Pakistan, Aug. 20 -- I walked into the National Press Club one hot evening in July, wondering how to spend the next hour or so. I knew little about Ambassador William B. Milam other than his name. Happy to report that I walked back a different person.

Waiting one's turn at the US Embassy does not readily reveal that diplomats stationed in our country do anything beyond sitting in cushy offices, attending luncheons or taking their place in the ritz-glitz of the capital. Having worked as a journalist for the better part of a decade, and dealing with the press departments of embassies and consulates general, I used to think I had gained a peek into the key rooms of that world. The hour spent remembering Bill Milam taught me how partial that...