The Foreign Service Journal, September 2011

18 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 1 1 job. However, a greater State De- partment investment in state-of- the-art technology for videocon- ferencing could do much to allow officers to interact with their host- country counterparts when condi- tions do not permit travel. At the same time, the spill- over of these restrictions to em- bassies in much less threatening countries is making officers irrele- vant in many cases. The places we need to reach are often the very places Diplomatic Security Bureau person- nel do not want us to go. There has to be an option for some officers to take on more risk in a prepared way, or we will not be able to reach the areas where our interaction with local populaces is needed the most. The State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization has made real strides in preparing Foreign Service officers to work in post-conflict conditions. I have served in the Active Response Corps and continue to volunteer with the Standby Response Corps precisely because those positions allow me to vol- untarily take necessary risks to advance U.S. interests. It is time for diplomacy, particularly public diplomacy, to reach the parts of the world where it is needed the most. Deborah S. Hart-Serafini FSO Middle East Partnership Initiative Coordinator Embassy Kuwait Yes, We’re a Stronger Institution In the wake of 9/11, the most important changes to U.S. national security structure were domestic in nature. The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 is the most visible outcome of an executive-con- gressional consensus that a whole-of-government ap- proach had to produce better value from our many national security assets, both human and technological. Clearly, the Foreign Service was integral to this ap- proach, sharpening its training and moving assets to loca- tions where terrorist organizations were thriving. But the tipping point for adaptation came with the lessons learned from our engagement in Iraq. As we moved quickly to re- build civil society in that former dictatorship, the Foreign Service had to retool and take a more entrepreneurial approach in the competition for resources and leadership in interagency policy- making. That said, the most historic changes to the Foreign Service, the ones that have made this institution more versatile and effective, came as a result of the institution build- ing begun by Secretary of State Colin Powell and continued by his successors. A greater emphasis on leadership training, strategic communication and interagency assignments has strength- ened FS skill sets, helping us find or make opportunities and head off challenges amid high-velocity change in mar- kets and social organizations, and respond to the rise of new regional players that affect all our national interests. Speaking as a public diplomacy officer who has been in the Foreign Service for 27 years, I have been especially impressed by how quickly FSOs are transforming our out- reach and engagement with foreign countries by harness- ingWeb-based tools. Both inWashington and the field, we are competing well with media outlets for the attention of worldwide audiences. We are also building communities of interest and partnerships across borders that help us demonstrate the positive change our policies advocate. Equally important, FSOs recognize that public diplo- macy must inform every aspect of our policy advocacy and that we must communicate our successes with businesslike metrics and compelling stories to compete for funding in an austere budget environment. Mark Tauber FSO, Public Affairs Section Embassy San Jose No, We’re Becoming Irrelevant The State Department is markedly less effective than it was before 9/11. The department has let its responsibility for effective diplomacy be sapped by a preoccupation with non-critical, politically correct programs that skew em- ployment opportunities in favor of incompetence; the dis- traction of same-sex accommodation in assignments overseas; and the provision of day-care for the children of employees. C OVER S TORY The most historic changes to the Foreign Service came as a result of the institution building begun by Secretary of State Colin Powell and continued by his successors.