Diplomatic Lives - Hill, Hold and Gigs

A few weeks ago, Glenn Kessler (WaPo, May 26, 2008; A01) wrote about Christopher Hill entitled Mid-Level Official Steered U.S. Shift On North Korea. I supposed because he is not a cabinet level secretary, one could call him a mid-level official. But in the universe of Foggy Bottom, as Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP), Ambassador Hill is one of the principals, and one of the senior career diplomats. You can check out the org chart here where you can see him under P; that’s pretty high up in the food chain, or pay grade or whatever you call it these days.

In a comment that has gone generally unnoticed, he was quoted as saying:

"I am not a freelancer. I am not a free agent," Hill said on the Brown University podcast. "When I go and talk to any of these people . . . I do it with a set of instructions. I don't come up with stuff on my own and claim it is U.S. policy. At the end of the day, we have what we have and I phone it in and then we see what the president decides."

Kessler writes that Hill is at heart a dealmaker adding this: "During the Clinton administration, he was a key negotiator for the Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the Bosnian war, and played an important role in dealing with the Kosovo crisis. His mentor in both jobs was former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who taught him how to handle the media and push the bounds of his official negotiating instructions to get a deal."

Critics of the Foreign Service sometimes assume that the professionals working at Foggy Bottom create their own agenda, and do their own thing, separate from the mandate of our elected officials. They don’t. They may be trained in the art of negotiations, and the no-blink contests, but they don’t sit around with a strategy that has not been vetted by their superiors. Have we ever had a rogue diplomat who sold us down the river during negotiations? Nope. And this reminds me of a James Boren quote:

“Officials in foreign ministries have an advantage which few other bureaucrats have; when dealing with an especially awkward or apparently insoluble problem they can instruct their nation’s ambassador abroad to register concern about, enabling themselves to claim to their superiors and to other interested parties at home that they have done something about the issue. If there are no results, they can impute blame to someone else for this deplorable outcome. If the issue is resolved, they will be in a position to claim credit for this.”

Foreign ministries and this one is no exception. And such is life for most diplomats, a life under the seams, their most important work under wraps, their O.K. Corral "gunfights" only known in classified cables, and seldom under the public eye; "the secrecy of negotiations, so often disputed by their contemporaries, is largely forgiven in the silence of posterity" as Jules Cambon says.





Rule #1 - In the conduct of diplomacy, a diplomat has forever the main supporting role, even as the lead actor is not on stage.

Shortly after the Hill piece appeared, a related report also by Glenn Kessler showed up. This one entitled "Rice Says Policy on N. Korea Is A Team Effort," (WaPo, May 30, 2008; A11). The report starts with this lead line: "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wants people to know: The Bush administration's policy toward North Korea has been carefully coordinated and developed by many people at different agencies."





Uh-oh! Somebody with enough clout did not like that spotlight focused on the Hill.

Kessler says that the news might come as a surprise to many insiders as well as to Ambassador Hill, who is quoted in an upcoming book, "Meltdown," by Mike Chinoy, as saying: "Some of this minimal paperwork business is coming directly from the secretary. She said, 'Bring it only to me.' The report notes that Ambassador Hill "appeared to be confirming what already has appeared in various news reports, and is amply documented in Chinoy's book -- that Rice and Hill keep the circle of knowledge about his dealmaking tightly held."

Apparently, in a recent interview released by the State Department, the Secretary disputed Hill's comment when she was asked about it. "That wouldn't happen to be accurate," Rice told reporter Steve Hayes. "I don't know what he's referring to. . . . I don't cut out people of my team. . . . So this has been very much an administration effort."





That's going to be the last word on that, folks. Rebuttals are eternal in courts and even in real life, but not on this one. With barely a couple or so hundred days to go left on the six-party talks, I thought he might end up in the doghouse on this one, but based on recent news, it looks like there's no cause for concern. Still something is worth remembering...





Rule #2 - Be careful where you stand; casting a shadow on the lead actor is not good (unless you already have your next gig lined up elsewhere or you have an ace up your sleeve).

Meanwhile, in a related development, Josh Rogin reports in CQ Politics that Republicans Sam Brownback of Kansas and George V. Voinovich of Ohio have placed holds on the Kathleen Stephens nomination as the next ambassador to South Korea. Neither hold, Rogin made clear, has anything to do with Stephens’ personal or professional record. He writes: "The holds threaten to derail the Stephens nomination, delivering a setback to her patron Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, who seeks to install her as an ally in a sensitive diplomatic post as he tries to implement agreements related to the so-called six-party disarmament talks." The Voinovich protest is reportedly on behalf of Ohio resident Richard Melanson, whose son was allegedly abducted to South Korea by the boy’s mother, after a custody dispute in 2007.

Uhm, thirty years in the FS, a moment in the sun at the wrong time and bamm! I'm not sure there is a rule that one can follow to avoid a craterfall like this one. Select a better patron? Nah! All patrons will have their quirks that for one reason or another somebody or someother would not like. So - there's not much to add except to say ...





Rule #3 - Sometimes life sucks - on stage, off stage, in the FS and elsewhere in this universe - even when you're just standing on the sidewalk. I think the trick is simply not to get run over (or get super-glued inside the doghouse) so that you can get on to the next gig.



Update:

In his August 1 column, Al Kamen wrote about the possibility of Senate confirmation for career diplomat D. Kathleen Stephens to be ambassador to South Korea. Apparently, Sen. John Warner (Va.), senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, invited Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), to a committee hearing yesterday. "Warner praised Stephens and then yielded his time so Brownback, who's not a committee member, could question her anew about her views on human rights and North Korea. Brownback had put a hold on her nomination in April, saying he "did not get satisfactory answers" from her when they chatted privately on human rights issues. She and assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill apparently did better yesterday. Brownback lifted his hold."





There is still George V. Voinovich of Ohio on behalf of Ohio resident Richard Melanson, whose son was allegedly abducted to South Korea by the boy’s mother, after a custody dispute in 2007. Perhaps we'll see Mr. Voinovich in another session at the Armed Services Committee, too?

Nominees for Ambassadors

Below is a list of ambassadorial nominees at the Foreign Relations Committee last week. Sometimes it takes a week or so for the CFR website to get updated with the nominees' prepared speeches. But the hyperlinks should eventually open up with the respective speeches (PDF document) delivered by the nominees during their confirmation hearing.

