UN Undiplomatic Mess Refuses to Go Away

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Where the saga of former Ambassador Peter Galbraith, Kai Eide, and the United Nations continue ...

December 10 | According to Peter Galbraith, he initiated a wrongful dismissal action against the United Nations.

December 11 | The Guardian reported that Kai Eide, the top United Nations official in Afghanistan who was criticised for his handling of allegations of fraud in the country's presidential election, will not be renewing his contract.

December 11 | Inner City Press had this piece: Galbraith Claims Disclosed Oil Interest to UN, Eide Leaked Before Leaving? | “Inner City Press has asked the UN if Galbraith disclosed the oil interest. UN Ethics Officer Robert Benson responded that Galbraith filed a form, but that its contents will not be disclosed, even to the UN's executive 38th floor, apparently. The financial disclosure forms are filed with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. It is unclear who in the UN system vets them for conflicts of interest. […]Still, UN officials have bad mouthed Galbraith both on and off the record. At a press conference at UN headquarters, the number two official of UN Peacekeeping Edmond Mulet said that Galbraith had an ulterior motive which would later be revealed. And a senior UN official from the 38th floor called UN correspondents to make them aware of the Norwegian stories.”

December 14 | Josh Rogin of The Cable interviewed Galbraith | Galbraith: Eide was fired | “Kai Eide, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, was forcibly removed and did not resign voluntarily as he claims, according to his former deputy and "frenemy," Peter Galbraith. "This was involuntary and inevitable, ever since the end of September," said Galbraith in an interview with The Cable. Relaying information from his discussions with U.N. staff on the ground in Kabul, Galbraith said that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has made it clear that he wants to announce Eide's successor during January's London conference on Afghanistan.”

December 16 | NYT | U.N. Officials Say American Offered Plan to Replace Karzai | “As widespread fraud in the Afghanistan presidential election was becoming clear three months ago, the No. 2 United Nations official in the country, the American Peter W. Galbraith, proposed enlisting the White House in a plan to replace the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, according to two senior United Nations officials.”

The two senior UN officials were Kai Eide, Norwegian diplomat and the topdog at UNAMA in Kabul who is feuding with Galbraith and Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff to the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. According to the report, Nambiar was aware of Mr. Galbraith’s proposal to go to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and later learned of Mr. Karzai’s anger over the episode. Mr. Nambiar said it played a role in Mr. Galbraith’s firing.

December 17 | NYT | Diplomat to Challenge Dismissal by U.N. After Afghan Vote | “Peter W. Galbraith, the American diplomat who was dismissed by the United Nations after exposing voter fraud this fall after the Afghan presidential election, has decided to challenge his dismissal.”

December 18 | From the UN Spokesperson | Spokesperson: “This was circulated quite widely, I believe. The reason Peter Galbraith’s appointment as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was terminated was because the Secretary-General determined that such action would be in the interests of the Organization. And then we added, further elaboration would not be appropriate at this time since Mr. Galbraith has chosen to challenge the termination of his appointment. That’s what we said.”December 19: Inner City Press: As UN Dodges Questions on Galbraith, Stonewalling or Whistleblowing? | "I'm sick of Peter Galbraith," a senior UN official told Inner City Press on December 18. "It's over. I don't think we should be commenting on it anymore." Compared to the bloodshed in Afghanistan, the firing of one UN official does seem small. But at times it appears that the "it" being avoided is the indisputably fraudulent election of Hamid Karzai, and the UN's role in it.”

