re: "Bin there, Killed That..... "

Thanks to No Double Standards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("Aut insanit homo, aut versus facit") for the mention.

Money quote(s):

"Consul Leslie Slote over at Consul at Arms II followed up with a "money quote" (as he calls them) that I'm pissed I never thought of myself:

Violence never settles anything except for those things that only violence will settle.

How hard does that line rock?" (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)

"Let's get to it: let's not kid ourselves; the Mutterer is a man of principle. I've argued as loudly as anyone that we should not reciprocate the bad behavior of our enemies by compromising our core principles. But I was pretty steamed at the self-flagellating response of the Left to the glee average Americans expressed at Bin Laden's killing."

Thusly does NDS neatly encapsulate civilized modern man's dilemma: how to respond to and deter violence and aggression from barbarians without becoming one. It's a topic worthy of discussion and one, I should note, that serves as something of a self-diagnostic: if you're still asking the question, than you're not a barbarian yet.

"You have got to be kidding me. Mike Hayes over at "Googling God" actually believes that there's some sort of moral equivalency between Afghans dancing on the streets at the news of 9/11 and Americans' rejoicing at the death of Bin Laden.

Let's get something straight: there hasn't been a single misfortune that has befallen the United States that Bin Laden and his ilk didn't celebrate. Why it is I am supposed to show him some sort of deference simply by virtue of having died is beyond me."

Too right. Either UBL was an anomoly, someone who had so twisted the peaceful teachings of Mohammed that he was no longer truly Islamic, or he was a martyr to the cause, a holy man worthy of memorials and emulation. Answers to this question should be chosen carefully.

"Bin Laden and his ilk hate us for who we are, regardless of what we do. And they'll always concoct some conspiracy to explain it all away.

The mistake that the Bushies made was concluding that all Arabs view us this way.

And that is decidely not true, as the absence of a significant Islamic influence in the ongoing "Arab Spring" attests.

Good riddance, Osama Bin Laden. It may very well be that you were unarmed, that you begged for mercy, and that my countryman put a bullet in your eye, anyway.

Tough shit.

You had it coming."

I rather thought Bush (and his ilk, the "Bushies") went to considerable trouble to make it clear that they were not acting as if all Arabs viewed us with hate, that this was not a Clash of Civilizations, and that if we'd responded as if it was that would have given UBL exactly what he wanted.

But yes: UBL had it coming.

re: "State Looks to Hire "Foreign Service Consular Adjudicators" "

No Double Standards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("Aut insanit homo, aut versus facit") notes a recent development.

Money quote(s):

"(T)he Foreign Service is reaching out to the public, running an advertisement soliciting applications for 20 "Consular Adjudicator" positions for individuals with Mandarin Chinese of Portuguese?"

This doesn't mean that newly-hired FSO Generalists who know/learn Chinese and Portugese (to start) won't spend a year (or more) of their early careers conducting visa interviews and implementing the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) abroad.

This just means that the Department (generally) and the Bureau of Consular Affairs (specifically) recognizes that the number of newly-hired FSO Generalists who will be available to perform those functions (in Chinese and Portugese) is simply insufficient for the demand in these areas.

It wasn't that long ago (and the concept was resurrected recently) that there were Consular Associate positions where qualified family members worked alongside vice consuls performing nearly identical functions.

"This measure will have definite implications for consular management and for congressional perception of the consular role."

It may help consular managers to think of these Consular Adjudicators in a way similar to how the military (especially Army Aviation) handles the relationship between warrant officers and commissioned officers. Warrants are specialists in a particular technical field or function and commissioned officers are expected to move beyond that into command and leadership of larger organizations.

Part of squaring this particular circle with Congress will be treating these specialists with the respect due them.

_____

NDS is dealing with some tough personal issues lately. Be sure to show him some love and respect.

re: "The Historical Record Does Not Treat the Timid Kindly"

No Double Standards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("Just Trying to Make Sense of It All") is behind the curtain, (with the great and powerful Oz).

Money quote(s):

"In the interest of full disclosure, I find myself in my current position quite by accident. During the last bid cycle, the list was filled with jobs in places to which my wife would not go, as well as places my wife preferred with jobs that I could never swallow hard and take. Incidentally, Consular Chief in Tunis was one of those jobs; my wife wanted to go. I declined, because I was sure I'd be bored to tears. Whoops.

My time inWashington has been nothing short of enlightening, an epiphany, an opportunity to peak behind the curtain. Especially in this time of unprecedented change in the Middle East, to have a front-row seat to policy formulation in reaction to these events is beyond fascinating.But in this short post, let me pass to you a fundamental observation about decision-making in Washington: way too much thought goes into it. Don't misunderstand me: after the experience of the Bush administration, I deeply value an intellectually-rigorous National Security Council that turns issues over and over in a deliberate, rational, measured way. But the danger, in my experience, comes from the old adage of "paralysis of analysis." "

Ah, the agony of bidding, and the narrowing of possibilities as one becomes more senior. It's good to spend some time back in the homeland, even "inside the beltway" every couple of tours; one tends to lose touch with ones own culture. I'm still not sure who Lady Gaga is (or why I should care).

Aside from the gratuitous pimp-slap at the NSC staff of the previous administration (neither of us were, apparently, on it), his point about the "paralysis of analysis" is perfectly valid.

"History has proven time and time and time again that only the brave, only the courageous, only those who are willing to act on principle even in the absence of answers to all the outstanding questions -- only those are celebrated by countless future generations as heroes.

There is a huge risk in acting without any guarantee of success.

There is a massive risk in weighing in on behalf of the powerless when that action may be perceived as imperialism.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Consular officers are taught to make decisions, any decision, without dithering overmuch and in the absence of complete information. After all, aside from Caddyshack's Karl Spackler (who will, on his deathbed, achieve total consciousness) who ever has complete information?