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

UNITED STATES SENATE

110th CONGRESS

Second Session

Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Time: 9:30 A.M.

Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Presiding: Senator Nelson

Ms. Liliana Ayalde

to be the Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay

Mr. Eric J. Boswell

to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security

Ms. Rosemary Anne DiCarlo

to be the Alternate U.S. Representative to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations and the Alternate U.S. Representative for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador

Mr. John Melvin Jones

to be Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana

World Refugee Day - June 20

Today, June 20 is World Refugee Day. UNHCR says that from Australia through ancient Rome to the Americas, people around the globe will take part in the most ambitious and spectacular World Refugee Day (WRD) celebrations ever over the coming week. With "Protection" as this year's global theme, UNHCR and its partners, including governments, donors, non-governmental organizations, Angelina Jolie and other Goodwill Ambassadors and refugees themselves, will stage a wide range of activities, including light shows, photography exhibitions, film festivals, lectures, panel discussions, food bazaars, fashion shows, concerts and sports competitions. You can read more about what is going on around the world, spotlighting the plight of refugees here.

Two days ago, in Damascus, acclaimed Iraqi oud (lute) player Naseer Shamma raised more than USD 24,000 for UNHCR's Iraqi refugee programme with a concert at the Damascus Opera House. They sure can use the money. It has been reported that since the beginning of 2007, the falling value of the US dollar has led to a USD 6 million dollar loss of support for the UNHCR programme in Syria. There is a funding shortfall of USD 61 million for the entire Iraq operation, covering Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq. I know there are many competing issues that require our support and attention these days. But if you like to help on this one, check out UNHCR. For USG-affiliated Iraqi refugees, check out The List Project, and The List Kids.

This seems like a fitting day to also call attention to the work performed by Foreign Service Officer, Crystal Kaplan, recently announced as one of the finalists to the 2008 Service to America Medals. Her achievement: "Planned and led the U.S. and international community to resettle more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees from the refugee camps they have been living in for nearly two decades."

The following is an excerpt of the nomination narrative posted online. You can read the entire text here.

As a Political Officer in the U.S. Embassy Kathmandu, Crystal Kaplan began to research the Bhutanese refugee population in 2003. She traveled to the camps and interviewed the families living there. She began to understand the strife that these individuals faced on a daily basis. Food was in short supply. There was a rise in teenage pregnancy and violence. School-age children were unable to complete their homework after dark due to the lack of electricity. She also recognized the potential danger posed by allowing these refugees to languish in camps indefinitely. With no hope for the future, young refugees in the camps were ripe for Maoist or other terrorist group recruitment.

Kaplan did her best to advance short-term, immediate relief for camp residents. She advocated for continued U.S. funding for food, healthcare and other basic humanitarian relief. She monitored the delivery of humanitarian assistance funded by the U.S. Department of State. She also secured additional funds for high school scholarships for Bhutanese refugees who otherwise would not be able to go to school. Kaplan demonstrated her ability to find innovative solutions by establishing a public-private partnership between the Rotary Clubs of her hometown in San Clemente, California, and Kathmandu to provide funding for pedal-powered generators to provide light to the individual huts.

She worked with a coalition of six other governments to agree on a common policy and intensely lobby the government of Nepal to allow the refugees to resettle in other countries. Thanks in part to strong relationships she had built, the government of Nepal – though initially reluctant – finally agreed. Refugees are being resettled in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. On February 27, 2008, the first Bhutanese refugee arrived in the United States, and more than 200 followed in the next two months alone. This accomplishment was so extraordinary that the United Nations is working to adapt this multilateral model to resolve other protracted refugee situations around the world.

Due to her exemplary work with the Bhutanese refugees, Kaplan is now known as one of the world’s leading experts on refugee relief issues and solutions. She was appointed the U.S. Department of State Refugee Coordinator for Jerusalem in recognition of the important role humanitarian assistance to 4.5 million Palestinian refugees in the region will play in supporting long-term prospects for peace.

Crystal Kaplan’s work has yielded practical benefits for our country. She has helped to save U.S. tax dollars that will no longer be needed to maintain the Bhutanese refugee camps. She also helped avert the radicalization of this group which was vulnerable to terrorist recruitment. Her greatest achievement, however, has been giving a voice to the voiceless and helping thousands of people restore their lives and reclaim their futures.

Another finalist for the National Security and International Affairs Medal is Mary Kate Friedrich, a Civil Service employee of the State Department, serving as a Special Advisor to the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs for her work in leading the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, a major public/private effort to enhance the economic, social and political status of Afghan women.

The Service to America Medal award was created in 2002 by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to recruiting and retaining excellence in the federal civil service. The Partnership for Public Service will name the 2008 Federal Employee of the Year and recipients of the Service to America Medal at a Washington, D.C. gala on September 16.

Congratulations to you both! And thank you for doing us proud!

Brief as Photos: All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer

Some of my regular readers know that I started the Brief as Photos series after I read Paul Theroux’s Twenty-Two Stories in Harper’s and felt moved to write brief stories of no more than a thousand words. The idea is to write one story a week; that's 52 stories or approximately 52,000 words in one year. I wrote earlier that these would be short-short fictional stories with mostly a Foreign Service slant; I'm not sure there is a name for this genre - but I called this haiku fiction. This series is named “Brief as Photos,” after John Berger’s 1992 book, “And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos.”

Liam Schwartz who writes the Consular Corner for www.ilw.com recently requested the inclusion of one of the stories here for his bi-monthly issue. Although these stories are clearly labeled as fiction, I imagine that Liam have more readers than this blog and I figure this would be a good time to add a clear "all persons fictitious disclaimer."

So please note that the names and events included in the Brief as Photos series are fictional, that is, formed and conceived from this author's imagination. Any resemblance to people and events, dead or alive, are purely coincidental.

There. Now I'm going back to baking under the sun. Stay well in your corner of the world!