December 21 | Peter Galbraith | Special to Sphere: 'I Never Proposed to Oust Karzai’ | Readers deserve context in order to understand a complex story. In this case, the Times deliberately excluded information that would have presented the accusations in a much different light. The truth is that I never proposed to oust Karzai, but instead tried to resolve a looming constitutional crisis caused by Karzai's maneuvering to stay in office a year beyond the end of his legal term -- without submitting himself to the inconvenience of an election.[…]It strains credulity to believe that I proposed a plot to oust Karzai to a lesser embassy official (as the Times reports) and he never informed his ambassador or Holbrooke. To be clear, I never proposed to oust Karzai to anyone in the U.S. government, and any discussion would have been about the constitutional issues involved in holding a runoff in May 2010. (Note: NYT reported that Galbraith discussed his plan with Frank Ricciardone, the deputy American ambassador in Kabul).[…]Mr. Eide is quoted in the Times as saying President Karzai was "deeply upset" about my supposed plan but fails to disclose how Mr. Karzai would have learned of this very private conversation between Mr. Eide and myself.

December 21: Gerard Russell Former British and United Nations Diplomat | Afghanistan's Elections: How Dr. House Can help: “UN internal division between Kai Eide and Peter Galbraith being still in the news, though, it's impossible for me to forget it. (I am also reminded of it every time I look at my bank balance, since my unhappiness with that process and its aftermath led me to resign from the UN before I started to receive a stipend from Harvard. And as the poet Juvenal said, integrity is all very well, but it doesn't pay your bills.) I am happy to pass over the Eide-Galbraith story, which was an unpleasant enough experience at the time without my re-living it here. But the fact that Galbraith has been the only person to have lost his job as a result of the fraud in those elections -- this is not about past history. It's about over $200 million in donor funds that were, in part, misused. This was an Afghan election, an exercise which was rightly led by Afghans (even if the Electoral Commission's head was appointed by one of the candidates, which was always an obvious flaw in the process). But it was also a donor-funded project, and donors have the right -- even the duty -- to verify that taxpayers' money was well spent." (Um, ‘xcuse me, side quiz -- where was SIGAR on this?).

Mr. Galbraith reportedly said that he has begun UN legal proceedings not to get his job back - but to get justice.

Well, this is bound to be a painful experience for the United Nations going into the new year. Who's running this show from the 38th floor, anyways? They may not realize this yet, but every time their officials disses Peter Galbraith, readers and viewers are also reminded of that inglorious Afghanistan election conducted under UNAMA’s watch.I wonder if there's anyone out there who'll get out of this meze fight with a clean shirt?

The 111th Congress - A Make or Break for the Foreign Service?

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The 111th United States Congress was sworn in yesterday. There are 256 Democrats, 178 Republicans and 1 vacant seat (vacated by Rahm Emanuel) in the U.S. House of Representatives and 55 Democrats, 41 Republicans, 2 Independents (who plan to caucus with Democrats) and 2 disputed seats in the U.S. Senate. Hopefully, the writers of the Illinois and Minnesota Senate soap operas will not go on strike and will discover a fitting conclusion to the real-life drama unfolding before our eyes. My sense is if you're 71, you probably don't really want to be a junior senator. You don't get preferential treatment, your desk is nowhere near the front in the Senate chamber, you don't get that corner office, and nobody really cares what you think, only how you vote. Where's the fun in that? Now, for the Minnesota race, would the loser please just concede already; it's the most gentlemanly thing to. Would you really want to go down in history as the sorest loser of all time? Get over it already.





(:-) Don't blame me if I want the writers to include these in their scripts. I'd like my 111th to get to work already. And don't really want the riddikulus and rictumsempra exhibited in tandem right there on the Hill. I mean it.

At the risk of sounding too dramatic, the 111^th Congress is probably a make or break for the Foreign Service particularly in terms of funding and revitalizing the Service at this crucial point. Well, sure, the FS is a bureaucracy and it will live on whether it is appropriately funded or not; but the “we get what we pay for” maxim is nowhere truer than here and now. That and the actual possibility of real experience sailing out into the sunset in the next 5 years should be worrisome to our leadership. Until scientists discover an embeddable chip for diplomatic skills or a wearable universal translator, additional staffing also means training time. Those 1,076 new positions that they like talking about -- we’ll be lucky if they’re deployed overseas by the end of 2010; if they get funded this year, that is.

