The Foreign Service Journal, October 2004

“You spend half your time talking to people inside the mission and the other half talking to Washington; there’s no time left for talking to the local audiences that we’re trying to reach,” notes one PAO. This administrative burden, com- bined with the fact that PD officers have no true home bureau to turn to, makes inhospitable ground for grow- ing creative ideas. When an embassy’s front office tells a PAO not to send a media reaction cable, censors a speak- er program, or insists that an interna- tional visitor grant be given to serve the purposes of short-term expedien- cy, public diplomacy is subverted. Under USIA, PAOs had the option of appealing to a headquarters office back in Washington. With public diplomacy responsibilities now frag- mented and no central authority to coordinate priorities, this possibility has virtually disappeared. When internal chain-of-command duties are given top priority, field work suffers. Although the results of this neglect may not be obvious immediately, eventually our relation- ships with host country publics weak- en. Sure, it would be better if an American officer accompanied the performing arts group outside the capital, we rationalize, but the front office wants me here, and the pro- grams will go on anyway. We estab- lish a dozen new American Corners, but can’t spare American officers to visit them. And yet, if the most important part of public diplomacy is to carry our message that last three feet, then we need to be out there, rather than in here. Strong field work benefits from good coordination and support in Washington. Consular sections that encounter problems in the field fol- low Bureau of Consular Affairs instructions to “phone home and let us try to help.” Neither ECA or IIP can offer similar aid to PAOs, nor would the regional bureaus be happy if they did. Certainly none of the three under secretaries for public diplomacy and public affairs — with tenures ranging from six to 18 months — has offered any such assistance or support for the troops in the field. Five years after consolidation, it is clear that State accepted USIA’s resources but took away the indepen- dence and authority that public diplo- macy needs to thrive as anything but a supporting actor on the foreign pol- icy stage. Its functions are now scat- tered through many parts of the department. The program bureaus — ECA and IIP — stand as isolated outposts that turn out PD products but are rarely visited by inhabitants of the Truman Building of any rank. The patient has survived, by becoming more and more like the other inhabitants of the ward. This is not the way it was supposed to be. Bea Camp is consul general in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After joining USIA in 1983 she served in China, Thailand, Sweden, Hungary and Washington, D.C. Since 1999 she has worked in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bureau of International Information Programs. 16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 4 S P E A K I N G O U T Public diplomacy today usually seems to be an afterthought, the last refuge when all else fails. SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE AMERICA S I NCE 1 9 7 1 2004 represents our 34 th year helping to maintain America’s fleet of vehicles throughout the world. All of us at D & M consider it an honor to have worked with all of you through these years. We are aware of the importance of your official and private vehicles, forklifts, generators, tools and equipment. We look forward to continuing this service in a professional manner. We are here to help, just ask! Gary Vlahov www.dmauto.com (516) 822-6662; FAX: (516) 822-5020; E-mail: info@dmauto.com