The Land of Ambassadors

This is Ambassador Eikenberry. He was the AMBASSADOR while I was in Kabul for most of my tour (through July).  In addition to the AMBASSADOR, we also had four other ambassadors - Ambassador Wayne, Ambassador Keith, Ambassador Todd, and Ambassador Klemm.  I keep using the word ambassador because I want you to feel what it is like to work surrounded by AMBASSADORS.  Good points: lots of leadership models, lots of time to interact with the front office.  Bad points: lots of different people in leadership with different styles, lots of time you have to interact with various parts of the front office.  So overall, a wash.  But lots of good lessons learned for sure - and I liked my job and working with them.   

In addition to the ambassadors, for the first part of my tour the Director for Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communications was David Ensor.  David is great and is now heading up VOA.  He was a CNN war correspondent for years and brought a different perspective (i.e. not government) to the mix - very valuable since in the foreign service, we can sometimes see only the Foreign Service way. He was a fabulous boss and I consider him a friend and mentor. (please ignore my hair in this photo - it was probably the windiest day I had ever seen in Kabul and we were at a reception outside). 
Then in the last half of my tour, all of the Ambassadors except one were replaced.  AMBASSADOR Crocker entered (a legend in the foreign service - served in Iraq and Pakistan too), Ambassador Cunningham, Ambassador Pearce, and Ambassador Olson (not pictured).  Again, new leadership styles - to teache you how to adapt and work with new people. It was a challenge to learn the new system that immediately was in place, but luckily Afghanistan remains a high priority so the personnel are good that are selected for leadership.

And then completing the 2011-2012 team was Eileen O'Connor,  who I also was lucky to work with. I sound a bit like Pollyanna (I am so GLAD I got to work with each of you) but actually I do think working with each of these people taught me a lot. And Eileen, the first senior woman in the embassy during my tenure, was especially important for me (see previous post - The Lady Office) because it is great to see a woman navigate the senior halls and she does it with a lot of grace. 

Yes, I am wearing the same shirt - it is Kabul, not a lot of clothes in my closet!

So overall, a great experience.  Taught me a lot for what comes next - you always have a boss unless you are the President.  Learning how to work with each of them in their various incarnations is critical to succeed in any career, but especially one like the foreign service where you see the same people in different roles all the time.  

Opening the Exhibit at Babur Gardens - In Small Things Remembered

Sunset from Babur Gardens.

Above is a photo taken the evening of an opening of the USG-sponsored exhibit, In Small Things Remembered,  which is a history of U.S. Afghan relations over the past 100 years or so.  I had planned to write about the opening, the beautiful Babur Gardens, the students and government officials who attended, the security and even the food.   

However, last night I was eating a late night cupcake with a friend after she put her daughter to bed (stay with me here!) , and I was talking about my next post, Buenos Aires.  I am anxious that the work won't be as exciting as Afghanistan.  Hopefully it won't be as many hours nor have the same time pressures, but she asked me what I expected.  

"What do you do as a cultural affairs officer?"

So I thought, let me show her what they are doing in Afghanistan.  I told her how the Cultural Affairs Section sponsors exchanges for high school students, college students, and professionals, provides english language teaching resources, and gives grants to organizations working to support civil society (along with a million other things - but I didn't want to describe EVERYTHING).  Then I thought, let me show her this exhibit from Afghanistan that we sponsored as an example - and we ended up on the photos.   

And I was struck by this one.  

 The United States sent a U.S. pianist (on left) for exchange with Afghan musicians.  The man on the right is a cultural affairs officer.  The pianist played music by Chopin, Charles Ives, and Beethoven for an Afghan audience in the 1960s.  I am certain her life was changed forever, and she opened up the eyes of the Afghan musicians she met to all sorts of possibilities. 

The fact that this exchange happened kind of amazes me and I can only imagine the impact it had. While it might seem small, I am sure there are Afghans who remember this.  It was the same in India, I always met Indians of a certain generation who remembered the American libraries and events from when they were younger.  

