The Foreign Service Journal, October 2006

State IG Finds BBG Head Violated Rules On Aug. 29, the State Department Inspector General’s office sent the results of its yearlong investigation of the Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, to Congress. The report, covered in major newspapers ( www.washing tonpost.com/wpdyn/content/art icle/2006/08/29/AR20060829014 92.html ), states that Tomlinson improperly used his office and vio- lated rules as head of the agency that oversees the Voice of America and other government broadcasting operations. In particular, he put a friend on the payroll and ran a “horse-racing operation” with gov- ernment resources. The State Department also sent the report to the Department of Justice, which has declined to bring criminal charges against Tomlinson. An allegation involving a contractor is, however, pending with the DOJ. Last November, the BBG gover- nor resigned his position as chairman of the Corporation for Public Broad- casting when the CPB’s inspector general found that he had employed contractors without documentation, tried to tamper with CPB’s program- ming and appeared to show political favoritism in selecting CPB’s presi- dent while he was chairman. Diplomats Urge Dialogue with Syria and Iran In an Aug. 15 statement, members of the American Academy of Diplo- macy urged the Bush administration to widen the dialogue on the Leban- ese crisis to include Syria and Iran ( www.commongroundcommon sense.org/forums/lofiversion/ind ex.php/t61149.htm ). In releasing the statement, Acad- emy Chairman Thomas R. Pickering acknowledged the essential contribu- tion made by the U.S. armed forces, as well as the fact that the country’s diplomats have proved their mettle in the “new and dangerous world afflict- ed by terrorism.” Pickering added: “We need have no fear that talking with other governments of whatever stripe somehow demonstrates weak- ness. Discussion is not defeat; conver- sation is not concession. Backed up by our strong military position, these are the essential first steps of intelligent diplomatic dialogue designed to pro- mote the vital national interests of the U.S.” AAD supports the efforts led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to end the fighting in Lebanon and stop attacks on Israel, and applauds U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. However, it specifies that “dis- cussions must now continue, both to ensure that it is faithfully implement- ed by all parties and to address the underlying problems of the region.” In concluding, the Academy states: “We urge the administration to intensify and broaden diplomatic efforts to include influential state stakeholders Syria and Iran in a fully coordinated approach to the region and its interrelated problems which, if successful, could have important beneficial effects on all the areas of conflict.” In an interview in the July edition of The Washington Diplomat ( www. washingtondiplomat.org ), Aca- demy President Brandon Grove underlined the unique perspective and authority of the organization, whose members have held positions of major responsibility in formulating and implementing U.S. foreign poli- cy. “We are a very different and dis- tinct organization in Washington with possibilities that are unique,” he said. “Our greatest asset is our mem- bership, which is an amazing group of people. This is probably the most C YBERNOTES 50 Years Ago... Diplomacy exists to serve better understanding among peoples. Yet probably one-half of the members of the U.S. Foreign Service are unable to speak any language but English to any useful degree. This is the shocking situation uncovered by a recent departmental survey of language skills in the Foreign Service. — Editorial: “A Tongue-Tied Foreign Service?”, FSJ , October 1956. 10 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 6