I don’t know who is in line to replace Matthew Reynolds as Assistant Secretary at “H” but whoever he/she will be might want to read up a bit on the Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection. I think what Ambassador MacArthur says about dealing with Congress is both insightful and instructive:

[…] after I was well into two years of my life on Capitol Hill as Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations, I took a canvas of about 180 senators and congressmen about how much time they spent on foreign affairs. The consensus of those 180-odd gentlemen was that with the exception of people on special committees like the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House, the average congressman and senator spent less than 2% of his time on foreign affairs.

If I may, I'd like to talk about the importance of congressional relationship--that is, a relationship between the Department of State, particularly, and the Congress, because of this very reason, whereas local or national issues are the issues on which the Congress at that time spent the overwhelming majority of its time and were well informed. They were not so well informed and didn't spend so much time, less than 2%, on international affairs.

I think the most important principle that anybody that deals with the Congress for the executive branch to observe is honesty and frankness with the members of the Congress. They never forgive somebody from the executive branch that misleads them, lies to them, and gives them an impression which later turns out to be quite incorrect. In my dealings with the Congress, this is the reason why I explained to Secretary [Dean] Rusk that I must be in on the inner circle, because I could deliberately mislead members of the Congress if I didn't know the direction in which the thinking was going, even if the final decision had not been made. When you go over to Congress, they say to you, "What about this article I read in such and such a paper this morning about the administration doing this in the field of foreign affairs?" And if you don't know what's happening and the direction in which the Department is leading in a discussion of that article, you might undeliberately mislead them.

Source: Ambassador Douglas MacArthur, II

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs (ADST)

Oral History Project │ Interview on December 15, 1986

There really are some great learning stories in that collection. You can read more here. Of course, it goes without saying that the effectiveness of "H" can only go so far in Congress. I think that the Secretary of State's leadership and persuasion skills plus personal relationships with members of Congress is what it all comes down to in the end. Her effectiveness is absolutely tied to her resource gathering talents and effective diplomatic engagement in Capitol Hill. Without juice, you could flap all you want - nothing gets off the ground.

Why the Legacy Tours? Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial BP Station

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Ever wondered why our elected leaders and very important folks go on legacy tours/interviews or even write their own books? Or have their surrogates defend their record, spin us if needed to shore up their legacy?

I've always thought that this has to do with claiming their "correct" place in history, but in a visit to Ohio in 1999, a much simpler reason surfaced and gave me a better appreciation of this legacy shoring up business. In Delaware, Ohio – specifically on #17 E. William Street.

Downtown, on US 36/William Street, a half-block east of Sandusky Street, there is a plaque on the north side, directly in front of the BP station. The plaque marks the birthplace of Rutherford B. Hayes, 19^th President of the United States, now a gas station owned by British Petroleum.

Joe Mcelwee on Paying homage to a land of presidents did this same route in 2004:

Dozens of gas stations are operated in this bustling community, but I looked for the BP station on East William Street. Adjacent to the pumps stood a monument behind a phone booth flanked by bushes. Etchings on the slab indicated that Rutherford B. Hayes was born here in 1822. I filled my tank and headed inside.

“People stop here to see the president’s birthplace?” I asked the clerk. He studied me from behind the counter.

“Nope. They just want gas.”

“What happened to Hayes’ house?” I asked.

He shrugged.

The Washington Pugilist (December 19, 2008) recaps history for many of us who may not remember:

“In one of the most controversial presidential elections in the nation's history, the Democratic candidate won the nation's popular vote but lost the election. Everyone remembers the details; a Florida election that was "too close to call;" accusations of fraud and the destruction of Democratic ballots; and southern blacks forced at gunpoint to the ballot boxes to vote Republican. Don't remember that last part, you say?

