No need for diplomatic draft for Baghdad embassy

[Lars]

No need for diplomatic draft for Baghdad embassy

Tue Sep 9, 08



WASHINGTON - The State Department said Tuesday that enough diplomats have volunteered for duty at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq next year to avoid having to draft potentially unwilling candidates to serve there.

A cable sent to all foreign service officers says 325 jobs in Baghdad and outlying provinces, along with 134 in Kabul, that come open next summer have been filled by qualified volunteers.

"I want to applaud our foreign service and civil service colleagues who have once again come forward to answer the call in Iraq and Afghanistan," Foreign Service Director General Harry Thomas said in the cable.

Officials familiar with the staffing process said that all positions were taken but that assignments for a handful of diplomatic security agents in Iraq were still pending.

Last year, the prospect of forced Iraq tours in what would have been the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam sparked an uproar when some objected to compulsory service in a war zone, with one likening it to a "potential death sentence."

In the end, volunteers filled the 48 vacant posts that had prompted preparations for the possible draft, but the department warned again in April that it might have to repeat the process of identifying candidates for forced Iraq duty unless enough diplomats stepped forward to meet the need for 2009.

The process, known as "directed assignment," means ordering diplomats — who take an oath to be serve anywhere in the world — to work in certain locations under threat of dismissal unless they have a compelling reason, such as a health condition, that would prevent them from going.

[Ramius31]

Very few places are more appropriate for a diplomat to serve than a conflict zone. Think of all the great uses their skills can be put to use.

[Flint]

Very few places are more appropriate for a diplomat to serve than a conflict zone. Think of all the great uses their skills can be put to use.

Might depend on the specific skills. I wouldn't think diplomatic skills would be generic, given the very different expectations at different assignments.

Let's also hope the "qualified applicants" designation has changed since the very first diplomats were sent to Baghdad after Saddam was deposed. As was well documented, those qualifications were (1) Went to bible school; (2) Opposed abortion; (3) Worked for a Republican candidate in 2000; (4) Couldn't be gay; and (5) Couldn't speak the language.

How astoundingly differfent things would have been, if only Bush had retained those who spoke the language and understood the culture. It really WAS the case that most Iraqis were happy the Americans were there, were delighted that Saddam was out, and were looking forward to a quick return to business as usual.

And about the first thing the Bushies did was to fire EVERY Baath party member (which is to say, every professional, every manager, every educator, because under Saddam if you weren't in the Baath party you couldn't rise above janitor) and fire EVERY soldier who was in the Iraqi military. Which meant (1) there was no way to repair the infrastructure - everyone who knew how wasn't permitted to work; and (2) they'd created a bitter, armed, organized and trained opposition, which quickly became the anti-US insurgency.

And since none of the Bushies understood Arabic (or Islam - they were mostly Born-Again evangelicals as Bush wanted), they couldn't even understand what they'd done until WAY too late.

Ah well, ancient history. Mission accomplished and all that. Onward through the fog.

[Mayerling]

Originally Posted by Flint

Might depend on the specific skills. I wouldn't think diplomatic skills would be generic, given the very different expectations at different assignments.

Let's also hope the "qualified applicants" designation has changed since the very first diplomats were sent to Baghdad after Saddam was deposed. As was well documented, those qualifications were (1) Went to bible school; (2) Opposed abortion; (3) Worked for a Republican candidate in 2000; (4) Couldn't be gay; and (5) Couldn't speak the language.

How astoundingly differfent things would have been, if only Bush had retained those who spoke the language and understood the culture. It really WAS the case that most Iraqis were happy the Americans were there, were delighted that Saddam was out, and were looking forward to a quick return to business as usual.

And about the first thing the Bushies did was to fire EVERY Baath party member (which is to say, every professional, every manager, every educator, because under Saddam if you weren't in the Baath party you couldn't rise above janitor) and fire EVERY soldier who was in the Iraqi military. Which meant (1) there was no way to repair the infrastructure - everyone who knew how wasn't permitted to work; and (2) they'd created a bitter, armed, organized and trained opposition, which quickly became the anti-US insurgency.

And since none of the Bushies understood Arabic (or Islam - they were mostly Born-Again evangelicals as Bush wanted), they couldn't even understand what they'd done until WAY too late.

Ah well, ancient history. Mission accomplished and all that. Onward through the fog.

as you said at the beginning of the sentence "qualified applicants". Those people were not diplomats-- in fact, the bush adm wasn't very fond of diplomats. There were few diplomats during Brenner's reign and they rotated in and out frequently

[Ter]

"I want to applaud our foreign service and civil service colleagues who have once again come forward to answer the call in Iraq and Afghanistan," Foreign Service Director General Harry Thomas said in the cable.

As an aside... That fellow Thomas was American Ambassador in Bangladesh before he took up this post as a promotion in the State Department. He was very much liked here. African American, a bit overweight, and he could speak Bengali ! I heard his brother married a Bangladeshi woman. He made (short) speeches in Bengali on national television here and that certainly endeared him to the local Authorities and the population. He would show up in our club, in shirt and pants with braces, and eat heartily with a lot of laughs and conversation, no diplomatic protocol at all. Nice guy.

Ter