The Foreign Service Journal, September 2015

18 SEPTEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA Scholarship AFSA.org/Scholar Clements Worldwide clements.com Embassy Risk Management Embassyrisk.com The Hirshorn Company Hirshorn.com/USFS McGrath Real Estate Services McGrathRealEstate.com Peake Management, Inc. Peakeinc.com Senior Living Foundation SLFoundation.org WJD Management wjdpm.com ANSWERS to Quiz, p.16 1. “I don’t understand any of what that person is saying.” 2. Refers to purchasing something without inspecting it first. 3. Refers to somebody who didn’t have to work to get where they are. 4. “To be so insulted that you’re not able to reply.” 5. “Go away/leave me alone.” 6. “To look at each other coldly, with distrust.” 7. “You make the most with what you’ve got.” 8. “To keep postponing an important chore.” 9. “What goes around comes around.” 10. “Buying something very cheaply.” a perfect or risk-free settlement of this problem. However, we believe without it, the risks to the security of the United States and our friends and allies would be far greater. “We are satisfied that the JCPOA will put in place a set of constraints and inspections that can assure that Iran’s nuclear program during the terms of the agreement will remain only for peace- ful purposes and that no part of Iran is exempt from inspection. As with any negotiated settlement, the most durable and effective agreement is one that all sides will commit to and benefit from over the long term. “We support close congressional involvement in the oversight, monitoring and enforcement of this agreement. Con- gress must be a full partner in its imple- mentation and must evaluate carefully the value and feasibility of any alternative that would claim better to protect U.S. security and more effectively to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. In particular, Congress must give careful attention to evaluating whether alterna- tives would be more or less likely to nar- row the options for resolving this issue without the use of force. “In our judgment the JCPOA deserves congressional support and the opportu- nity to show it can work. We firmly believe that the most effective way to protect U.S. national security and that of our allies and friends is to ensure that tough-minded diplomacy has a chance to succeed before considering other more costly and risky alternatives.” —Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Intern Spotlight on Rule of Law Programs in Afghanistan I n July, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction issued the results of an audit of the efforts to develop the rule of law in Afghanistan that gives much food for thought. SIGAR aimed to determine the extent to which (1) the rule of law strategy and objectives are current and define the scope of assistance, (2) agencies can fully account for programs and funding, (3) progress is being systematically measured, and (4) challenges encountered are being addressed. Distressingly, the answer in each case was “not much.”This is captured in the report’s title, “Rule of Law in Afghanistan: U.S. Agencies Lack a Strategy and Cannot Fully Determine the Effectiveness of Pro- grams Costing MoreThan $1 Billion.” SIGAR details its findings that the Departments of Defense, State, Justice and USAID have spent at least $1 billion on some 66 programs since 2003, but that there is little indication of what was achieved and, moreover, there has been no comprehensive rule of law strategy since 2009. The IG’s recommendations, as well as comments fromDOD and DOJ, and joint comments from Embassy Kabul and the USAIDMission for Afghanistan are included in the report. n —Susan B. Maitra, Managing Editor