| Philip S. Goldberg | |
|---|---|
| United States Ambassador to Bolivia | |
| In office 13 October 2006 – 10 September 2008 |
|
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | David N. Greenlee |
| Succeeded by | Krishna R. Urs (Chargé d’Affaires a.i.) |
| Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Randall M. Fort |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1, 1956 Boston, Massachusetts |
Philip S. Goldberg (born August 1, 1956)[1] is a United States diplomat who was Ambassador to Bolivia and was expelled by the Bolivian government in 2008, the eighth chief of mission in US diplomatic history to be declared persona non grata.[2] He was nominated on October 23, 2009 to the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research and confirmed by the Senate on February 9, 2010.[3]
Goldberg is a native of Boston, Massachusetts,[4] with two sisters, Donna and Lisa.[5] In her adulthood, Lisa Goldberg would become President of the Charles H. Revson Foundation in 2003 and wife of New York University's president, John Sexton, before dying in 2007 of a brain aneurysm.[5][6] Goldberg is a graduate of The Rivers School and Boston University.[4] Before joining the Foreign Service, Goldberg, who speaks fluent Spanish, worked as a liaison officer between the City of New York City and the United Nations and consular community.[4]
Goldberg is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service.[4] Goldberg has served overseas as a consular and political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and political-economic officer in Pretoria, South Africa.[4] From 1994 to 1996 Goldberg served as the State Department's Desk Officer for Bosnia and a Special Assistant to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.[4] As Special Assistant to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Goldberg was a member of the American negotiating team in the lead-up to the Dayton Peace Conference and Chief of Staff for the American Delegation at Dayton.[4] From 1996 to 1999 Goldberg served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State.[4] From 1998 to 2000 Goldberg served as Executive Assistant (1998–2000) to the Deputy Secretary of State.[4] In 2001 Goldberg served as a senior member of the State Department team handling the transition from the Clinton to Bush Administrations.[4] From January 2001 to June 2001 Goldberg served as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.[4] From 2001 to 2004 Goldberg served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile.[4]
From 2004 to 2006 Goldberg served as Chief of Mission in Pristina, Kosovo.[4] When Kosovo's 120-seat parliament voted 72-3 to elect Ramush Haradinaj to head the new government, Goldberg emphasized the importance of the government's success.[7] Haradinaj's election had been considered controversial because Haradinaj had recently been questioned about war crimes and there were indications that a UN war-crimes tribunal might be preparing to indict him.[7] Haradinaj was subsequently charged with war crimes during the Kosovo War by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague but was acquitted of all charges on April 3, 2008.[8]
In April, 2005 Richard Holbrooke wrote in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post that Goldberg had warned that the situation in Kosovo was volatile and that Secretary of State Rice had sent Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns to Europe to advise our allies of the instability and the likelihood of increased violence in Kosovo unless steps were taken to speedily resolve Kosovo's final status.[9] On February 1, 2006 Goldberg talked to Radio Free Europe about his work as Chief of Mission and whether the question of Kosovo's status could be resolved within the year.[10] Goldberg said the process was "well under way".[10]
President George W. Bush officially nominated Philip S. Goldberg as Ambassador to Bolivia and his nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 3, 2006.[4] Goldberg presented his credentials to Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma on October 13, 2006.[11]
In August 2007, the United States was accused by Government Minister Juan Ramon Quintana of funding opposition to Bolivian President Evo Morales by providing opposition leaders and critical think-tanks with millions of dollars.[12] According to Quintana, the US Government Aid agency, USAID, had implied by reference in documents in Bolivia's possession that funding was to help restore democracy to Bolivia.[12] Morales indirectly threatened retaliation against the ambassador for interference with Bolivia's government.[12] Tom Casey, a spokesman for the State Department, denied these allegations.[12]
In September 2007, Bolivian Morales complained that members of his delegation to the United Nations had found it difficult to acquire visas to enter the United States, suggesting that the UN headquarters should be moved.[13] He also complained of long delays in the airport.[13]
In October, 2007 Bolivian newspaper La Razón reported that after Morales' remarks about the United Nations, Morales prohibited Goldberg from entering the Presidential Palace after Goldberg remarked that he wouldn't be surprised if Morales also requested the move of Disney World.[14] Morales said that Goldberg had been making fun of Morales and of the Bolivian people and demanded an apology.[14] Goldberg reportedly sent a written apology,[15] indicating that his statement regarding Disney World had been a joke made to relax tension between Bolivia and the United States.[14]
In February 2008, ABC News reported that thirty Peace Corps volunteers had been asked "to basically spy" on Cubans and Venezuelans in Bolivia by US Embassy Security Officer Vincent Cooper.[16] Peace Corps Deputy Director for Bolivia Doreen Salazar was present at the meeting and asserts that not only did she protest to the embassy later, but that on the spot Peace Corps staff made clear that these instructions were not mandatory.[16] She also indicated that she had never heard such instructions made before and that the embassy agreed it was inappropriate.[16] In their statement, the U.S. Embassy in La Paz acknowledged that the volunteers had received "incorrect information", indicating that "As soon as this was brought to our attention, appropriate measures were taken to assure that these errors would not be repeated."[17] They indicated that the briefing had been intended for embassy staff.[18]
Peace Corps issued a press release reiterating in no uncertain terms that the corps is not involved in any intelligence gathering.[19]
