyn- crasies of Americans at the negotiating table. What they found was both unsurprising (Americans value com- petition) and unex- pected (Americans spendmore timenego- tiating among them- selves on an intera- gency basis than with outside parties). A strong impression among foreign counterparts is that U.S. diplomats tend to feel a greater sense of urgency, due to factors suchas the electoral calendar and a “can-do, problem-solving” culture. This latter trait, usually seen as a plus, can sometimes be a minus: Americans tend to think any problemcan be solved, and therefore fail to recognize situations AFSA Book Notes • Continued from page 49 Richard Solomon (center) at AFSA HQ, with AFSA President Susan Johnson and AFSA Executive Director Ian Houston, June 7. MICHAEL LAIACONA Continued on page 58