The Foreign Service Journal, September 2013

14 SEPTEMBER 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 50 Years Ago Y ou might be interested to know whether being a former member of the Foreign Service helped me in politics. I think it did, because politics and diplomacy are alike in that they are really concerned with dealing with people, handling people, and trying to follow that old diplomatic adage of letting the other man have your way. This is the great secret of diplomacy and politics, not blunderbussing the opponent, but just trying to make sure, if at all possible, that the answer included in his statement of position is your answer. … One of the differences between the two professions is recalled in Talley- rand’s old diplomatic admonition: above all, “pas trop de zele” (Zeal, but not too much). This, however, does not apply in politics. Many in politics lack zeal, but all try to appear as though they have it; whereas the secret in diplomacy is to work as hard as possible without appearing to work at all. At least that is my own personal view. —Excerpted from “Diplomacy and Politics,” an address Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., delivered at an AFSA luncheon; FSJ , September 1963. ing addressing massacres against ethnic groups in Sudan by their government. The same is true of the U.S. response to the two-year-old Syrian crisis, accord- ing to Jim Geraghty of National Review Online . A widespread misperception of the APB as “an entity rather than a process,” as the CAP report puts it, has led some observers to expect more direct action by the body itself, downplaying initiatives by participating agencies. Accordingly, the relevance of the APB, if not its very existence, remains uncertain. —Jesse Smith, Editorial Intern Kony 2013 I n the May 2012 edition of Cybernotes (as this department was formerly known), we reported on “Kony 2012,” a viral documentary created by the Invis- ible Children Foundation to raise aware- ness of the atrocities of Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army in Central Africa, and bring him to justice. We also noted the deployment of 100 U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers to the region to train African troops and assist in the manhunt. Despite these efforts, Kony remains at large as of this writing—but his army is dwindling. Regional governments and the United Nations report that the number of LRA combatants is now only around a few hundred. However, with the recent military coup in the Cen- tral African Republic, where the LRA’s leadership is thought to be hiding, the African Union has called off its search. This has led analysts like Jennifer Cooke of the Center for Strategic and International Studies to become wor- ried. “With the collapse in [the] CAR, I think the effort, the real sense of urgency and focus on getting Joseph Kony, has collapsed somewhat,” she says. There is also the real possibility of an LRA resurgence if the security situ- ation remain s unsettled i n the Central African Republic, but Ugandan soldiers and their U.S. advisers are still stationed there for now. Meanwhile, the State Department is offerin g a $5 million reward for informa- tion leading to Kony’s capture. So there may be reason to hope that 2013 will be the year he and his followers finally face justice. Invisible Children an d The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative maintain an interac- tive map detailing LRA activity in Central Africa. There you’ll also find links to further information. —Jesse Smith, Editorial Intern Meet “Madam Ambassador” T he productions featured in this year’s Capital Fringe Festival, which just wrapped up its sixth season (July 11-28) in downtown Washington, D.C., included a truly unique new play by Duke Ryan (the pen name of retired FSO Henry Butterfield Ryan) : “Madam Ambassador.” In it, we meet the following dramatis personae: Valerie Butts , the title character, is middle-aged, conservatively well dressed and well spoken. She grew up in Chi- cago’s fashionable North Shore suburbs and was educated in private Eastern schools. Shortly after college, she married a politician who eventually became a U.S. senator before losing his seat and then dying. Buzz Butts is Valerie’s second hus- band. He, too, is middle-aged, but well below her on the socioeconomic scale. Except for a tour in the Marines and a cruise he took to get over a divorce, which is where he met Valerie, he has spent his whole life on Chicago’s West Side, where he managed a gymnasium and was once an amateur boxer. Gumpston (no first name given) is a