The Decline of America's Reputation

On June 11, the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs released the report “The Decline of America’s Reputation: Why,” based on a series of 10 hearings that the subcommittee conducted. The subcommittee chairman, Bill Delahunt says, “the data presented at these hearings make it clear that people in other nations don’t “hate us because of our values”—but rather that they are disappointed with us because we aren’t always true to those values.” Subcommittee ranking member Dana Rohrabacher on a committee statement says, “While I respect the idea that public opinion is important, what is most important is to do what is right in building a future.”

The Subcommittee identified eight main findings about the levels, trends, and causes of international opinion of American policies, values, and people. Below is a summary of the findings. You can read the entire report here (PDF document)

1. It’s true: U.S. approval ratings have fallen to record lows in nearly every region of the world. Generally positive ratings from the 1950’s to 2000 have moved to generally negative ratings since 2002. Approval ratings are highest in non-Muslim Africa and lowest in Latin America and in Muslim countries.

2. It’s the policies: Opposition to specific U.S. policies, rather than to American values or people, has driven this decline. The key policies are: The invasion and occupation of Iraq; support for repressive governments worldwide; a perceived lack of evenhandedness in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute; and torture and abuse of prisoners in violation of treaty obligations.

3. It’s the perception of hypocrisy: Disappointment and bitterness arise from the perception that the proclaimed American values of democracy, human rights, tolerance, and the rule of law have been selectively ignored by successive administrations when American security or economic considerations are in play.

4. It’s the unilateralism: A recent pattern of ignoring international consensus, particularly in the application of military power, has led to a great deal of anger and fear of attack. This in turn is transforming disagreement with U.S. policies into a broadening and deepening anti-Americanism, a trend noted by the Government Accountability Office.

5. It’s the historical memory: U.S. domination remains a potent image for long periods—and that image is used to discredit current U.S. policies.

6. It’s the lack of contact: Contact with America and Americans reduces anti-Americanism, but not opposition to specific policies. Visitors to America—particularly students—and even their families and friends, have more positive views about America than non-visitors by 10 percentage points.

7. It’s the visas: Interaction with the U.S. immigration and the visa process is a significant source of frustration with America. Particularly among Muslim applicants, the experience with customs and border officials creates a perception that they are not welcome. This perception spreads across their communities through their “horror stories” about travel to the United States.

8. It’s the perceived war on Islam: The combination of all of the previous findings has created a growing belief in the Muslim world that the United States is using the “war on terror” as a cover for its attempts to destroy Islam.

Suited for the New Diplomacy - A New Career Plan?

James P. DeHart, a career U.S. Foreign Service officer, and a fellow at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy has a piece in WaPo (Sunday, June 15, 2008; B02) entitled Suited for the New Diplomacy? Mr. DeHart who will also begin an assignment with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan next year writes:

"Today, we're seeing not only transformational diplomacy but also the transformation of diplomacy. Foreign Service officers emerging from war zones are in many cases being promoted ahead of their peers. This is understandable, but as they rise up the chain and gain a bigger say in future personnel decisions, the practitioners of more "traditional" diplomacy may find themselves relegated to an even slower track.

In recent years, the number of Foreign Service assignments categorized as "unaccompanied" -- that is, too dangerous for families -- has surged from 200 to 900. If the trend continues, new recruits may no longer view the Foreign Service as a career but as something to do for a few years before settling down to real life -- a bit like the Peace Corps, minus the peace. In a recent survey by the American Foreign Service Association, 44 percent of active Foreign Service officers said that "developments in the last few years" have made it less likely that they will remain in the Foreign Service for a full career.

Oh well. Maybe the State Department leadership will conclude that a new kind of diplomat is needed anyway, that a liberal arts degree isn't the best preparation for someone who has to learn to live with mortar fire. If so, will the diplomat of the future be just a little less cerebral and a little more likely to salute than to offer constructive dissent?"

His piece actually made me think of what a career plan might look like for the next crop of FS officers who may have no intention of having a full career in the FS. I imagine that it might look more or less like this:

Career Plan of a Would-be FSO (2011-2021)

2011: Complete Grad School

Take the FS Exam while diploma is still hot!

2012 : Work in a temporary job, maybe contractor in Iraq or Afghanistan

Best to be busy while background security investigation is conducted.

2013: Start A100

Absorb Area Studies

2013: Go to first posting (2 years, directed assignment)

(Preferably in the visa mill posts - Manila, Seoul, Mexico City, Lagos)

Rationale: learn to manage multi-culture employees; the largest consular posts have more local employees and more opportunities to have hands-ons management experience even as a junior officer. Skill me up would be my personal motto.

2015: Request Language Training - aim for at least 4/4 level

(Preferably in global languages such as Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, etc; one shot at this, care is needed in selecting language of choice that fits into overall career plan)

I know, a DC tour is hard on a 35K pay grade but I'd take 365 days of pasta and spaghetti nights in exchange for all training available (IT, soft skills, management, etc.) at FSI and elsewhere that they're willing to send me. Skill me up would continue to be my personal motto.

2016: Go to second posting (2 years)

(Preferably one of the Chinese or Indian posts, Dubai, Dublin, Bogota where language skills and/or networking would be useful; practice language skills at every opportunity to reach the 5/5 level). Skill me up would continue to be my personal motto.

A consular tour would afford the most managerial experience when in comes to cross-culture employees, in addition to program and portfolio management, customer service and other client-oriented skills. If talented as talking head, public diplomacy cone would be best; multinationals could not easily ignore somebody who has language skills and media savvy. If more of an analytical mind, might try the econ or pol cone as prelude to a career in an NGO or think tank. Have not decided what I am. Note to self: choose wisely.

2018: Go to third posting (3 years, if tenured)

(Preferably a multifunction job; this would indicate flexibility and multi-functional skills. But need to bulk up expertise in one or two areas that are transferable to private or NGO sector. Note to self: hard-language training may not be authorized until after tenure, although it can certainly be requested. If language training does not occur after the first assignment, need to request it asap after tenure is granted). Job employability is key, not job security.

2021: Goodbye Foreign Service


Let me put myself in the shoes of a candidate who joins the Service at 25 after Grad School. With three overseas assignment and possibly one hard language training, I could be out of the Service after 10 years with marketable skills. At 35, I could start a second career, get married and start a family. And I won't grow thin hair agonizing over tenure, promotion or directed assignments.

