re: "There Is No Place Like Home"

James R. Rummel at Chicago Boyz ("Some Chicago Boyz know each other from student days at the University of Chicago. Others are Chicago boys in spirit.") notices a recent personnel action.

Money quote(s):

"(S)ome of the diplomats assigned to her post actually requested reassignment to Afghanistan! Give up the cushy conditions in a modern European city, and trade it for the poverty and physical danger found in Kabul. Anything to get away from that harridan!

The author of the news article linked to above says that such is the danger when amateurs meddle in a field that clearly calls for career diplomats. I think it shows the danger of passing out important positions to political supporters without first bothering to ask if they are suited for the job."

It certainly doesn't sound good when career officers are jumping ship to Kabul and other rough neighborhoods to get out of Luxembourg. A lot of officers spend many years building up the kind of street cred and "equity" (by serving in tough posts) necessary to get a plum like Luxembourg.

Consider, for a moment, some of the likely French-speaking garden spots an officer might go just for the chance of a Luxembourg, Brussels, or Paris.

The thing about going to Kabul or other AfPak/Iraq posts is that it's sort of like hitting the Re-Set button or "Pass Go - Collect $200." These days you can link that service to onward assignment at, hopefully, one of your "dream posts" (think Paris, Brussels, Luxembourg-under-new-management).