The Foreign Service Journal, March 2006

hasn’t served in Iraq, “the most important issue is that it is clear that our embassy in Iraq is being staffed at its current levels for purely political reasons, not on the objective basis of what is best for the safety and securi- ty of employees. If any other country were faced with the same security challenges … embassy staffing would be drawn down, not on the increase.” “It is beginning to affect our ability to attract people to learn Arabic,” notes an officer from the NEA Bureau, “because [there are] rumors of directed assign- ments for Arabic speakers to Iraq. … At the language school in Tunis, it is a major concern that people will begin to be ‘drafted.’” What effect, if any, is staffing Iraq having on the Foreign Service? This is an evolving issue, but clear themes emerge from the respondents’ comments. One is a sense that Iraq (and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan) is dividing the Service into the have-served and the have-nots. Some of those who volunteer for Iraq service resent those who do not volunteer, while some of those who do not or cannot volunteer resent the perceived benefits for those who go in promotions and onward assignments. Comments indi- cate that this division is having a negative impact on Foreign Service morale. Another significant effect mentioned repeatedly is the so-called “Iraq Tax” and the return to a “do more with less” refrain. The Iraq tax represents the resources — both in funds and in personnel — that are pulled from a post or a bureau to support the Iraq mis- sion. This term, or the equivalent verb phrase “to be Iraq-taxed,” is widely used throughout the State Department Foreign Service, though it does not appear in official communications. A number of respondents lamented the serious decline (some said disappearance) of the “training float” (having enough personnel to both staff positions and allow for training) that was restored under Secretary Colin Powell with the intake of many new Foreign Service employees F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 35