I bet this would also solve the problem of Foreign Service spouse employment! Either I don't get married until I am out of the Service or I get married during one of my tours. But either way, ten years would not totally jeopardize the career prospects and retirement security of my trailing spouse or partner.

I wonder if the State Department leadership has a table top exercise for this scenario.

Blog Notice

Personal life intervening -- posts will be intermittent for the next several weeks.

I have 45 more stories to go with Brief as Photos. I hope to post regularly again after this interruption. I still would like to get to 52 stories, so I may double post the haiku fiction in the weekends to come. Stay well in your corner of the world.

Namasté नमस्ते

6 Random Things About Me: Abridged Version

I've been “tagged” sort of, by Jill at The Perlman Update (who writes because it's cheaper than therapy). She was tagged by Earth to Danie, who was in turn tagged by a friend in the Netherlands. I read Jill because it’s also cheaper than therapy:-) I don't have much to say about myself but I'd like to give this a try for Jill...

One: I Heart Books: I was a bookworm before I knew there was a name for it. Some of my contemporary favorites are: Einstein’s Dreams, Griffin and Sabine Trilogy, Book of Embraces, Refuge, A Sand County Almanac, The Coming Anarchy. I enjoy the Robert Parker series and almost all of Carl Hiaasen's stories. They can be an expensive habit, since we like carting them around as we move. But some of my best friends are books. I know - weird.


Two: Western Sci-fi Pick: I'm a big fan of Firefly and Serenity. Does this make me a browncoat and a nerd? Firefly, the series is set in the year 2517, after humans have arrived at a new star system, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity. Created by writer/director Joss Whedon, the series was canceled by Fox after only eleven episodes to my utter dismay. A good series to study on what makes people follow their leaders.

Three: Eating Lamb: I learned to eat lamb in Turkey although I still wrinkle my nose at mutton. My favorite lamb dish is called tandir kebab, cooked in an underground brick oven. The best one I’ve tasted was prepared in Konya, a city in Turkey also famous for the tomb of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, the Persian mystical poet commonly known as "Mevlâna" and founder of the Sufi Mevlevi order (famous for The Whirling Dervishes). I have tons of pictures but they’re now in storage somewhere, not to be seen again until who knows when.

Four: Favored Fruit: Mango, a fruit that belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. I like mine green, sour and spicy, preferably the Mexican variety.

Five: Night Owl: I can stay up until 2 am but don’t ask me to get up at 6:00 am because I get bitey and cranky; not only that, my head is not quite screwed tight in the early morning, and as a consequence, I can’t remember anything before 9 am especially without a bucket of dark coffee to fire me up (a mild impairment generally, unless one has to speak at an 8:00 am meeting). I suspect that I am a night owl anywhere on earth, and elsewhere in the solar system and outer planets. I did not realize that this condition actually has a nice name, Delayed Sleep-Phase Syndrome - sounds like a dream, doesn't it?

Six: The Way I’m Wired: My Strengths Finder 2.0 results indicate strengths in the following themes: achiever, intellection, strategic, learner, input. How much of me can anyone actually change? Maalesef, not much. Beyond a certain age (and I’m long past that age), nothing much could be rewired in my brain. My best managers used my strengths to their advantage. A few worse ones, made me sit still in a corner with duct tape on my mouth (you get the idea).

That's it!

I don't feel comfortable tagging anyone at this time, so I'll take a page from Jill and just recommend the following blogs for you to check out, if you are so inclined:

Political Humor
Baghdad Observer is written by Leila Fadel, the Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered the war in Iraq for Knight Ridder and now McClatchy on and off since June 2005, as well as the 34-day war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel in the summer of 2006.

Global Voices Online
Global Voices is a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, a research think-tank focused on the Internet’s impact on society.

Marc Andreessen
Silicon Valley "whiz kid," successful entrepreneur, startup coach, blogger, investor, and a multi-millionaire software engineer best known as co-author of Mosaic, the first widely-used web browser, and co-founder of Netscape, the browser; also co-founder of Ning, a platform for social-networking websites.

Freakonomics
Their book Freakonomics has sold 3 million copies worldwide. This blog, begun in 2005, is supposed to keep the conversation going. Has six other recurring guest bloggers in addition to the two author. They always have a different take, so its often fun to read.

Danielle Crittenden
Author of What our Mothers Didn't Tell Us and the recent Washington novel, Amanda Bright @ Home. Recently she writes about aging: “In my case, I look fine for a 45-year-old. I'm a tired 40-year-old. I'm a haggard 35-year-old. But I'm an astonishing 50-year-old. Go on, check the seams: the jaw-line is pillowing slightly so no intervention there; there are crinkles at the eyes, topography on the forehead. I defy you to detect signs of insurgency.” She cracks me up with posts like this and her presidential IMs. And don't miss her plug for netpets :-)

How many ambassadors does it take to change a light bulb in Baghdad?

I just saw that Ambassador Adam Ereli (until recently US Ambassador to Bahrain) has arrived in Baghdad to serve as Public Affairs Counselor for 2008-2009. The embassy notice says: From 2007 to 2008 Ereli has served as Ambassador to Bahrain. He will return to post when his tour in Iraq is completed in 2009. (Ambassador Ereli, like all ambassadors still has to tender his resignations when the new U.S. President takes office in January 2009). Anyway, prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Bahrain, Ambassador Ereli was Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy for Overseas Communications, based in London. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Spokesman of the Department of State (2003-2006) and was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, from 2000 to 2003.

The U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, Robert Ford, is reportedly also heading back to Baghdad as chief of what is probably now the largest Political Section in the world. Ambassador Ford was previously Political Counselor of Baghdad from 2004-2006, the same job that he will encumber this time around. I could be wrong but this might actually be his third tour there. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Bahrain from 2001 until 2004.

According to the Office of the Spokesman, the most recent DCM in Baghdad was previously the Ambassador to Belarus, who was replaced by a former Ambassador to Bangladesh. The Political Section, most recently was headed by the former Ambassador to Syria who will be replaced by our Ambassador to Algeria. Another former ambassador reportedly became the political-military counselor, and yet another became coordinator for the economic transition. Assistance work and the PRTs reportedly have their own ambassador –rank staffers, too.

Ambassadors here, there and everywhere. Of course, in addition to Ambassador Crocker, who plans to retire in January.

