The Foreign Service Journal, December 2006

tion after administration had put USIA in the crosshairs of government reorganization in the name of effi- ciency, and it has been costly. Perhaps I am wrong to suspect that Hughes’ timing in returning to Washington was to meet the mini- mum five-year federal retirement/ health insurance benefits sinecure, entitlements not to be forsaken light- ly. Whatever her motivation and efforts, Hughes has done little mea- surable good for public diplomacy, and she has done nothing to correct the impression of disdain at the top for the Foreign Service as an institu- tion. The Secretary of State dismisses as unimportant, if not unworthy, a robust Foreign Service presence in friendly, progressive countries — countries which have become and remain friendly and progressive in no small part owing to our diplomatic efforts. This bespeaks a lack of understanding of what diplomacy is or should be about. It is also an atti- tude demeaning to officers past and present and to the tradition of careful preparation for the important work of diplomacy around the globe. We who view our Foreign Service years in the rear-view mirror have to be grateful that our time was then and not now. And those officers now working and coping with this putative redefinition of their jobs and purpose should take heart in knowing that this, too, will pass. Edmund L. Nichols Senior FSO, retired Austin, Texas Reintegrate the PD Function The October FSJ on public diplo- macy is a superb, timely and imagina- tive issue. As a former FSO who served in USIA as assistant director for the USSR and Eastern Europe, I know the critical importance of the PD function. I lament the sloppy dis- L E T T E R S D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 9