U.S. Diplomats telling Condi to piss off (no Iraq duty)

[CatWoman]

Envoys Resist Forced Iraq Duty
Top State Dept. Officials Face Angry Questions

By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 1, 2007; Page A01

Uneasy U.S. diplomats yesterday challenged senior State Department officials in unusually blunt terms over a decision to order some of them to serve at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad or risk losing their jobs.

At a town hall meeting in the department's main auditorium attended by hundreds of Foreign Service officers, some of them criticized fundamental aspects of State's personnel policies in Iraq. They took issue with the size of the embassy -- the biggest in U.S. history -- and the inadequate training they received before being sent to serve in a war zone. One woman said she returned from a tour in Basra with post-traumatic stress disorder only to find that the State Department would not authorize medical treatment.


Yesterday's internal dissension came amid rising public doubts about diplomatic progress in Iraq and congressional inquiries into the department's spending on the embassy and its management of private security contractors. Some participants asked how diplomacy could be practiced when the embassy itself, inside the fortified Green Zone, is under frequent fire and officials can travel outside only under heavy guard.

Service in Iraq is "a potential death sentence," said one man who identified himself as a 46-year Foreign Service veteran. "Any other embassy in the world would be closed by now," he said to sustained applause.

Harry K. Thomas Jr., the director general of the Foreign Service, who called the meeting, responded curtly. "Okay, thanks for your comment," he said, declaring the town hall meeting over.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/31/AR2007103101626.html?hpid=topnews

[rodeodance]

1. oh--they will get offered incentives ($$ lots of it)

[april]

2. So now that it hits the suits maybe they will look at this war differently

[gratuitous]

3. Nobody's forcing them to work for the State Department

And, unlike the kids in the military, the 46-year Foreign Service veteran can just walk away if he gets an assignment he doesn't like. Events have been taking us to this pretty pass for years now, and it's only now that their nuts might be on the line that some of the career State Department folks are finally (finally!) registering some objections to these reckless, ruinous policies.

Welcome to the party, guys. Your dirty fucking hippie outfits should be arriving any day now.

[CatWoman]

4. I'll bet you look so cute in your dirty fucking hippie outfit

:)

:hi:

[gratuitous]

5. Your house was a litte too far to visit for trick or treat

But yeah, I was adorable.

:loveya:

[donsu]

7. I must be dense this a.m. - what does hippie have to do with diplomats?

????

[malaise]

11. Duh!

They're all anti-war now.

[malaise]

10. Great post n/t

[donsu]

6. nobody wants to be DU poisoned

back when the invasion started I said anyone who went to Iraq would come back home dead, maimed, or sick. that applies to anyone in the Green Zone too.

that still stands - they come home dead, maimed or sick

[Oilwellian]

8. My my, how things have changed at the State Department

Remember the good old days when Condi took Powell's place and there was footage of Condi being welcomed by State personnel? They were all laughing and clapping after she gave her "I'm oh so happy to be here" speech. I'd love to see a juxtaposed video of that original gathering to the one yesterday.

[malaise]

9. Send Condi, send Bush, send Cheney,

Send John Bolton, send Gonzo. Fuck Bushco!

By the time these goons are finished, the entire administrative level of government will be totally and completely destroyed.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

12. Suddenly, the house of cards comes tumbling down.

Hopefully the wind will completely blow it away.

Shit happens when you're absolutely incompetent, eh, Condi?