HRC Presents Heroism Award to Lynne Tracy

Secretary Clinton will recognize FSO, Lynne Tracy with the Award for Heroism at the Department of State today. Ms. Tracy recently completed a three-year tour as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan. On August 26, 2008 gunmen ambushed her vehicle, riddling the car with bullets. Despite this, she remained in Peshawar for another year after the attack and continued to pursue U.S. policy at this critical post.

The Award for Heroism reads: “In recognition of your brave service as Principal Officer in Peshawar, Pakistan from September 2006 to August 2009. Despite a violent kidnapping attempt and threats against your life, you remained at this critical post to complete your mission with steadfast courage and gallant leadership."

Lynne Tracy served as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan from September, 2006 to August, 2009. Since joining the State Department in 1994, Ms. Tracy’s overseas assignments have been concentrated in Central and South Asia, with postings in Astana as Principal Officer (2004 -2006), Kabul (2002-2003), Bishkek (1997-2000) and an earlier tour in Peshawar (1995-1997). Her Washington assignments include Kazakhstan Desk Officer (2003-2004), Georgia Desk Officer (2001-2002) and the Office of the Special Ambassador to the Newly Independent States (2000-2001). She is a recipient of several Superior Honor Awards.

Ms. Tracy was born in Barberton, Ohio. She received a B.A. in Soviet Studies from the University of Georgia in 1986, and a law degree in 1994 from the University of Akron. After language training, she expects to take up her new position as Deputy Chief of Mission in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in 2010.

The transcript of the ceremony is here. Video below:

HRC Presents Heroism Award to Matt Sherman

Secretary Clinton made an unannounced visit to Kabul yesterday and had a meet and greet with Embassy Kabul employees. She also presented FSO, Matt Sherman the Department of State’s Award for Heroism. Excerpt from the meet & greet:

“There is one Embassy staff member in particular, a Foreign Service officer who has gone above and beyond the call of duty that I just wanted to mention, because to a great extent, he represents all of you. Last May, Matt Sherman was on a mission with military colleagues when the lead convoy vehicle struck an IED and flipped. Matt raced from the safety of his vehicle to assist the wounded soldiers. And in recognition of his courageous and selfless actions, the troops of Task Force Spartan, Third Brigade Command Team, 10^th Mountain Division, from upstate New York, nominated him – let’s give a round of applause for Fort Drum, okay? (Applause.) The 10^th Mountain Division were the first American soldiers to come to Afghanistan after 9/11. I had the honor, when I was a senator from New York, escorting President Karzai to Fort Drum to thank the 10^th Mountain Division and to recognize their sacrifice.

Well, the Task Force and the Brigade Command Team and the 10^th Mountain Division have nominated Matt Sherman for the Department of State Award for Heroism. And Matt – where’s Matt? Matt, come up here. Matt, please. (Applause.)

Well, Matt, we have approved – big surprise – we have approved – (laughter) – this award in appreciation for your outstanding service. As I said, there are a lot of people who have performed just extraordinary and admirable service on behalf of the United States.”

Special Agent Fred Ketchem: DS Employee of the Year

Fred Ketchem Sr., Special Agent Fred Ketchem,U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton,and Shareen Ketchem after the awards ceremony.U.S. Department of State Photo.

DS Special Agent Fred Ketchem was named the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security 2008 Employee of the Year.

At a November 5 ceremony at the Harry S Truman Building, Under Secretary for Political Affairs William J. Burns presented Ketchem with a certificate signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He also received a monetary award of $10,000.

The award was given to Ketchem for his superior achievements as senior deputy regional security officer during his tour of duty at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

From March 2008 to January 2009, Ketchem helped manage all security programs and investigations on behalf of the U.S. Department of State in Baghdad — site of the largest U.S. Embassy in the world. Ketchem supervised a security staff of nearly 3,500 employees — including more than 80 Diplomatic Security Special Agents — and oversaw a budget of almost one billion dollars.

According to the State Department, Ketchem showed tremendous leadership and courage under fire in a war zone beset by more than 26,000 attacks during his tenure. In fact, soon after his arrival, the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad experienced its most intense period of sustained rocket attacks to date.

