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they share are more important than the issues that divide them. The 

 animosity of conflict is mediated by the goodwill engendered by co- 

 operation. With one tragic exception, there is thus within the United 

 States a history of compromise and avoidance of intransigence. 



This practical philosophical principle can — it is to be hoped — be 

 coupled with two other outstanding American qualities in the pursuit 

 of the overriding diplomatic goal. These two qualities, technological 

 skill and skill in administrative management, have produced in this 

 country a reasonably balanced national economy with diminishing 

 extremes of income, a generally superior level of education, and — 

 probably most important of all — a widely shared conviction that the 

 shortcomings of the American system can be corrected by a combina- 

 tion of political process, social organization, and individual effort. 



One goal of American diplomacy, it would seem, is to resume the 

 export of this underlying optimism of the U.S. body politic. To lend 

 it substance, the machinery of U.S. diplomacy can — and, given 

 Presidential and congressional leadership with understanding of both 

 the compelling need and the dramatic opportunities, vnll — call upon 

 the American skills in technology and administrative management for 

 systems of social service and economic opportunity to be the basis 

 of diplomatic initiatives abroad. 



If, as Ambassador Moynihan has said, the world is in a "hell of a 

 mess," the challenge is the greater and the more imminent. Many 

 recent observers of the American political system have described it 

 as motivated chiefly by crises. Things tend to get worse before they 

 get better. If so, the opportunity for betterment must be near at hand. 



A Framework for a Strengthened U.S. Diplomatic System 



American diplomacy, both in general and with particular reference 

 to its uses and management of technology for purposes of foreign 

 policy, has the opportunity to correct a number of operational weak- 

 nesses. These asserted weaknesses may be summed up as follows: 

 reactive diffusion of effort, neglect of priority elements, emphasis on 

 short-range reactions to crises, isolation from the public and its 

 political representatives, excessive attention to parochial interests, 

 inappropriately structured policy formation, limited capacity for 

 coordinating oVerseas activities of mission agencies, and uncertain 

 mechanisms for playing a constructive and influential role in multi- 

 national institutions. Even if overstated, these asserted defects 

 reflect a consensus of criticism from both outside and within the 

 diplomatic apparatus. 



A review of the 12 studies in the present series suggests that three 

 organizing elements now lacking are required for the task of cementing 

 world peace and the turning of swords into plowshares. These three 

 items are a sense of national purpose in consonance with the thrust of 

 historical forces, a sense of the sweep of historical change, and an 

 appreciation of the what, the why and the how of technological diplo- 

 macy. From these three basics are derived many supporting require- 

 ments. For example: 



A SENSE OF NATIONAL PURPOSE 



National purpose is an expression of national leadership. The 

 qualities of leadership include the ability to listen, to evaluate, to 

 decide, and to persuade and educate. Leadership means choosing 



