Local opinion: Celebrating a century of U.S. professional diplomacy

Secretary of State Antony Blinken took time from brokering an Israel-Hamas ceasefire to visit Tucson last month. He stopped at the Western Passport Center and then met with Mayor Regina Romero to discuss the nationwide fentanyl crisis and federal efforts to strengthen the technology to detect synthetic opioids at Arizona’s southern border. His visit is a strong reminder that what happens in Tucson is closely linked to what goes on in the rest of the world. Solving the fentanyl crisis requires cooperation with China, Mexico, and many other countries.

Secretary Blinken’s visit is an ideal moment to reflect on how deeply international diplomacy touches the lives of all Americans, not just those of us in Tucson. On May 24, the United States marked 100 years of modern diplomacy. The Rogers Act, passed in 1924, professionalized and streamlined U.S. diplomacy, giving it the tools to navigate more effectively the complexity of today’s world. Secretary Blinken oversees the implementation of the president’s foreign policy, but he can’t do it alone. Career Foreign Service professionals, from all 50 states, are the frontline workers who carry out the president’s foreign policy agenda, regardless of political party, in our embassies and consulates throughout the world and in the Department of State in Washington, DC.

Millions of foreign tourists flock to Arizona thanks to the work of Foreign Service consular officers. Many Arizonans who travel abroad are issued passports by the Western Passport Center. Few need the assistance of a consular officer, but some do. The Foreign Service’s highest priority is the protection of American citizens. According to the Arizona Commerce Authority, over 5,000 Arizona companies are exporters, many small and medium sized, and many rely on strategic advice from our embassies and consulates charged with promoting American business and investment.

Our professional diplomats rarely make headlines. They succeed when Americans are safely evacuated from conflict zones, when potential wars don’t break out, when terrorist attacks don’t happen, and when our relationships with key countries don’t melt down. They celebrate quietly when they complete critical negotiations successfully or when they help an American business land an important foreign contract. Americans are safer when experienced and trained Foreign Service officers have their fingers on the economic and political pulses of our friends, our adversaries, and those countries on the fence. The fentanyl crisis is only one of the many challenges ahead for our diplomats. We face compelling new threats, including climate change, new pandemics and rising authoritarianism.

During three decades in the Foreign Service, I witnessed firsthand how skilled diplomacy promotes American interests and values. I count among my professional successes helping guide our relationship with Egypt through a period of political and economic turbulence, keeping calm thousands of Americans working in Saudi Arabia’s oil and defense industries after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, and making sure our military cooperation with Oman continued despite an abrupt end to our economic assistance program. Diplomacy can be a dangerous profession. I personally knew four of the more than 300 Foreign Service members who died in the line of duty listed on a memorial plaque in the State Department entrance hall.

Global rivals like China are expanding their diplomatic networks. Now is the time to invest in our diplomacy, not retreat from the world. Yet, the Foreign Service faces budget cuts, staffing freezes and alarming shortages of overseas personnel. The latest Congressional budget deal slashes the State Department budget by nearly 7%, and the department reports an average 13% staffing gap. Even adequately staffed and resourced, with vacancies filled promptly and increased training, our diplomacy will be a bargain compared to our defense budget. Join me in urging Arizona’s Congressional delegation to support a robust international affairs budget that includes full funding for our Foreign Service.