Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
DEPARTMENT OF S TAT E
MAGAZINE
Pacific Russia’s
‘Secret’ Jewel
SEPTEMBER 2007
CONTENTS
S TAT E M A G A Z I N E + S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 + N U M B E R 5 1 5
08 Ramping Up
Consular Affairs tackles passport crisis.
*
Department
16 Inner-View
Under Secretary Nick Burns talks about foreign policy
and the future of the Foreign Service.
*
Office of the
42 Month: S/CT
State’s real-life “24” fights worldwide terrorism.
*
ON THE COVER
Dispelling myths: Vladivostok proves that
Eastern Russia is more than ice and tundra.
Photograph courtesy of Vasiliv Fedorchenko,
Vladivostok daily newspaper
POST OF THE MONTH:
Vladivostok
Russia’s ‘Lord of the East’
12 Great Green
30
26 A Year of Living Studiously
Embassy Tokyo showcases new energy Rusk Fellowship enriches professional goals.
technology.
29 Management Immersion
14 Senior Living Officers learn new ideas from well-run city.
Foundation helps elderly members of the
Foreign Service family. 38 Speaking in Tones
Conference focuses on improving Vietnamese
15 Out in Style language skills.
Director General Staples retires with grace.
40 It’s a SNAP
24 Tracking Performance Department aids overseas family member
Electronic reviews improve appraisal accuracy. employment.
COLUMNS
2 IN THE NEWS 49 RETIREMENTS
49 APPOINTMENTS
NEWSMembers of the consulate general’s dragon boat
team paddle to the beat of their coxswain.
OARS OF SPEED
first-runner-up prize in the mixed men
and women category. The races commem-
orate the death of Qu Yuan, a well-loved
Chinese statesman and poet who lived
Consulate General’s Dragon Boat Team Takes First-Runner-up more than 2,000 years ago. The
During China’s Tuen Ng Festival in international event held at Stanley Bay off government at the time was corrupt and,
June, members of the staff of the U.S. the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. after rivals falsely accused him of treason,
Consulate General in Hong Kong The event attracted more than 200 teams Qu Yuan was banished and threw himself
competed in the 40th annual Stanley Inter- from around the world. into the Mi Lo River. The dragon boat
national Dragon Boat Races, an The 22-member U.S. team, which prac- races recreate the frantic, hopeless rescue
ticed for two months beforehand, attempts of the fishermen who rowed out
participated in three races and took the to save him.
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Losers Are
Seventeen employees of the U.S. Embassy weight loss for all 17 employees totaled
in San José, Costa Rica, have lost significant more than 460 pounds. One group of nine
amounts of weight over the past year, after lost 264 pounds. The group included Astrid
AMMAN
A woman on 10-foot stilts and a juggler gracefully tossing a half- the U.S. Embassy invited more than 800 Jordanians and 200 Ameri-
dozen flaming batons provided some of the entertainment recently cans between the ages of 12 and 30 to a party spotlighting Jordan’s
at an unusual July 4th celebration at the ambassador’s residence in next generation of leaders. The Jordanian invitees had participated
Amman, Jordan. Instead of using the usual VIP-studded guest list, in U.S. government sponsored exchange, training or cultural
programs in past years.
“I wanted to focus on one of the most important parts of our
partnership with Jordan: our relationship with young Jordanians,”
said Ambassador David Hale. “The most valuable tie between two
countries is people-to-people contact, whether through education,
business, technology or the arts. It’s especially fruitful when we can
start these relationships early in people’s lives.”
The Zany Umbrella Circus, a Pittsburgh-based group visiting
Amman for a series of performances arranged by the Amman Chil-
dren’s Museum, provided acrobats, jugglers and a clown. Also
attending were members of the Jordanian national basketball team
and five Jordanian Olympic athletes. A Jordanian woman who
participated in a Middle East Partnership Initiative–sponsored
exchange and an American Peace Corps volunteer in Jordan also
spoke, noting how their people-to-people exchanges had instilled
long-term respect and friendship for each other’s country.
PHNOM PENH
The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh’s the U.S. Agency for International
first Independence Day celebration for Development; Sook Fan Simpson of
the American community featured a the public affairs section and Dana
performance by eight embassy Williams of the general services office.
employees and eligible family members The group performed as the Andrews
whose 35-minute song-and-dance Sisters, Elvis and the Beatles, and
revue highlighted American musical Campbell got applause for her rap
milestones. performance during the C&C Music
The performers were Gary Brazeau Factory song “Gonna Make You Sweat.”
of the community liaison office; Greg More than 400 party-goers clapped
Buford, EFM; Piper Campbell, deputy and sang along.
chief of mission; Jeff Daigle of the The performers received wild
public affairs section; Janet Deutsch of applause and have since been asked to
the political section; Sorphoan Ear of perform at other local events.
As Elvis Presley, embassy employee
Sorphoan Ear gets all shook up.
