Tearful and feeling defeated, a priest approached Archbishop Desmond Tutu for solace. "Our work for peace and justice is ignored - even undermined, " the priest said. "What can we do?"
Archbishop Tutu gently took her face in his hands, brought it close to his. Eye to eye, he slowly said the three words, "Find your voice."
In the face of aggressive U.S. foreign policy, Americans and others across the globe are finding their voices -and resisting domination, pushing back against destructive policies, and framing alternatives in the public discourse.
We Can Think of No Greater Call
peace: 1. freedom from war 2. an agreement to end war 3. law and order 4. harmony; concord 5. serenity, calm or quiet
justice: 1. fairness 2. rightfulness 3. reward or penalty as deserved 4. the use of authority to uphold what is just 5. the administration of the law
liberal: 1. generous 2. ample; abundant 3. not literal or strict 4. tolerant; broad-minded 5. favoring reform or progress
conservative: 1. tending to preserve established institutions; opposed to change 2. cautious; moderate
"The foreign
service that I quit was not the foreign service
I joined. The Bush administration was not
interested in hearing from people of
ideologically suspect views, like diplomats.
Being the person who tells
Washington, 'Yes, you can do this, but it
will cost this much,' we got written off as
wimps. And rather than be written off as
wimps, we shut up and lost our influence
as a result. - JOHN BRADY
KIESLING
JOHN
BRADY KIESLING is a U.S. diplomat who at the
height of his successful 20-year career in the
State Department publicly protested the
invasion of Iraq and resigned in early 2003. He
now speaks and writes about peaceful diplomatic
solutions to international
conflicts.
Links to Other
Voices
More About John Brady
Kiesling
John Brady Kiesling was a
diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service for twenty
years prior to his resignation in protest over
the looming U.S. invasion of Iraq. At the time,
Kiesling was Political Counselor in the U.S.
Embassy in Athens. After
resigning, Kiesling wrote a book entitled Diplomacy
Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower
(Potomac Books 2006).
Prior to his
assignment in Greece, Kiesling was Deputy
Special Negotiator for Nagorno-Karabakh,
1999-2000; Political/Economic Counselor, at the
U.S. Embassy Yerevan, Armenia from 1997-99;
India Desk Officer, U.S. Department of State
from 1994-96; Romania Desk Officer, U.S.
Department of State from 1992-94; Political
Officer, U.S. Embassy Athens, Greece, 1988-92;
Economic Officer, U.S. Consulate General
Casablanca, Morocco, 1985-87; and Vice Consul
and Ambassador’s Staff Aide, U.S. Embassy Tel
Aviv, Israel, 1983-85. In 1994 Kiesling
received the Rivkin Award, given by the
American Foreign Service Association for
constructive dissent, as one of twelve State
Department officials who pushed for U.S.
intervention in Bosnia on humanitarian
grounds.He won State Department meritorious
honor awards and language awards for Greek and
Armenian.
Kiesling holds a master’s degree
in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archeology
from the University of California Berkeley. He
is an honorary Doctor of Laws (Grinnell
College, Iowa), a member of Phi Beta Kappa and
National Merit Scholar. Following his
resignation from the Foreign Service, Kiesling
spent the 2003-4 academic year as visiting
fellow and lecturer at Princeton University’s
Woodrow Wilson School and the Hellenic Studies
Program. He has spoken at college
campuses around the country. During the
2004 elections, he campaigned with Diplomats
and Military Commanders for
Change.
Kiesling lives in
Athens, Greece with his partner Regina
Tassitano and is researching a book on the 17
November terrorist group. He writes a
monthly column for the Athens News, and has
published numerous articles and op-ed pieces.
He has a grown daughter.
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Visit Brady Kiesling's website and buy
his book, "Diplomacy Lessons"
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