When Frank G. Wisner, the former Ambassador to Kosovo treks around the world he’s a diplomatic deal-maker, frequently wearing a dark blue suit and a conservative tie. Today he’s considered one of the State Department’s senior career ambassadors on foreign affairs. Currently he’s Vice Chairman of External Affair for the American International Group, (AIG). However, throughout his tenure as a diplomat, he also served as Ambassador to India, the Philippines, Egypt and Zambia. He says, after graduating from Princeton University, he had the drive and ambition to change the world. That’s when he joined the American Diplomatic Corp. Wisner joined the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer in December 1961, and after Western Arabic Language training in Morocco, was sent to Algiers soon after independence from France.
In 1964, he was dispatched to the Agency for International Development in Vietnam. He remained in Vietnam in the pacification program until 1968, serving in succession as Staff Aide to the Deputy Chief of Mission, Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Civil Operation, and Senior Advisor to the Vietnamese province of Tuyen Duc. “I served within the State Department for 37 years,” Wisner said from his home in New York after undergoing knee surgery. “What I remember most as a young man was having long talks with my father about the Cold War. At that time, America was trying to rid the world of Communism.” Eventually he worked for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during the negotiations with Zimbabwe and Namibia. And under the Carter Administration, he joined Secretary Cyrus Vance’s staff as Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State. As a former State Department official, Wisner worked with Kissinger McLarty Associates, a high-end consulting firm headed by Kissinger, the Nixon-era Secretary of State, which primary does business in the Gulf Region. However, in the beginning, he says, that era was dominated by the shadow of a man no longer there— Frank Wisner, Sr.
He had died in1965, but the influence he left at the State Department and the intelligence community is renowned. Indeed, his strong desire to work for the State Department came from his father Frank Wisner, Sr. and ex-OSS operative and one of the senior members of the CIA. Wisner, Jr. says his family’s roots run deep within the CIA. “My father was involved in the overthrow of the communist government in Manchuria,” Wisner said. “He was also involved in the CIA coup in Guatemala which toppled the government of Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 as well as the 1953 overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq.” In fact, his father Frank Wisner coined the phrase during the Cold War which became the backdrop for the title of a new book called “The Mighty Wurlitzer,” during his tumultuous years as “the first chief of political warfare for the Central Intelligence Agency,” according to a January 2008 New York Times Book Review. Ambassador Wisner says he faced much political turmoil during the years as a diplomatic envoy, but has never come-face-to-face with danger or terrorism as a diplomat. “There were many instances where there were coups and many refugees fleeing various countries, but I never faced any risk,” he said. “I’ve always taken the necessary precautions as a diplomatic envoy abroad.” Wisner pauses for a second. “I have never had any fear,” he quips.
“That’s something that I never worried about during my tenure.” When asked about the political ramifications of the recent assassination of Benazir Bhutto and how it would impact the future of Pakistan and the Middle East, Wisner replied: "Without her on the scene, the way forward is a lot dimmer and harder to grasp.” Last year, Reuters reported that the United States had worked hard to broker an arrangement that allowed Bhutto to return from exile and to convince Musharraf to hold elections and share power with her, and now faces a huge void with its key anti-terrorism ally. But Wisner said the guiding principle for U.S. policy must be: “We don't have a relationship with one person or any leader or leaders. We have a relationship with Pakistan.” He has left an indelible geopolitical footprint in the sand. Always ready to talk about the broader issues of Foreign Policy and the Middle East, Ambassador Wisner is one of the senior gray hairs of American diplomacy. In fact, he frequently speaks at open forums, think tanks and countless universities, particularly Princeton his old stomping ground. Looking back, Wisner said the Camp David accords provided basic principles that led to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty 14 years ago.
He believes that the leaders of today don’t have the diplomatic skills to bring about peace in the Middle East. Wisner said Israel and the Arab nations must find common ground, in order to quell tensions in that region. “Instead, ordinary people respond to the Israeli occupation and repression by supporting and justifying suicide bombers,” he added, “and Arab governments feel powerless to counter such passion, sharing the anguish their citizens feel. Nor in the face of Israeli occupation and repression can Arabs make room in their logic for the right of Israel security.” “The peace between Israel and Egypt – and between Israel and Jordan – has both been amazingly successful. But no one since Egyptian President (Anwar) Sadat has been able to make the case for bringing the cause of peace to the Arab street. The man on the street needs to be convinced of the necessity of peace,” Wisner said. “The notion of peace must be sold directly to the man on the street. This has not occurred since Sadat. Secret diplomacy is not enough. Arab governments need to end their denigration of Israel. Criticism of a country’s policies is one thing, denigration is another; it undermines the spirit of peace as it assumes your opponent cannot be trusted and is not a worthy partner in the region.” Wisner noted that the picture in the Middle East is bleak. “The situation is worse than when I first entered the diplomatic arena in the 1960’s,” he said. “No solution is obvious, but the time is right for a bold and sustained move by the United States.” Wisner argues that the war in Iraq is out of control. “The threat to the Arab governments in turn undermines U.S. efforts against Iraq and meet a direct threat to American security interests,” he said. “I repeat the problem of Palestine is central to the Arab dilemma. The objective of American statecraft, therefore, must be to contain the Palestinian problem and point the parties toward a settlement.
On this, I want to make a few points. Wisner continues to press his point. “First, peace between Israel, Palestine and the Arabs is still possible,” he added. “Beirut shows that the willingness for peace exists. But the potential of the conflict to spread is real.” Wisner noted that political gamesmanship being played out in Middle East could be dangerous. “We now have non-state actors at play, carrying out the violence; these actors cannot be displaced unless Palestinians believe there is hope and trust with their own authorities,” he said. “Such hope will not exist until both sides return to the negotiating table. This will be very difficult, of course. However, a cease-fire done in the abstract and without political goals is doomed to fail.” Wisner believes that the United States needs to cultivate real regional partners. “We must respond to the needs of moderate Arab regimes, just as America needs to address Israel’s requirements for peace,” he said. “Among Arab parties, the Palestinians have to take a place. I have no time for the deceit and double-dealing.” Wisner said the united States have critical interests in Saudi Arabia and we must maintain our relationship of a half-century’s standing. He said that America has neglected our bond with the Saudis since the end of the Gulf War.
“We need to rectify this. Saudi Arabia faces significant internal problems and there is a role for the United States in helping Saudis continue on the road of change and modernity,” he said. “But in regional politics, we need the Saudis. Saudi Arabia is essential to be dealing with Iraq. Without Saudi Arabia, there can be no Arab consensus over peace with Israel.” He said that the United States should quietly work to shape its relationship with the Saudis, focusing on political interests, and economic ties. “We need to rethink our military presence and addressing quietly our desire for domestic change,” Wisner said. “Without full Saudi government cooperation and involvement, it is impossible to address the issue of politically radical fundamentalism.” Wisner said that the United States must take a more proactive role in the Middle East. “Without the presence of the United States in negotiations no other party can bring about peace: not the Russians, not the EU, not (even) the United Nations. There is a palpable frustration when the United States withdraws,” he said.
