The Foreign Service Journal, December 2004

DECEMBER 2004 • AFSA NEWS 3 B ecause AFSA President John Limbert was in Iraq on a special assignment last May, I stood in for him at the annual ceremony honoring members of the Foreign Service who have died in the line of duty. This ceremony takes place in front of the AFSAMemorial Plaques in the diplomatic lobby of the StateDepartment. On the plaques are engraved the names of 215 Foreign Servicemembers who have died serving their country overseas. The first name is that ofWilliamPalfrey, who died in 1797 en route to his post in Paris. At the 2004 cer- emony, Secretary Powell laid the wreath by the plaques. In my remarks introducing the Secretary, I noted that while there were no new names carved into the marble this year, this was only because oth- ers had sacrificed their lives saving ours. There were the three DynCorp guards, whose car was blown up crossing into the Gaza Strip. They were escorting Foreign Service employees to a meeting with Palestinian acad- emics when a powerful bomb under their lead vehicle was remotely triggered. There was the brave Salvadoran soldier who died outside Najaf. His battalionwas attacked by Iraqi insurgents. A Foreign Service member who was assigned to the Coalition Provisional Authority’s Najaf outpost testified to the brave action of the Salvadoran soldiers in repelling the insurgents’ attempt to overrun his position. (“Foreign Service Firefight,” FSJ , June 2004) At the time, I said I could not help but feel that it is only amatter of time before there are fresh names to chisel in themarble. ByOctober, there was already one name to add—that of Ed Seitz, a dedicated, 16- yearmember of the Foreign Service. Given our secu- rity situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan today, I fear there will be other names to add before the next wreath-laying in May. As I write this, the wire ser- vices report a bomb exploding at theMarriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, at amoment when 11mem- bers of the embassy staff happened to be dining there. AFSAhas repeatedly raisedwith all levels of depart- ment management thematter of security for Foreign Service employees assigned to these dangerous countries. Over and over again, we have made the point that in Iraq, were it any other coun- try, somany tripwires would have already been crossed that themissionwould have been shuttered. Not drawn down, leaving only essential staff in place, but closed down. The head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security has publicly made the same statement. While acknowledging that having a large mission in Iraq is a policy decision, we have urged the department to look at Baghdad’s staffing level. We’ve emphasized that residential security is inadequate. The tragic death of Ed Seitz proves AFSA is right to be concerned. We know that the department is as concerned as we are. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security has researched the options for improv- ing residential security so staff may sleep without fearing their trail- ers will crumple if hit by a mortar round, which are nowaimed at the Green Zone with increasing frequency. Pending upgrades, staff may sleep in their offices, but this is not a feasible solution for the long run. AFSA will urge the department to adopt the option which pro- vides housing that will protect staff against mortar rounds. With such a large Foreign Service “footprint” in Baghdad, with such vulnerable housing and with increasing attacks on foreigners—whether with the military, international agencies or the U.S. govern- ment—security is a continuing problem. The same goes for Kabul and Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. AFSA applauds the work of the committed staff in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and urges the department to give them the resources they need to improve security for our members. Hang the cost! I hope against hope that Ed Seitz will be the only new name added to the AFSAMemorial Plaques in the coming year. ▫ V.P. VOICE: STATE BY LOUISE CRANE Iraq Security: Far Beyond the Tripwires The tragic death of Ed Seitz proves AFSA is right to be concerned.