The US state department has said it will require its diplomats to staff its embassy in Iraq due to a lack of volunteers. Forty to 50 posts will be open next year in the embassy, located in Baghdad’s fortified green zone.
Up to 300 US diplomats will be notified that they are “prime candidates” for one-year terms in Iraq.
Harry Thomas, state department human resources director, said: “We have all taken an oath to serve our country and so if someone decides they do not want to go, then we would then consider appropriate actions. We have many options, including dismissal from the foreign service.”
Maybe I should prep for counseling draft resisters, once again?
The big problem isn’t getting any diplomats, it is getting experienced diplomats. They really need people to go who already have some reconstruction skills and language ability but most of those people have either already served in Iraq or they are slightly older employees who have children.
#1, and as an added bonus, star in a video where they get to make pig squealing sounds.
These are the very people that even with “official” protection will be kidnapped, the authorities/army helpless, to the horror of us all.
Who would accept a 2 year assignment in a foreign country where you have to leave your family (wife & kids) behind? During those two years, never go anywhere, never visit, rent a car for the weekend to visit the sights.
The US should simply strike a deal with Iran & Turkey, make both those countries larger, and work with them into establishing anti-terrorism policies.
They want nuclear for electricity? Give them windfarms for the equivalent in Gigawatts, reuse the natural gas instead of burning it as a waste product when doing oil refining.
Let the illegals do it. After all they do jobs Americans won’t do. Here’s their chance to make difference. 😉
#2 – The US should simply strike a deal with Iran & Turkey, make both those countries larger
And how exactly are they going to sell that? Bush to congress: Hey, God told me last night that we’ll flush our 28 year-old hatred towards the regime in Iran and give them 50% of Iraq in exchange for them taking care of our mess.
So what’s next? The U.S. is to allow Cuba to annex the other islands in the Caribbean if they just take care of the Chavez problem for the U.S:?
Part of how we arrived at the current stupidity that passes for Foreign Policy was a couple hundred years of Western Imperial diktat that helped Turkey to grow and diminish – the Ottoman Empire – plus the disastrous shit left over from the Brits and the French creating, splitting apart and generally screwing over the same landscape on behalf of their own oil companies around WW1.
Not that Americans would know which “inviolate” member of the coalition of the willing was nothing more than a province of Mesopotamia for a millennium or two.
#4 What you wrote as Irony, I see as brilliant prose.
What do you prefer? That US “owns” Iraq, at the cost of the dollar continuing to be the laughing stock (pun intended) of the world?
I think only Iran / Turkey can fully amend the Iraq people as true brothers & sisters.
Caribbeans…Jägermeister Totally Brilliant ! Why yes, comparing Haiti to Cuba, which one is it safe for tourists to go to? Which one schools their children to University for free?
In so far as Americans missing out on visiting Cuba for a vacation, not the case for us Canadians & many other international visitors.
However, everyone is missing out on Haiti being a choice vacation destination, letting Chavez or another dictator take control, why not?
It’s not like the UN, Canada, or the US will step in and enforce Democracy in any nation that doesn’t already practice it.
#6 – Mark
Firstly, the Arab states would never allow Iran to expand its territory at the expense of another Arab country. Secondly, pretty much the only things Turkey and Iraq has in common is the religion and the issue of Kurdistan.
Does anyone honestly believe that a few diplomats is going to make a difference in that hell hole? It takes decades to repair a cluster fuck like this. We finally got one that topped Calvin Coolidge, who hatched the great depression with his moronic views.
#7 Jägermeister – the Arabs states not allowing expansion of Iran.
That’s interesting, I would have thought the borders to be loose, with so many people being nomadic in nature.
#9 – I would have thought the borders to be loose, with so many people being nomadic in nature.
Keep on thinking Mark. Your pipe dream still won’t come true.
just as an FYI for your border-moving thought games.
Neither Iran nor Turkey are Arab countries. They both do not speak Arab (Turkey Turkish, Iran Farsi) they both have no Arab heritage (the turks are more related to people from places like Azerbaijan, Georgia etc, the Iranians are descendants of the ancient Persians)
There’s not going to be much love for this plan.
Apart from the fact that that would spell certain death for the Kurds.
But I’m sure Dubya has some similarly simple solution in some drawer. I guess life is simple, where he came from.
pj
uppss… I was wrong on Azerbaijan… they’re actually not part of the turk family of people.
pj
#2, Mark,
Interesting idea.
As others pointed out though, neither Iran nor Turkey are Arab. Both nations are having “difficulties” with their minorities, especially the Kurds. That leaves Saudi Arabia and Syria.
I don’t think Saudi Arabia would be interested as they would be over whelmed by the population and less stringent religious beliefs found in Iraq. Besides, who would want one country with the worlds largest oil reserves to gain as much more as Iraq has.
The US and Israel wouldn’t want to see a huge Syria; too much of a threat. It could be a large enough counter balance to Iran though, but who can predict what will happen ten years down the road.
Here is the part that I find most ironic, these diplomats work for the US government and they are complaining about a ‘death sentence’, about leaving their spouse and children at home, etc. You know who else does these things, THE SOLDIERS! Maybe they can get Blackwater to guard them because the Marines are too busy fighting and dying. Perhaps once the diplomats are in Iraq, this mess will get cleaned up somewhat, because their necks are on the line. I am the first to acknowledge that the diplomats didn’t sign up to be in combat, unlike the military. But there could be a positive to having diplomats there to rebuild Iraq and possible get the violence level down a bit.