Three months since leaving the Senate, Bill Frist '74 still struggles to tear himself away from the political scene.
Though he said he planned to take a sabbatical from public life and announced in November that he would not seek the 2008 Republican nomination for president, after 12 years in the Senate, including four as majority leader, the Tennessee native is still very much engaged in the work of a statesman.
In a wide-ranging interview, Frist recalled his years on Capitol Hill, voiced concern over the level of partisanship in Washington and spoke passionately about his medical work in Africa, calling it "a currency for peace."
Frist's time in the Senate was marked by significant victories and major controversies. He was active in the success of the Medicare prescription drug program and the confirmation of two conservative Supreme Court justices. But he also found himself entangled in scandals for the alleged mishandling of some financial assets and his at-a-distance diagnosis of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband petitioned the courts for the removal of the feeding tube that kept her alive.
In his three months of post-Senate activity, Frist has focused on medicine, striving to use his work as a physician to effect broader international change. His activities as a doctor and as a politician intertwine, as he performs surgeries in rural African villages while simultaneously striving to have a hand in the political conflicts plaguing the continent.
Frist has become a medical ambassador to Africa, attempting to build personal relationships at the ground level to bring nations closer together. "I will focus on what I consider one of the great needs before the American people in the country now, and that is to improve public diplomacy," he said, explaining that he uses his visits to call greater attention to the needs of the African continent, especially in the Darfur region of Sudan.
"It is clear that genocide is ongoing in Darfur and thus we must stop it from a moral standpoint and from a humanitarian standpoint," he said.
'Currency for peace'
Frist's belief in the importance of "healing" in a literal and broader sense came to the fore this past February, during a three-week tour that took him and his wife, Karyn, to Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Sudan. The tour was arranged through Samaritan's Purse, an international relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, a personal friend of the Frist family and the son of evangelist Billy Graham.
Frist said that one of the most memorable experiences he has had in Africa occurred on his most recent trip, when he visited the Rwandan genocide memorial.
It was powerful, he said, to witness a country trying to rehabilitate itself and going through continued reconciliation after the genocide of 1994, which left nearly 800,000 dead. "That was a sharp contrast to the ongoing genocide — the relatively new genocide — that is occurring in Darfur," he said.
"That juxtaposition of seeing active genocide and then looking ahead 12 years upon the experience of Rwanda, led me to the realization that we have got — we absolutely must — we have got to end the genocide as soon as possible in Darfur," he said.
Frist said he supports a nonmilitary, diplomatic solution to end the Darfur conflict, which has seen over 350,000 deaths and an estimated 2,000,000 displaced persons.
Calling on the United States to participate in establishing a no-fly zone over the region, he said that the U.S. government should "increase resources and put increased international pressure in working with countries like China to move forward with the establishment of United Nations presence of peacekeeping on the ground."
During his recent visits, Frist has tried to meet with Sudanese President Omar al Bashir, but al Bashir has refused, though members of Frist's delegation, including Graham, have met with al Bashir.
Frist is widely unpopular with the Sudanese government because of an August 2005 resolution he helped craft in the Senate, which declared the violence in Darfur a genocide. But Frist said he stands by the decision to use that term for the Darfur conflict. "To aggressively stop the genocide it must be recognized, it must be condemned, and we must never let it happen again," he said.
Despite his diplomatic overtures, others close to Frist said it is his one-on-one interactions with residents of Africa that define his work there. "I will never forget my first visit [to Darfur] and helping my dad treat a patient in the town of Lui, Sudan," Frist's oldest son, Harrison Frist '06, said in an email.
"We prepared the patient in a small room with little electricity and no running water. After saying a prayer both in English and the native language with the doctors, nurses and patient, my dad did what he does best — he saved the man's life."
Frist's niece, Lisa Frist '06, who is working with a non-government organization in Mozambique through the Princeton-in-Africa program, accompanied the Frists during their most recent trip through Uganda and Sudan. She said her uncle used the trip as a chance to show African people that Americans are attentive to their concerns.
"It is these personal interactions and relationships between the international community and Africa," she said in an email, "that I believe will make the biggest difference, especially by someone like Dr. Frist who is committed to using his contacts and experience to shape U.S. government policies." She cited his interactions with HIV/AIDS victims and a late-night meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, during which they discussed how to improve the country's health crisis.
Nick Allard '74, a close friend and classmate of Frist's, said it is virtually impossible to distinguish between Frist's work as a politician and his work as a physician. "You really can't separate the two," Allard said. He added that to fully appreciate Frist, one must understand how he is "wired" to be a physician.
"You may, as I do, often disagree with his political positions," Allard added, "but you can't help but admire his commitment to healing. And his missions in Africa are not some frolic and they're not some stunt — he's been doing them for years."
A realistic solution?
Despite Frist's insistence on finding a diplomatic solution to the killings in Darfur, the Bush administration has been criticized over its handling of the crisis by those who either say it has done too little too late, or else has failed to back up its rhetoric with concrete action. Frist agreed that finding a solution to the violence in Darfur requires more than just talk. What is needed most now, he said, is a "concerted effort on behalf of the administration, with more concentrated decision-making and fulfilling the statements or commitments or intentions that are stated publicly."