Ed Warner
This year, the U.S. Consulate General in 46 children and their caretakers at the WRITER/EDITOR
São Paulo celebrated July 4th by partnering consulate’s recreation center. On July 4, the Bill Palmer
with a local children’s organization, the children arrived early at the consulate for WRITER/EDITOR
Maria Helena Drexel Association, which breakfast, followed by an interactive exhibit David L. Johnston
provides substitute homes for of a Brazilian martial art, in which the chil- ART DIRECTOR
impoverished, abandoned, abused and dren were encouraged to participate—and
neglected children. Each of its eight homes in which the adults joined. Additional
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
has a set of foster parents and houses about activities included face-painting, balloon
8 to 10 children, ranging from ages 1 to 18, animals made for the younger children and James A. Forbes
who are referred by Brazil’s social services a scavenger hunt that helped the children EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
or court system. learn American facts, such as the year Kelly Clements
The embassy’s corporate social responsi- America was discovered. Meanwhile, the Annette R. Cocchiarn
bility advisory board, made up primarily of older children met with teen counselors to
U.S. private sector firms, had suggested the discuss issues and challenges. State Magazine (ISSN 1099–4165) is
consulate engage in community outreach, While the homes were painted, local published monthly, except bimonthly in
July and August, by the U.S. Department
and the Foreign Commercial Service, with entertainers, working for free, amused the
of State, 2201 C St., N.W., Washington,
support from Consul General Christopher children. The volunteers’ feelings were DC. Periodicals postage paid at
McMullen and the consulate’s Foreign summed up by one who said, “I want . . . to Washington, D.C., and at additional
Service national committee, spearheaded give back and help out; events like this give mailing locations.
the effort, making the idea happen. us the opportunity.” At the day’s end, the
On July 2, one set of volunteers gave two children thanked the volunteers with hugs CHANGE OF ADDRESS
of the Association’s homes a face-lift, and and smiles, and the volunteers felt they had
another group of volunteers hosted about met a terrific group of children. Send changes of address to State Maga-
zine, 2401 E Street, N.W., SA-1, Room
H-236, Washington, DC 20522-0108. You
may also e-mail address changes to
statemagazine@state.gov.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
State Magazine is available by subscription
through the U.S. Government Printing
Office by telephone at (202) 512-1800 or
on the web at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.
SUBMISSIONS
For details on submitting articles to
State Magazine, request our guidelines,
“Getting Your Story Told,” by e-mail at
statemagazine@state.gov; download
them from our Web site at www.state.gov;
or send your request in writing to
State Magazine, 2401 E Street, N.W.,
HR/ER/SMG, SA-1, Room H-236,
Washington, DC 20522-0108.
Local experts demonstrate Brazilian martial art The submission deadline for the November
capoeira for embassy volunteers and the young issue is September 15. The deadline for
people they were working to help. the December issue is October 15.
PHOTOGRAPHS: (LEFT): ED WARNER; (OPPOSITE PAGE TOP): GISELLE CONWAY; (BOTTOM): ROB WILEY
ford University, is spending
10 weeks with the
Washington Passport Agency,
working the will-call counter.
She said she’s “talking to the
public, presenting the
message, keeping them
calm.” She’s no novice at
public contact, having done
nonimmigrant visa work at
the U.S. Consulate General in
Amsterdam. She is the
daughter of James Gray, a
consular officer who is
presently congressional
liaison officer in the Bureau
of Intelligence and Research.
a ‘book personalization facility’ allows cooperation with (Hot Springs) Mayor Passport Services. “I want to thank everyone
other agencies to focus on processing and (Mike) Bush and city officials to be for this extraordinary team effort.” ■
adjudicating more passport applications, good partners.”
enabling us to help more and more Ameri- The author is a writer-editor for State
cans,” she said in her remarks. The author is editor of State Magazine. Magazine.
Great
Green
PHOTOGRAPHS: RAUL H. ALFEREZ
No Contact
Magnetic levitation bearings eliminate metal-to-metal contact
and do not need lubricating oil. This eliminates virtually all
compressor maintenance and increases energy efficiency (oil
degrades heat transfer). The chillers’ quiet, vibration-free opera-
tion and low starting-power requirements reduce electricity
charges and can allow for a smaller standby generator to be used
in new office building construction.
The new chiller is green friendly. It has no cooling tower so it
needs no water to cool the refrigerant. This also eliminates the
use of biocide and corrosion-control chemicals, which ended up
During Under Secretary Nick Burns’ 27- Soviet and then Russian Affairs—as the old ambassador to Greece and to the North
year Foreign Service career, he has served Soviet Union rapidly disintegrated and a Atlantic Treaty Organization and during
five presidents and nine Secretaries of State. new, democratic Russia emerged from the his long Foreign Service career has made
His career can be described in many ways, rubble. He was a key member of the diplomatic stops in Egypt, Mauritania and
but never, ever as dull. National Security Council staff in the White Israel. In March 2005, he was sworn into
Since joining the Department as a House as the former Soviet satellite states his current office as the Department’s
Foreign Service intern in 1980, Under Secre- transitioned from puppet countries serving third-ranking official by Secretary of State
tary Burns has observed and actively the Soviet master into free nations capable Condoleezza Rice.
participated in seismic changes throughout of joining the rest of the free world. Some of As the senior career Foreign Service
the diplomatic world. He and his generation those transitions were messy, especially in officer in the Department, Under Secretary
of FSOs took part in hastening the end of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and Burns came to office well seasoned in the
the 20th century’s Cold War and the collapse Under Secretary Burns play a big role there, art of patience as a card-carrying, dues-
of world communism, both events symbol- too, where as Special Assistant to President paying member of the Red Sox nation. In
ized forever by the image of German Bill Clinton he took the lead in advising the early August, he took time out from a busy
citizens—not West or East Germans— President on all aspects of U.S. relations to schedule to discuss with State Magazine the
tearing down the hated Berlin Wall. the 15 former Soviet Union countries. state of the world and of his beloved
He held a key position—Director of Under Secretary Burns has been an Foreign Service.
