The Foreign Service Journal, November 2012

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2012 13 policy studies at CIS (and a former FSO), at (508) 346-3380 or jmv@cis.org. Judy Carson FSO, retired Aventura, Fla. Overly Rosy Memories of El Salvador I feel compelled to comment on a couple of items in September’s Journal , which just arrived on my doorstep. First, kudos to Paula Guimond for her letter (“Thanks, Local Employees”) in praise of our Foreign Service Nationals and other Locally Employed Staff. She truly tells it like it is. How I wish I had thought to write the same letter myself! Second, regarding Robert Blau’s pan- egyric to Salvadoran democracy (“El Sal- vador’s Remarkable Transition”), I wish to point out that his article seems to have glossed over some important aspects of Salvadoran reality. For instance, Mr. Blau euphemistically describes President Mauricio Funes’ run- ning mate in the 2009 elections, Salvador Sanchez Ceren, as a “hardliner.” What he fails to mention—and some readers may perhaps not know—is that Ceren is the same FMLN leader who led celebra- tions and American flag burnings in the streets of San Salvador following the 9/11 attacks. So the fact that he is not just the current vice president, but very possibly El Salvador’s next president, is most defi- nitely not a promising development. Moreover, by simply quoting a ques- tion from a New York Times reporter without making any attempt to challenge its rationale, Blau appears to tacitly imply that the United States somehow owes El Salvador some kind of apology for our role in its civil war. Some of us still remember the 1983 assassination of Navy Lt. Commander Albert Schaufelberger and the 1985 Zona Rosa murder of six Americans (four of themMarine security guards from the embassy), which both occurred in San Salvador. Mr. Blau could have mentioned these incidents in the context of the Times ’ query. Better yet, Secretary of State Hill- ary Rodham Clinton might have done so in her response. T.J. Morgan FSO, retired Charlottesville, Va. n