David Gehrenbeck stoops in front of a yurt, one of the traditional dwellings of the nomadic people in the Republic of Kyrgystan, in a museum. As a Foreign Service officer for the State Department, Gehrenbeck coordinates U.S. policy on the Kyrgyz Republic.

Photo courtesy of David Gehrenbeck

PROVIDENCE — Hoping to get more young people to consider a career in the Foreign Service, a former Rhode Islander who coordinates the government’s policy toward the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan returned to his alma mater yesterday to talk about some of the decisions he has made and to ask students what they would have done if they had been in his shoes.

David Gehrenbeck, a 1987 graduate of Classical High School, joined the Foreign Service after studies at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and receiving a doctorate in Russian literature from Brown University. He now works in Washington, where he is primary contact for the U.S. embassy in the central Asian nation and for the Kyrgyzstani Embassy in Washington.

Before taking that post in the fall of 2006, he was stationed in Melbourne, Australia, for two years and in Yerevan, Armenia, for two years before that. He also worked for a year at the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

Among the great things about working in the Foreign Service, according to Gehrenbeck, is the opportunity to live in different places around the world and the ability to make decisions that affect people’s lives.

Yesterday he focused on two decisions: whether to grant a U.S. visa to the lead singer of a well-known rock band who had been caught and convicted of drug possession in his native Britain, and whether to proceed with a plan to give $16 million in economic assistance to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan in the wake of a national election marked by widespread ballot stuffing and that was seen by many to be rigged.

On one hand, he said, the tiny republic of 5 million people in an area bordered by China, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan had made considerable progress in trying to improve its economy and became the first former Soviet republic to join the World Trade Organization. It had also made progress in reforming its judicial system to reduce the number of judges taking bribes.

Yet the way the government had handled its national elections in December created concerns. “Our basic judgment was that the elections were not up to international standards,” said Gehrenbeck as he outlined the situation to seniors in teacher Edward DiRissio’s advanced placement social studies class. “Do we as a government provide a new assistance program to a country that showed that it is not up to snuff on elections?”

One student said it seemed like a “catch-22.”

“There is always the chance that the money will fall into the hole of the corrupt status quo,” she said. “I don’t see how U.S. intervention is justified at all.”

Another student said it looked as if the country needed the money, but he wondered about how much good it would do if the U.S. came in with a condescending attitude, telling people “this is what you gotta do.”

Gehrenbeck conceded the point. “Yes, we have to be careful how we assist them. You don’t want to come in with a patronizing attitude. Our basic approach is to help them build their own capacity to solve their problems.”

And why should the U.S. even care what goes on in Kyrgyzstan? Gehrenbeck and the students came up with a couple of reasons: the U.S. has a military base there, the only one in what had once been part of the former Soviet Union, and the administration believes that a democratically empowered people will ultimately lead to a more stable country and region.

And so what did the United States do? In February, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the agency created by the U.S. government to distribute aid to countries that might not otherwise qualify, went forward with the program, believing the aid could help Kyrgyzstan get back on the path of reform. Gehrenbeck said he agrees with the outcome. “The program could ultimately turn the country around. It’s worth a try.”

The other dilemma that Gehrenbeck posed to students had to do with the lead singer of a band who wanted to come to the United States to perform a concert, but needed a waiver from a congressional ban on visas for convicted felons, including those busted for drug possession.

Gehrenbeck said he ran into that case when he was in charge of issuing visas in the office of the U.S. Consul in Melbourne, Australia.

The students were all over the map about what he should have done. Refusal to grant the visa would result in a major disappointment to fans who had purchased tickets to see the group in Hawaii.

“I think you should let them in,” said one student. “If his visit was only going to be one week, I don’t think he would be a danger to anyone else but himself.”

Another student countered there were good reasons why the visa should be denied. “I think it’s important for the U.S. government to apply laws consistently. Giving certain individuals favorable treatment is not going to help people understand our interest in the rule of the law. It’s hard to make the argument that countries should follow the law if we are not consistent ourselves.”

Gehrenbeck agreed with that assessment; he denied the visa not only for that reason, but also because the visa had been denied by a Foreign Service officer in London and he was not going to second-guess a colleague’s decision.

Gehrenbeck said yesterday marked the second time he had visited his alma mater as part of the State Department’s Hometown Diplomat program.

“I think it’s a worthwhile. We can promote awareness of the work of the State Department and interest more young people in a career in the Foreign Service.”

rdujardi@projo.com