Ketchem and members of the RSO Baghdad team also received the Department of State’s 2008 Award for Heroism for selfless actions under heavy fire.

Ketchem is currently the Special Agent in Charge of Secretary Clinton’s protective detail.

Read the whole thing here.

The AFSA Challenge: Prove This Theory Wrong

Image by PaDumBumPsh via Flickr

Francesca Kelly in the latest issue of AFSANews writes:

On June 18, AFSA honored seven members of the Foreign Service community for their extraordinary work in the field, including three who were honored for their constructive dissent. These individuals serve as an inspiration to all members of the Foreign Service.

However, two AFSA constructive dissent awards were not given out at the ceremony: the Herter Award for a senior FSO, and the Harriman Award for an entry-level officer. Why not? Because there was not a single nomination in either of these two categories. In trying to determine the reason for this, one AFSA staffer astutely postulated: “The entry-level officers are too junior to rock the boat, and the senior FSOs don’t want to jeopardize their position of power.” This may well be true.

And once we started thinking about it, we wanted to find out. So AFSA is offering a challenge to the FS community worldwide: Prove this theory wrong.

Of course, before anyone can pick up the AFSA challenge, somebody has to pick up the dissent challenge. As Ambassador Ed Peck writes: “The basic criterion for winning an AFSA dissent award is clear: you must take up the cudgels, but strictly within the system. Resigning eliminates any element of risk, and going public takes the issue outside the system. Either action therefore removes eligibility for an award.”

Read A Challenge to Honor Dissent, FSJ November 2009, p.51, online edition.

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• 2 FAM 070 Dissent Channel | PDF

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Barack Hussein Obama: Nobel Peace Prize 2009

President Barack Obama visits Sunset Lakein Yellowstone National Park on Aug. 15, 2009(Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

Oslo, October 9, 2009 –

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

* * *

President Obama is the third sitting American President to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize, following Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was awarded the prize in 2002.

See the list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates from 1901-2009 here. The video of the announcement is here.

And here is what President Obama says on winning the Nobel Prize:

Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning. After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, "Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday!" And then Sasha added, "Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up." So it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective.

I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee. Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build -- a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

Read the full statement here.

AFSA Constructive Dissent Awards

I just saw this announcement from AFSA. This year's AFSA awards for intellectual courage, initiative, and integrity in the context of constructive dissent will be presented to the following Foreign Service employees who demonstrated the courage to speak out and challenge the system, despite the possible consequences. The announcement says that each will receive a certificate of recognition and $2,500 for their unique actions and courage.

-- The Tex Harris Award for a Foreign Service Specialist was awarded to Barron I. Rosen, a diplomatic courier based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Honorable mention is also given to three colleagues of Mr. Rosen: Kelli Cook, Kathleen Betso and Eileen School. Mr. Rosen spoke out against unsafe practices which impacted the duties of the couriers assigned to travel to Central American posts. Couriers were required to travel on unsafe cargo planes for up to 20 hours. The cargo company required all the couriers to sign a liability waiver. Mr. Rosen objected to this waiver which would not allow them to bring action against the company in the event of an accident or gross negligence. After considerable persistence on the part of Mr. Rosen, management cancelled the arrangement with the cargo company and the couriers now fly on commercial carriers.


--The William R. Rivkin Award for a mid-level Foreign Service Officer will be presented to two separate individuals. Jeffrey S. Collins, a political officer at U.S. Embassy Ankara, and Michael C. Gonzales, Political/Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa will each receive the award.

Jeffrey Collins worked hard to improve the protection of human rights in Turkey and to raise awareness of the need to reform and improve the State Departments system of human rights reporting. He challenged both the Embassy leadership and State Department officials on existing policies for meeting with human rights activists, and he made specific recommendations on how to improve the human rights reporting process.

Michael Gonzales worked diligently within the proper channels to rebalance U.S. foreign policy toward Ethiopia to better advance U.S. long-term interests. He challenged the status quo to draw attention to the authoritarian policies of the Ethiopian government despite significant resistance from the State Department and Africa Bureau and succeeded in having his recommendations included in the Embassy's report to the transition team.


