The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

had a meeting of the minds,” this FSO adds. “I believe what was clear was that each person — military and civil- ian —was dedicated to making a difference over there, so working together was recognized as crucial. With time, suspicions were laid to rest and collaboration became stronger. Maybe the difficult living and working condi- tions helped contribute to the eventual cohesion, but once it occurred we had a lot of people really ‘drinking the Kool-Aid,’ so to speak, even though our overall mission and Washington’s expectations remained uncertain. I have a lot of respect for our military colleagues working over there, and appreciated their help.” (Note: The phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” is often used by Iraq vet- erans to refer to unquestioning support for the mission.) Warriors and Poets Joining military and civilian personnel together for a joint mission is a tall order requiring, among other things, the bridging of cultural divides. First come the stereo- types from some in the military: diplomats serving in the PRTs need “babysitting” and are just there for “tea par- ties.” Foreign Service officers are “weenies.” And the one Foreign Service members least appreciate: a perception that they have not “stepped up” to serve in Iraq. While testifying on the Hill in February, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates took a swipe at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for not being able to quickly fill the civilian surge positions that are to accompany the military surge in Iraq, claiming that State was not stepping up. Press reports highlighted the possible start of a public blame game over losing Iraq. But the criticism was mis- placed; only about 10 of the civilian surge positions are for State diplomats and about 10 more for USAID — and most have been filled. The rest require specialists in pro- fessions not found in the Foreign Service. When making arguments about “stepping up,” it is also critical to look at scale. The personnel and budget resources of the State Department and other foreign affairs agencies are miniscule when compared to the Pentagon’s $400 billion budget and the 2.5 million mem- F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 27