Well, you can't be blamed for forgetting the 1876 election of Rutherford B. Hayes. His somber, bearded face adorns no currencies or mountainsides, nor are there famous national monuments in his honor. His homestead, in Delaware, Ohio was demolished, so that a gas station could be erected. The birthplace of our nation’s 20th 19th president is now marked only by a modest memorial plaque, standing with humility and honor in the parking lot of a BP."

And so – can you really blame the living for their legacy tours, interviews, forthcoming books, centers, temples of worship, er libraries, and whatever else is in their “no BP station preventive insurance” checklist?

The Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial BP Station stands in great contrast to the memorials made in his name in the small country of Paraguay where he is still revered as a great hero. Paraguayans celebrate a holiday in President Hayes's honor, named a city, department or province, soccer team, sports club, national holiday, and museum for him. He is reportedly also commemorated in textbooks, monuments and folklore. Why? Our 19th President was the arbitrator in a boundary dispute between Paraguay and Argentina after the War of the Triple Alliance where Paraguay suffered some 300,000 military and civilian casualties in 1864 - 1870.

On November 10, U.S. Ambassador Liliana Ayalde participated in a ceremony at the Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to introduce a new Paraguayan stamp that pays homage to President Rutherford B. Hayes and the 130th anniversary of the Chaco territory arbitration in which President Hayes decided in Paraguay’s favor.

Bill Clinton already has a boulevard named after him in Priština; a Clinton statue is also in the works. Kosovo Albanian authorities have also recently decided to name one of the main streets in Priština after outgoing U.S. President George Bush. Listening to these legacy talks fill one's head with endless wonder - what will the natives build in Afghanistan and Iraq?


I am, of course, curious if the "no BP station preventive insurance” plan also has global coverage.

Insider Quote: Being Pro American

“To those that see Arabists as ‘soft’ on Arabs, I ask, ‘What do they think we are? A bunch of idiot masochists? Begging to be blown up again? All this pain and vituperation is supposed to make us pro-Arab? I mean, give me a break!’ To our critics, I’d say, ‘We are professionals. We are like oncologists. You don't like cancer, but you deal with cancer. You don't like Arab radicalism, but it is there and you have got to deal with it. You don’t call your doctor a cancer-lover when he has to bring you the bad news.’

“I was never pro-Arab, or anti-Arab. But through Arabic, I was able enough to appreciate the good aspects of Arab civilization - so that the tawdry present did not sour me toward my hosts…like most Arabists, I saw myself as being only pro-American. ‘My country right or wrong...but always my country.’ Does that sound too melodramatic?”

Hume Horan
American Diplomat
Horan studied his Arabic in Lebanon and Libya and was stationed in Baghdad, Amman, and Jeddah before he served as ambassador to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and the Ivory Coast.

Oral history interview in 2000
Remembering Hume Horan-Middle East Quarterly

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You

There you go – just a few weeks ago we got acquainted with Frank Trammell (with those atrocious eyeglasses and side burns as wide as Sydney Harbour Bridge) and now we have a few more -- not all from Hollywood, mind you, but they will all be coming to a screen, big or small, near you.

New mom, Amy Pohler has returned to "Saturday Night Live," reprising her role as Hillary Clinton to address her selection as Secretary of State. She touched on leaving her Senate seat: "It has been such an honor to serve you, the citizens of New York. Who am I kidding this is not my home state... Pack up the house in Chappaqua Bill! What's that? We never unpacked? Even better!"

Now, can you actually imagine SNL passing up on a chance to have Ms. Pohler’s Secretary of State eat yak eyeball soup while conducting diplomacy in Dukaaristan? Stay tune for more of Ms. Pohler! I wonder if this means, we’d get to see the real deal visit SNL more often or a stop at Jon Stewart soon, if only to debunk the funnies.

