This month marks the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. So it seems especially an appropriate moment to ask how the "war on terrorism" is going, and how it has shaped the Foreign Service as an institution. The September Journal offer a variety of answers to those questions, from both analytical and personal perspectives.

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For information on how to submit a letter, column or article, or for general inquiries, please e-mail us at journal@afsa.org.

"The Brave New World of Visa Processing"
The events of 9/11 and State's new partnership with the Department of Homeland Security have forever altered consular work.
By Shawn Zeller

"Are We Losing the War on Terrorism?"
Three years after the 9/11 attacks, the threat from terrorism is growing, not receding. It is time for a reappraisal of our strategy.
By Philip C. Wilcox Jr.

"Fighting Terrorism in East Africa and the Horn"
Six years after the bombings of our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the region do not yet measure up to the threat.
By David Shinn

"The Anatomy of Terrorism"
Terrorism is an instrument or tactic – a weapon, not an enemy. Thus, a "war" on terrorism makes no more sense than a "war" on war.
By Ron Spiers

"Kamikazes: Precursors of 9/11?"
Today, 60 years later, the story of the kamikazes echoes eerily in the phenomenon of suicide bombing in the Middle East and the 9/11 attacks.
By Jose Armilla

"Humanitarian Mercenaries"
In the tense days following 9/11, the small U.S. embassies in Central Asia suddenly found themselves on the front lines of the war on terrorism.
By John W. Kropf

"Remembering 9/11 in Manhattan"
An eyewitness account of what Sept. 11, 2001, was like in New York City.
By David Casavis

This issue also includes the following features:

"Appreciation: Hume Alexander Horan, 1934–2004"
By Susan Maitra

"African-American Consuls Abroad, 1897-1909"
At least 20 black consuls served during the Republican administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Here are their stories.
By Benjamin R. Justesen

"Promoting Democracy"
Can a foreign policy apparatus configured to fight the Cold War implement the Bush administration's new democracy-led U.S. foreign policy?
By Aaron M. Chassy

"Telling Our Story: The National Museum of American Diplomacy"
The Foreign Affairs Museum Council is working to establish the Department of State Visitor Center and National Museum of American Diplomacy.
By Stephen Low

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As it has done each summer since 1995, the July-August Journal features fiction by and about Foreign Service personnel.

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Table of Contents
We regret that we are only able to make a few of these items available online here. To read other articles and columns, please contact Advertising and Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger (miltenberger@afsa.org) to order copies of the magazine.

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"Strange Day"
A man recognizes the rhythm of life and death in a rainstorm in Africa.
By Michael E. Kelly

"The Verderer"
A centuries-old affront causes a political officer to plan a meticulous revenge.
By John D. Boyll

"Awakening"
As the slow, creaky wheels of an African emergency turn, an American health worker comes to term with the reality of her own loss.
By Rachel Herr

"Blessed Are the Peacemakers"
An early education in peacemaking in Brooklyn lasts a lifetime.
By Francis Xavier Cunningham

"The Keeper"
Negotiating a peace with Rose Williams' loyal cat is Conrad Campbell's greatest challenge.
By Ricky Rood

"The Gulshan Regatta"
A young man finds that fate plays a role – or at least in a race.
By Mary Cameron Kilgour

This issue also includes the following features:

"A Renaissance Man: Richard B. Parker"
Three-time Ambassador Richard Parker was a Foreign Service officer for 31 years, and since retirement has continued to write and teach. Last month, AFSA honored this Renaissance man for a lifetime of contributions to American diplomacy.
By Steven Alan Honley

"Rebel Raider as Diplomat: John Mosby in China"
As U.S. consul in Hong Kong, the colorful Confederate guerrilla leader greatly improved the United States' reputation in China.
By Kevin H. Siepel

"It's Time to Win the Battle for Uganda's Children"
A perverse war continues to devour thousands of children each year in Uganda, putting President Museveni's international reputation at risk.
By Michael Orona

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In lieu of our usual focus section, this issue of the Foreign Service Journal features a varied selection of feature articles, in addition to our semi-annual Schools Supplement.

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We regret that we are only able to make a few of these items available online here. To read other articles and columns, please contact Advertising and Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger (miltenberger@afsa.org) to order copies of the magazine.