PHOTOGRAPHS: (LEFT): U.S. EMBASSY IN ATHENS; (OPPOSITE PAGE): U.S. EMBASSY IN SANTIAGO
trade and investment going back and forth
The Under Secretary visits Marine Master Sgt. Matthew Dumais, who was on duty at the U.S. across the borders. There is a lot of interplay
Embassy in Athens during the January 12, 2007, rocket-propelled grenade attack. between their citizens, which is always posi-
tive because that tends to build
understanding and confidence. While they
are not best friends, they have a stable polit-
ical relationship.
The United States is in a position to be
influential here because we have a very close
relationship now with India that’s a great
strategic benefit to us. And we have a good
relationship with China. I would say that
we probably have right now the best
relationship with China we’ve had
since the Chinese Maoist revolution in
1949. That’s not to say we don’t have prob-
lems; we have a tremendous trade deficit
which concerns us greatly, we have problems
with international property rights and the
Chinese have problems with human rights
and religious freedoms. So there are a lot of
issues that are negative on the agenda, but
we are finding a way to engage China and to
invite them to play more active and positive
roles on the issues we’ve talked about—
Darfur, Iran, North Korea.
SM: We should not forget Japan in
that part of the world, either.
Under Secretary Burns: One of my
responsibilities as Under Secretary for Polit-
ical Affairs is to oversee our operations in
each of the geographic bureaus, so I’ve spent
a lot of time with Chris Hill and have great
admiration for the way he’s run our East
Asia Bureau over the last 2 and a half years.
Pound for pound, we have no better ally The Under Secretary, right, discusses higher education issues in Chile with Chilean alumni of
in the world than Japan. We have a very Fulbright graduate programs in the United States. Alumni and their American universities are,
close, nearly symbiotic, military relationship from left, attorney Jaime Arellano, American University; creative media specialist Jose Miguel
Tagle, New York University; and educational evaluator María José Ramírez, Boston College.
with them. Japan is completely supportive of
the United States in institutions like the UN,
and we appreciate that. Japan is our
strongest political and economic ally in the if that’s possible. There is a higher degree of anti-
East Asia region. I think you can make the We as a country and certainly we as the Americanism in the Middle East, in most
case that while our foreign policy attention Foreign and Civil Service have an obligation of the Muslim countries of the world, in
was focused mostly on Europe for the to do our very best to be effective in the way Europe and in parts of Central and South
second half of the 20th century, our foreign we approach people, talk to people and America. We have to understand that it’s not
policy attention in the 21st century will be work with people around the world. Nearly just a massive global uprising against Amer-
focused on the Middle East and on South every Foreign Service officer understands ican power, but it tends to be centered in
and East Asia. I think the strategic interests this, but we need to be very respectful of certain regions of the world. We need to do
of our country are certainly now in those other cultures and sensitive to their our best to combat it, and we have to
areas more than in Europe. religious, cultural and linguistic differences. convince people that we as a country can
So Japan is as an ally, a like-minded We as Americans need to convey respect and speak to their aspirations and their interests
country that shares our values and interests convey interest. We can do that, and we can and be a good and reliable friend.
and a vital partner. We work very closely also communicate a very clear and positive The United States is the greatest power in
with the Japanese. They are a member of the message to the world that we want peace, the world. Part of the unhappiness with the
Six-Party talks, as well. They are an impor- that we are about creating stability and that United States in certain parts of the world is
tant part of our effort with Australia, with we want to pay attention to the problems because of the very fact that we are
the Philippines, with the Thai government that people have. powerful. They see our military, they see
and others to have a stable military balance I know from my recent travels in Chile, Starbucks, they see Microsoft as ever present
of power in East Asia and the Pacific. That’s Uruguay and Brazil that the biggest issues in their societies. Yet we can convey a sense
been so important for our country. We are there are the lack of social justice and that we’re not arrogant, that we’re not
right to focus on Japan and make that rela- poverty alleviation. If America speaks to unilateralist, that we don’t think we can go it
tionship as successful as it can be. those issues, we’ll be more successful if alone in the world, that we need friends and
SM: You travel quite a bit around the people think we’re committed to help them allies, that we depend on friends and allies
world, and the general perception is that the with those problems. and we do have shared interests. Over time,
U.S. isn’t the most popular country in many In Africa where there are HIV/AIDS that kind of a more open and positive
areas of the world. Is that what you see in problems, America is the leading purveyor spirit can help to address a lot of the anti-
your travels? of assistance in the world. There is poverty, Americanism.
