Ambassador Defends Iraq Diplomatic Call-Up

Crocker: Duty Over Safety Or, You're "In The Wrong Line Of Business"

(AP)  The U.S. ambassador to Iraq defended Washington's recent decision to force foreign service officers to work in the war-torn nation, saying Friday that diplomats have a responsibility to prioritize the nation's interest over their personal safety.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker made it clear that diplomats who put their safety before that of the U.S. were "in the wrong line of business."

"As we try to staff the embassy in Iraq, it is good for all our colleagues to remember that we took an oath to serve our nation worldwide when we joined the foreign service, just as the military swore an oath," Crocker told reporters during a news conference in Dubai.

Crocker's comments followed a week of uproar by diplomats over the policy, including a contentious town hall meeting Wednesday where angry foreign service officers raised concern about the "potential death sentence" of being ordered to work in Iraq.

Asked about these concerns, the ambassador said: "You run a risk in Iraq. We try to manage and minimize the risk, but we cannot eliminate it entirely."

The State Department says three foreign service personnel - two diplomatic security agents and one political officer - have been killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.

The union that represents diplomats says the security situation is precarious and the completion of a new, heavily secured embassy compound and living quarters in Baghdad has been beset by logistical and construction problems.

Calling Iraq "the most important challenge," Crocker said joining the foreign service "does not mean you can choose the fight."

"It's not for us to decide if we like the policy or if the policy is rightly implemented," said Crocker. "It's for us to go and serve, not to debate the policy, not to agree with it."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to send a cable to all U.S. embassies and missions abroad explaining the decision to launch the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters soon after Wednesday's meeting.

Rice was making clear in the cable that foreign service officers have an obligation to uphold the oaths they took to carry out the policies of the U.S. government and be available to serve anywhere in the world, McCormack added.

Under the new order, 200 to 300 diplomats have been identified as "prime candidates" to fill 48 vacancies that will open next year at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and in Iraqi provinces. Those notified have 10 days to accept or reject the offer. If not enough say yes, some will be ordered to go.

Only those with compelling reasons, such as a medical condition or extreme personal hardship, will be exempt from disciplinary action. Diplomats forced into service in Iraq will receive the same extra hardship pay, vacation time and choice of future assignments as those who have volunteered.

McCormack has said that since the call-up to fill the 48 vacant Iraq posts was announced last Friday, 15 diplomats have volunteered to work there.

"The most important service for the U.S. at the present time is in the world's hardest places," Crocker said on Friday, referring to Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 1969, an entire class of entry-level diplomats was sent to Vietnam. On a smaller scale, diplomats were required to work at various embassies in West Africa in the 1970s and 1980s.

Crocker is scheduled to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday evening for a regional conference the next day with Iraq's neighbors. He has been on a tour of Arab countries in the Mideast, trying to persuade more of them to dispatch ambassadors to Iraq.

[ioweign]

Crocker is scheduled to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday evening for a regional conference the next day with Iraq''s neighbors. He has been on a tour of Arab countries in the Mideast, trying to persuade more of them to dispatch ambassadors to Iraq.

Crocker is trying to persuade more Arab countries to dispatch ambassadors to Iraq - what does that tell you about the situation in Iraq when other Arab countries will not send their diplomats and ambassadors !

Porch light is on but no one is home...

And it is called the "green " zone !!

[rick_vt]

When these Foreign Service workers applied for their jobs, it was made very clear that the may be needed in places that aren''t of their choosing. They all signed the employment agreements - playing the odds that it wouldn''t happen. Oops. There are many young men that did the same with the National Guard. These men ended up serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Foreign Service people have an option to go or quit and get "domestic" jobs, National Guard servicemen and women - go or risk military jail. Hmmmm...

[Krazcarl]

No pity they asked for the job now they have to earn there pay a novel idea for goverment employes and there crying like babies. Quit save us cash they were pretty much useless to begin with.

[Con Mohrat]

If the US stopped their diplomatic service in Baku, Azerbaijan, why is it safe for diplomats in Baghdad, the one city which our "invincible" superpower Army of One along with their mercineries cannot oontrol?

I realize this whole farce will be so over when the Axis of Arrogance, Bush, Cheney and Rice have been booted out on their ear next November.

Bush must still keep his promise to find Ben Laden dead or alive. He must take the other two to the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya ranges to root his quarry out of the cave that he is so sure to find him in. Should be a piece of cake. Like finding a small straw in a very large stack of needles.

In the meantime, the Rockets'' Red Glare, the Bombs bursting in air over Baghdad in multiple attacks daily go on, rendering it unsafe for diplomats, just like Baku.

[ioweign]

Crocker is scheduled to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday evening for a regional conference the next day with Iraq''s neighbors. He has been on a tour of Arab countries in the Mideast, trying to persuade more of them to dispatch ambassadors to Iraq.

Why isn''t Rice doing the above ??

[ioweign]

Embassies Suspend Operations In Azerbaijan
U.S., British Diplomatic Missions Were Targets Of Thwarted Terrorist Attack

The U.S. and British embassies suspended operations Monday in Baku, where the government said it thwarted a radical Islamic group''s plot to conduct a "large-scale horrifying terror attack" against diplomatic missions and government buildings.

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Calling Iraq "the most important challenge," Crocker said joining the foreign service "does not mean you can choose the fight."

"It''s not for us to decide if we like the policy or if the policy is rightly implemented," said Crocker. "It''s for us to go and serve, not to debate the policy, not to agree with it."

Then why close the Embassy in Azerbaijan Crocker - You are operating under worst conditions than Azerbaijan and they close.