Meanwhile the outgoing Secretary of State also has a film coming up - “the first ever 'musical docu-tragi-comedy' in the history of cinema.” Courting Condi is a movie by British filmmaker Sebastian Doggart that portrays the quest of a love-struck man, actor Devin Ratray, who wants to win the heart of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

From Courting Condi, Wikipedia

The movie blurb says:

“A spin on the Rapunzel fairy-tale, this unique romantic/political/biographic documentary feature will follow one love-struck soul's hilarious, emotionally engaging quest to woo one of the most mysterious figures in American politics, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Devin Ratray is an American Everyman - a 30 year old New York based website designer, musician and besotted admirer of Condi, who is doing all he can to meet her and penetrate her heart, soul and stretch limo. In contrast, Condoleezza Rice was judged most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine. She is currently Secretary of State and resides in Washington DC. She is single. COURTING CONDI will tell the life story of one of our era's most inspiring and controversial figures through an innovative combination of interviews, archive footage, animated stills and music. As Devin travels the country from Birmingham to Palo Alto to D.C., we learn more about this great lady from those who knew her best, and watch as Devin tries to win her heart.”

The Huffington Post is reporting that the Stanford Film Society (SFS) has canceled its Dec. 2 screening of "Courting Condi." Doggart believes that a conservative force within the University or even the federal government shut down the screening (Oh my!). Although the filmmakers speculated that Rice's supporters forced SFS to cancel the screening, SFS officers said they will not screen the film due to its poor quality. (Ouch!)

Courting Condi is scheduled for general international release in January 2009 and for transmission on Channel 4 in February 2009. I think this is going to open whether we like it or not - so might as well get the popcorn ready!

Now, beyond the Seventh Floor filmography, there are a couple more movies coming up:

"Real life hostage situation is now the basis for an untitled action thriller at Warner Bros that details the rescue of fifteen hostages in Colombia last year. The film will focus on Operacion Jaque (Checkmate), a five-year plan to locate and rescue three Americans who had been captured in 2003 by Colombian guerilla group FARC. The covert effort involved numerous governments, diplomats and intelligence services and a vast network of spies, military advisers and soldiers plus high-tech surveillance measures. New York Times Magazine’s foreign correspondent Peter Landesman will script the drama."

“We’re fed so many post-9/11 movies filled with political ambiguity, but this story is unequivocally about good vs. evil, with a happy ending,” Landesman said. The WB film will reportedly rely heavily on McLarty Associates as a resource. The consulting group was involved in the entire operation, having been hired by Northrop Grumman, which employed the three Americans. Read more here.

Movie Web is also reporting that Jessica Postigo is set to write Operation Checkmate, a drama based on the recent rescue of hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for Screen Gems. According to Variety, Simon Brand is directing the drama. “The film will tell the story of the rescue from the viewpoint of military rescuers who duped FARC and freed 15 hostages, which included former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Plan is to have the final 22 minutes of the rescue unfold in real time.”

So the screen race is on. Michael Douglas has been rumored to play Colombia’s President Uribe in one of these two films. Not fair! Who’s going to play Bill Brownfield, our Ambassador to Colombia? Or our Consular guys who's been at this since 2003? Brownfield is a career diplomat with three ambassadorships under his belt (including Chile and Venezuela; Hugo the Gladiator had threatened to kick him out of Venezuela twice, but never got beyond yak). Ed Harris would be great for the ambassador's role, except that he seemed to have less hair. British actor Jason Isaacs would, of course, be perfect unless you think James "the Soprano" Gandolfini could do better.


Whatever. I admit that this is a nice opportunity to have our diplomats on the silver screen - just don’t make them wear those wide side burns and please - give them some un-Trammell roles.

You Know We Have No Friends in Hollywood When …

Jack Bauer is back, this time in the fictional African country of Sangala and the embassy character is perceived as either a stuffed shirt or a nerdy government flack. Or if that seems like faint characterization, why not try “the huge weasel forcing Jack to comply with the subpoena?”

The real tough guy special agent (who never seems to eat, bath, sleep, take bathroom breaks) played by Kiefer Sutherland returned this past weekend with Redemption, a two-hour TV film. This was an extended teaser for die hard “24” fans, a lead up to its Season Seven which will kick off in January.

