The Foreign Service Journal, June 2007

M ay 3rd marked AFSA’s seventh annual Day on the Hill, an opportunity for Foreign Service retirees and active-dutymembers to head to Capitol Hill to help raise awareness of key Foreign Service issues with members of Congress. Over 40members andAFSA staffers representing10 states, including the District of Columbia, participated in this American Foreign Service Association • June 2007 AFSA NEWS J UN E 2 0 0 7 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 53 A FSA’s annual Memorial Plaque Ceremonywas heldonMay 4dur- ing Foreign Affairs Day. The cere- mony serves to honor those Foreign Service personnel who have lost their lives while serving their country overseas in the line of duty or under heroic or other inspi- rational circumstances. With the addition of threemore names this year—Margaret Alexander, DorisG. Knittle andHenryW. Antheil Jr. — the total number of names on the plaques has reached 225. AFSAPresident TonyHolmes gave the opening remarks at the ceremony and presided over the presentation of the col- ors by theU.S. ArmedForcesColorGuard. He then introduced Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, standing in for SecretaryCondoleezzaRice, who was traveling in the Middle East. Attending the ceremony were family members of those being honored as well as Under Secretary for Management Henrietta Fore, Director General George A FSAoftenhears frommemberswho have served in Iraq or are serving there now about their concern for the safetyof the Iraqiswithwhomtheyhave worked. Theywant tohelp these colleagues but do not know how. It is no secret that Iraqis who have worked, or still work, for the U.S. government in Iraq — for the embassy, the U.S. military or a U.S. gov- ernment contracting organization — are a particularly vulnerable group, because of those ties. The issueof U.S. responsibility for these individuals is gaining public attention, through hearings on Capitol Hill, press reports including George Packer’s widely publicized March 26 New Yorker article, FOREIGN AFFAIRS DAY 2007 Memorial Plaque Ceremony Honors Fallen Colleagues LITTLE-KNOWN CABLE GIVES GUIDANCE ON REFUGEE REFERRALS How to Aid Iraqis with U.S. Government Ties BY SHAWN DORMAN Continued on page 57 Continued on page 59 Continued on page 56 Inside This Issue: BRIEFS: SCHOLARS, PROMOTIONS...54 VP STATE: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT?..55 IN-STATE TUITION............................58 PIT PROBLEM ...................................60 AFSA MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS ..........61 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE.......................62 DAY ON THE HILL AFSA Hosts Retiree Visit to Capitol Hill BY AUSTIN TRACY Under Secretary Nicholas Burns (left) meets Thomas Knittle, brother of Plaque Ceremony honoree Doris Knittle. MIKKELA THOMPSON MIKKELA THOMPSON Day on the Hill participants study briefing materials on the way to Capitol Hill.