Pack your things and bring a sleeping bag....

Posted By Deebow

Yep, All Aboard the State Department Deployment Train.

I am glad that the State Department is on board with this, well, sort of....

In the largest call-up of U.S. diplomats since the Vietnam War, the State Department is planning to order some of its personnel to serve at the American Embassy in Iraq because of a lack of volunteers.

Those designated "prime candidates" — from 200 to 300 diplomats — will be notified Monday that they have been selected for one-year postings to fill the 40 to 50 vacancies expected next year.

But wait, there might be a problem at Foggy Bottom...

It is certain to be unpopular due to serious security concerns in Iraq and uncertainty over the status of the private contractors who protect U.S. diplomats there, particularly after a deadly Sept. 16 shooting in which guards from Blackwater USA protecting an embassy convoy were accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians.

That sounds to me like the State Department might be a bit worried that the exceptional warriors that work for Blackwater USA might be departing the Green Zone forever because of the bureaucratic headaches and murky rules that seems to change everyday and pseudo-scandals like this latest one.  Hmmm. 

What?  Blackwater USA won't be protecting us on our trips to the Interior Ministry, Parliament, the Prime Minister's office, the Bazaar, the Mall, the Monuments for pictures?! 

Wonder when the DSS is going to beef up their presence there and "man for man" replace every Blackwater operative; or if Blackwater decides that it is too much of a pain in the ass to deal with bureaucrats; maybe State could hire some locals, or the Gurkhas, or the French Foreign Legion?   

As you can guess, this decision is not very popular among staffers at Foggy Bottom.

The union that represents U.S. diplomats, the American Foreign Service Association, has expressed deep concerns in the past about a possible move what are known as "directed assignments." But officials with the union could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Welcome to the war State.  We all have to make some sacrifices. 

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Comments

Pack your things and bring a sleeping bag....

Yep, All Aboard the State Department Deployment Train.

I am glad that the State Department is on board with this, well, sort of....

In the largest call-up of U.S. diplomats since the Vietnam War, the State Department is planning to order some of its personnel to serve at the American Embassy in Iraq because of a lack of volunteers.

Those designated "prime candidates" — from 200 to 300 diplomats — will be notified Monday that they have been selected for one-year postings to fill the 40 to 50 vacancies expected next year.

But wait, there might be a problem at Foggy Bottom...

It is certain to be unpopular due to serious security concerns in Iraq and uncertainty over the status of the private contractors who protect U.S. diplomats there, particularly after a deadly Sept. 16 shooting in which guards from Blackwater USA protecting an embassy convoy were accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians.

That sounds to me like the State Department might be a bit worried that the exceptional warriors that work for Blackwater USA might be departing the Green Zone forever because of the bureaucratic headaches and murky rules that seems to change everyday and pseudo-scandals like this latest one.  Hmmm. 

What?  Blackwater USA won't be protecting us on our trips to the Interior Ministry, Parliament, the Prime Minister's office, the Bazaar, the Mall, the Monuments for pictures?! 

Wonder when the DSS is going to beef up their presence there and "man for man" replace every Blackwater operative; or if Blackwater decides that it is too much of a pain in the ass to deal with bureaucrats; maybe State could hire some locals, or the Gurkhas, or the French Foreign Legion?   

As you can guess, this decision is not very popular among staffers at Foggy Bottom.

The union that represents U.S. diplomats, the American Foreign Service Association, has expressed deep concerns in the past about a possible move what are known as "directed assignments." But officials with the union could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Welcome to the war State.  We all have to make some sacrifices. 

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