The Foreign Service Journal, October 2004

The other group, Diplomats for a Nonpartisan Foreign Service , has as its focus the Foreign Service code of strict neutrality. The group, founded by Ambassador (and former AFSA president) Thomas Boyatt, and endorsed by almost all of the recent secretaries of State and other senior military and national security officials, calls for reinstitution of the principle that professional diplomatic and mili- tary officers as a group must always be nonpartisan and professional. [To con- tact DNFS: Amb. Tom Boyatt (703) 759-6658 or tdboyatt@aol.com .] “Can you really argue that we in the Foreign Service can serve both red America and blue America impartially if the elders in our own tribe are turn- ing themselves into political warriors?” Amb. Boyatt asked in an interview with David Sands of the Washington Times . In presenting the group’s state- ment on Aug. 17, Boyatt emphasized that it is not a political declaration, not a substantive comment about policies or candidates but deals with process. Citing his defense of the profes- sionalism and impartiality of the Foreign Service against charges of dis- loyalty leveled by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich earlier this year, Boyatt charged Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change with “polarizing the debate” and mak- ing it more difficult to defend the Foreign Service in the future. As It Should Be “Clearly former diplomats and mil- itary officers as individuals have the right, even the responsibility, to partic- ipate in the political life of our country, and a number have gone on to hold elected office, including in Congress,” the Diplomats for a Nonpartisan Foreign Service statement says. “Others have been called back to duty as political appointees. They have done so as individuals, not as spokes- men for their profession, and this is as it should be.” But with the “unprecedented” June 16 political statement of the Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change , the DNFS statement argues, “a core principle and deeply held tra- dition of our foreign and military ser- vices” has been put at risk. “We are confident the candidates for election this November — of whichever party — will respect and appreciate our determination that our career services remain and be seen as truly apolitical, in the best interests of our country.” All three groups agree that active- duty Foreign Service officers are loyal professionals. Retired Diplomats Put Australian Government On Notice The U.S. is not the only place where former diplomats are stepping into the election arena. On Aug. 8, more than 40 retired senior Australian diplomats and military commanders issued a statement accusing Prime Minister John Howard of deceiving the country over the reasons for the Iraq War and demanding honesty in the new government to be elected in Australia’s Oct. 9 general election ( http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/ stories/WO0408/S00128.htm ). Addressing a “re-elected Howard government or an elected Latham government,” the statement centers on Australian participation in the Iraq War and Australia’s relations with the U.S. “We are concerned that Australia was committed to join the invasion of Iraq on the basis of false assumptions and the deception of the Australian people,” the statement reads. “It is wrong and dangerous for our elected representatives to mislead the Australian people.” The diplomats also plead that their government, rather than being “a rub- ber stamp for policies decided in Washington,” maintain a genuine part- nership with America. “It is of con- cern to us that the international pres- tige of the United States and its presi- dency has fallen precipitously over the last two years. Because of our govern- ment’s unquestioning support for the Bush administration’s policy, Australia has also been adversely affected.” O C T O B E R 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 C YBERNOTES 50 Years Ago... The Foreign Service arm seems to be a natural whipping boy for all sorts of investigating and appropriations committees, not to mention the free-lance politicians and publicity hounds. — Robert W. Dean, from a letter to the director of Foreign Service Personnel, excerpted in Letters to the Editor, FSJ , October 1954.