Under Secretary Burns: I’m a Foreign and we’ve quadrupled our aid. There’s a very We also need to convince people that
Service officer, so I’ve lived in the Arab good story we can tell in Africa. we’re not going to be isolationist. Those are
world; I’ve lived in Africa; I’ve lived in We also have to understand that anti- the two twin tendencies of our policy that
Europe. I’ve seen my share of anti- Americanism is not a mass global go back 231 years—isolationism and unilat-
Americanism. I know that a lot of us in phenomena. In India, for example, the eralism. Most of us in the career Foreign
the Foreign Service and a lot of American United States is very popular, as is and Civil Service understand that we have to
citizens who travel are facing anti- President Bush. We are well regarded in be centered on multilateralism, that America
Americanism. It’s a very distressing thing China. In general, we have a fairly good has to lead in the world. Sometimes you
to experience. It’s not good for our country, reputation in East Asia and the Pacific. If have to lead alone, but more often than not
and it’s not good for our power in the you look at the recent Pew public opinion we’re much better off by trying to win
world. We want to be a power that is poll, the United States has high favorability friends, by trying to act multilaterally and by
well-regarded, respected and well-liked, ratings in most African countries. creating alliances so that our soldiers don’t
PHOTOGRAPHS: (LEFT): U.S. EMBASSY IN ATHENS; (OPPOSITE PAGE): U.S. CONSULATE IN SÃO PAULO
The Under Secretary enjoys a quiet moment with Locally Employed staffer Irene Ralli, who works people intellectually and it robs us of having
in the U.S. Commercial Service in the U.S. Embassy in Athens. people who, in certain parts of the world,
are true experts. We ought to be able to give
people the freedom to spend their entire
careers as China specialists or as Japan
specialists or Arab specialists or Latin Amer-
ican specialists.
I think too often the promotion boards
and the precepts for promotions and what
the Service tells our young officers is, “You
need to be a jack of all trades.” Frankly,
we need to have people in the next
century who understand the Arab
world or China inside and out and who
speak those languages fluently. You only
get there by allowing people the freedom of
choice to focus in their careers.
I’m a respectful critic of our personnel
system in that regard, as well.
The last thing I will say is this. Secretary
Powell did a great thing for us. He brought
all these lessons from the Pentagon and
from his military service on how to
produce great leaders. You train them.
You give them training in the beginning, in
the middle and at the end of their career.
You give them responsibility. You ask
people to be good managers and to
care about the people who work for
them. He was absolutely right about
that. I think the Foreign Service is a
better service today because we believe
more in treating our people well and in
leading and in management.
But on the other hand, we can’t forget
about intellectual brilliance and substantive
knowledge. Again, I think the trend in the
Foreign Service has been not to reward the
person who maybe is our best expert in the
Middle East or China or Africa and whose Under Secretary Burns participates in a roundtable discussion on trade and investment with
Brazilian business leaders at the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado in São Paulo.
greatest skill may be intellectual strength.
We have to reward people like that in our
promotion panels.
I think again of George Kennan, and I’ve Department post. Most of the people in the way we talk about ourselves to
told some of our friends this in the who worked with me were military the American public.
personnel system. You might argue that officers. I learned a lot from them. Just take a I think this new generation coming into
George Kennan was the most outstanding walk through the Pentagon. Here’s a lesson the Foreign Service is as patriotic as any
Foreign Service officer of the 20th century. for the Foreign Service and the Civil Service. generation before us, but they have a lot of
He certainly had the greatest impact of any There is such tremendous pride in the options. They can make a lot more money
American diplomat. And yet he was rather military. Every Pentagon corridor is a and do a lot of things outside the
bookish; he was focused on one part of the Bradley Corridor, an Eisenhower Corridor, government. We need to make it worth
world; he wasn’t a generalist and he didn’t a Marshall Corridor, a corridor named for their while to stay. Now we expect that, to
have a lot of management experience. our campaigns in the Pacific during World be patriotic and to serve, but we should
If you took the George Kennan of the War II. We need to do more of that in the also expect to let them achieve and let them
late 1930s and transported him magically State Department. rise quickly if they are capable of doing
to 2007 and put him as an FS-01 officer in In our own building we need exhibits that. I do think our personnel system is
front of a promotion panel and asked about the history of our diplomacy, about outmoded in that respect. It’s far too rigid
should we promote this young man into great diplomatic achievements and to and inflexible.
