The Foreign Service Journal, December 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2021 25 Our FSOs stood up well to their responsibilities, both at the embassy and in branch offices, as well as on the provincial reconstruction teams. We had no difficulty recruiting FSO volunteers for service in Iraq, and I will always be proud of that. As for preparing for future work in war zones, or with the military in general, I don’t think there is any set formula. Incentives are important. We made sure people who volunteered for service in Iraq were suitably rewarded in their subsequent assignment. And I think it helps to have a certain quotient of military veterans in the Foreign Service. But, frankly, each of these wars has had certain unique characteristics and circumstances, and those, too, help shape the civilian-military effort. FSJ: You were the very first U.S. Director of National Intelligence after the position was created in 2005 in the wake of 9/11 to lead the intelligence community (IC). What were some of the challenges you faced, and what are you proudest of accomplishing as DNI? JDN: The DNI was like a start-up. In some respects, we stood it up from scratch. I thought we strengthened communitywide capabilities. We increased open-source collection and analysis. And we brought the law enforcement community into closer Amb. Negroponte (center) with Secretary of State James Baker (at right) and National Security Staffer FSO Don Johnson (second from left) at an Oval Office meeting with President George H.W. Bush to discuss getting the president’s approval to pursue the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1990. COURTESYOFJOHND.NEGROPONTE Then–U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte (at left) accepting a $31 million donation to the State Department from Ted Turner (center) for the United Nations in 2001. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is at right. COURTESYOFJOHND.NEGROPONTE