Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir (57 page)

28. April 2009. Baghdad Airport. Greeting Secretary Clinton on my second day in Iraq. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen had been visiting and also came to the airport to greet her.

29. July 2009. Washington. The end of a meeting on Iraq in the White House Situation Room with General David Petraeus, General Ray Odierno, and President Obama.

30. August 2009. Erbil, Kurdistan. A formal meeting with Kurdish Regional Government President Massoud Barzani.

31. November 2009. Kurdistan. Taking a walk in the mountains of Kurdistan, well protected by Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

32. November 2009. Meeting with Ayad al-Samarrai, the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, to discuss the election law. Samarrai’s calm manner helped in the law’s final passage, thus clearing the way for March 2010 elections.

33. May 2010. Baghdad. With Ammar al-Hakim, leader of Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI). Hakim would withhold support for Prime Minister Maliki for months, prompting many to believe he would instead support the Iraq National Party with its Sunni base. He eventually came around to Maliki.

After a career in government, where two-page memos are the norm, writing an entire book is a challenge. It took more than a village to accomplish the research, the editing, and the marketing.

This book is largely about representing our country overseas. It afforded me an opportunity to revisit moments in history, to make better sense of them in the fullness of time, and to reconnect with colleagues who lived those moments with me. I am especially grateful to those secretaries of state—Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton—who proposed me to presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama for nominations to five Senate-confirmed positions, a privilege and an honor.

Everybody has a story to tell, but not everybody has people who provide the encouragement to tell that story. I had many supporters who suggested I write a book, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’m especially grateful to Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution. He offered insights on early manuscripts and gave much needed advice and assistance. So did a dear friend, Wanda Rapaczynski, who was a key advisor in reading and commenting on the manuscript. Bob and Adele Sweet were also early on the bandwagon of support as were Bob and Kathy Owen.

I want to thank the University of Denver and its Korbel School of International Studies for supporting me, in particular Provost Gregg Kvistad, and the staff, including executive assistant Janet Roll. I want to thank my agent, David Halpern, of the Robbins Office, for embracing this project, walking me through the book proposal, and ultimately connecting me with Simon & Schuster. Of course, I could not have found David without my good friend and former colleague Chris Klein. I also want to thank the Academy of Korean Studies for its support of this project and in particular Victor Cha of CSIS.

So many people helped with comments and editing. I’d like to thank Cliff Martin, our work/study at Korbel, for being the first to help turn my State Department prose into something people might want to read. Strobe, Wanda, and Chris Klein helped here too, but there were others. Colleagues and friends Carol and Ken Adelman, John Burley, Mitko Burcevski, General George Casey, Lynn Cassel, Glyn Davies, Charlie Firestone, New Zealand Ambassador Roy Ferguson, Tom Gibbons, Phil Goldberg, Pat Haslach, Walter Isaacson, Eric John, Paul Jones, Edgard Kagan, Yuri Kim, Sung Kim, Andy Koss, Kamala Lakhdhir, Cameron Munter, Brett McGurk, Andy Nagorski, Jim O’Brien, Evelyn Polidoro, Jeff Prichard, Phil Reeker, Laura Rosenberger, Kathleen Stephens, Charlie Stonecipher, and Pam Traas jogged my memory and provided advice and editing. David Brody, a friend and author in Denver, volunteered to edit, bringing an important perspective of someone not steeped in foreign service lore.

I am lucky to have the world’s finest publishing team in Simon & Schuster. Jonathan Karp encouraged me from the start and especially in reading and commenting on the manuscript. My editor, Alice Mayhew, kept me on track with detailed notes and rigorous edits that ensured the flow of the manuscript. She was directly involved in all phases of production, and I join many other authors in saying she is simply the best. Assistant editor Jonathan Cox kept the production going, ensuring deadlines were met, and reassuring me throughout. Kate Gales and Julia Prosser are
brilliantly managing the publicity, while Stephen Bedford is wonderful at the online marketing of the book. Elisa Rivlin, from the legal office, protected me from myself with her careful review. Ruth Lee-Mui provided an excellent interior design, and Jackie Seow a superb cover. Production editor Mara Lurie was an oasis of calm in handling last-minute edits and keeping the manuscript on schedule.

My wonderful children, who shared my life in the foreign service—Nat, Amy, and Clara—encouraged me throughout, as did my siblings Prudence, Elizabeth, Jonny, and Nick. I also want to thank my stepdaughter, Mary, for her support.

Finally, my wife, Julie, provided all the love and encouragement that an author could ever ask for. She read every word of every chapter, provided research, helped select and organize the photographs, and balanced sharp criticism with high praise. Her good cheer and optimism sustained me throughout. Without her, I could not have done it.

© WAYNE ARMSTRONG/UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

CHRISTOPHER R. HILL
is the dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. As a career diplomat, Hill was a four-time ambassador nominated by three presidents. He served as Ambassador to Iraq, the Republic of Korea, Poland, and the Republic of Macedonia and as President Bush’s Assistant Secretary of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

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Prologue

U.S. forces had liberated Nasiriya:
William Branigan, “A Brief Bitter War for Iraq’s Military Officers,”
Washington Post,
April 27, 2003, p. A25, retrieved 13 October 2009.

“
Strategic Framework Agreement”:
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/11/20081127-2.html
.

Security Agreement:
http://www.cfr.org/iraq/us-security-agreements-iraq/p16448
.

Status of Forces Agreement:
www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JL02AkO1.html
.

the framework agreement:
http://iraq.usembassy.gov/american-iraqi.html
.

that money can be a weapon of war:
Commander’s Guide to Money as a Weapons System, Handbook No. 09-27, April 2009.