The Spokesman says that this really paints a picture of a Department that has stepped up and answered the call that the Secretary has put out for experienced, seasoned people to serve in Embassy Baghdad. That is well and good but – does State really need that many ambassadors and that much experience and talent expended in one area of the world? This makes me wonder about the Department’s overall talent management strategy here.

Strategic use of limited resources: Is there one? The most senior members of the FS have 20-30 years of experience under their belts. Although they are "generalist" who could be assigned anywhere in the world, the truth of the matter is they have relevant expertise only in certain areas of the world. By placing them in Iraq, State has taken away talent that could be its most effective representative elsewhere in the world and lumped them together in an already saturated talent pool called Baghdad. Somebody please explain this to me. I know the reasoning must be simple, but I just can’t understand why we have so many ambassadors working in Iraq. Won’t they trip over each other?

Stretch assignment: State has always prided itself with offering stretch assignments, allowing junior and midlevel officers to serve a rank or two above their grades. It is good practice but also a pragmatic one, since State has been afflicted with the curse of deep staffing gaps for years now. Is State using stretch assignments in Baghdad, or has it been decided that the practice is great elsewhere but not in Iraq? I’m not proposing sending our JOs straight out of A100 to Iraq, but c’mon, I’ve never seen this many senior officers assigned to a single place except Iraq, and well, there's Foggy Bottom. An argument could be made that this simply shows that Iraq is our most important foreign policy engagement at the moment. If this is so, shouldn't people up on the 7th floor be holding office in Baghdad on a monthly rotation instead of doing quick trips? I'm sure somebody would tell me, "But Iraq is not the world!" there are other hotspots around the globe.

True, Iraq is not the world, it says so on my NGS map - so why can't we rightsize the embassy in Baghdad as we're trying to do with the rest of the State Department's overseas presence around the world? And wouldn't this be a good job for the Office of Management Policy, Rightsizing and Innovation? And while I'm in an inquiring mood, does anyone have a good rationale for the staffing pattern in Baghdad? I really would like to know. I don’t think even AFSA knows except that we need more people there.

The thing is - I don't know very much but I understand that we have 29-30 poloffs in Baghdad. Even with minnow-brains, I have to ask if we really need 30 political officers working at the Political Section there? How often do these officers travel outside the Green Zone (GZ) to meet with their Iraqi contacts? Do we have 30 portfolios for these officers to tackle during their year of service in Iraq? Is there continuity to the work they are doing there, or do they spend their first three-six months starting from scratch with every officer rotation? How many Blackwater Worldwide guards are required to escort each Political Officer on every excursion outside the GZ? How many Diplomatic Security Agents are required to escort each Blackwater mission escorting each Political Officer on every excursion outside the GZ? See, how that gets a bit confusing?

If the US Embassy in Baghdad is the forerunner and model for the much touted “expeditionary” diplomacy of the future, I think it might need to go on a lean diet before it could effectively run.

Steve over at Dead Men Working, by the way, has an excellent piece that explains, Why Don't We Just "Soldier Up" in response to the Washington Times editorial, the paper's opening salvo for the nth Annual "Bash the Foreign Service" Party. You understand, it's a summer thing. Steve wrote an enlightening piece for those not too familiar about the Foreign Service and you can read it here. Consul-at-Arms has also written about this last week here. In case readers missed the point, there was also an accompanying editorial cartoon for this year's festivities. John Naland of AFSA has responded to that here.

I apologize that I don't have much to add except to politely request all past and future bashers - why don't you slap us naked and hide our clothes after we've done all the packing/unpacking in Ouagadougou, Timbuktu, Banjul, Ashgabat and elsewhere in this worldwide available universe? Or better yet, why don't you come join the fun, as in sign up and walk in these reportedly comfy and cushy shoes? Shh.... just between you and me, they're not as comfy or as cushy as they were made out to be, but we get beaten up for it still the same.

Brief as Photos - 7: A Diplomat’s Wife

Imagine what it would be like if a local newspaper got wind of the news that a U.S. diplomat’s wife consulted with the “bruja” of Izalco? Isabel could not help making a face at herself on the rear view mirror as she drove west of the capital city. She realized that what she was about to do was quite embarrassing, if known.

Izalco was only 59 kilometers from the capital. She could do the trip quickly and still be home for dinner. “But, who’s going to miss me?” she asked Mr. Big, the silent life-sized male doll seated on the front seat of her Subaru. Some of her friends thought her quite weird driving around the city with an inflatable doll. But with a husband engaged somewhere else most days and now nights, too, she thought it best to ride with her “security blanket” at all times. Another person in the car, particularly of the male persuasion seemed to discourage crimes of opportunity like carjacking. Most days, the security guards at the grocery stores could not even tell the difference. So unless the bad guys looked really closely, they would not know that the guy sitting next to her was nothing more than plastic and air.

It was the end of the rainy season and as she drove through the countryside, she could not help but appreciate the lushness of the country. The mountains were vivid green and the sky was as blue as indigo, without a hint of clouds anywhere. The fire trees dotted the mountainside with their vivid red flowers like flames dancing in the wind. The sun was bright in the sky and the breeze was blowing just so. She rolled down her window and breathed in the fresh air.

She had met her husband at the university many years ago and they were married shortly before he joined the diplomatic corps. Despite the challenges of overseas life, she enjoyed every place they had been posted to. She taught herself to be the perfect wife and hostess and she was a tireless community organizer, performing countless hours of volunteer work inside the mission and in local schools and orphanages. She could not imagine any other “career” but this one. When her husband was promoted into the ranks of the Senior Foreign Service, she felt as if she also gained a promotion. She always appreciated the fact that he often referred to his FS career as “our career.” She did not mind being the helpmate, if that was the word. She thought of their life as a full partnership, and imagined being with him when he makes the ambassador ranks.

But sometimes when one is not looking, life can changed in so many subtle ways; one is often surprised when confronted with the details. As a senior officer, she understood how much of his work resulted from having the right contacts in the right places, and she did not complain. Later, there were late functions and weekend invitations to the beach house or the mountain retreat, always prefaced with being a boys’ night out. It was right there in front of her nose; she should have realized sooner what was going on, but then what?

