The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

14 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 1 0 prudence, hospitality, charm, industry, courage and even tact. I have not for- gotten them. I have taken them for granted.” The State Department and U.S. Agency for International Develop- ment are benefiting from a welcome, long-overdue infusion of talent, thanks in large part to the efforts of Secre- taries of State Hillary RodhamClinton, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell. A key factor in meeting Nicolson’s high standards for diplomats will be the pro- fessional education these new employ- ees receive. The curriculum should include respect for the history of American diplomacy, a focus on lead- ership and accountability, guidance on how to link policy and resources, skill at program direction, and readiness to use new media. Their training must also combine the transfer of experience with a recog- nition, well highlighted in the NSS, that much about the future will be dif- ferent. Otherwise, as former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban has cau- tioned, the influence of experience and analogy in the training of diplomats may blind them to the original, unpre- dictable, innovative factors in interna- tional conduct. This insight is especially relevant to thinking about the point the NSS makes about the importance of devel- oping and supporting a whole-of- government approach to meeting the challenges of this complicated century. Today’s diplomats must be able to work effectively with the interagency com- munity, as well as overseas counter- parts, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. Pres. Obama’s National Security Strategy gets a very great deal right. But we find ourselves, as Nicolson did so many years ago while writing Diplo- mac y, needing to be careful about how we define our terms. If we can get that task right, diplomacy will receive its due as a national security tool. Equally important, the people we recruit and train to carry out our nation’s diplo- matic business will be better prepared to manage the challenges of the 21st century. ■ Marc Grossman, a Foreign Service of- ficer from 1976 to 2005, served as am- bassador to Turkey (1994-1997), assist- ant secretary of State for European af- fairs (1997-2000), director general of the Foreign Service (2000-2001) and under secretary for political affairs (2001-2005), retiring with the rank of career ambassador. He is now vice chairman of The Cohen Group, a con- sulting firm. Ambassador Grossman wishes to thank the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Pro- gram on the Future of Diplomacy for their support in thinking about these issues. The views expressed here are, of course, his own. S P E A K I N G O U T U.S. relations with Russia and Iran are two examples of the need to think clearly about the distinction between engagement and diplomacy. WWW.FSJOURNAL.ORG When contacting an advertiser, kindly mention the Foreign Service Journal. Click on the Marketplace tab on the marquee AFSA Legacy www.afsa.org/CFCFAD.cfm AFSPA afspa.org/FSBP AKA Hotel residences stay-aka.com Clements International clements.com Cort Furniture cort1.com Fox Hill foxhillseniorcondominium.com Hirshorn Company, The hirshorn.com Kendal Kendal.org Lockheed Martin Corporation lockheedmartin.com Potomac Books potomacbooksinc.com SDFCU sdfcu.org WJD wjdpm.com