the Senior Foreign Service, I bet we would inculcate in our younger officers diplomatic But I admire Harry Thomas who will,
turn George Kennan down because he history, the strength of our diplomatic expe- Senate willing and he is confirmed, become
hadn’t served in three parts of the world, rience. We should take a page out of the the new Director General of the Foreign
didn’t speak six languages and didn’t have Pentagon book, not just in how we train Service. I think he has tremendous wisdom
significant management experience. people—and they are brilliant at that—but and experience. I don’t want to give him
And yet he was George Kennan. He was how we inculcate into the Civil and Foreign public advice, but I’m confident that under
soon to figure out the American doctrine Service pride in the history of who we are Harry’s leadership, we can have a dynamic
called containment that guided all of our and our mission for the United States. time in developing a Foreign Service that is
presidents throughout the Cold War. I’m in favor of a diplomatic history truly 21st-century and modern. Ruth
So we have some people with enormous museum. I admire what Steve Low has done, Whiteside is playing this role at FSI; she’s a
intellectual and conceptual skills in the that a retired ambassador has made this great leader of our diplomatic academy
Department and maybe they are not the effort. I think we should have a museum in over there in Arlington. She’s instituted a
best managers in the world, maybe they the Department that talks about what we do course in A-100, where we bring in our
haven’t served in six different parts of the for the American people. We should let junior officers. Most of their seven weeks is
world, but let them be rewarded on what people come in off the street and visit. taken up with administrative functions, but
they can do intellectually. We have to have Americans who are walking to the Lincoln Ruth has instituted a three-day course to
room in the Foreign Service to reward not Memorial could stop here for 30 minutes teach our young officers about the history
only management brilliance, but also intel- and see what our people are doing overseas, of our diplomacy and the history of the
lectual brilliance. We have a lot of young see what our consular officers do for Amer- Foreign Service. She’s right to do it and I
people who certainly can meet that test. ican citizens when they get in trouble fully support that effort. ■
I’ve worked a lot with the U.S. military. I overseas. Tell the story of the State
was ambassador to NATO, which is a Department. The Pentagon does that The author is editor of State Magazine and
combined State Department-Defense brilliantly, and we need to be as brilliant bleeds Dodger blue.
employee’s view
Vladivostok
POST OF THE MONTH>>>
Vladivostok
COUNTRY>>> Russia
CAPITAL>>> Moscow
GOVERNMENT>>> Federation
PHOTOGRAPHS: (ABOVE): YURIY AIALTSCV; (OPPOSITE PAGE): U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL IN VLADIVOSTOK
and Vladivostok becomes a reporting
of harsh winters, decaying Soviet infrastructure, officer’s dream.
post-Communist suspicion and social isolation.
Dispelling the Myths
Such concerns are more Cold-War myth than As for the myths: Vladivostok is not
Siberia. Located at the same latitude as
present-day reality. Boise, Idaho, it has warm summers, beau-
In fact, serving at the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok tiful springs and autumns, and cold but
clear winters. The city has a European-style
gives Foreign Service officers the chance to manage downtown dating from the late 19th
century. Consulate staff live in new,
their own section; travel widely throughout one of spacious townhouses with a magnificent
the world’s largest, most awe-inspiring consular view over the Golden Horn Bay.
The consulate enjoys excellent relations
districts; and help promote U.S. investment in with official and ordinary Russians. The
U.S. Navy and a Washington, D.C., hip-hop
Russia’s booming oil and gas industry. band both experienced a warm welcome
In the last year alone, the consulate has hosted business forums on energy-laden when they visited this international port
hosted 1,200 officers and sailors from the Sakhalin Island, organized NATO’s first- city in July. Russia’s major metropolitan
command ship of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, ever public diplomacy rally on Russian center on the Pacific, Vladivostok is home
worked to preserve the habitat of the territory and supported programs to to six consulates, several international
Siberian tiger and the Amur leopard, co- decommission Soviet-era nuclear nongovernmental organizations and a
number of intrepid expatriates. Finally, later to facilitate delivery of American Lend- Self-Reliance
Korea, Japan and China are just an hour or Lease assistance to the USSR; more than Vladivostok’s 700,000 inhabitants are
two away. half of this crucial aid came through Vladi- nine hours from Moscow by plane, 9,300
The United States has been engaged in vostok. The consulate closed again in 1948 kilometers away by train and seven time
Pacific Russia—the Russian Far East—since during the dawning days of the Cold War. zones away by phone. This remove has bred
1856, when a U.S. commercial agent was Shortly thereafter, Vladivostok was declared a spirit of self-reliance among Russia’s Far
posted to the town of Nikolaevsk. That posi- a closed city, and even Russians needed Easterners, whose lives are often as affected
tion then moved to Vladivostok (founded in special permission to visit it. by events in China and Japan as by those in
1860), where it became a trade mission and, With the fall of the Soviet Union, the their own capital. For them, the Trans-
ultimately, a full-fledged consulate. present consulate reopened in 1992, and Siberian Railroad begins, rather than ends,
After the Bolsheviks gained control over marks its 15th anniversary this month. in Vladivostok.
the independent-minded Russian Far East In addition, this year the United States At the consulate, 7 American and 30
in 1923, the consulate shut its doors. They and Russia celebrate 200 years of diplo- local employees serve a consular district
reopened, however, less than two decades matic relations. twice the size of India. The consul general,
public affairs officer, management officer,
enthusiast, offering trekking and cally diverse regions. They serve U.S.
interests in Pacific Russia as part of the U.S.
Bering Sea, Pacific the entire Russian Far East. Looking specifi- and a theater for young performers.