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Cover Story: "Not Quite Family: 'Members of Household' at State"
State's "Member of Household" policy is now more than three years old. How has it fared and what are its prospects in a rapidly changing world?
By Bob Guldin

Special Report: "Great Expectations: New Hires and the Foreign Service"
The new generation is ready to contribute. Here's what's they need in return.
By Shawn Dorman

Features

"Foreign Service Firefight"
An FSO describes a close encounter with Iraqi insurgents on the road from Baghdad to Najaf.
By Philip S. Kosnett

"50 Years Ago in Guatemala"
The U.S.-backed removal of Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in June 1954 was neither the first nor the last such intervention. But different observers have drawn very different lessons from the episode in the half-century since.
By George Gedda

"The Africa File, Part II: Helping to Build Success"
Members share more stories of progress from around the African continent.
By Susan Maitra

SCHOOLS SUPPLEMENT

Finally, our semiannual School Supplement includes "Schools At A Glance," a comprehensive chart offering essential data on educational choices, and "A Village to Call Home – Global Nomads International" by Journal Business Manager (and Foreign Service dependent) Mikkela Thompson. As she explains, children raised in the Foreign Service sometimes feel rootless and alone, but they can find a sense of community through organizations like Global Nomads International.  

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May 2004

Much of what we read and hear about sub-Saharan Africa can be summed up as "tales of woe." And certainly the continent is plagued by crises, both chronic and acute. But there are also many signs of progress, particularly at the grass-roots level, some of which qualify as genuine success stories by any standard. So this issue of the Foreign Service Journal is devoted to highlighting the other side of the African coin.

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We regret that we are only able to make a few of these items available online here. To read other articles and columns, please contact Advertising and Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger (miltenberger@afsa.org) to order copies of the magazine.

For information on how to submit a letter, column or article, or for general inquiries, please e-mail us at journal@afsa.org.

Focus on Africa

"Africa Can Make It – And How We Should Help"
Amidst the daily drumbeat of dire news from Africa, there are also encouraging trends. The U.S. can and should help foster progress; here's how.
By Tibor Nagy

"Africa's Big States: Toward a New Realism"
Africa's big states, with the exception of South Africa, are dysfunctional, politically, economically and socially. Here is a new approach to their problems.
By Marina Ottaway, Jeffrey Herbst, and Greg Mills

"The Anatomy of Change in Africa"
In small events and experiments across the continent, the voice and structure of civil society are steadily emerging.
By Charles Cobb Jr.

"AGOA: Opening Doors"
The African Growth and Opportunity Act has clearly brought about an increase in Africa's involvement with the global economy. But more needs to be done.
By Anthony Carroll

"Mandela, My Hero"
Nelson Mandela is loved and respected worldwide for his courage, integrity and charisma. But his softer side came to the fore one memorable day.
By Helen Lyman

"From the Africa File: The Building Blocks of Success"
Members share stories of progress from around the continent.
By Susan Maitra

The May issue also includes the following features:

"Neo-Imperialism and U.S. Foreign Policy"
The Bush administration has argued that the 9/11 attacks ushered in a new geo-strategic reality requiring new domestic and foreign policy approaches. This is a false and dangerous premise.
By Louis Janowski

"Preparing for Promotion Panel Season"
Whether you view a stint on a promotion panel as a public service or the equivalent of jury duty, here are some tips to make the experience less onerous.
By David T. Jones and Stephen T. Smith

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April 2004

Work force planning is a complex undertaking that does not have the most successful track record in U.S. government agencies. The foreign affairs agencies are struggling to come to grips with it now, as they struggle to recover from the mismanagement of the 1990s, when budgets and staffing were ravaged.

In truth, exigency, not strategic planning, tends to drive the largely discrete decisions and policies concerning Foreign Service staffing. So in the best improvisational tradition of the Foreign Service, we solved the problem of covering FS staffing by redefining it. Instead of a comprehensive, "macro" approach to that theme, we offer you a set of articles written from the "micro" perspective, each addressing a different piece of the Foreign Service staffing puzzle.

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Table of Contents
We regret that we are only able to make a few of these items available online here. To read other articles and columns, please contact Advertising and Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger (miltenberger@afsa.org) to order copies of the magazine.

For information on how to submit a letter, column or article, or for general inquiries, please e-mail us at journal@afsa.org.

