If things are going so well, I fail to see what the big deal is...

The wing nuts will say the same thing about the diplomats as they do about the troops in Iraq. "They knew what they're were getting in to when they signed up."

Reminds me of the line from "Airplane!"

"They bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let 'em crash!"

Karma certainly is a bitch. If only State Department personnel shouted out when the shouting was good....

As Juan Cole first cited, then wrote: 'As a retired foreign service officer . . . at the State Department in Washington, I would like to add to your rationale for closing the US Embassy in Bagdad to save lives. In addition to the extreme danger involved, many of us would not go to Iraq because there is virtually nothing we can accomplish there. We could have no contact with ordinary Iraqis and would put our professional contacts or, for example, potential cultural exchange grantees, in great danger, simply by virtue of being seen with us, working with us, or participating in our programs. Unless some minimum level of security is established, we would be unable to achieve any worthwhile results, while causing great harm to cooperating Iraqis and their families--putting our own lives as risk for activities that would in the end likely prove useless and even shameful . . .'

In response to readers who said, essentially, that the State Department personnel signed a contract and should be sent same as the troops, I beg to differ. While all foreign service officers join knowing there will be risks, none is joining the army and typically embassies in war zones are shut down by the secretary of state and the president for precisely this reason. Foreign Service Officers are civilians. They are not combat personnel and cannot perform combat duties. Indeed, if they had any military aspect it would doom their entire mission and make them useless. They are supposed to be civilians representing the US to a foreign government.

Closing the embassy and ceasing to force foreign service officers to go to Baghdad against their will not prevent the US from brokering political and diplomatic deals. Most deal making is done in Amman as it is, and that has long been the case. The ambassador and a small number of volunteers could still fly out to the Green Zone and hammer out agreements. Indeed, closing the embassy would force the Bush administration to use State Department personnel for diplomatic purposes instead of as cannon fodder in a desperate offensive.

Bush is dragooning these career diplomats into dodging bombs and bullets, which is not their job. He is trying to create them as a shadow colonial administration of Iraq, which is not their job. The US embassy in Beirut was closed during the Lebanese Civil War. There is still no US embassy in Tehran. Tehran is a hell of a lot safer than Baghdad. Keeping the US embassy in Baghdad open is a political and military decision on Bush's part, which flies in the face of precedent and good sense.

Those who want to see the Iraq War ended should join this campaign. The war won't be ended as long as Bush's Baghdad embassy, a behemoth unprecedented in size and scope, bestrides Iraq like a colossal dominatrix.

And here is how closing the embassy works for the anti-war movement and for the Democratic Party (and anti-war Republicans). The public just won't mind. If you cut off money to the troops, they will mind. Only a plurality of Americans wants all troops out now, immediately. And if the Dems embargoed the military budget, the hawks would run on the their having sent our boys off to duel "al-Qaeda" with "spitballs" (a la Zell Miller). But the Republican hawks, having spent decades tearing down the State Department, will be helpless before a measure that closes down the US embassy in Baghdad. It is quite delicious.

It is politically cost free. It is the ethical thing to do. It is administratively the right and proper thing to do. It is a big step toward ending the war. Everyone wins.

Wow. I didn't know that the State Dept. was a town. Calling it such is doublespeak.
I did love the 12% stat quoted. And then the Director's defense was to call the 88% the equivalent of Slave Owners. How diplomatic of him.

Ahem...

If 88% of your workforce is deluded about the support they're receiving, tell me again how they're qualified to work in a war zone? I mean, if they're that manifestly stupid, why hire them to clean toilets let alone engage in diplomacy?

Will they get rifle and basic survival training before shipping out?

Throwing out that "88% of the population supported slavery" line was Thomas' white flag. He had so lost the argument that he had to resort to off-the-subject hyperbole. Sort of like when every foreign official that the Bush administration wants to do in becomes Hitler.

If they don't have State Department people there, they don't have an excuse to send Blackwater thugs there to serve as so-called bodyguards. Without that, they have less excuse to funnel taxpayer money to corporate criminals and Dominionist lunatics.

Fox News Alert @ 11:

Thomas: 88% of this country believed in slavery at one time, were they correct?

Another bad right-wing analogy.

May I suggest...88% of this country thought Vietnam was a mistake, were they correct?

Well said. I would also add that many of those who served in Vietnam came back to protest in the streets of the United States, proving that many in the military were not buying the propaganda that they were given by the U.S. government. The hope is that many in the military today will come to that same realization that the best way to stop a war/ occupation is to have it happen from within.

Wow, the natives are definately getting restless. Good for them for standing up. Now the American public has to do the same.

L.A. Confidential @ 1:

Karmas a Bitch

Yup, and the military will be raising their kids where ever the current war is when they are old enough !

Wow! Anyone who uses an excuse like that...one coined by a conservative...deserves any "Uncle Tom" label applied to him.

Don't you just love the criminal Bush regime? What a class act ...the "Keystone Cops" in action. I guess the commander guy (george 'custer' bush) just may not be such a GREAT uniter after all.

Draft K-Street.

And their children.

State department employees are civil servants not political appointees. These are the people who work at U.S. Embassies all over the world, performing various useful services. It's not fair to lump them in with neo-con supporters of the war. I'm sure many of them despise the administration but want to serve their country. What they're complaining about is being forced to serve in the Iraq Embassy which, under normal circumstances, would have been shut down long ago because of the appalling security situation (as the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was closed when Israel launched its illegal assault on Lebanon last year).