Russia and the U.S. cally at Vladivostok, as part of its bid to Pacific Russia is also an unparalleled
Northwest have much host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation playground for the outdoor enthusiast,
in common, from trade forum in 2012, the city is drawing up plans offering trekking and camping, fly-fishing,
links to environmental for several grand civil engineering projects, helicopter skiing and tiger-watching. In
concerns. But the two including two major suspension bridges, a Vladivostok alone, one can cross-country
regions remain in many refurbished airport and new highways, ski in the botanical garden, fish off the
ways worlds apart. One of the consulate’s hotels and conference centers. municipal piers and paraglide on the city’s
primary goals is to reconnect the frontiers grassy slopes.
between our two countries via mutually Day to Day The city’s cultural and recreational
beneficial trade, military collaboration, Life in Vladivostok does have its promise is matched by its growing political
cultural exchanges, academic research and challenges. Air connections are limited and and economic importance. With the rise of
political cooperation. expensive, infrastructure does not meet China, the unpredictability of North Korea,
This is a particularly exciting time to be Western standards and the diplomatic the impact of Siberian and Russian Far East
working in the Russian Far East. The $12 community is small. English-language hydrocarbons on international energy secu-
billion Sakhalin-1 project is one of the education opportunities are limited, rity and Russia’s aggressive reemergence
world’s most ambitious oil and gas develop- although the consulate’s dependent onto the world stage, Vladivostok offers a
ments and one of the largest single foreign children have attended Russian schools rare vantage point on some of the 21st
direct investments in Russia. The consulate with good results. century’s most important developments.
is actively engaged with U.S. firms working But the city also has a great deal to offer. For those adventurous officers who want to
in the island’s burgeoning petroleum sector. On any night, one can attend classical shape some of those developments,
To serve the hundreds of Americans who music performances by Russia’s top Vladivostok, the reemerging capital of
now live and work on Sakhalin, the State musicians, see acting troupes or dance Pacific Russia, is for you. ■
Department in 2006 opened the first-ever ensembles or hear an American jazz band
U.S. consular agency on Russian soil. or a symphony orchestra from South Korea. Dan Hastings is the public affairs officer
Beyond Sakhalin, the Russian Young families can see circuses that draw and Dan Kronenfeld is the political-economic
government is planning a $16 billion infra- Russia’s top stars, a nationally renowned officer at the U.S. Consulate General in
structure development program covering puppet theater, children’s dance ensembles Vladivostok.
in Tones
Conference Focuses on Improving
research center, and the Foreign Service
Institute organized an international gath-
ering of Vietnamese-language specialists
from Australian, Vietnamese and American
universities and two U.S. government
language schools April 1–3, 2007.
The conference, titled “Tôi Không Hiu:
Improving Students’ Speaking Success” in
Vietnamese Language Skills Vietnamese, featured academics and
teachers presenting papers and demonstra-
By Jane Kamide and Cheryl Hendrickson tions on the complex tone and vowel
Language skills are critical for State Department employees, but systems of spoken Vietnamese to enhance strategies for teaching
some languages are more difficult to learn than others. In pronunciation to U.S. foreign affairs professionals serving abroad.
particular, tonal languages such as Vietnamese can be a major chal- Ambassador Greta Morris, dean of FSI’s School of Language
PHOTOGRAPHS: ROBERT E. KAISER
lenge for speakers of English. Studies, welcomed conference participants, and FSI Director Dr.
Effective communication in a tonal language depends largely Ruth Whiteside made the opening remarks. Dr. Anita Bowles,
on the speaker’s ability to accurately produce the tones that distin- CASL’s principal organizer for the gathering; Dr. Charlie Miracle,
guish words. For example, in Vietnamese, the word ba can mean chair of East Asian and Pacific Languages; and Duy Ho of FSI’s
“grandmother” or “three”, depending on the tone. Because English Vietnamese Language Section facilitated the conference and the
does not use tone in this manner, it can be difficult for learners to lively discussions that occurred after each of the 15 presentations.
accurately distinguish these tones and produce them correctly. This conference was the first of its kind on teaching Vietnamese
pronunciation to English speakers. The presence of language colleagues from around the world. The conference built a durable
professionals from around the world and from different work international network of Vietnamese-language professionals who
settings ensured that different perspectives on the tough issues are staying in contact by e-mail and will undoubtedly continue to
were heard. Dr. Thannh-Huong Le, assistant professor at the share their professional experiences and teaching strategies.
Defense Language Institute, said the diversity of participants from
abroad and domestically ensured an enriching environment, which Further Efforts
made the conference successful. Meanwhile, FSI’s School of Language Studies is implementing
“We all share similar goals and professions, so each paper an ambitious program of staff and program development to
contributed to the total knowledge of each participant,” he added. address cultural and linguistic changes in Vietnam, and to provide
Similarly, Dr. Kimloan Hill, from the University of California- diplomats new tools to carry out Transformational Diplomacy in
San Diego, said the conference was the first Vietnam. Working with the bureaus of East Asian Pacific Affairs
time she had met with so and Human Resources
many Vietnamese teachers and U.S. missions in
simultaneously.
Other participants noted
Effective communication in a Hanoi and Ho Chi
Minh City, the School
that a key conference theme tonal language depends largely of Language Studies
was that teaching strategies
work better when selected on the speaker’s ability to has developed a “Viet-
namese Action Plan”
based on the students’
learning styles. The accurately produce the tones to explore ways to
enhance training at
conference papers and
demonstrations highlighted
that distinguish words. FSI and in Vietnam.