Last night he came home and over their usual late dinner, told her he did not want to be married anymore. Just like that, 25 years later, just like that. She tried to take the news calmly; after all, she was still a diplomat’s wife. Cool and collected they talked, and it dawned on her that it was not so much the state of marriage that he was now averse to, it was the state of his marriage to her that he wanted to conclude. He claimed there was no other woman but she knew him for far too long. She knew negotiations had already been reached behind her back.

It was mid morning when Isabel arrived at Izalco. She stopped at one of the comedores around the Iglesia de Dolores and inquired about the woman named Concepcion de Alvarado. One of her local friends told Isabel once that people across the country still come to Izalco to speak with this 81 years old woman, the oldest living witch in town.

The witch looked as ancient as the house she lived in. She asked Isabel what she wanted as her dark, gnarled hands, surprisingly strong, gripped Isabel’s. Isabel took out a photograph of her husband and quietly said, “I’ve devoted my life to this man for the last 25 years, he does not want me anymore.”

Old, wise eyes looked at her and asked, “Do you want him back?”

“No,” Isabel replied, surprised at the word that escaped her lips. She wrote two requests on a small piece of paper; the witch used it as kindling to the coals burning slowly in her wood stove as she sang a litany in a foreign tongue. Just like that, she saw her marriage over in the ashes, and a new life came forth from the embers.

Shortly after, she was back at her house. She started making phone calls, and prepared for departure. Surprisingly, with no real marketable skills, and a checkered employment history, she has never felt stronger. A large project needed to be tackled – getting back on her feet, as best as she could tell, would require all the energy and talent she was known for; she was not about to shy away from the task. As for her future ex-husband, she felt confident he would always have his dream just slightly beyond his reach, close enough but no cigar. He would wallow in DCM-foreverland, about the highest he could be in the alphabet soup.

In the meantime, her new life beckoned, out there in the full sun, with no shade for comfort, nor shadow to cloak her, and she was not afraid.

Disclaimer

The Zimbabwe Tinderbox

One of the victims of post-election violence in Zimbabwe
photo courtesy of www.newzimbabwe.com

In December 2003, Samantha Power (yes, that Samantha Power) wrote How to Kill a Country or turning a breadbasket into a basket case in ten easy steps—the Robert Mugabe way:

1. Destroy the engine of productivity

2. Bury the truth

3. Crush dissent

4. Legislate the impossible

5. Teach hate

6. Scare off foreigners

7. Invade a neighbor

8. Ignore a deadly enemy

9. Commit genocide

10. Blame the imperialists

Four years later and still counting, Robert Mugabe, at 84 is still at it, and holding on to every scrap of tricks he could think of.

In April when the first confirmation of electoral victory by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the Mugabe Government deployed thousands of supporters to “discipline” people, mostly in rural areas, for having “voted the wrong way.”

In mid-May, United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee and several other western diplomats were held for over an hour at a police roadblock in Mashonaland Central while visiting victims of Zimbabwe's post-election violence.

Last week, three South African men arrested on a Zimbabwean highway and found in possession of “illegal” television equipment bearing logo of Britain’s Sky television were jailed for six months each.

Recent State Department Travel Alert cautions that "Americans should be particularly cautious when using still, video or telephone cameras in any urban setting, or in the vicinity of any political activity, as this could be construed by Zimbabwean authorities as practicing journalism without accreditation, a crime punishable by arrest, incarceration and/or deportation." It looks like in just a week, you now get jail time simply for possession of communication tools.

Yesterday, the Zimbabwe government said it had indefinitely suspended all work by aid groups and non-governmental organisations, accusing a number of breaching their terms of registration. In a memorandum sent to aid groups, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Nicholas Goche, said he had learned that aid groups were violating the terms of their agreement with the government. He did not elaborate in the brief statement.

Speaking at a world summit on food security, hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome on Tuesday, President Robert Mugabe accused NGOs of working to topple his government. "Funds are being channelled through non-governmental organizations to ... opposition political parties which are a creation of the West," he said, "Further, these western-funded NGOs also use food as a political weapon with which to campaign against (the) government especially in the rural areas."

Quick translation: They're feeding the hungry, and the hungry may not vote for the ruling ZANU-FP in the run-off election. Think this through people - the run-off is not until the end of the month, with two more weeks to go, a hungry voter could easily become a dead voter, what good would that do? Unless. Yes, of course, the dead voter could not vote for the other guy, right! Darn, these guys are smart!

In the meantime, some 20 hours ago while Old Bob was in Rome, the Zimbabwean currency finally crashed. Reuters is reporting that Zimbabwe's currency plunged to a new record low on Thursday, trading at an average 1 billion to the U.S. dollar on a recently introduced interbank market and triggering massive price increases. A loaf of bread, which cost about Z$15 million before the polls, now costs about Z$600 million.

Also yesterday, there was a high-speed car chase through the Zimbabwean countryside with police in hot pursuit of U.S. diplomats. A phalanx of armed riot police blocking the Americans' car. And threats by supporters of President Robert Mugabe to drag the diplomats from their vehicle at a roadblock, burn the car and kill them. Although the group was later released, a U.S. Embassy driver was beaten and sustained injuries in the incident. U.S. Ambassador James McGee, declared that Zimbabwe "has become a lawless country."

Sounds like a thriller except that this is real life. In an ABC News report, Ambassador McGee acknowledges that as dangerous as the situation was, it could have turned out much worse and said, "I had some very, very cool people out there in the field."

As Zimbabwe continues to spiral out of control, I remember reading a piece written by Z. Pallo Jordan, a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of South Africa's ruling African National Congress. Below is an excerpt:

"Like peace and stability, democracy and good governance are developmental issues. Africa waged a century-long struggle against colonialism and apartheid precisely to establish the principle that governments should derive legitimacy through the consent of the governed. Democratic institutions are therefore not privileges that may be extended or withheld at the discretion of those who wield power. They are an entitlement; a right that the people of this continent waged struggle to attain and won at great cost!"

[…]"We have also warned against the temptations of recklessness that could easily precipitate armed conflict. We have consistently appealed to the values and norms that the national liberation movement in Zimbabwe waged struggle to attain - the values of democracy; accountable government; the rule of law; an independent judiciary; non-racialism; political tolerance and freedom of the media. Not a single one of these values was observed under British colonial rule, let alone under the UDI regime of Ian Smith and his cronies. We consider it a scandal that they are now being undermined by the movement that struggled to achieve them."