Focus on FS Staffing

"Foreign Service Staffing: Editor's Introduction"
By Steven Alan Honley

"DRI: Riding to the Rescue"
After a decade of struggle and attrition, the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative has revitalized the State Department's operations.
By Niels Marquardt

"A Bird's-Eye View of DRI"
A member of the 112th A-100 class describes his experience with the Diplomatic Readiness Initative.
By Bryan Olthof

"Liberating FSNs from Their 'CAJE'"
The Computer Aided Job Evaluation Process is intended to give Foreign Service Nationals their due, but it isn't working as well as it should.
By Alexis Ludwig

"On the Work Force Roller Coaster at USAID"
Following a decade of radical downsizing, the U.S. Agency for International Development is rebuilding to meet new challenges.
By Shawn Zeller

"Competitive Contracting: An Avenue for Improvement"
Competitive contracting isn't a panacea, but it is an idea whose time has come, says a Heritage Foundation analyst. The key is to apply it to government functions where it makes sense.
By Ron Utt


The April issue also includes the following features:

"Remembering Rwanda: An Eyewitness to the Horror"
In April 1994, an estimated three-quarters of a million men, women and children were brutally slaughtered in the tiny Central African country of Rwanda. It was one of the worst cases of genocide in the 20th century.
By Alex Belida

"Toward a New U.S.-U.N. Rapprochement"
If the United Nations did not exist, it has been said, it would have to be invented. Perhaps it's time to reinvent this imperfect but invaluable institution.
By Ronald Spiers

"The Last Flight of the Black Swan"
The tale of a fighter plane brings an American and a Frenchman to a better understanding of their countries, past and present.
By Douglas W. Wells

"Appreciation: An American Diplomat Who Made a Difference"
Warren Zimmermann, 1935-2004

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March 2004

March 19, 2003, marked the beginning of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Saddam Hussein 's regime crumbled almost instantly (though it took nearly nine months to capture him), and the initial euphoria over the ease of his overthrow led President Bush to declare an end to "major hostilities" on May 1. But as subsequent events have demonstrated all too clearly, military victory was just the beginning of the struggle in Iraq.

This issue of the Journal assesses the situation a year later, with particular emphasis on the role of the Foreign Service, as the opening of U.S. Embassy Baghdad on July 1 draws ever closer.

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Table of Contents
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For information on how to submit a letter, column or article, or for general inquiries, please e-mail us at journal@afsa.org.

"Iraq, One Year Later: Editor's Introduction"
By Steven Alan Honley

Speaking Out: "U.S. Diplomacy and Other Sacrifices"
The author, John Brady Kiesling, resigned from the Foreign Service in protest of the war with Iraq .

"Blueprint for a Mess"
The war in Iraq was a triumph of planning and implementation, but the postwar situation is a mess. Here's how it happened.
By David Rieff

"Restoring a Shattered Mosaic"
A veteran FSO who served in Baghdad for six months following the war explains why he is optimistic about Iraq's future.
By Hume Horan

"Can the United States Export Democracy to Iraq?"
Struggling to implant a democratic political system in Iraq, the U.S. is being forced by political reality to make significant concessions.
By Marina Ottaway

"From FSO Intelligence Analyst to 'Citizen Watchdog'"
Contrary to the administration's insinuations, intelligence professionals were misused, both by the senior leadership of the CIA and by the political leadership of the country – not the other way around.
By Greg Thielmann

"The U.S. Occupation of Iraq & Arab Reaction"
Many critics of the current administration's handling of Iraq , both within State and elsewhere, have cited the damage done to U.S. relations with allies and, indeed, much of the world. An Egyptian journalist gives us an overview of what that has meant in the Middle East .
By Khaled Abdulkareem

"On the Ground in Postwar Iraq"
Foreign Service personnel and their family members who have served in postwar Iraq share some of their experiences.
By Steven Alan Honley

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February 2004

Feb. 16, 2004, makes the 100th birthday of Ambassador George Frost Kennan. To celebrate that event, the February issue of the Foreign Service Journal is delighted to offer a set of articles celebrating the life and career of this diplomat extraordinaire-and longtime AFSA member.

Table of Contents
We regret that we are only able to make a few of these items available online here. To read other articles and columns, please contact Advertising and Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger (miltenberger@afsa.org) to order copies of the magazine.

For information on how to submit a letter, column or article, or for general inquiries, please e-mail us at journal@afsa.org.

