Читать книгу An Affair of State онлайн

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"So what can we do?" said Jeff.

"We do what we can. It won't be much, but more than most. Most people cannot make themselves heard above the din for war. In the Foreign Service you can observe, you can report, you can even act."

"I hope so. But I'm not sure how."

"I can't tell you. You'll know when the time comes."

"A Third Secretary can't do much."

"You'd be surprised what Third Secretaries have done. Of course they can bottle you up. They can stop all your reports. But there's even a way to get around that. It's been used many times."

"Yes?"

"When you have something to say, and you cannot say it officially, put it in a letter to some friend in the Department. A man you trust."

"Isn't there a regulation about that?"

"There is, but it's pretty elastic."

"I don't have any friends in the Department," Jeff said.

"You can have me."

Jeff wondered whether he was engaging in a conspiracy. He didn't feel as if it were a conspiracy. It seemed perfectly natural and normal. "I'll remember that," he said.