The Foreign Service Journal, December 2007

default posture, unsuited as it is to solving the myriad problems that don’t fit a Foreign Legion stance. The vast majority of the world’s 193 countries do not qualify as war zones. True, not all of them are completely stable or developed, and many are not democracies. But they still constitute sovereign nations in the generally accepted sense, with boundaries, cap- itals, elites and economies. This non- expeditionary world — about 180 countries — is the diplomatic “area of responsibility,” where the Foreign Service works to advance American interests. In the “Rest of the World” (to use Pentagon parlance), basic social struc- tures and norms do not exist or are exceedingly shaky. In those places, the host government cannot (or will not) provide perimeter security for the embassy, let alone ensure a safe working environment for diplomats to do their jobs. Nor can the Marine security guard detachment. And as we are learning in Iraq, the costs of hiring private security companies to do the job go far beyond dollars and cents. It is in these relatively few extreme environments that the mili- tary can and should take the lead — and where our diplomatic presence should be kept lean until conditions permit peacetime operations. So by all means, let imaginative Army majors produce and debate papers on “armed diplomacy” at places like Leavenworth’s Combat Studies Institute. Meanwhile, the non-expeditionary core of the Foreign Service should take the lead in con- fronting climate change, mass migra- tions and the implications of the colossal U.S. currency reserves in foreign hands, to name just a few of the serious threats we face. Let me be clear: Political-military issues, including counterterrorism and expeditionary forays in war zones, will remain important. But they should not blind us to the many other challenges that demand much more of the Foreign Service than to be sidekicks, diplomatic wingpersons to the armed forces. Gerald Loftus, a Foreign Service offi- cer from 1979 to 2002, lives in Brussels. Since retirement, he has focused on the interagency and multi- national aspects of defense, with an emphasis on Africa. D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17 S P E A K I N G O U T