The Foreign Service Journal, December 2006

solution of USIA and slow reintegra- tion of the function into the depart- ment. I say reintegration, because when I was sworn in as a new FSO in 1950, the PD functions were a part of the department in Washington and overseas (as USIS). The Journal ’s measured and large- ly critical treatment of the present alignment and priority for this func- tion is right on the money. I hope Secretary Rice and Under Secretary Hughes have read it, as well as the earlier report on the function by Ed Djerejian and company. There are three important barri- ers to fulfilling the critical task of rebuilding our PD function that were not so obvious in the FSJ articles. First, the budget. There was a gen- eral acknowledgement that budget constraints continue to restrain our effort in spite of Under Secretary Hughes’ success in incrementally increasing the PD budget. What is essential now is a fundamental “beef- ing up,” not an incremental increase. No one is in a better position to accomplish this than Hughes, whose ties to President Bush are undisput- ed. Second, vacant slots need filling. The cost of gearing up our personnel to expand our outreach is marginal compared to “bridges to nowhere” or F-22s. More creative recruiting of Arab-American students could help jump-start a personnel buildup. Third, the visa barrier. Often underappreciated is the fact that for- eigners’ first impression of the U.S. is our visa and customs process. We must maximize the security element of visa issuance without insulting those we seek to influence. The assistant secretary for consular affairs must be enlisted in Under Secretary Hughes’ PD efforts to present a polite and wel- coming face to the world, even as we tighten our entry procedures. In short, we need aggressive lead- ership at the top to reflect the real pri- ority that PD must have. Kempton Jenkins FSO, retired Bethesda, Md. Death Squads In his book review of Empire’s Workshop (September), Ambassador Dennis Jett gratuitously, and erro- neously, writes that “the death squads we encouraged in Central America are being replicated in Iraq today.” We did not encourage death squads in Central America. Quite the contrary. Do “we” encourage them in Iraq? I doubt it. As for “the myth of U.S. success in Central America,” I note that the guerrillas in El Salvador, despite being supported by Cuba, the Soviet Union and the Marxist regime in Managua, did not prevail. Deane R. Hinton Ambassador, retired Mechanicsburg, Pa. U.N. Corruption I write to thank you for publishing Tom Boyatt’s perceptive article about the United Nations’ culture of cor- ruption (Speaking Out, September). It is not in our interest to be blind to that regrettable reality. When President Truman went to San Fran- cisco to address the final meeting of the U.N. conference giving birth to that new international body and its aspirations for peace and human dig- nity, he said that its charter was a “solid structure upon which we can build a better world.” We should not be blind to its failures if we wish to help restore that body to its original aspirations. Being blind to corruption will not address the bureaucratic rot that it represents. Being blind to the power and influence of long-term U.N. staffers from Third World and unde- mocratic states will not achieve our original aspirations. Many years ago, when I temporarily served on our U.N. staff, I had security people qui- etly identifying delegates as well as staff being financially supported by the KGB and the East Germans, who were well aware that their small bud- gets were inadequate for living in expensive New York. It is time for the United States to revitalize the democracies of the world into a strong and permanent caucus aimed at restoring the dignity, the integrity, the idealism and the influence of the original aspirations of those who created the U.N. There isn’t much time. Tom Boyatt deserves our appreci- ation for urging us forward by re- minding us of facts and not only dreams. Max M. Kampelman Ambassador, retired Washington, D.C. Clean Up the U.N. The September “Speaking Out” by Ambassador Thomas Boyatt con- cerning the United Nations’ culture of corruption was a very powerful piece and right on the mark over and over again. It should be widely dis- tributed. I’ve considered the United Nations corrupt for years. Because of my USAID assignments from Afghanistan to Zambia, I know something about Third World cor- ruption. In many poor countries, corruption is a way of life and a key to survival. On the other hand, cor- ruption at the U.N. is all about greed and personal enrichment. The “Oil for Food” program is but the latest scandal, and it has yet to play out fully. I don’t know if a new internation- al organization of the willing is possi- ble. But at the very least the U.S. government should call for a top-to- bottom housecleaning at the U.N. 10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 L E T T E R S