The Foreign Service Journal, December 2011

DE C EMB E R 2 0 1 1 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 63 American Foreign Service Association • December 2011 AFSA NEWS AFSA Book Notes Event Features Afghanistan Expert BY LIRON FELDMAN, AFSA STAFF O n Oct. 19, Ambassador Peter Tomsen appeared at an AFSA Book Notes event to speak about hisbook, TheWars ofAfghanistan: MessianicTerrorism, Tribal Conflicts and the Failures of Great Powers , published by Public Affairs in July. Armedwith a deep, personal famil- iaritywith theAfghanistan imbroglioas a special envoy that was enriched by nearly eight years of research for the book, the retired FSO delivered a tren- chant and timely reviewof the failedU.S. policy and laid out a practical way forward. The event carriedon the traditionof theAFSABookNotes series, highlighting pressing foreign policy issues as well as the vital con- tributions bymembers of the ForeignService. More than80 active- duty and retiredForeignService personnel, journalists and students were in attendance. Why He Wrote the Book A Foreign Service officer since 1967, Amb. Tomsen’s involve- ment inAfghanistanbeganwhenhewas assigned toMoscow from 1977 to1979, when the SovietUnion invadedAfghanistan. Hewas alreadywell acquaintedwith the region, having servedearlier inboth India and China. In 1989, President GeorgeH.W. Bush sent Tomsen out as U.S. special envoy to theAfghan resistance, with the rankof ambassador, a month after the Soviets had withdrawn, defeated, from Afghanistan. The U.S. expectation was that the Afghan resistance wouldoverthrowthe communist leadership inKabulwithinmonths, declare a newgovernment andproceed todemocratize and rebuild the country. Instead, Tomsen found himself confronting “mission impos- sible.” Washington, as he came tounderstand, was simultaneously pursuing two contradictory policy tracks: one tied to the Pakistani military’s plans to install one of its own clients in power in Kabul, and the other devoted to bringing about a political settlement to unify and rebuild Afghanistan. Neither track offered a clear direc- tion for the future of the Afghan peo- ple, Tomsen notes. It was a recipe for failure, as history has since shown and, tragically, continues to show. An Exhaustive Study Despite his own efforts to encour- age a course correction from within over the years, U.S. policy in Afghanistan remained contradictory and self-defeating — essentially unchanged from 1989. So, after retir- ing fromtheForeignService asU.S. ambassador toArmenia in1998, Tomsen beganwork on this book in an effort to break the cycle of failed wars and policies in Afghanistan. Divided into25 chapters, TheWars of Afghanistan is a thorough examination of the process by which we got to the present stage. Amb. Peter Tomsen, speaking on the wars of Afghanistan dur- ing AFSA’s Book Notes program on Wednesday, Oct. 19. ASGEIR SIGFUSSON Continued on page 70 Dissent: A Job Requirement BY AMBASSADOR JOHN W. LIMBERT D issent is not a luxury— it is a necessity of our job. Our work requirements statement should include the phrase “bring attention toproblems, contradictions andunpro- ductive policies.” What kind of Foreign Service do we have if employees say nothing when they see something that wastes money, endangers healthand safety, or damages thenation’s for- eign relations? Dissent should be put alongside our Service’s core values of duty, honor and country. The question for each of us should be, “Why amI not expressingmydisagreement?” insteadof, “Will I hurt my career if I dissent? Will dissent hurt your career? Many past dissent awardwin- ners—such as Ambassadors Craig Johnstone, TomBoyatt and Continued on page 67