Jack Bauer has been globe-trotting since he was last seen on that cliff. For the past year, he’s been traveling to avoid a government subpoena to appear before Congress and answer questions about, well, torture for one thing. He’s landed in a made up country called, Sangala (filming was done in South Africa) to help an old Special Forces friend, Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle), who runs a school for young African boys.

The American Embassy character, Frank Trammell is played by Gil Bellows (of "Ally McBeal" fame, wearing black rimmed eyeglasses). He shows up between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm to serve the subpoena while issuing threats to end the school’s funding if Jack doesn’t comply (which, of course, he doesn’t).

An excerpt from the IMDB synopsis:

The 24 clock ticks.


"The following takes place between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Events occur in real time."


A stuffed shirt carrying a federal subpoena rides in a car.

[…]

Carl Benton comes to talk to Jack with the stuffed shirt, Frank Trammell, the ambassador's chief political officer. Jack knows who he is, he got his messages. Frank tells him the senate subcommittee has questions about the torture and questioning of prisoners in Jack's custody and tries to serve him. Jack says if they want him, they can come get him. Trammell tells Benton that Jack's been ducking the subpoena for more than a year across three continents. Frank tells Benton it'd be a shame for his funding for the boys school to dry up because of Jack.

3:49

A helicopter takes off from the embassy as people try to gain entry. But Trammell's only letting in U.S citizens. A woman with a baby pleads with him, but even when she offers to do anything he wants, he coldly says he can't. Carl Benton calls for him, telling him he needs help. But Trammell can't spare any Marines because they're helping with the evacuation. Trammell says if Benton wants to get the 14 boys out, they have to get to him at the embassy. The last chopper leaves in an hour.

4:52

Chaos reigns at the embassy as desperate citizens try to find sanctuary. Jack pushes his way to the front of the crowd, telling the guard that Trammell is expecting him. The boys wait in the crush of people, Desmond fading fast. Trammell arrives and Jack, through the gate, tells him Benton is dead, but he has their paperwork. Trammell tells him there's a problem: they need the legal guardianship of a U.S. citizen. If Jack surrenders himself, Trammell will waive the requirement. Trammell says whatever happens to them will be on Jack. "I don't have a choice you son of a bitch, open the gate," Jack growls. . Trammell makes Jack go in first, keeping the boys on the other side. Once through, Jack is immediately handcuffed while the guard blocks the boys at the gate. As Jack screams for the boys to be let in, Trammell finally relents. They boys are safe inside as Jack is led away by guards.

[…]

The helicopter takes off at the embassy as the screaming citizens are finally let inside, only to see the last form of transport depart. Willie reassuringly puts his hand on Jack's shoulder.

Trammell’s correct title would be Political Counselor. The Political Counselor in this movie could not spare some Marines? Ugh! The actor is too young for this position, by the way. What's with those thick-rimmed eyeglasses and wide side burns from the 1800's? And where’s the Regional Security Officer? Or the harassed Consular Officer who must looked at those papers before the evacuees get boarded? Of course, you probably have not seen Sandra Bullock in The Net, where she lost her American passport while overseas and asked if this was the visa she needed to go back to the U.S. when handed a piece of paper by some official at some embassy.

Would AFSA please let the Writer's Guild or the Screenwriter’s Federation of America know that we’d be happy to provide briefings to their writers or feedback for their scripts as they relate to the going-ons at embassies and consulates overseas and who does what where? Maybe we can provide some valuable insights to show that not all our guys are stuffed shirts?


We have some dashing ones like in P & Me - true this one is fiction, but we have some real ones - good enough for a hot diplomatic calendar. Oh my lordy! A hot diplomat? (DSS may have anaphylactic shock!). That’s a script that still needs to be written. Truth to tell, I’d settle for a character who is a smart policy wonk, honorable, principled and who will kick ass if he (or she) needs to. Is that too much to ask?