[…] "The questions we should be asking are: What has gone so radically wrong that the movement and the leaders who brought democracy to Zimbabwe today appear to be its ferocious violators. What has gone so wrong that they appear to be most fearful of it?"

What has gone radically wrong? Somebody just did not know when to exit the stage. In that short stretch of when, a man walks the thin line between greatness and damnation. Mugabe became leader of Zimbabwe in March of 1980. The thin line had been crossed a long time ago.

If he is now a tad paranoid, who could blame him? There's a reason for holding on to every scrap of tricks, both imaginable and unimaginable. The alternative is far too dark to contemplate, check here and here. Dictators, if they're lucky have a way of getting spirited out of their troubled countries and rotting to death in a foreign country, with the horror of their memories for company. If they're unlucky, they tend to leave their heads elsewhere, unmarked, unadorned and forgotten by the people they professed to loved. Heck, who wants that?

A Reflection of State Department Reality?

This past week as Reuters (Condi may not be a rocker but Kiss likes her), AP (Condoleezza Rice enlists in Kiss Army fan club), AFP (Condoleezza Rice meets KISS and tells), even the NYT (Kicking Back with KISS) reports about the Secretary of State’s late-night meeting with a rock group in Sweden (Iraq conference there), somebody else was making news in the other side of the world.

Eric Schmitt reports for NYT from Bangkok on June 2 on the Secretary of Defense and writes in part: “In the strongest remarks yet by a high-ranking American official, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Sunday that Myanmar was guilty of “criminal neglect” for blocking large-scale international aid to cyclone victims, and that more Burmese civilians would perish unless the military regime reversed its policy."

The day before (WaPo, Sunday, June 1, 2008; Page A17) he also made the news for assailing Burma’s response to the cyclone: "Burma's rulers "have kept their hands in their pockets" while other countries sought to help cyclone victims, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Saturday, branding the military government as "deaf and dumb" for obstructing aid efforts. Despite the dire situation, Gates said at an international security conference that the United States would not force assistance on the country. He also said the next U.S. administration will maintain a strong commitment to Asia and the rest of the world."

Two days before, on the 31^st, he was in Singapore talking about US engagement in Asia: “Our relations with partners and friends, and our engagement in Asia, are more and more the fabric that binds together what is becoming a web of relationships including our growing ties with India and our increasing engagement with China. While different in form and scope, we value these ties with Asia’s two most prominent rising powers." A few more excerpts below:

"The United States notes the stirrings of a new regionalism, a pan-Asian search for new frameworks to encompass and thereby moderate inter-state competition. We welcome the resulting search for a “new security architecture,” a search that is still provisional and, by its nature, complementary to the peace and order that prevail today with the help and support of so many of our friends. The search for this regional architecture will continue – after all, one can hardly suggest that it is appropriate for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to develop regional security institutions, but not for Asia to do so."

"However, we do have some benchmarks. For starters, we should avoid an approach that treats the quest for a new security architecture as some kind of zero-sum game. The fact is the region as whole has benefited in recent decades because of cooperation on issues of common concern. The collaborative reality of Asia’s security today is to the exclusion of no single country. It is instead a continuously developing enterprise undertaken with allies, friends, and partners. But it can only succeed if we treat the region as a single entity. There is little room for a separate “East Asian” order."

[...] "We will work to ensure that the United States continues to be welcomed in coming years in this part of the world, as we have been in the past."

Amidst this, I came across Frida Berrigan’s piece “Entrenched, Embedded, and Here to Stay: The Pentagon's Expansion Will Be Bush's Lasting Legacy,” surprisingly, I’ve read it in the Baltimore Chronicle but not elsewhere in the larger media outlets. Frida Berrigan is a Senior Program Associate at the New America Foundation's Arms and Security Initiative. She is a columnist for Foreign Policy in Focus and a contributing editor at In These Times magazine. She is the author of reports on the arms trade and human rights, U.S. nuclear weapons policy, and the domestic politics of U.S. missile defense and space weapons policies. Her piece is quite long, but I note that item #2 and #6 (excerpted in part below) have specific references to the State Department.

Excerpts:

2. The Pentagon as Diplomat: The Bush administration has repeatedly exhibited its disdain for discussion and compromise, treaties and agreements, and an equally deep admiration for what can be won by threat and force. No surprise, then, that the White House's foreign policy agenda has increasingly been directed through the military. With a military budget more than 30 times that of all State Department operations and non-military foreign aid put together, the Pentagon has marched into State's two traditional strongholds -- diplomacy and development -- duplicating or replacing much of its work, often by refocusing Washington's diplomacy around military-to-military, rather than diplomat-to-diplomat, relations.

Since the late eighteenth century, the U.S. ambassador in any country has been considered the president's personal representative, responsible for ensuring that foreign policy goals are met. As one ambassador explained; "The rule is: if you're in country, you work for the ambassador. If you don't work for the ambassador, you don't get country clearance."

In the Bush era, the Pentagon has overturned this model. According to a 2006 Congressional report by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Embassies as Command Posts in the Anti-Terror Campaign, civilian personnel in many embassies now feel occupied by, outnumbered by, and subordinated to military personnel. They see themselves as the second team when it comes to decision-making. Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates is aware of the problem, noting as he did last November that there are "only about 6,600 professional Foreign Service officers -- less than the manning for one aircraft carrier strike group." But, typically, he added that, while the State Department might need more resources, "Don't get me wrong, I'll be asking for yet more money for Defense next year." Another ambassador lamented that his foreign counterparts are "following the money" and developing relationships with U.S. military personnel rather than cultivating contacts with their State Department counterparts.

As Southcom head Admiral James Stavridis vividly put the matter, the command now likes to see itself as "a big Velcro cube that these other agencies can hook to so we can collectively do what needs to be done in this region."

6. The Pentagon as Humanitarian Caregiver Abroad: The U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department have traditionally been tasked with responding to disaster abroad; but, from Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged shores to Myanmar after the recent cyclone, natural catastrophe has become another presidential opportunity to "send in the Marines" (so to speak). The Pentagon has increasingly taken up humanitarian planning, gaining an ever larger share of U.S. humanitarian missions abroad.