A School of Language
strategies that might be effec- Studies working group
tive in varied contexts. For example, tones might be taught by is looking at such approaches as bringing instructors from
relating them to musical notes, creating visual aids such as vowel Vietnam to supplement the instructional staff at FSI, providing
and tone charts, or illustrating proper tones in poetic rhythms. end-of-training immersions in Vietnam and even extending the
length of training for this difficult language. Finally, the School
Lasting Impact of Language Studies has also collected and written new material
The conference produced several initiatives. CASL and FSI will that focuses on topical issues and job-specific language for
jointly consolidate the conference materials to identify best Department employees doing public diplomacy, consular, security
practices for teaching Vietnamese to English speakers. In addition, and other work. ■
FSI’s Vietnamese Language Section teaching staff has begun
discussing innovations they would like to bring to the teaching of Jane Kamide is the Department’s representative on CASL’s U.S. gov-
that language’s phonology—improvements resulting from the ernment board of directors and Cheryl Hendrickson is a knowledge
conference’s information and their fruitful interchange with transfer consultant for the board.
PHOTOGRAPH: ED WARNER
GETTING RESULTS
Since terrorists operate regardless of borders, the
RSI concept allows the U.S. government to use coun-
terterrorism programming to strengthen regional and
transnational partnerships and operate regionally.
“Terrorists exploit ungoverned and undergoverned
spaces, so the RSI provides programs that can help
countries better manage these areas,” said Phipps.
The Antiterrorism Assistance program, for
example, provides partner countries with training,
equipment and technology to increase their capabili-
ties to find and arrest terrorists, and to build the kind
of cooperation and interactivity among law enforce-
ment officers that has lasting impact. For example,
efforts of the RSI in East Africa led the ATA program
to work with Kenya on developing a self-sustaining
maritime security program.
GLOBAL BATTLE
Fighting terrorism requires a global strategy and
response. S/CT works to advance U.S.
counterterrorism through international
organizations such as the United Nations and
regional organizations such as the Organization of
American States. Partnering with multilateral organi-
Above: A journalist, left, and zations allows S/CT to create an international
S/CT officer Erik Rye, then framework of counterterrorism requirements, prac-
PHOTOGRAPHS: (TOP): ERIK RYE; (BOTTOM): MICHAEL GROSS; (OPPOSITE PAGE): JILL MURPHY
director of the Hostage
Working Group in Baghdad,
tices and mechanisms to coordinate globally and
visit a site in Iraq where an regionally. In addition, international cooperation is
American hostage was res- essential to such work as intelligence collection, law
cued. Right: Ambassador Dell
L. Dailey is sworn in as the enforcement coordination, financial sanction impo-
Department’s coordinator for sition and financial regulation.
counterterrorism by Secretary With the Bureau of International Narcotics and
of State Condoleezza Rice.
Law Enforcement Affairs, S/CT cochairs the
interagency Terrorist Finance Working Group.
TFWG identifies the countries most vulnerable to
terrorist financing and evaluates priority countries’
counterterrorism finance and anti–money
laundering regimes. TFWG offers nations tailored
technical assistance on terrorist financing,
supporting U.S. and international efforts to block
terrorists’ funding and dismantle their financial
networks.
S/CT’s Terrorist Interdiction Program helps
priority countries enhance their border security. TIP
provides participating countries with a computerized
From left: The crash of an embassy vehicle in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, killed one person, but the crash shown at center, involving a mission vehicle in Santo
Domingo, caused no injuries. Both involved single-vehicle rollovers of sport utility vehicles, but in the Santo Domingo crash seat belts had been used. Right:
If you ride with the Secretary, you WILL buckle up.
Reducing the Odds Less publicized was the serious crash this Overseas, inadequate road design and
Seat belts are the primary safety device year involving one of the Department’s construction, weak or nonexistent traffic
that protects vehicle occupants during a own: Under Secretary of State Nicholas enforcement and aggressive host country
crash. While they work together with air Burns. He was a passenger in an embassy drivers all increase the daily risk of driving.
bags, seat belts are more important. Research SUV in Israel, traveling about 70 miles per Many regions do not have highly developed
published by the National Highway Traffic hour when the driver lost control of the emergency response systems and advanced
Safety Administration indicates that vehicle in a heavy downpour. The vehicle trauma centers. The World Health Organi-
lap/shoulder safety belt use reduces the risk struck a guardrail nearly head-on, spun zation reports that as developing countries
of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car around across the highway and hit a increase vehicle use, road traffic injuries are
occupants by 45 percent and reduces the risk concrete barrier. Unlike Governor Corzine, expected to become the third-leading cause
of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. Under Secretary Burns walked away from of death and disability worldwide by 2020.
For light trucks, including popular sport the crash with only bruised and broken Department policy and a presidential
utility vehicles, safety belts reduce the risk of ribs. The difference: seat belt use. executive order require all occupants of
fatal injury for occupants by 60 percent and “I truly believe I would have been official vehicles to wear a seat belt. In your
moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent. severely injured or worse had I not worn personal vehicle, it is a choice—your
The severe injuries suffered by New my seat belt,” he said later. choice—to protect yourself or not. On your
Jersey Governor Jon Corzine in a high- next trip, wearing a seat belt might save
speed crash on the Garden State Parkway Walk Away your life. Seat belts reduce the chance of
recently were in the media spotlight. A Even in serious accidents such as vehicle being killed or seriously injured in an acci-
passenger in an SUV that hit a guardrail, rollovers, the Department’s overseas experi- dent by more than half.
