Dick Lugar is the Lone Ranger

Nick Cull recently wrote about "Dick Lugar to the Rescue" concerning the Indiana Senator's two excellent pieces of legislation S.R. 49 (on the recreation of American Cultural Centers--about which I wrote in an earlier post) and S.R. 838 on the creation of Science Attaches (which I haven't yet discussed). Nick covered the territory pretty well but I cannot resist a few comments of my own on this legislation.

As I noted, I have already commented favorably in S.R. 49, so it is time to address the second of these pieces of legislation because it is likely to come up for a vote soon. It is yet another inspired idea from the Senator who would have made a great Secretary of State if he could be convinced to leave the Senate where even in the minority he has a good deal of influence.

Science attaches of the past were essentially travel agents for members of the U.S. scientific community abroad because while they ostensibly served in the Office of Science and Technology in the State Department where, as FS generalists who would not know an amoeba from an electron, worked mainly to smooth the travel of scientists from the National Academy of Science and a host of other agencies to international scientific conferences and the like. Perhaps it made good cover for intelligence professionals but it did little to serve either science or diplomacy. Thanks to Senator Lugar's sagacity, by placing the new science attaches in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs they now have a home that fits the purpose ---scientific and technical exchanges. S&T exchanges--like arts exchanges, or indeed any educational exchange have a vital purpose--the same purpose--mutual understanding. So it makes eminent good sense to lodge this function with the folks who do an outstanding job in all of the other exchanges of persons programs that they handle from youth exchanges to Fulbright professors, from professional exchanges like the IV Program to university to university exchanges-- all in the interest of mutual understanding.

The only down side of this story is that Dick Lugar, like that other fellow who came to the rescue, is the "Lone Ranger" it seems. Where are the other 99 (well 98 pending Minnesota) Senators--where are their ideas to rescue American public diplomacy from its current moribund state? The Obama Administration is woefully slow off the starting blocks on Public Diplomacy so perhaps the Legislative Branch can step in, as Senator Lugar has done, to fill in the blanks and come up with some creative ideas.