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Letter to the editor

A push to fill posts in Iraq gets undiplomatic replies

Foreign Service officers spurn assignment.

By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN, Times Senior Correspondent
Published November 8, 2007

Tired of your job? Looking for a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" making as much $212,000 a year?

Sounds great, but there's a catch - you'd be working as a U.S. Foreign Service officer in Iraq.

The State Department has dozens of job openings at its new $650-million embassy in Baghdad and in other parts of the country. But it's having trouble filling the slots with experienced diplomats, one of whom called the posting a "potential death sentence."

"Incoming fire is coming in every day. Rockets are hitting the Green Zone," Jack Croddy, a 36-year veteran, said at a recent staff meeting in Washington. "It's one thing if someone believes in what's going on over there and volunteers. But it's another thing to send someone over there on a forced assignment."

For the first time since the Vietnam War, U.S. diplomats may be ordered to serve in a danger zone because not enough people have volunteered. Croddy's comments have sparked a debate over whether Foreign Service officers - who take an oath to serve wherever they are needed - should dutifully honor their commitment or challenge policies they think are harmful to the United States.

"I believe that a properly run State Department has enough people who will volunteer for the jobs if the policy makes sense," said John Brady Kiesling, a former U.S. diplomat in Greece.

"But since the start of this Bush administration," he said, "ordinary diplomats have seen that the interests of the American people are not being served by U.S. foreign policy. This has been psychologically devastating to the professional ethics that people want to have when they entered the Foreign Service."

An early resignation

Kiesling resigned from the State Department shortly before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, warning then-Secretary of State Colin Powell in a much-publicized letter that "our current course will bring instability and danger, not security."

In a phone interview from Athens this week, Kiesling said he detects a "genuine level of bitterness" among U.S. diplomats toward American policy in Iraq. But another ex-Foreign Service officer thinks most diplomats are "quite dedicated" and would serve well even if forced to go.

"While the trepidation is understandable, they did take an oath to serve their nation worldwide," said Rusty Barber, who now heads the Baghdad office of the United States Institute of Peace, an independent organization funded by Congress.

"This is the biggest foreign policy challenge our nation faces, and as such it's a plate that needs stepping up to, and I think Foreign Service officers will step up."

Vaguely defined jobs

The State Department's Web site lists dozens of vaguely defined jobs now open in Iraq, ranging from "special assistant for executive operations," starting at $66,767, to "senior political adviser," starting at $93,822. Compensation includes the base salary plus danger pay and other incentives that can add another 70 percent.

The Web site says most employees will be housed in the "heavily guarded and fortified" Green Zone with amenities that include a movie theater, pool and gym. Though any U.S. citizen who meets basic criteria can apply, the State Department reportedly has tried to attract current Foreign Service officers by offering plum assignments in Europe if they agree to an Iraq tour.

Despite that, the department lacks volunteers for about 50 jobs, and notified 250 employees by e-mail that they may be ordered to Iraq despite their fears.

Barber narrowly escaped injury in May when a mortar shattered the window of his Green Zone office, spraying the room with shards of razor-sharp metal. He acknowledges Iraq is still dangerous enough "that I don't sightsee, that's for sure." But there have been no recent rocket attacks, he said, and talk of a death sentence may be exaggerated.

"That's not to say it couldn't backslide, but at the moment it's a much, much calmer environment," said Barber, who spent three years as a Foreign Service officer in another hot spot, Pakistan. "Even my Iraqi staff who have lived through three years of hell are commenting that the situation in their areas has improved noticeably."

Where the jobs are

Most of the current job vacancies are in provincial reconstruction teams, in which U.S. diplomats work with Iraqis on local rebuilding, development and governance projects. But Kiesling, who resigned from the Foreign Service to protest the Iraq invasion, questions how much the teams can accomplish in a war zone with an uncertain future.

"Until we know what we are trying to achieve in Iraq, any money spent there is throwing money down a rat hole," he said.

"When you send junior officers without any experience or language skills and plop them down in Mosul to deal with warring tribes, they're clueless as to what to do. Their presence does not solve any problems: It's a signal to Congress and taxpayers that the president has a plan even if he doesn't."

Barber, though, thinks enough important work is being done in Iraq that even diplomats who balk at going will see they can make a contribution.

"I have faith in these people to roll up their sleeves once they get here," he said. "But they gotta get here first."

Susan Taylor Martin can be reached at susan@sptimes.com.

Help wanted

If you are interested in working as a Foreign Service officer go to http://careers.state.gov/.

[Last modified November 8, 2007, 00:43:19]