The Foreign Service Journal, December 2019

30 DECEMBER 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL could happen while those wars were going on. We decided to make conflict resolution our highest priority. Mediation by the AF Bureau brought peace to Ethiopia/Eritrea, Angola and Mozambique. We were very proud of our achievement. FSJ: How was your time as principal deputy assistant sec- retary for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the early 1980s? (Ron Spiers was INR’s head, right? What was it like to work for him?) HJC: I started as principal deputy assistant secretary under Ron Spiers, a great professional and extremely insightful about U.S. foreign policy and what was doable and not doable. Ron left shortly to be U.S. ambassador to Turkey, and his succes- sor was Hugh Montgomery, a senior CIA officer. As directed by Secretary of State Al Haig, he spent most of his time trying to prove that the Soviets tried to assassinate the Pope. That left me in charge. When President Reagan decided to send troops to Lebanon in 1982 as a goodwill ges- ture, I sent the INR analysis that the U.S. troops would be seen as enemies and not friends. I kept repeating it until Secretary of State George Shultz told us to shut up. The endgame was tragic. For my warnings, I received AFSA’s Christian A. Herter Award for Constructive Dissent by a member of the Senior Foreign Service in 1982. I wish it had been different. The Role of AFSA FSJ: You’ve been a large figure in AFSA’s history. When did you join the association? HJC: I joined AFSA in 1955 when I entered the Service. FSJ: How did you get involved with Lannon Walker and the “Young Turks” who were trying to reform and strengthen AFSA? HJC: When I became active in 1971-1974, the “Young Turk” leadership consisted of Bill Harrop, Tex Harris and Tom Boyatt. Lannon came later. I had known Bill Harrop when we were both assigned to the Congo. He asked me to take over members’ inter- ests in 1972. I accepted the challenge with enthusiasm. FSJ: Given your many years negotiating with State on behalf of AFSA members, was it awkward to sit across the table from AFSA’s leaders during your years as Deputy Director General of the Foreign Service? If so, how did you handle that? HJC: That is the beauty of the Foreign Service. One can be both part of the workforce and part of management. When I was Deputy Director General, there were not many difficult issues on the table. I believe the issue of promotion precepts was some- what difficult, but not overwhelming. Where I innovated was to have a strong grievance officer who was under my orders to find solutions at the first level, and not permit grievances to rise to higher levels. We had very few grievances go to appeals boards. FSJ: In your view, is AFSA still strong today? Has its role changed? Should it? Curiosity is probably the most important element of successful diplomacy. I spent most of my career abroad asking questions. In March 1990, Nelson Mandela, recently released after 27 years in prison, enters the State Department with Hank Cohen at the beginning of his first official visit to the United States. COURTESYOFHERMANJ.COHEN