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like that is struggling to adopt democracy—and to catch up to the modern world in terms of literacy and technology and industrial growth—well, then you realize all over again that the stakes for America in that part of the world are extremely high. “Only a few months ago, for example, I was able to accompany Secretary Gates on a trip to Afghanistan. We had dinner with President [Hamid] Karzai, and he’s a very courageous man who’s committed to making his country successful and to shepherding all of the various ethnicities and religions and socioeconomic groups through this very difficult process of building a modern, democratic Afghanistan. “When you watch that process unfolding day by day, you soon realize that helping a country like Afghanistan to embrace the democratic process is a crucially important mission for our country. I mean, if we don’t do it for a country like Afghanistan, what countries would we do it for? “As a policymaker with responsibility for Afghanistan and countries in the Middle East, I’m very passionate about asking: What do we really stand for as citizens of the United States? And I’m also determined to do my best to make sure we answer that question in the right way—by putting everything I have into the effort to help build a thriving and successful Afghanistan that can become a beacon of democracy for that entire region of the world.” Born and raised in small-town Clearfield, Pa., as the daughter of a substitute schoolteacher and a successful businessman, Long landed in Lexington in the fall of 1995 as a rather unusual law student. The CIA was helping to pay her tuition bills. By then, of course, she’d already enjoyed a highly interesting—and frequently adrenaline-soaked— career. In spite of her James Bond-like background, she says she found law school at W&L to be Top photo: On an official visit to Oman, Mary Beth Long ’98 takes a stroll through the marketplace (souk) and learns “quite exciting and quite intellectually rigorous. about local crafts. Bottom photo: Later, she signs “It was another steep learning curve,” she agreements with Egyptian officials. recalled. “I’m really very grateful for the way the professors demanded my very best. And it certainly wasn’t who’s in the thick of the race for the White House. And I think easy. I struggled hard with Business Law—got a C in one that says a lot about the progress we’ve made on this issue.” course, I remember, after putting everything I had into it. And She added, “On the other hand, the fact that you can name I was tested fully, especially when it came to Contracts. But the these women who are in posts of national leadership on one training I got at W&L has been extremely helpful, not only in hand—doesn’t that show that there’s still a lot of room for the courtroom, but also in my current role at the Defense improvement? Department, where knowing how to think rigorously and precisely “I don’t usually find myself complaining like this, but the is absolutely essential.” reality is that there’s still a bit of a glass ceiling out there—and Long is breaking new ground in her position at the I do think we need to continue working on it.” Pentagon. “I do think we’ve made tremendous strides in this But it’s not something Long has time to dwell on. She country when it comes to gender equality,” she said. “We’ve typically works a 12- to 14-hour day and spends much of her free got a tremendous Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and time on tasks that will help her on the job, such as learning new of course, we now have a woman candidate [Hillary Clinton] languages. After all, you never know who will be calling next. Q
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