"Courage is the quality by which a man executes a decision solely on the basis of principle without all the information he would ideally have, and without concern for the potential negative fallout that decision might have on his own political future.

A politician consumed primarily with his political legacy is doomed to failure.

A leader with the courage to go with his gut and push his chips in even without the conviction that he is holding the best hand -- this is the man who has the opportunity to achieve greatness."

Most of us don't think of it as courage, particularly. But: "it's why they pay us the big bucks."

re: "Making a Difference"

No Double Standards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("A Slightly Off-Kilter Take on the Profound, the Profane, the Sacred, and the Absurd") shares the feeling.

Money quote(s):

"I've told you before that the reason I enjoy consular work is because it offers me on a daily basis the opportunity to make a profound difference in someone's life.

I've also probably mentioned that managing an office doesn't offer quite the same level of gratification.

But this week, I was a part of something extraordinary.

You see, I was working on the Libya Task Force when the ferry from Tripoli arrived in Malta, and when the charter flight from Mitiga Air Base in Libya took off with the last of our American staff on board.

It was a long shift, let me tell you."

There's a saying in consular work, that we touch people's lives. Let me tell you, moments like this are why we're in this business.

"I will never forget the feeling of utter relief at hearing Polaschik tell us that the plane was wheels up. There were tears in that Operations Center at that moment. I saw others wiping their eyes, even as I was wiping my own.

As many shitty days as there are in this career -- and let's not bullshit here; there are too many -- every once in awhile you have one day that makes it all worthwhile."

The very first "task force" I was involved with was an evacuation.

As I told my supervisor at the time, this was exactly why I chose consular work. It makes all the days of grinding through visa interviews worthwhile.

re: "Here's Hoping You Choke on That Whistle"

No Double Standards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("Rants of a Foreign Service Officer on the things that matter to you -- and matter to you not at all") says what needs saying.

Money quote(s):

"The Internet is now buzzing with the news of the release of hundreds of thousands of USG cables. I'm sick to my stomach. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for transparent government. But that's not what this exercise is about.

This is about cheap voyeurism, plain and simple."

"A whistleblower is someone who makes public disclosure of wrongdoing or corruption. Simply airing out information doesn't qualify you to don a mantle of righteousness.

There isn't anything virtuous about what Wikileaks -- and the scumbag USG employee who leaked these documents to Wikileaks -- has done.

Thanks to everyone disseminating this information, my colleagues at many posts around the world are literally in mortal danger."

&

"To all who complain about the conduct of our foreign policy: how the hell do you expect us to protect this country and advance our foreign policy objectives without the least expectation that our reporting and analysis will be protected?

Because that what this leak has done.

What political officer henceforth will ever speak to Washington with the same degree of candor?

Where corruption and illegality occur, they should be routed out. But recklessly divulging state secrets with blatant disregard for the consequences is a high crime that should be punished as such."

re: "Uninvited"

NoDoubleStandards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("Rants of a Foreign Service Officer on the things that matter to you -- and matter to you not at all") provides an excellent example of the sort of empathy that the very best consular officers exhibit.

re: "Security vs. Diplomacy: A False Dichotomy"

No Double Standards at Muttering Behind the Hardline ("Rants of a Foreign Service Officer on the things that matter to you -- and matter to you not at all") commented on what would seem to be "inside-baseball" reporting from Stratfor.

Money quote(s):

"An argument that DS was deliberately gutted in the 1990's due to an antipathy toward security would make sense, if the rest of the State Department had been faring well. Fact is, the 1990s were not a good time for State. Money was very tight, and hiring was abysmal. But beyond that, to reach back that far -- prior to 9/11 even -- for an explanation for deficiencies in our security posture is absurd. To finger as the primary culprit behind boom-or-bust funding cycles for State "Black Dragon" efforts to thwart increased security, as opposed to shifting priorities of presidential administrations and differing philosophies over the role of the Department of State in implementing foreign policy, seems a classic case of staring at a tree and missing the woods."

"As a consular officer who was riveted by the debate post-9/11 over the fate of the visa function, I myself had some reservations about what having an ARSO-I at post would mean. However, having worked with an ICE attache at one post and talked to colleagues who work with ARSO-I's at other posts, I've been pleasantly surprised at the value added."

Okay, here's where NDS goes a bit off the rails. ICE attaches and ARSO-Is are two different things. Similar, sort of, concepts, but not the same thing. The simplest explanation is that ICE is part of DHS and ARSO-Is are Diplomatic Security Service special agents (who've also had some specific consular training). DSS special agents belong to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), which is part of the U.S. Department of State (DOS).

Should I even mention that there's another DSS in the federal government? No, not at this juncture.

&

"No Foreign Service Officer believes that "diplomatic facilities need to be open and accessible rather than secure." This is a blatant caricature, and the authors know it is. Right-thinking FSO's believe that embassies and consulates need to be open and accessible AND secure. If you go to visit some of our newer missions, whether in Abu Dhabi, Sofia, Tunisia, just to name a few, you'll find aesthetically attractive facilities that accomplish both -- and are "green" to boot.

There is and always will be a tension between security concerns and the work of the embassy overseas. If there isn't, then either the RSO isn't vigilant in constantly evaluating the environment and offering his recommendations based on the evolving threat, where it exists, or the embassy staff is failing in its mission by locking itself behind the mission's walls. Sometimes RSO's are too skittish, and sometimes Front Office management is prepared to gamble more than it should. And those situations must be addressed, so that the balance I spoke of is achieved, so that the mission is both effective and safe. But these scenarios are the exception to the rule."