--There were no winners this year of the Harriman Award for a junior-level officer, or the Herter Award for a senior-level officer.

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Tomas Perez: Diplomatic Courier Honored for Heroism

Foreign Affairs Day seems like an appropriate day to remember not just retirees who are back at the State Department for the annual homecoming event, but also current employees who have done more than what is asked of them. One of them is Tomas “Andy” Perez, a diplomatic courier who was honored this past February with the State Department’s Award for Heroism.

As a Diplomatic Courier, Perez routinely accompanies classified diplomatic pouches in support of the U.S. Department of State’s mission, ensuring that equipment and materials arrive securely at diplomatic posts. However, on May 25, 2008, the job was anything but routine.

That morning Perez was strapped into the jump seat of a Kalitta 747-200 cargo aircraft, traveling with a four-member crew from Brussels. As the aircraft began takeoff, Perez and the crew heard a loud noise. The pilot aborted liftoff and tried to stop the aircraft, but, as the landing gear failed, the airplane skipped the runway and plunged into a field. The crash caused the fuselage to break apart. The aircraft’s nose section, which included the cockpit holding Perez and the four crew members, broke off from the rest of the plane and dropped to the ground, stopping just 26 feet from high power lines and railroad tracks.

Despite sustaining injuries, Perez jumped into action to help the others on board. In the chaos, the air filling with the smell of jet fuel, and two of the escape hatches damaged by the crash and rendered unusable, Perez was able to locate a working hatch, open it, and lead the crew to safety. However, the group then faced a steep, dangerous descent, and the crew was understandably hesitant to jump from the plane. Perez again led the way, demonstrating how to use the escape slide to slow their steep descent and land safely.

Once the crew was safely on the ground, Perez attended to the injured and quickly alerted authorities at the Department about the accident and his need for support. Never forgetting his duty as a Diplomatic Courier, Perez refused to leave the site for medical treatment so that he could maintain surveillance of the diplomatic pouches—enough material to fill an 18-wheeler truck. Crews from U.S. Embassies around the world flew in to take shifts guarding the cargo continuously for eight days while HAZMAT personnel cleared the leaking jet fuel and investigators combed the crash site.

For his valor under life-threatening conditions, Perez was presented with the Department of State’s Award for Heroism. In a ceremony on February 17, 2009 at the U.S. Department of State’s Annex in Rosslyn, Virginia, Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Eric J. Boswell presented Perez with a medal set and a certificate signed by the Secretary.

Perez became a Diplomatic Courier in 2005 and worked in the Washington, D.C. office. He began working in the Frankfurt Regional Diplomatic Courier Division in September 2008. The presentation of the Award for Heroism is not the first time the U.S. Department of State has honored Perez. In 2007, he received the Meritorious Honor Award for outstanding efforts in office modernization and dedication to the mission of the U.S. Diplomatic Courier Service. Prior to coming to State, Perez served in the United States Army for eight years; he was a Russian linguist, and he received two Army Achievement medals.

2008 Foreign Service Nationals of the Year

U.S. diplomatic missions overseas often hire local employees (called FSNs for Foreign Service Nationals, or LES for Locally Employed Staff) to perform non-sensitive administrative functions. Their jobs can range from low-level menial positions, such as switchboard operators, drivers, electricians and clerks to jobs with more substantial responsibilities like political assistants, economic specialists, trade assistants, visa supervisors and others. Smaller U.S. missions may be supported by half a dozen FSNs while large embassies can employ hundreds of them.

LE Staff constitute the largest category of Department of State employees. There are approximately 38,000 LE staff worldwide, plus thousands more LE staff for other federal agencies like USDA, DHS, DOJ, DOC and others. They are sometimes referred to as the backbone of the Foreign Service, as they keep U.S. missions around the world running smoothly, despite the regular turnover of American officers and specialists.

Every year around November, the State Department honors FSNs from the six regional bureaus, and selects an FSN of the year. The 2008 winners were selected from among 80 nominees by a panel of bureau directors but publication of winners is often delayed by a couple of months. You can read more about the top awardees in the February issue of the State magazine (pp20-23). Below are the FSNs honored.