Julius Coles GS '66, the president of Africare, a leading nonprofit organization specializing in aid to Africa, agreed that a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Darfur is the best way to produce tangible change. Coles, who was awarded the James Madison Medal on Alumni Day in February for his commitment to public service, said that he agrees with Frist's stance on the Sudan crisis. "I think I share his opinion that if there is any way to bring about a solution in Darfur, we should do it through diplomatic means," he said.
Jennifer Widner, professor of politics and international affairs and director of the Bobst Center for Peace and Justice, concurred that international pressure must be ratcheted against Khartoum. "Continued pressure on the government to eliminate payments to the Janjaweed and to moderate its use of military force is important," she said in an email, referring to the Arab militia considered the primary aggressors in the conflict. "And China, India, and Europe must help with that mission."
Yet analysts say it is unlikely that a quick resolution to the conflict will be achieved any time soon.
An estimated 7,000 African Union peacekeeping troops have been deployed, but they lack the equipment and manpower to effectively patrol Darfur, a region the size of France. The African Union (A.U.) forces need increased assistance from the United Nations, but al Bashir, Sudan's president, has steadfastly refused to allow U.N. peacekeepers into the region. al Bashir's government funds the Janjaweed, and many say he is nervous that a U.N. peacekeeping force could be used to take him out of power.
Though Frist did not rule out the possibility that further military force may be needed in the future to quell the violence, he said he believes any intervention should not come from the U.S. "Based on my discussions with the political leaders who are actively addressing genocide in the Darfur region and Sudan," he said, "it would be best if they were not United States troops because of the reaction of the Darfurian community to the fact that it was the United States [that would be intervening]."
Widner criticized the Bush administration's handling of the distribution of aid to the conflict. "Most of the increase in assistance under the Bush administration has been in the form of emergency humanitarian assistance, not investment in longterm development," she said, adding that while the rationale behind this "band-aid approach" are understandable, "the whole world needs to focus on the longer term."
But Widner did credit the administration for taking tentative steps to speak out about the conflict in Darfur, which has helped attract more attention to the conflict there than in most other parts of Africa.
Frist agreed that both the legislative and executive branches have an obligation to publicize the region's plight. "It is incumbent upon leaders in our Congress and in the administration to lead and help people understand the wonders of humanity and the moral issues that are being addressed or not addressed around the world," he said.
The state of Washington
To some, though, it came as a surprise when Frist announced that he would not strive to heighten his status as a leader himself by throwing his hat into the ring for the 2008 presidential race. Critics said he chose to take on a number of questionable political battles that may have hindered his chances for a successful presidential bid.
Jim Leach '64, a former Republican congressman from Iowa and a visiting professor in the Wilson School, said that any difficulties Frist may have faced came at a time of great division in American politics. "This is an extraordinarily difficult time period for anyone to lead a fractious political party in a fractious legislative environment," he said.
But Brian Katulis GS '00, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress, blamed Frist's Senate struggles on flaws in his leadership. "He had some successes which I think were important from a conservative aspect," Katulis said. "[But] I think his fall has been pretty dramatic. At one point he was talking about running for president, and now I don't think he has much of a future in politics."
Frist deflected the criticisms of his leadership, however, saying he is more disquieted with the political situation in Washington today. "There is a feeling, [with] which I agree, that the partisanship is getting in the way of diplomacy internationally, and is getting in the way of offering meaningful solutions to today's problems," he said. Frist added that he worries the next year and a half leading up to the presidential election will be devoted to partisan bickering, rather than crafting solutions to problems such as the Darfur conflict.
One eye on the world, the other on Old Nassau
Allard praised Frist for the countless ways he and his wife, Karyn, have attempted to enhance campus life at Princeton. "I've been very involved in alumni activities and affairs," he said, "and one of the benefits of being involved has been that we've gotten to see and work with Bill and Karyn so much. People don't appreciate it but he's worked tirelessly behind the scenes for his classmates. He always attends reunions; he always comes to class meetings."
Frist's family donated $25,000,000 toward the creation of the Frist Campus Center five years ago, and Frist continues to attend functions at the University, including a recent panel on Darfur sponsored by the Wilson School, during which he made unscheduled remarks about his recent trip to the region. His eldest son, Harrison, graduated from the University last year and his son Bryan is a freshman.
Discussing his views of life post-Senate, Frist said the biggest change was not having "three security agents within 30 feet of me, 24 hours a day, for the first time in four years."
"I can spend more time with my sons and my wife," he added, "without feeling the call of six-and-a-half-million Tennesseans that also want to see me."
But Frist emphasized that his "commitment to public service has not changed," adding that "public service is a noble calling and I will continue to lecture on that noble calling and encourage young people to consider public service as a career."
Harrison Frist said leaving Washington has enabled his father to emphasize the ideals he holds most dear. "Besides being jobless for the first time since medical school," he said, "[my father] has been able to put politics aside and focus on addressing some of the world's greatest needs."
"He is truly passionate and determined to make world a better place," he added. "It's easy to go to great efforts while you are in the spotlight. It's continuing to make those same efforts at changing the world once you are out of it that will tell you something about the person."
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