16 NOVEMBER 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL The Career 100 Years Ago I hope there will never enter into the mind of the Foreign Service officer a feeling of distaste, of dissatisfaction, a sense of disillusionment because his career is not all that it was felt it might be at the outset. Success in any career is never in anything outside. It is primarily in the satisfaction you get out of work. … Certainly, this satisfaction is possible to those who are engaged in this most important work of promoting and defending the interests of our country in connection with foreign affairs. What could be more appealing to any man of patriotic sentiment than to have an opportunity of that sort? What could be more interesting than to be constantly associated in his work with the currents of influence through the world, with the activities which are really determining the future of nations. Not simply the future of our own national life but the future of the whole human family. You should have the greatest possible satisfaction in the sense of the importance of your work. —Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes in The American Foreign Service Journal (precursor to the FSJ), November 1924. Online Passport Renewal The State Department announced on Sept. 18 that Americans can now renew their adult passports entirely online, marking a shift away from the traditional paper-based process. is new system eliminates the need to print forms or mail checks, o ering a more streamlined experience. “The Department is embracing digital transformation to offer the most efficient and convenient passport renewal experience possible,” the State Department noted in its press release. The new online option was tested in a public beta launched in June and is now fully rolled out for U.S. residents. “Thanks to increased staffing, technological advancements, and a host of other improvements, the average routine passport is being processed today in roughly one-third the time as at the same point last summer, and well under the advertised six to eight weeks processing times,” the department added. The online renewal system is available only for adult passports that have expired within the last five years and is currently limited to citizens residing in the U.S. or its territories. Online passport renewal is available at travel.state.gov/renewonline. House Republicans’ Afghanistan Probe House Republicans released a report on Sept. 9 sharply criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, accusing it of planning poorly and ignoring the warnings of the U.S. military. The report, led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), claims the administration chose “optics over security” during the chaotic evacuation, which left Americans and Afghan allies stranded as the Taliban took control. The report downplays former President Donald Trump’s role in setting the withdrawal in motion with his 2020 deal with the Taliban, instead highlighting Biden’s decision to proceed with the withdrawal despite warnings of a swift Taliban advance. The investigation, which involved key official interviews and 20,000 pages of documents, accuses the National Security Council of sidelining military leaders during key decisionmaking points. The Biden administration defended its actions, blaming Trump’s withdrawal deal that left it few options. Despite Republican criticism, Biden has maintained that ending the 20-year war was the right decision. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced contempt of Congress charges after a House Foreign Affairs Committee vote, led by Chair McCaul, advanced the resolution. The charges were a result of Blinken’s failure to appear before the committee to testify on the Afghanistan withdrawal, despite his diplomatic commitments at the UN General Assembly. “As I have made clear, I am willing to testify and have offered several reasonable alternatives to the dates unilaterally demanded by the Committee during which I am carrying out the President’s important foreign policy objectives,” Blinken wrote. Critics have noted the political nature of the timing, with Republicans aiming to hold the Biden administration accountable for the chaotic evacuation, while Democrats called it a partisan maneuver designed to sway public opinion ahead of the presidential election. n This edition of Talking Points was compiled by Mark Parkhomenko.
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