The Foreign Service Journal, November 2009

8 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 9 The report is based on an evalua- tion done between April 20 and June 5, 2009. Until May 7, when Obama administration nominee Johnnie Car- son was sworn in, AF was led by acting Assistant Secretary Philip Carter III. While the report criticizes former management, its harshest language was reserved for long-term institu- tional failures. Geisel dismisses the bu- reau’s public diplomacy program as “failed.” And he pins the blame for content-poorMission Strategic and Bu- reau Strategic Plans on sheer “procras- tination […] or poor understanding of performance measurement on the part of missions and other officers.” The report also criticizes AF’s ap- proach toward relations with the Unit- ed States Africa Command, claiming that AFRICOM is “misunderstood at best, if not resented and challenged by AF.” Geisel caps off this criticism by recommending that AFRICOM take over some of State’s duties if it fails to better manage its portfolio. The report concludes with a series of 19 recommendations ( http://oig.sta te.gov/documents/organization/ 127270.pdf ). The bureau will have to produce regular reports on its progress for the Office of the Inspector Gen- eral, the first of which was completed at the end of August. Follow updates and reports on this topic at OIG’s Web site ( http://oig. state.gov ). Burma Back in the News On Sept. 18, Maj. Gen. Nyan Win, foreign minister of Burma (also known as Myanmar), arrived inWashington— the first time in nine years that permis- sion to do so was granted to a Burmese official. The one-day visit was for meet- ings with embassy staff, a U.S.-Asian business council and Sen. James Webb, D-Va. According to the State Depart- ment, Win did not meet with adminis- tration officials. But a thaw in the bilateral relationship and a search for new approaches are clearly under way. A month before, on Aug. 14, Sen. Webb had been in Rangoon (also known as Yangon), where he negoti- ated the release of Virginia citizen John Yettaw, who had just been sentenced to seven years in prison for illegally visiting democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Webb was the first American political leader in 10 years to visit the country and the first ever to meet junta leader General Than Shwe. Upon his return, Sen. Webb wrote an op-ed for the New York Times argu- ing that the U.S. cannot afford to ignore Burma and advocating a change in ap- proach. Webb criticized the sanctions policy and asserted that reopening doors to the West would allow the Burmese people to escape their current miserable economic status ( www. nytimes.com/2009/08/26/opinion/ 26webb.html ). In a story on the Nyan Win visit, Washington Post writer John Pomfret reports that U.S. policy toward Burma has been under review for nine months and the results are expected soon ( www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009 092202911.html ). According to Pomfret, sanctions may not be lifted, but they won’t be tightened, either. And more humani- tarian aid may be channeled to the country, as well. Bolder moves, like a resumption of military-to-military re- lations and counternarcotics coopera- tion have also been under considera- tion, he says. C Y B E R N O T E S Site of the Month: www.freerice.com Help end world hunger and expand your education, all from your office chair, with www.freerice.com . This simple and elegant site challenges users to pick the right word, identify the right country and otherwise test themselves on a variety of subjects. For each correct answer, the revenue generated by ads on the page pay for 10 grains of rice to be donated to the United Nations World Food Program. This may not seem like a substantial donation (it takes approximately 19,200 grains of rice per day to feed one person), but the game is addictive and most users find themselves donating over a thousand grains in one round. With thousands playing at any moment around the world, the site is able to donate about 50 million grains of rice every day—and more than 67 billion grains since its inception in Oc- tober 2007, feeding millions of people in 75 countries. While freerice.com would be commendable even for its primary function and achievements, the site is notable for its additional resources. The site offers detailed information and links to further resources on the current state of world hunger and campaigns against it. Until March 2009, freerice.com w as operated and owned by John Breen, but he has since donated the site to the United Nations World Food Program and enlisted the support of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. With this newfound support and an expanding range of subjects, freerice.com s urely has a bright future ahead of it.