From Kenya to Afghanistan, from the Philippines to Peru, the U.S. military is also now regularly the one building schools and dental clinics, repairing roads and shoring up bridges, tending to sick children and doling out much needed cash and food stuffs, all civilian responsibilities once upon a time. The Center for Global Development finds that the Pentagon's share of "official development assistance" -- think "winning hearts and minds" or "nation-building" – has increased from 6% to 22% between 2002 and 2005. The Pentagon is fast taking over development from both the NGO-community and civilian agencies, slapping a smiley face on military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond.

Dad burn it! Ah hit my finger widda hammer jest reading this!

To read the whole piece, click here - and watch yer fingers!

Truth to tell, I can’t make up my mind if I want to borrow Secretary Gates or adopt him for Foggy Bottom. I mean really, I have not seen anyone stumping harder for more money for the State Department. Most recently, at the Brookings Institution dinner he says: […] “the State Department must be strengthened even further – in money, people, and bureaucratic clout – to truly fulfill its responsibilities as the lead agency in American foreign policy. He indicated that there is strong support in the ranks of the military for building up this civilian capacity. Which prompted Melinda Brouwer over at the Foreign Policy Blogs to ask if State is DOD’s charity case given that Admiral Mike Mullen, as Chief of Naval Operations also said at a Brookings event last year (and repeated by Secretary Gates in this speech) that he’d be willing to give part of the Navy’s budget to the State Department.

Anyway, just how much of the goings on in Sweden actually made it to the front page of your newspaper, except for the KISS part? Dang! Not much! I’m not saying it is the SecDef’s fault that he is getting more press these days in the international arena than the SecState (he did not even meet with a rock group). But here I am left wondering – has the mainstream media decided that Condi=Iraq is not really newsworthy anymore? Or that the “bureaucratic imperialism” by the Pentagon is not worth its paper and ink? Or that Robert Gates has more interesting things to say about the world and where it is going? Is it a matter of responding to the public's mood or are they shaping the public's perception?

I can't say. But I do know this - the traditional print media's clout is fast eroding. The news fit to print are now on the web, served á la carte, coming from the most unusual places. Take your pick just don't get stuck in grandpa's daily. That said, I can't shake the thought that this is not all the media's fault. As scholar, Fred Charles Ikle says, "When a nation becomes engaged in a major war, a new set of men and new government agencies often move into the center of power. As diplomacy breaks down the role of foreign ministries [...] is much diminished."

In this era of the "long war," are we perhaps simply seeing the news cycle as a reflection of reality here - a much diminished State Department, serially underfunded and before long, a "lead" agency in name only?

Brief as Photos - 6: The Good Consul

He was the type of diplomat people here admired; he was always charming, a great host, a good memory for names and faces, and was never off timing during karaoke time. He was also probably the most even tempered person I’ve ever known in all the time I’ve worked at the Consulate. The first week I was there, he told me that I should not hesitate to call him if I ever get unreasonable demands or a difficult customer at the window. I have never seen him lost his temper except once which I remember vividly.

An American citizen came in one day to apply for a Legal Capacity, a required document for foreigners marrying locally. It was a simple document where the applicant would state name and address, indicate freedom to marry, pay the notarial fee and swear before the U.S. consular official that the statement was true and correct. Post was kind of a backwater for everything else, but the marriage business was booming.

Mr. John Q. Public who was in his 50’s hailed from South Dakota and came in to marry the love of his life, Elena, all of 14 years old. The man was well-dressed and seemed polite enough but he did smell like a walking brewery. We all thought “ew” but there were no grounds to deny the notarial request. Young Elena was present with both parents, armed with a notarized parental consent for marriage. This was a country where the laws did not specify the minimum marital age. Therefore, anyone, including minors could legally marry as long as the parents provided their consent.

The Consul did not show any indication that he disapproved but I could tell that he was similarly bothered. He had me translate while he interviewed the girl; we had never interviewed any of the prospective brides in the past.

“Do you understand what you are doing here?” the Consul asked gently in English, while I translated.

“Yes, I am going to marry Mr. John Q. Public,” Elena replied in a small voice. It was a strange response because she actually used her prospective groom’s full name including the “Mister.”

“Do you realize that he may take you away from here; take you all the way to America after you are married?” he asked again.

“Yes, he will take me to South Dakota, but my parents said that he would take care of me,” the girl responded.

The Consul asked a few more questions but the girl appeared to understand what she was doing. Perhaps it was true love; either that or she was coached very well. Finally, we called Mr. John Q. Public, who raised his hand and swore before the U.S. Consul that the statement he gave us was true and correct.

I did not think I would see Mr. John Q. Public again but he showed up a couple of weeks later with a woman who was applying for a tourist visa. I recognized him right away but did not see his young bride anywhere. He did not come up to the counter until after his woman companion was refused a visa. Then he marched up to the counter and demanded to see the U.S. ambassador. I explained that this was a Consulate and that the U.S. Ambassador only occupies office at the Embassy, in the capital city. So then Mr. John Q. Public demanded to see the U.S. consul immediately. Just in case I did not understand the urgency of his demand, he slapped the counter hard with both palms of his hands, and repeated in a loud voice, “I want to see the U.S. Consul now!”

Before I could turn to get the Consul, the man was already striding towards the counter, and appeared to know that there was brewing trouble.

“How can I help you, sir?” the Consul asked politely.

“I demand that you issue this woman a visa!” replied Mr. John Q.

“I have already talked to this woman and she is not qualified,” the Consul responded.

Perhaps aghast at the thought of being husband and caregiver at the same time, there was a strain of panic in the man's voice. “But you don’t understand, sir; this is my wife’s nanny. She has to have a visa!” cried Mr. John Q.

Pulling up to his full height of 6 feet and 4 inches, the U.S. Consul whose ears have turned raspberry red by now, leaned forward on the counter, stared hard at the taxpayer and said coldly, “You came in earlier to marry a young girl of 14 and now you come back to get a visa for your wife’s nanny. Mr. John Q. Public, sir - you better get out of here before I kick your ass out of my office.”

Strangely enough, Mr. John Q. Public scuttled out of there pretty quickly like a mouse.

Brief as Photos Disclaimer