By Tammy S. Schultz
For The Washington Post
Friday, November 2, 2007; 6:54 PM
This week’s outburst by U.S. Foreign Service officers over the potential for forced deployments to Iraq, to make up for a shortage of volunteers, undoubtedly will be met with disdain from members of the Armed Services and some other civilian agencies of our government. The emotive response from the nation’s diplomats, and the military’s frustration over feeling very alone in this Long War, are symptoms, not causes, of a much deeper problem.
To recap: At a State Department town hall Wednesday, hundreds of diplomats cried foul over a new policy that could cost them their jobs if they turn down assignments in Baghdad or outlying provinces. “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,” declared one Foreign Service veteran. “I’m sorry, but basically that’s a potential death sentence and you know it. Who will raise our children if we are dead or seriously wounded?”
Read the rest at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/02/AR2007110201754.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