"Mr. X Speaks: An Interview with George Kennan"
Fresh out of Princeton in 1926, George Kennan joined the Foreign Service. It changed his life.
By Bob Guldin

"George Kennan: A Life in the Foreign Service"
Although his Foreign Service career barely spanned a quarter-century, Amb. Kennan's name remains inextricably linked to the enormously creative burst of policy-making during the Truman administration which set the main lines of American foreign policy for over a generation.
By Wilson D. Miscamble

"George Kennan: A Witness to History"
In the half-century since he left the Foreign Service, George Kennan has continued to contribute to the theory and practice of diplomacy in numerous ways.
By William D. Lewis

"George Kennan in the FSJ: A Compilation of his Writings"
Though varied, the contributions over the years of this scholar and diplomat all feature his characteristic trenchant analysis and passion for the Foreign Service.
By Susan Maitra

Also in this issue, we offer the following three feature articles:

"A Chat with the Director General: W. Robert Pearson"
Amb. W. Robert Pearson believes the Foreign Service needs to develop its most valuable asset -- its people -- into an institutional capability to meet the many challenges of the post-9/11 environment.
By Steven Alan Honley

"'How Are We Doing?' Assessing Foreign Service Morale"
Many factors affect the morale in any organization, be it an embassy or a corporation. But, taken as a whole, morale is a strong indicator of how well an organization is managed.
By Jaime Suarez, M.D.

"Twice Fateful in Tehran"
An FSO reflects on his two tours of duty in Tehran a quarter-century apart. Neither was expected or sought, but both proved momentous.
By Bruce Laingen

January 2004

Over the past 16 months, the Foreign Service Journal has periodically spotlighted each of the foreign affairs agencies (besides State) with Foreign Service contingents: the U.S. Agency for International Development (September 2002), the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (January 2003), and the Foreign Agricultural Service (May 2003). This month, we wrap up the series by focusing on the smallest (and newest -- just a decade old) of the bunch, the International Broadcasting Bureau.

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Table of Contents
We regret that we are only able to make a few of these items available online here. To read other articles and columns, please contact Advertising and Circulation Manager Ed Miltenberger (miltenberger@afsa.org) to order copies of the magazine.

For information on how to submit a letter, column or article, or for general inquiries, please e-mail us at journal@afsa.org.

Our Speaking Out columnist this month, Myrna Whitworth, says it's "Time to Speak Up for the Voice of America."

"The ABCs of U.S. Overseas Broadcasting"
The BBG and the BBC are different animals, but face much the same challenges in the 21st century.
By Steven Alan Honley

"New Directions in U.S. International Broadcasting"
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is building on the proud legacy of U.S. international broadcasting, not resting on its laurels.
By Brian Conniff

"The Voice of America Enters a New Era"
The U.S. flagship broadcaster's unique dual mission - as a tool of public diplomacy and a source of objective news reporting - is more relevant today than ever.
By David Jackson

"A Voice for the Voiceless"
This VOA correspondent's life has been full of extraordinary experiences and a different kind of notoriety.
By Alex Belida

"VOA's Special English Program"
Interesting and substantive, Special English programs quickly became some of the most popular on VOA - and they still are.
By Shelley Gollust

"VOANews.com"
VOA's newest media element aims to reach officials and private individuals with access to computers who can make a difference in their own countries.
By Mollie King

"Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Today and Tomorrow"
After the collapse of communism, this venerable Cold Warrior shifted its focus to the troubled areas of Eurasia and Southwest Asia.
By Tom Dine

"Radio Free Asia: 'A Rare Window'"
RFA has targetted the swath from Hanoi to Hohhot and from Lhasa to Luang Prabhang to demonstrate by example what freedom of expression means.
By Richard Richeter

"IBB Embraces the Digital Age"
U.S. international broadcasting is expanding the essential marketplace of ideas in an increasingly digital world.
By Alan L. Heil Jr.

Also in this issue, we offer the following four feature articles:

"Letter from Baghdad"
An FSO recounts a memorable recent week in Baghdad.
By Beth A. Payne

"Latin America: Back on the Radar Screen?"
The 9/11 attacks derailed the Bush administration's plans for a "Century of the Americas." But now that vision may be getting back on track.
By George Gedda

"Making Institutions out of Projects"
Ad hoc aid projects often work very well. But even the best ones usually don't pave the way for long-term solutions to development problems.
By James Olsen

"Kabul Training Trip"
A diplomatic courier's first mission offers provocative geographic and political sights.
By James B. Angell

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