Europe (EUR) and FSN of the Year- Inesa Nicolaescu

Inesa Nicolaescu, the trafficking-in-persons program manager at the U.S. Embassy in Chiçin˘au, Moldova, is the 2008 Foreign Service National of the Year. Nominated by the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, she was cited for “extraordinary accomplishments toward international anti-human-trafficking law enforcement and child sexual exploitation prosecutions.”

East Asia Pacific (EAP )- Voltaire T. Gomez

Voltaire T. Gomez, an investigator in the regional security office of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, is the FSN of the Year for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He was cited for helping the embassy defeat terrorism and foster peace by “providing a secure platform to operate in some of the most precarious regions of the Philippines.”

Africa (AF)- Fiona Frances Hamid

Fiona Frances Hamid, a registered nurse at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, is the FSN of the Year for the Bureau of African Affairs. She was cited for “serving dual roles as the embassy nurse and community liaison officer, and single-handedly providing community health services ranging from screening reimbursable medicines to aiding mission victims of a terrorist attack.” She responded to a fatal terrorist attack on two embassy employees on New Year’s Day 2008, giving her own blood and assisting the hospital’s trauma team. She knew the victims well, she said, since they were part of the “small, close family” that is the embassy.

Near East Asia (NEA)- Abderrahman Moussaid

Abderrahman Moussaid, senior FSN supervisor and investigator at the U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca, Morocco, is the FSN of the Year for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He was cited for “on-the-spot assistance while under great personal risk to ensure the mission’s safety and security during a suicide bombing attack.”

Western Hemisphere (WHA)- Jean Hans LaForet

Jean Hans LaForet, warehouse and property supervisor at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is the FSN of the Year for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He was cited for directing the move to the post’s new embassy compound “in an environment marked by the country’s worse civil unrest in four years.”

South Central Asia (SCA) - Rubayat Rahman

Rubayat Rahman, an FSN investigator at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, is the FSN of the Year for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. He was cited for his “commitment to promote security and deny terrorism in Mission Bangladesh, as well as heroism in the face of tremendous personal risk.” In July 2007, Rubayat was in a residence with an American embassy employee who lit a cigarette, leading to a gas explosion and fire. “I fell on the ground,” he said. “I heard her screaming and saw her hair and clothes were on fire.” He smothered the flames with his hands, used his cell phone to report the fire and then carried her out of the building. He reentered the apartment, located a fire extinguisher and attempted to put out the fire. Burned over 22 percent of his body, he was hospitalized for three months. He is still undergoing skin grafts, physical therapy and surgeries. He wears long gloves that cover his hands and arms and “probably will wear them the rest of my life,” he said. He said he doesn’t think he’ll ever be physically 100 percent, but “my heart is still 100 percent.”

Congratulations!

In Praise of Our Greatness

Yes We Did!
Photo from The White House

Most folks have no idea how much we like awards. Linda Ingalls, an Office Management Specialist at our Embassy in Pretoria writes in the recent issue of the Foreign Service Journal │January 2009:

"The list of performance-pay recipients (announced in 08 State 110778) has swollen to over 270 members of the Senior Foreign Service. These bonuses total an estimated $3million […]

There was probably a time when performance pay meant something special, a time when the list was shorter and could almost be justified. Today, however, when embassies worldwide must identify painful cuts and freeze real jobs — threatening our ability to meet mission goals — ladling out millions of dollars in bonuses to our highest paid employees feels irresponsible and, frankly, grotesque."

So we give bonuses despite the budget cuts, eh? That's what I'd call the C+ Street bailout. Yay! As you may have seen from a previous post, there are also awards for foreign policy achievements, despite whatever. Except wait -- one FSO got a well-deserved medal and the CINC was the receiver (of two awards), not the giver of the achievement awards. I'm kinda dizzy here -- shouldn't the CINC be the one giving out awards instead of receiving awards? Whose management brainchild is this inverse reward pyramid, anyway?