I also was amazed by this photo.  

This is a 1950s film showcase in Afghanistan put on by the Americans.  I know they put on a John Wayne film festival in the 1970s too.  What an experience to bring a touch of America to rural Afghanistan.  


In a war zone, you might question what is the value of these kinds of events and activities - but Afghanistan won't always be a war zone and the people need a future. They need experiences beyond Kabul and to know about the outside world.  These programs and exchanges facilitated by the cultural affairs section are central to building long term understanding and providing opportunities to the Afghans.     

Musicians playing for the crowd.

I was thinking press work was where it is at - you are moving fast, writing and engaging with people and your work can appear in moments on television or in the newspaper.  However, these kinds of exchanges and outreach that the cultural affairs side of the house does are much more long term and public affairs work at the State Department is about both.  

*The photos are from the Exhibit in Small Things Remembered and are credited there. 

Journalism and Journalists in Afghanistan

Before I went to Afghanistan, I definitely could not name all of the journalists covering Afghanistan, much less understand how the various networks and papers and magazines manage to cover the entire world with the small number of correspondents in the field.  It is a complicated business hit by hard economic times, and the work they are doing to draw attention to the newsworthy events can sometimes be critical for obvious reasons (draws attention to human rights abuses, shows government crackdowns, helps bring money to support environmental crises, etc).  And I am not talking about the journalists that can't let go of Kim Kardashian's divorce (never thought that name would appear here), but the people risking their lives to tell the hard, important stories. 

After doing the press job in Afghanistan, I have a real appreciation for the journalists.  Yes, the spokesperson has a different relationship with them, but respecting what they are doing helps you be better at the job.  I have heard it said that Spokespersons (spokespeople?) are defense, and journalists are offense, but you are both playing for the same team.  
There are obviously excellent foreign correspondents in Afghanistan - really some of the best - who are trying to report good stories.  They don't always get it right and I don't always agree with their perspective, but they are doing the work.  Over time, I learned to better understand their audience (print versus TV for example) and what the editors will want (by reading what ultimately makes it into the paper or is placed online versus broadcast). 

I never figured out how one can guarantee coverage of a story, or earn column inches - because that is often influenced by the domestic audience and events going on in other parts of the world (for example, Cairo knocked Afghanistan off the map and took many of the regulars from Kabul to other parts of the Middle East during the spring).  But at least we worked hard to show some of the positive developments in Afghanistan - we brought the horse to water - up to them if they can/want to/will drink.

I also spent a year tracking media closely from a specific region and it has given me an appreciation for the journalists who do the work.  The NYT (Alissa Rubin is a rockstar, and Rod Nordland, Carlotta Gall, and Ray Rivera) covers in-depth stories most people can't get into - like the bank scandal or security situation in Kandahar.   Josh Partlow of the WP knows Afghanistan after several years here and has great contacts that you can "see" in his stories.  Many of the UK reporters are doing great stuff, as is NPR, WSJ, and the Financial Times.  

 Then of course, you learn the difference between print and television, and network versus cable.  CNN has a different perspective (Nic Robertson is in the photo) versus an anchor (see Diane Sawyer entry)  who might visit for a few days, but we also have ABC, CBS, and NBC on the ground.  Of course, BBC has a different perspective, as does CCTV, and many of the European outlets that we reach out to - either passing through or based in Kabul.  We have also seen our share of documentary filmmakers, big names broadcasting from one of the military bases, radio broadcasters, independent writers and authors, editors (New Yorker, New York Times, WP, Christian Science Monitor, Atlantic Monthly) and columnists (Time, New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer) and each one wants something different.  You have to understand their perspective and audience before you can figure out how to pique their interests in a specific story.  

It is a complicated business, both being a journalist and dealing with them.  But I respect the profession and hope I get to work again with these journalists, wherever they surface next.