Official platform open to U.S. diplomats where they can criticize government policy
A 1971 telegram sent by diplomat Archer Blood, decrying the U.S. failure to intervene in genocide by the Pakistani army in Bangladesh
The Dissent Channel is a messaging framework open to Foreign Service Officers and other U.S. citizens employed by the United States Department of State and Agency for International Development (USAID),[a] through which they are invited to express constructive criticism of government policy.
Established in 1971, the Dissent Channel was used 123 times in its first four decades. In modern times, about four or five dissent cables are sent each year. U.S. foreign policies that have been the subject of dissent cables have varied widely. The 1971 Blood telegram, named for its author Archer Blood, condemned the U.S. policy of support for Pakistani dictator Yahya Khan, who oversaw a genocide in East Pakistan. Other dissent cables have criticized U.S. support for various authoritarian leaders, dissented from U.S. inaction in crises and genocides, or criticized U.S. involvement in various military conflicts. For example, a 1992 dissent cable protesting the U.S. failure to act during the Bosnian genocide is credited with helping lead to the Dayton Accords. The dissent cable with the largest number of signatories, by far, was a 2017 dissent cable condemning President Donald Trump's executive order imposing a travel and immigration ban on the nationals of seven majority-Muslim countries; about 1,000 diplomats are listed as signatories.
Dissent cables circulate to senior State Department officials; messages receive a response from the department's Policy Planning Staff. Under department regulations, diplomats who submit dissent cables are supposed to be protected from retaliation or reprisal. Nevertheless, some U.S. diplomats are hesitant to use the Dissent Channel for fear that it could impede their career progress.
^Christopher, Warren (1995-08-08). "Secretary of State Christopher's Message on the Dissent Channel". US Department of State Archive, Information Released January 20, 2001 through January 20, 2009. United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
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The DissentChannel is a messaging framework open to Foreign Service Officers and other U.S. citizens employed by the United States Department of State...
1971), sent via the State Department's DissentChannel, was seen as the most strongly worded expression of dissent in the history of the U.S. Foreign Service...
via the State Department's formal DissentChannel. Thus, American Foreign Service Association's Constructive Dissent Awards may be given to, but are not...
to the U.S. government to grant Adams the visa and had sent in a "DissentChannel" message. The Foreign Service Journal called the U.S. State Department's...
signed a "dissent cable" (memorandum) outlining their disagreement with the order, sending it through the State Department's DissentChannel, in what is...
Retrieved July 30, 2020. Shackelford, Elizabeth (May 12, 2020). The DissentChannel American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age. Public Affairs. ISBN 9781541724471...
Retrieved August 11, 2020. Petti, Matthew (August 11, 2020). "The DissentChannel: Meet the Investigative Reporter Uncovering the Dark Side of Homeland...
Economic History. Oxford University. Shackelford, Elizabeth (2020). The DissentChannel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age. Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-5417-2448-8...
NSA, Snowden claims that he brought up these concerns through the DissentChannel. Snowden added that coworkers often were "astonished to learn" about...
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Myanmar from the list altogether. The memo, which was sent through the DissentChannel, was sent to Brian Hook, the Director of Policy Planning. On September...
Department created a memo or "dissent cable" outlining their disagreement with the order. The memo was sent through the "DissentChannel" which was put into place...
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the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022. "Ambati faces dissent in Sattenapalli". The Hindu. 10 January 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived...
Shunmugasundaram. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2018. "The Inner Grammar Of Dissent Lives". K.S. Chalam. Outlook India. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 8 August...
"behind the Iron Curtain" that was otherwise being censored and promote dissent and occasionally, to disseminate disinformation. Currently, the US operates...
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