For some reason this reminds me of the 1990's when there were hundreds of unfilled positions worldwide. Folks kept harping about it, so finally, somebody up decided to eliminate all the unfilled positions down. And voilà! No more unfilled problems, see? So I actually did not fell off my chair when I saw that big ceremony at the Ben Franklin Room. As one seasoned diplomat once counseled a younger charge, "Never be the one who says that an idea is bad." Not bad advice, just a very pragmatic one if you don't want to be banished from the upper floors.

But poor Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, of course he had no idea – and actually wondered if a “a prankster had hacked his way into the White House e-mail system” (Friday, January 16, 2009; Page A03) when he saw this advisory from the White House Office of Presidential Advance.

"Ceremony to Commemorate Foreign Policy Achievements"

He thought, “Two wars, the brink of global depression, and violence from Mumbai to Gaza? Par-tee!” Here is an excerpt of Milbank's biting account of people celebrating people:

With fanfare, they walked into the gilded Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department yesterday: President Bush, the first lady, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Rice's deputy, John Negroponte. They had come to praise great people. Namely, themselves.

Rice presented Laura Bush with a framed "Certificate of Appreciation." Then she presented Bush with a "commemorative plaque." And another commemorative plaque, which, like the first, was sheathed in a gold curtain. Finally, she had an honor guard present her boss with five flags in nifty triangular boxes.

"Mr. President, we've been through a lot together," Rice told Bush.

"We've been through a lot together," Bush told Rice.

"Mr. President, history's judgment is rarely the same as today's headlines," Rice assured Bush.

"History will say that Condi Rice was one of the great secretaries of state our country has ever had," Bush assured Rice.

Dana Milbank also reports that Bush has released two legacy-burnishing booklets, the 40-page "100 Things Americans May Not Know About the Bush Administration Record" and the 50-page "Highlights of Accomplishments and Results of the Administration of George W. Bush." I have to add that there is a third tome – a 134-page document called A Charge Kept: The Record of the Bush Presidency 2001-2009. Milbank admitted that however laudatory these may be, “pamphlets can't touch the grandeur of a ceremony at the State Department -- and Rice put on a show for her boss yesterday with all the fixings: the crystal light fixtures, the presentation of the colors, the framed medals and flags. With a flourish, the military aide pulled back curtain No. 1 to reveal the first plaque, and curtain No. 2 to reveal the second plaque. "This one shows what you have done to expand the circle of human freedom in the world," Rice announced.”

Bush had no awards for Rice, but he did come with praise for her ("She's like my sister") and for himself. "In short, we've made our alliances stronger, we've made our nation safer, and we have made the world freer," he said.

Hmmn.... hmmn...


In December 2004, President Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to L. Paul Bremer III, Tommy R. Franks, and George J. Tenet at the White House.


How come no medals for “Ponte” and Condi? The West Wing will turn into a ghost town at 9 p.m. today. We don’t award medals on weekends, do we?

Ambassador Crocker Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

Photo from The White House

There was a big do at the State Department yesterday. Secretary Rice led the ceremony to commemorate the outgoing administration's Foreign Policy Achievements (2001-2009) in the Benjamin Franklin Room and gave a nice speech. I find it interesting that Secretary Powell was not invited to participate in the ceremony considering that he "owned" the first half of what was commemorated at the event.

Mrs. Bush got a State Department's Certificate of Recognition and President Bush got a couple of commemorative plaques with shiny things on them. Click here to view a 35-minute video of the ceremony. But I must warn you -- the video clip contains explicit articulation from members of a mutual appreciation club. We don't want to give anyone a heart attack. Also, if you want to know what nickname President Bush has assigned to Secretary Negroponte, this is a "must-see" video.

At the later part of the same event, Ambassador Ryan Crocker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award. President Bush gave a brief speech prior to bestowing the award (starts at 26:00 in the video). Brief excerpt below:

As President, I have entrusted the Foreign Service with our nation's most critical diplomatic missions. I have relied on your expertise, your advice, and your good judgment. I will always be grateful for your valor and your professionalism.