In February 2008 it was also alleged by a visiting American Fulbright scholar that US Embassy Security Officer Vincent Cooper, in a routine safety briefing, asked the student to report the names and locations of "any Venezuelans or Cubans in the field—doctors, field workers, etc."[20] The student alleged this incident took place in November, 2007, four months after the initial complaint by the Peace Corps was lodged with the Embassy.[20] This student's reports were the initial trigger for Cooper's recall to the United States "to be questioned."[16]
On February 12, 2008, CNN reported that Bolivian President Evo Morales had declared Cooper "undesirable".[18] According to CNN, Ambassador Goldberg indicated that the embassy had never "asked anyone to spy."[18]
The United States Peace Corps issued a press release reiterating that no Peace Corps volunteers had participated in intelligence activities and that it remained Peace Corps policy that there was an absolute separation between "any official duties pertaining to U.S. foreign policy, including the reality or the appearance of involvement in intelligence related activities."[21] The Press Release added that "Consistent with the policy of every administration since 1961, Director Ron Tschetter, himself a former Volunteer in India (1966-1968), has been very clear in re-affirming this long standing policy and, once again, stressing that Peace Corps Volunteers work on community service and nothing else."[21]
In an interview with Newsweek magazine in September 2008, Goldberg said that the incident had been overblown.[2] According to Goldberg, Cooper had incorporated into the security briefing warnings generally provided to "direct American employees" advising them to exercise caution when dealing with potentially exploitative individuals from third countries.[2] While acknowledging that Cooper had erred in this and accordingly been removed from Bolivia, he denied that Cooper's statements had constituted a request.[2]
The International Herald Tribune reported on June 9, 2008 that some 20,000 Bolivians had been involved in a protest outside the U.S. embassy in La Paz where they had attacked police with dynamite and pepper spray in response to asylum provided to former Bolivian Defense Minister Carlos Sanchez Berzain by the United States. [22] In 2003, 60 people were killed when anti-government protests were quashed by a military action Berzain directed.[23] Evo Morales spoke out to support of the protesters in their cause.[22] After briefly returning to Washington, Goldberg met with Bolivian Defense Minister Walker San Miguel in early July, telling reporters after, "We want to resolve the problems that exist, and in order to do that, we have to admit there are problems."[23]
On September 10, 2008, the Bolivian Government expelled Ambassador Goldberg, after declaring him persona non grata.[4] The Telegraph reported on September 12, 2008 that President Morales had been infuriated by a meeting between Goldberg and Santa Cruz Governor Rubén Costas.[24] Costas, founder of Autonomy for Bolivia,[25] has pressed for democracy and autonomy for Bolivia's regions.[26] Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy concurs that the meeting between Goldberg and Costas was a factor in the crisis, since he believes it may have been interpreted by the Bolivians as a show of approval for anti-government demonstrations in Santa Cruz.[27] Morales has accused Goldberg of plotting against Bolivia's government and the unity of the country.[24][28] Prior to Goldberg only seven U.S. chiefs of missions have been ordered expelled from countries where they were serving.[2]
In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Goldberg indicated a belief that several factors had come into play in his expulsion, including the influence of Venezuela, and that "[i]t was part of the general policy of the Bolivian government for Morales to attack the United States."[2] Immediately prior to leaving Bolivia, Goldberg had said that Morales' decision would have "serious consequences of several sorts which apparently have not been correctly evaluated".[29] The US State Department issued an official statement saying that Bolivia had committed a grave error and that the allegations against Goldberg were baseless.[30] The statement also indicated that:[30]
President Morales’ action is a grave error that has seriously damaged the bilateral relationship.... We regret that President Morales has chosen this course. It will prejudice the interests of both countries, undermine the ongoing fight against drug-trafficking, and will have serious regional implications.
On September 11, 2008 the United States ordered the Bolivian ambassador to the United States, Gustavo Guzman, to leave the country, announcing that "In response to the unwarranted action and in accordance with the Vienna Convention, we have officially informed the government of Bolivia of our decision to declare Ambassador Gustavo Guzman persona non grata.".[31]
On September 17, 2008 President Bush announced he was putting Bolivia on the counter-narcotics blacklist because of its refusal to participate in the War on Drugs.[32] State Department spokesman David Johnson said, "Bolivia remains a major narcotics-producing country and its official policies and actions have caused a significant deterioration in its cooperation with the United States."[32] Bolivian President Morales, pointing to the United States' own drug production record, asserted that the move was political.[33]
On October 16, 2008, while signing the Andean Trade Preference Act Extension, President Bush announced that "Bolivia has failed to cooperate with the United States on important efforts to fight drug trafficking. So, sadly, I have proposed to suspend Bolivia's trade preferences until it fulfills its obligations."[34] An October 6, 2008 editorial in the New York Times had argued that such a move would be "self-defeating", as the larger goal of the administration is to diminish the drug trade by impacting the lives of farmers, suggesting that "the justified anger at the expulsion of Mr. Goldberg" might undermine the administration's reasoning on the matter.[35] On October 18, 2008, The Washington Post reported that this suspension, which could result in the unemployment of 20,000 to 30,000 Bolivians, has been interpreted by Bolivia as "part of an escalating feud" representing what Juan Ramón Quintana, Bolivia's minister of the presidency, termed "the worst moment for the relations between the United States and the entire world."[36]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Randall M. Fort |
Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research February 9, 2010 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |