10 Years Later...

August 23 will mark the tenth anniversary of my resignation from the State Department. I hope in the coming days to share some reflections on the resignation - and those of two of my colleagues that same month - as well as the work I did on Bosnia and the Balkans through 1998.

My life as a teacher seems far removed from my career as a diplomat and Bosnia activist. Yet my resignation was in many ways the first step into the teaching profession. From my first media appearance on CNN that hot August afternoon, squinting into the camera and hoping I would not embarass myself or muddle my message, I have largely seen myself as an educator. With regard to Bosnia, I most often saw my main task as educating and informing the public, the media, and members of Congress about the genocide in Bosnia and steps that could be taken to stop it. I felt most comfortable in that role - whether it be in an auditorium at Stanford University, in a classroom at the Air Force Academy, or in a Senator's office on the Hill. There are few things more rewarding than seeing the "light" go on when someone finally "gets it."

It could be quite exhilarating to be able to fight for a cause I believed in so strongly. The day I resigned was the most empowering experience I have had. Except for a few minutes two weeks later - when I realized that I had a mortgage to pay and no job and that I had given up the only career I had ever had or wanted - I have never doubted my decision to resign. Leading the American Committee to Save Bosnia, the Action Council for Peace in the Balkans, and the Balkan Institute at times restored my faith in democracy by showing that average Americans could affect change in Washington (grassroots lobbying played a vital role in the successful efforts to pass legislation lifting the arms embargo on Bosnia) and that politicians from both sides of the aisle could take a stand and risk political capital mostly because it was the right thing to do (see Joe Lieberman, Bob Dole, Frank McCloskey, Susan Molinari, and others).

It also could be overwhelmingly depressing when another so-called "safe area" came under attack and President Clinton seemed to blame the victims as well as the perpetrators. The persistence of the Clinton Administration in defending its policy of denying the Bosnians the means to defend themselves and pursuing the de facto partition of Bosnia is, I believe, a dark stain on our nation's history and was a source of deep frustration for years.