Members of the Foreign Service bring this valor and professionalism to their work every single day. And there is one man who embodies these qualities above all: Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Over the years, Ryan has earned many honors, including the Presidential Meritorious Service Award and the rank of Career Ambassador. Today I have the privilege of honoring Ambassador Crocker with the highest civil award I can bestow -- the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Applause.) It has not been bestowed yet. (Laughter.)

The son of an Air Force officer, Ryan Crocker has never been your typical diplomat. For social engagements, he likes to tell guests, "no socks required." (Laughter.) For language training, he once spent time herding sheep with a desert tribe in Jordan. For sport, he has jogged through war zones, and run marathons on four continents. And for assignments, his preference has always been anywhere but Washington. (Laughter.)

During his nearly four decades in the Foreign Service, Ryan Crocker has become known as America's Lawrence of Arabia. His career has taken him to every corner of the Middle East. His understanding of the region is unmatched. His exploits are legendary. He has served as ambassador to five countries. He has repeatedly taken on the most challenging assignments.

The man has never run from danger. As a young officer during the late 1970s, Ryan catalogued Saddam Hussein's murderous rise to power. In 1983, he survived the terrorist attack on the American embassy in Lebanon. In 1998, as the Ambassador to Syria, he witnessed an angry mob plunder his residence.

After any one of these brushes with danger, most people would have lost their appetite for adventure -- not Ryan Crocker. In the years since September the 11th, 2001, I have asked Ryan to hold numerous posts on the front lines of the war on terror, and he has stepped forward enthusiastically every time.

When the American embassy in Kabul reopened in the beginning of 2002, Ryan Crocker was our first envoy. When we liberated Iraq and removed the thug Saddam Hussein from power in 2003, I sent Ryan to help lead the reconstruction efforts. When the American embassy in Pakistan needed new leadership, Ryan Crocker was put in charge. In 2007, I asked Ryan to return for a final mission to Iraq as America's ambassador.

Two years later, Iraq is becoming a rising democracy, an ally in the war on terror, an inspiring model of freedom for people across the Middle East. When the story of this transformation is written, historians will note the extraordinary partnership between two exceptional men: General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. As the General carried out a surge of military forces to improve security, the Ambassador led a civilian surge to improve everyday life. In December, after months of intense negotiations, the world saw the culmination of Ambassador Crocker's masterful diplomacy -- two historic agreements for long-term cooperation between the United States and Iraq.

This is not the first time that Ambassador Crocker has executed a brilliant diplomatic maneuver in Baghdad. During a rotation at the American embassy nearly 30 years ago, he persuaded a young Foreign Service Officer named Christine Barnes to be his wife. (Laughter.) They have traveled the world together, and as Ryan prepares to retire from the Foreign Service, we wish the two of them many years of happiness. (Applause.)

General Petraeus recently said this about his retiring colleague: "It was a great honor for me to be his military wingman." And today it is my great honor to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to one of the finest Foreign Service Officers in American history -- Ryan Clark Crocker. And now the military aide will read the citation. (Applause.)

MILITARY AIDE: Ryan C. Crocker. For nearly four decades, Ryan Crocker has advanced our nation's interests and ideals around the world. Embodying the highest principles of the United States Foreign Service, he has cultivated and enhanced our relations with pivotal nations. Following the attacks of September 11th, 2001, he worked to build a worldwide coalition to combat terrorism and help millions of oppressed people travel the path to liberty and democracy.

The United States honors Ryan C. Crocker for his courage, his integrity, and his unwavering commitment to strengthening our nation and building a freer and more peaceful world.

(The medal is presented.) (Applause.)

I think the speech writers forgot something here. Insert somewhere in paragraph #7: In 2002, Ryan Crocker co-wrote a secret memo examining the risks associated with a U.S. invasion of Iraq. The six-page memo, titled "The Perfect Storm", stated that toppling Saddam Hussein could unleash long-repressed sectarian and ethnic tensions, that the Sunni minority would not easily relinquish power, and that powerful neighbors such as Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia would try to move in to influence events. It also cautioned that the United States would have to start from scratch building a political and economic system because Iraq's infrastructure was in tatters. The secret memo was deep-sixed and he did the best he could in dealing with the aftermath.

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