Corzine was not wearing his seat belt. His ence confirms that we’re more likely to walk Improve your odds today by buckling-
injuries, including a broken leg, broken away when we wear a seat belt. In 10 single- up—every ride, every day. ■
collarbone and 11 broken ribs, put him in a vehicle rollover crashes since 2004, 15
trauma center for 18 days. people who were wearing seat belts had The author is the director of the Safety,
relatively minor or no injuries while the one Health and Environmental Management
person not wearing a seat belt was killed. division.
BY THE NUMBERS
Cumulative U.S. Lives Saved by Seat Belt Use
250,000
Since 1975, an
200,000
estimated 210,000
lives have been 150,000
saved in the U.S. 100,000
alone through the
use of seat belts. 50,000
0
19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20
Source: NHTSA Traffic Safety 75 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05
-9
Facts, 2005 Data 5
sept 05 oct 17
Mezzo Soprano Carol Weiss Riches, Dr. Stephanie Bruning,
Music in the Parlor Lecture/Recital, American-
Indian Music
sept 19
Nov 07
Second Annual Talent Show
Steven Kline and Hawaiian
Dance Troupe
PHOTOGRAPH: JOHN BENTEL
Oct 03
Magictainment
*FOREIGN SERVICE
Busbee, Jack W.
Columbus, Cris
retirements
Chamberlin, John W.
Emmerson, Karen L.
Fergin, Gregory G.
Flavin, Jefferson J.
Gray, Jane
Kennon, Mark R.
Kepp, Elizabeth Jane
Leclerc, Norman J.
Rabby, Avraham
Rowell, Sue Ann
Smith, Carolyn A.
Smith, Janice G.
Stigliani, Patricia McGuir
Winegar, John Michael
CIVIL SERVICE
Allen, Harry Michael
Anderegg, John A.
Berzins, Patricia C.
Bullock, Joseph
Burnett, Irene C.
Clifford, Kathleen M.
Dale, Cathleen B.
Gibney, Jon M.
Grummon, Stephen Ray
Hall, Deborah A.
Keffer, Donald C.
Lyle, Barbara M.
Mickens, Henrietta D.
Nichols, Joyce F.
Persiko, Robert D.
Rohlf, John S.
Smarr, Marilyn O.
Suslov, Ilya
Taylor, Donna R.
Thyen, Lloyd N.
Questions concerning employee deaths should be directed to the Office of Casualty Assistance at
(202) 736-4302. Inquiries concerning deaths of retired employees should be directed to the Office of
Retirement at (202) 261-8960.
Meeting Challenges
As Under Secretary for Political Affairs, It’s been a rough year for our colleagues producing and mailing the passport books
R. Nicholas Burns is the Department’s in Consular Affairs, as an unprecedented themselves. The separate printing center
senior Foreign Service officer. Since joining demand for passports collided head on frees traditional passport agencies to focus
the Department in 1980, he has traveled with reduced budgets and the requirements on processing and adjudicating passport
many diplomatic roads and witnessed of the Western Hemisphere Travel applications.
monumental changes throughout the You could say CA answered the crisis
world. He and his generation of FSOs with new concrete and glass—and old-
helped end the 20th century’s Cold War, fashioned heart.
and then pitched in to help rebuild the If you enjoy a thrill a minute, nonstop
chaos that resulted from the disintegration action and ominously ticking clocks, watch
of the old Soviet Union. He and his Jack Bauer on TV’s 24. If your tastes run to
colleagues have since practiced the the realistic side, step into the Office of the
diplomatic arts on the front lines of several Coordinator for Counterterrorism for a
hot wars, some brief, others not so brief. look at how the Department wages its
Under Secretary Burns has walked the share of the war on terror. Their weapons
corridors of the White House, climbed the are more likely to be Dells than Glocks, but
steps of the Acropolis in Athens and these professionals still take disciplined and
marveled at the Egyptian pyramids in Giza. determined aim at America’s enemies.
He has advised presidents, hosted kings Last but never least, a final salute to our
and prime ministers and worked with colleagues en route to their final posting:
generals and admirals, all with his eye on Anthony G. “Tony” Freeman; Alfred
the Foreign Service grail—applying official Giovetti; Martin Y. Hirabayashi; Richard Lee
foreign policy throughout the world in Hough; Dorothy M. Jester; Vernon L. Merrill;
ways that best serve the interests of the S. I. Nadler; Elizabeth Steere Routt; Harold
United States of America and its people. Initiative. However, under the calm leader- C. Vedeler; Thomas G. Weston; and Robert
In an exclusive State Magazine Inner- ship of Assistant Secretary Maura Harty Einar Zimmerman.
View, Under Secretary Burns shares his and with an outpouring of volunteer
vision of the world—hot spots, bright support from throughout the Department,
spots, simmering spots and everything in CA responded to the challenge with typical
between—and also describes what the zeal. Opening the new Passport Center in
Foreign Service must be to meet the chal- Hot Springs, Ark., also helped. The center Rob Wiley
lenges of the 21st century. has one job and one job only—physically Editor-in-Chief
COMING IN OCTOBER
>>> FSI Celebrates 60th Anniversary
>>> Civil Service Rotation Mid-Term
>>> “The Best Advertisement for America”
>>> Developing LES Leadership Skills
... and much more! Questions? Comments?
statemagazine@state.gov