Losing one's voice

A had a voice once, but that was before I joined the ranks of the diplomatic service over thirty years ago. Upon taking the oath of office, I lost it, or rather subordinated it as the price of joining the Foreign Service, along with thousands of other Americans who also lost their voices for the same reason. We all made a deal to give up part of our First Amendment right as a condition of employment so that our government would not have to explain why some of 'its own' were saying things that contradicted the foreign policy line of the current administration. This deal wasn't expressly written into our contract, but it was understood that we were to avoid controversy by not expressing our own personal or professional opinions when stationed in a foreign country.

Instead, the Embassy would speak for us. It and the Ambassador were the official mouthpieces for the U.S. Government. If we really disagreed with government policy or internal procedures our agency would take it up in Washington, D.C. with the appropriate office. Everybody knew that if it went that far (to WASHDC) it would invariably end up costing somebody, something. Maybe a job, maybe a promotion, maybe a reprimand, or maybe just some diplomatic 'egg' on their face.

That, in itself, is a very sobering reality. It meant that we self-censored and, essentially, had only one choice...to try to work out our problems and settle our differences 'at post.' Not a bad idea, really, but when you work for another department's Foreign Service like I did, it made the task of settling disputes with the State Department nearly impossible. Why? Because the State Department runs the Embassy with an iron fist in a velvet glove. It is the landlord and building superintendant of the Embassy. It manages all the administrative functions, and its general services office takes care of all the officers' residences. It disburses your funds and pays your agency's bills, and its Regional Security Officer assures your safety. The Deputy to the Ambassador (DCM) is the bad cop to the Ambassador's good cop. He/she will make sure that your agency is 'folded under' the State Department's wing and is an equal member of the 'country team' (if it suits him/her) or marginalizes you if it doesn't.

I spent 20 years on country teams and worked under a dozen Ambassadors and as many DCMs. Most knew how the game was played and would ask for your opinion if other officers were asked for theirs, but when decision-making time came, it was the State Department's position that usually triumphed. Sure, there were instances when it didn't, but those were generally situations where it would have been political suicide to take a contrary position. I can understand how that might sound like 'sour grapes' from an agency representative that had to accede to the wishes of another larger government department, but it isn't. It is truth-telling at its finest.

There were other ways to get one's point across without speaking out, and some chose to take them. One was leaking unclassified information to the press. A second was slow-walking implementation of disagreeable policies. A third was cherry-picking some part of a decision and suggesting that it was 'against regulations' and asking that it be sent back to the lawyers. A fourth was involving others 'back home,' but as I said earlier that could have negative consequences, so one had to be careful. 

What is happening today with the leaking attacks on the new Trump Administration is the work of cowards and traitors. These people aren't patriots or 'whistle-blowers.' They are simply angry, disgruntled spoiled government 'brats' that don't want to play by the new rules or work for the new boss. So, what do they do? They spend valuable government time devising ways to smuggle information out of the citadel. Remember the theft of government documents from the National Archives by  former Security Advisor Sandy Berger in 2003? Berger didn't have to find his voice, all he had to do was ford the stream of permissions for entry into the Archives and steal what wasn't his. The same is true of the leakers today. They are stealing what isn't theirs and should be apprehended and punished. It cost Sandy Berger $50,000, 100 hours of community service, his security clearance and his law license for stuffing documents into his BVDs. 

If honest people like myself are given Top Secret security clearances and told that our voices must be silent on matters of government policy, the least we can do is make sure that everybody adheres to the same rules and are not regarded as heroes of the revolution. Find the leakers. Reveal their identities to all of us and then punish them, publicly. I would stop short of making them wear a scarlet letter on their Armanis, but I would definitely have them suit up in chic prison orange for a few years.

Stephan Helgesen is a retired U.S. diplomat, now author and political strategist. He has written over 600 articles and six books on politics, economics and social trends. He can be reached at stephan@stephanhelgesen.com