The Foreign Service Journal, December 2010

56 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / DE C EMB E R 2 0 1 0 A F S A N E W S AFSAwas proud tohost a spe- cial fall program observing the 20th anniversary of German reunification and its effect on diplomacy and the Foreign Service. The distinguished par- ticipants in the panel discussion wereRidgway, former ambassador toEastGermany (1983-1985), and General Brent Scowcroft, whowas national security adviser for President George H.W. Bush at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Award-winning journalist and former “Meet the Press” host Marvin Kalb moderated the morning’s discussion. AFSAPresident Susan Johnson and Executive Director Ian Houston opened the event with brief remarks before Houston introduced JensHanefeld, deputy chief ofmission of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Hanefeld, who grew up in Berlin and witnessed the events of Nov. 9, 1989, firsthand, offered his gratitude to theUnited States for its actions leading to the reunification of Germany. Other notable audience members included Annette Lantos, wife of lateRepresentative Tom Lantos who was chairman of the HouseCommittee onForeignAffairs, and Hungary’s Ambassador Bela Szombati. Politics and Diplomacy Conversation flowed easily among Ridgway, Scowcroft andKalb, as each rem- inisced about the behind-the-scenes diplo- matic overtures that led to Germany’s reunification, as well as their own surprise that it had happened at all. Scowcroft recalled that many in the Bushadministration, himself included, had been skeptical of Mikhail Gorbachev’s intentions, worried they might be lulled into complacency by the sweet-talking president of the Soviet Union. The U.S. had limited insight into the Kremlin, he said, which Ridgway later confirmed. “Lookingbackon it,” she said, “wewere woefully uninformed about the true state of the Soviet economy. We were woefully uninformed about the true state of the Soviet military.” When Gorbachev went to EastGermany for its 40thanniver- sary, Scowcroft said, U.S. officials were watching to see whether he would embrace leader Erich Honecker or step away from him. It turnedout thatGorbachev did not do either. “But the fact that he didn’t embrace him, I think, started the Leipzig [march],” Scowcroft said. “And that became overwhelming for the East Germans. They had to open the wall.” And when it became obvious that Germany would reunify, Scowcroft says, the next question was how. Would Germany re- mainneutral? Orwould it choose betweenNATO and theWarsaw Pact? Scowcroft described what he calls a “surreal” meeting during which Pres. George H.W. Bush asked Gorbachev whether the Helsinki Accords permit countries to join any alliance of their choosing. Gorbachev replied in the affirmative,much to the dis- may of his advisers, Scowcroft recalled. Gorbachev spent the rest of the meeting filibustering the questionbut not renounc- ing his answer, which Scowcroft says was “a real breakthrough.” Following that meeting, Pres. Bush went to NATO for dinner with German ChancellorHelmut Kohl, who laidout his hopes for a unified Germany. “I’m with you. Go for it,” Scowcroft remembers Bush telling Kohl. The Role of Individuals Midway through the discussion, Kalb asked Ridgway and Scowcroft to name some of the characters who drove the reunification effort. “It’s hard to overstate the importance of personality in this whole thing,” Scowcroft replied, citing Kohl’s plan for unification that made it appear more like Germany was reassembling itself rather Reunification • Continued from page 51 Jens Hanefeld, deputy chief of mission of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivered opening remarks thanking the United States for its role in German reunification. PATRICK BRADLEY PATRICK BRADLEY PATRICK BRADLEY Amb. Rozanne Ridgway (right) chats with AFSA President Susan Johnson (center) and an audi- ence member after the event. One notable figure in attendance was Annette Lantos, wife of the late Democratic Representative Tom Lantos, who said “the world became once more accessible and unified” after the fall of the Berlin Wall. “It created a whole new possibili- ty,” she added.