The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2004

B aghdad is unquestionably themost dangerous place the United States has ever tried to conduct diplomacy. At everyother diplomaticpost in theworld, eventswe term “tripwires”wouldhavetriggeredastaffdrawdownandevenshut- tering the embassy. These “tripwire” events are ignored in Iraq. Part of everyday life in Baghdad for the Foreign Service will be making the trip from the Green Zone to the Baghdad InternationalAirport. In the firstweekof June, fourBlackwater securitypersonnel (twoAmericans, twoPoles)werekilledwhile riding in an armored vehicle those eight miles to the airport. This is the same company that lost fourAmericanemployees inFallujah inApril. Clearly, the insurgents inIraqhave acquiredmunitions that canpenetrate armor. So, onehas toask,what goodare armored cars, carryalls, vans and buses for our personnel in Iraq? Contrary tostandardprocedures elsewhere, theU.S. hasdecidedthatEmbassyBaghdad will be bigger than almost any other in the world. The Secretary of State has called on theForeignService to respond to“ournumber-onepriority,” the stabilizationand recon- struction of Iraq. The Foreign Service has responded magnificently. That response, however, does not diminish in any way the fact that this is “extreme diplomacy.” I suppose it was just a matter of time before the current fad for extreme sports would pass into the conduct of our foreign relations. Yet nothing prepared me for the contents of the obligatory training every U.S. government employee assigned to Iraqundergoesprior todeparture. This training includeshowtodetect improvisedexplo- sivedevices; a short exerciseonweapons familiarization; lectures on “route analysis” and practical exercises in surveillance detection. I remember when employees, in prepara- tion for their next assignment, only had to read embassy cable traffic, call on the desk officers at State, Commerce and DOD, and meet with their counterparts in that coun- try's Washington embassy. Thentherearetheinstructionsinthe“WelcometoBaghdad”cable. Employeesassigned toBaghdad first go toKuwait,where they sign inat theFederalDeploymentCenter. There they are issued their helmet and protective vest. The following day they board C-130 aircraft for the trip to Baghdad. They are transported by shuttle bus from the airport to theGreenZone. The cable firmly instructs personnel that “helmet andvestmust beworn during the 20-minute trip.” By the time the embassy opens, enough shipping containers will probably have been converted to housing units to give every employee his/her own half-container (though some may have to double up at first). The containers are fortified on all sides by sand- bags, but the roofs will peel open like beer cans if hit. Where are the sandbags for the roofs? AretiredForeignServiceofficerwhowas born the same year asRonaldReagan, 1911, and who retired before I joined the Foreign Service 40 years ago, recently wrote to me saying something worth repeating: “Our StateDepartment people should consistently participate in foreign assignments to ensure that everyone has a really competent knowledge of what goes on abroad and whatshouldbedoneaboutitinbenefitofourcountry.... HowcanapresidentandCongress know what to do intelligently regarding foreign affairs without the advice of an organi- zation deeply informed in all that goes on abroad and how best to take advantage of it?” This explainswhywe areopeninganembassy inBaghdadandwhy theForeignService is flocking to staff it. ▫ V.P. VOICE: STATE BY LOUISE CRANE Extreme Diplomacy JULY-AUGUST 2004 • AFSA NEWS 3 in attendance that “dangerous times lie ahead … for our Foreign Service, Civil Service and Foreign Service National employees working in more than 200 embassies and consulates around the world.” In her remarks, AFSA Vice President LouiseCrane (actingpresident at the time) pointed out that while no new Foreign Service names were carved into the mar- ble plaques this year, four individuals had died protecting Foreign Service lives. Three American employees of a private security firmdied in the Gaza Strip when their carwasdestroyedbya roadsidebomb. The men were escorting Foreign Service employees traveling to interviewPalestin- ians for Fulbright grants. A Salvadoran soldier was killed outside Najaf, Iraq, in April. But for their sacrifice, there would have been new Foreign Service names on the plaque to honor. The plaque ceremony was followed by seminars on regional and global issues led by State Department officials. Given the popularity of the Near Eastern Affairs talk last year and the expected increased interest in 2004, the session addressed by Assistant Secretary of State for Near EasternAffairsWilliamBurnswas held in theDeanAchesonAuditorium. His can- dor in discussing the current situation in Iraq and elsewhere was much appreciat- ed by attendees. AFSAhosted a reception for retirees at headquarters in the afternoon, whichwas well attended. Old friends had a chance to catch up in a relaxed setting. ▫ Foreign Affairs Day • Continued from page 1 MIKKELA THOMPSON Military Color Guard at the memorial plaques.