The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 L E T T E R S about the purpose and direction of domestic affairs, Cold War strategy and the role of government and the private sector. The Senior Seminar was a mind- stretching experience for me and I believe every senior government official, whether in domestic or for- eign affairs, needs to have such an interval in his or her career. I doubt that any other experience in govern- ment or academia provides a better opportunity. Our exposure to poli- cy-makers, authorities and special- ists went far beyond the usual uni- versity setting and was a learned lec- ture. The Senior Seminar had no restrictions on scope, content or questioning. Ours is one of the most dynamic countries in the world, and it is ever- changing. To represent it appropri- ately and effectively in the interna- tional arena, we must understand our home turf as it is actually is, not as we believe it to be. The cancella- tion of the Seminar is therefore a serious loss for the Foreign Service. I am not aware of any similar pro- gram that allows Senior Foreign Service officers the opportunity to refresh themselves intellectually and become reacquainted with our country at a critical time in their career development. I truly hope that the decision to discontinue the Senior Seminar will be reconsidered in the very near future. Irving G. Tragen FSO, retired San Diego, Calif. Correction A line was inadvertently dropped from the article “Two Democracies, Shared Challenges,” by Dini Djalal, in the October 2004 issue of the Foreign Service Journal . The first line on p. 32 should read: “A former student activist, Witoelar’s concern is human rights advocacy: a sore point in U.S.-Indonesia relations.”