The Foreign Service Journal, December 2019

18 DECEMBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL oath is taken “freely and without mental reservation.” Senior lead- ers put their left hand on a bible (or an equivalent of another faith) and with right hand raised ask their God to help themmeet this commitment. The oath compels many things, but key among these are a belief in the rule of law and a belief that the purpose of the exercise of power and diplomacy is to promote, protect and defend the interests of the United States of America. Happily, most who take this oath never face the choice of following the law or following a contradictory order from their leaders. That was no longer true for some of our former colleagues. They met their responsibilities by honoring subpoenas to appear before the Congress even when reportedly told not to do so by the State Department. We admire their bravery and courage. This matters for two reasons: First, Foreign Service and Civil Service employees at the State Department, like our military col- leagues, make sacrifices to serve. It is crucial that they and all who take the oath of office believe in the legality and justice of their service. The oath is their guide to what it means to serve. Sec- ond, U.S. foreign policy is most effective and best executed when nations around the world know that it is based on the rule of law. The oath is the beacon that lights this path. —American Academy of Diplomacy press release, Oct. 22. Women Ambassadors Speak Out Women Ambassadors Serving America is an organization of over 170 current and former U.S. ambassadors who have served faith- fully under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The undersigned members of WASA call upon the President of the United States to ensure that no American diplomat at any level is singled out for retribution for partisan, political reasons. Similarly, we call upon Secretary of State Pompeo to follow the procedures and standards of the U.S. Department of State and to ensure that our country’s professional Foreign Service Officers— who swear an oath to uphold the Constitution—never suffer retaliation for political reasons. President Trump’s reported remarks regarding former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch in a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as presented in the memorandum of conversation released by the White House, raise serious concerns. In particular, denigrat- ing the Ambassador and stating that “she’s going to go through some things” … appears to be a threat of retaliation for political reasons, which is both shocking and inappropriate. Ambassador Yovanovitch is a highly respected Senior Foreign Service Officer who has served the United States with remark- able commitment and distinction under numerous Republican and Democratic administrations. For U.S. diplomacy to be an effective instrument of state- craft, it is vital that the non-partisan, nonpolitical work of the dedicated public servants of the U.S. Department of State be respected and honored—just as we honor the contributions of U.S. military service members and other government colleagues. That respect must begin at the highest levels of U.S. leadership, and be communicated consistently to international audiences, in private as well as public communication. To do otherwise is to undercut U.S. diplomatic efforts and the safety of U.S. personnel worldwide. —Women Ambassadors Serving America October press release. USAID: In Support of Colleagues Under Siege As former Foreign Service Officers, civil servants and political appointees with the U.S. Agency for International Development, we have served under both Republican and Democratic admin- istrations, in Washington, D.C., and throughout the develop- ing world. We are writing in support of colleagues now under siege for their work as diplomats with the Department of State. Together, we spent our careers working to represent the policies and values of the United States. …. A professional Foreign Service is key to the ability of the United States to develop and conduct a coherent foreign policy that protects our national interests. All of us, as Ambassador Yovanovitch stated in her deposition, took an oath when we joined to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” and “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” As she said, we feel privileged to serve and are committed to do so on a nonpartisan basis “to strengthen our national security and promote our national interests.” Our country needs a strong and vibrant Foreign Service, untainted by partisan political interference, to strengthen our relationships with countries around the world. If there is one small consolation all of us can take from recent events in Ukraine, it is that the country has been introduced to public servants like Ambassadors Marie Yovanovitch, Michael McKin- ley, William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent.