The Foreign Service Journal, September 2018

16 SEPTEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ment, with a budget slashed and the U.S. presence abroad significantly reduced. Times were calm andmoney was tight, and we ultimately were forced to play catch-up after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, forced the United States to engage with a wider range of partners and enemies. We called on an under-resourced Foreign Service to undertake new and expanded missions to ensure the security and prosperity of American citizens—includ- ing bureaucratic infighting. Long tours at hardship posts and a burst in hiring that disrupted the natural course of progres- sion within the Foreign Service all strained our core diplomatic capability. While the current cuts to American diplomacy are not as extensive as what occurred two decades ago, the wise listen to history’s best lessons. We face new challenges today—from the looming threat of trade war that requires careful diplomacy and the pros- pect of dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear capability, to hostile cyber activity that is below the threshold of all-out war. Any of these could escalate and necessitate a surge in diplomatic capability, as we needed on Sept. 12, 2001. The norms and institutions that govern our international world, care- fully crafted and shaped over decades by members of the U.S. Foreign Service, are increasingly questioned by a rising China, a revisionist Russia and even some within the United States and allied nations. We also must be ready to confront the risks of cyberwarfare, as well as the benefits offered by economic engagement with dynamic regions like Southeast Asia or West Africa. A Foreign Service for the Future To invest in American diplomacy now, it is critical we strengthen the For- eign Service and our nation’s frontline civilians. This includes sending officers back to the field, restarting the consis- tent pipeline of new A-100 classes, and expanding training and educational opportunities to maintain and improve skills in a changing world. New challenges and opportuni- ties demand this reinvention. We must invest in greater technical skills and defend the core values and mission of the Foreign Service. We must also expand the State Department’s mandate and resources in a budgetary environ- ment where other departments may be better resourced to address challenges for which State should be the lead. This is also an opportunity to imagine what kind of Foreign Service the United States needs to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead. If we are to assuage the parts of our country that are losing faith in diplomacy and American leadership abroad, we must strive to make sure they are included in Ameri- can diplomacy by expanding diversity in the Foreign Service. The Foreign Service must reflect the growing diversity of our country. I sup- port and have acted to expand programs like the Rangel and Pickering fellow- ships that bring under-represented minorities into our Foreign Service through a highly selective program. I also commend the State Department’s practice of placing diplomats-in-resi- dence in different parts of our country. We must do more to recruit from these under-represented states, cities, univer- sities and communities. Only by giving Americans from all walks of life a direct say and participa- tion in our country’s engagement with the rest of the world can we build a durable constituency at home for diplo- macy and American global leadership. The United States must prepare for an uncertain future by innovating and supporting diplomacy. The Foreign Ser- vice has strong allies in Congress who recognize the need for a professional diplomatic corps that puts country over partisanship or politics. Congress will also need allies in the administration, academia and other parts of civil society to make our diplomacy more inclusive, more representative and, ultimately, more effective. We must adapt to meet the chal- lenges we face today. We will legislate when necessary, for example, to allow FSOs to terminate costly contracts they enter before their service or to account for the latest technology in embassy and consular security policies—such as the Protecting American Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act (H.R. 4989) that I introduced with Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-Texas) and which passed the House of Representa- tives this year. We all have a duty—Democrats and Republicans alike—to ensure that our government, and specifically our For- eign Service, represents the best of our nation abroad. Conversations such as these help us define exactly what kind of country we wish to be. n The United States must prepare for an uncertain future by innovating and supporting diplomacy.