So I don't think there's any reason to diss these folks for pointing out the insanity of what Bush and Rice are trying to do: give the appearance that all is rosy in Baghdad when the situation is totally fucked up.

here is his response to inquiries from countries about katrina

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ask/20050912.html

Christ, they set harry up for failure, he just got this job,

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/sep/92563.htm

(course if you will notice he spent some time in Niger too, yellow cake harry mean anything? Do any deals to make it to the top??)

But military draftees can't resign.

he has held key positions since bush inception..

http://www.holycross.edu/departments/publicaffairs/hcm/fall07/GAA/gaa4.html

so who knows,maybe he is just trying to get ahead, another powell trade off...
He gets what he wants, this administration gets what they want.

good luck wif dat

Question:
How many of these diplomats were Bush toadies?
I wish there was a good way to weed out the Bushie-type diplomats and send them to Iraq. Are they all Bush appointees?

Harry_Thomas_clearly_is_self-loathing_to_make_that_sort_of_comment....how_sad...(spacebarbroken)

Reminds me of the video on the "Young Republicans" gathering when they were asked why do you not serve in the military, they hee hawed and dodged the question with they were going too college, had careers too attend too, but were doing their duty in supporting the troops [at home], but not in active duty...., one thing that separates the chicken hawks on the right wing from the war hawks is the chicken hawks will not serve or fight, and the war hawks will, now I am against this Iraq war, fiasco, but have too respect any man/woman who is willing too fight and die for their beliefs, when I was in the US marines, I volunteered, during the vietnam era, bought that garbage then if we did not stop them in Asia a domino effect would occur in Asia, remember distinctly how the draftee's I served with were angry that they were drafted into a war they did not believe in, was called crazy for joining volunteerily, looking back one thing I remember distinctly it was well known then that if one wanted too avoid Vietnam duty, and if you had the connections get into the national guard {George Walker Bush Jr], or college deferrments {Dick Cheney with his 5 deferrments}, funny how those who believe in war and feel superior too others when it comes too putting ones own life in danger they have all kinds of excuses too why they should not go..., I have no respect for the republican chicken hawks who have gained power, via stolen elections, and sit in ruin of this once great nation, these cowards in white house, in the right and left wing who allowed this are a disgrace, truly when will america wake up and cast these rascals out and put them in prison for war crimes, and treason against this country for their war profiteering with their oil baron buddies...

UN-MITIGATED BULLSHIT.

I doubt that the whole Civil War population (both North and South) ever got close to FIFTY PERCENT that may have suported the legality of slavery. 88%!! I doubt that. Maybe 88% of the property owners in Virginia... maybe... but not the general population. Mary Todd Lincoln was hard-core Abolitionist... but Abe came into his presidency ready to "allow" salvery in the southern states to continue to protect the Union. His cabinet was split in about the same way.

THAT is exactly the kind of loose use of facts and history that ALL of them use... from Limbaugh, Bill-O, Hannity, and Dead-Eye Dick and W. Our State Department leadership are nothing but Kool-Aid drinking Bushies.

it's a particularly exquisite irony that this confrontational, tactless oaf is the head US diplomat.

Terrible @ 23:

I seriously doubt that 88% of Americans ever thought slavery was OK. Does he have polls from the 1700's, 1800's to back that up?

Even if he did, I doubt the slave's opinions were included in the polling data.

(Perhaps he got his data from an O'Reilly approved source like the Paris Business Review)

RH @ 44:

Reminds me of the video on the "Young Republicans" gathering when they were asked why do you not serve in the military, they hee hawed and dodged the question with they were going too college, had careers too attend too, but were doing their duty in supporting the troops [at home], but not in active duty...., one thing that separates the chicken hawks on the right wing from the war hawks is the chicken hawks will not serve or fight, and the war hawks will, now I am against this Iraq war, fiasco, but have too respect any man/woman who is willing too fight and die for their beliefs, when I was in the US marines, I volunteered, during the vietnam era, bought that garbage then if we did not stop them in Asia a domino effect would occur in Asia, remember distinctly how the draftee's I served with were angry that they were drafted into a war they did not believe in, was called crazy for joining volunteerily, looking back one thing I remember distinctly it was well known then that if one wanted too avoid Vietnam duty, and if you had the connections get into the national guard {George Walker Bush Jr], or college deferrments {Dick Cheney with his 5 deferrments}, funny how those who believe in war and feel superior too others when it comes too putting ones own life in danger they have all kinds of excuses too why they should not go..., I have no respect for the republican chicken hawks who have gained power, via stolen elections, and sit in ruin of this once great nation, these cowards in white house, in the right and left wing who allowed this are a disgrace, truly when will america wake up and cast these rascals out and put them in prison for war crimes, and treason against this country for their war profiteering with their oil baron buddies...

============
Yes, the American people should DEMAND true accountability and justice for all those that betrayed their country during this awful aministration. I'm looking at Republicans AND Democrats, media personalities, war profiteers, all the scum that crawled out of the woodwork when Lil Bush came to power.

Reminds me of that short story, "The Lottery", by Shirley Jackson.

I wonder when the government is going to reinstate conscription.

f Condi and her backdoor draft. Stupid spinster doesn't know what it is like to have a family at home

H Thomas ,
Your a fat a*****e , you have lived your whole life at the public food trough , you are an insult , 88% F*****g prick , how many died to offer freedom in the civil war , 12% and they won , and what % of those where black ( 11% ) so only 1 % of white americans died for freedom !!! . The whole bunch of you state dept pukes and your children should got to Irac and live in the NEW mega center in Bagdad . Thats right , walk the talk and step away from the buffet line , you disgrace this country so leave .

oh! aren't these schitts guarded by blackwater?

Gents and ladies, this is irony at its finest. Guess they don't believe that tripe that "Americans must sacrifice". Everyone at every level of government knew this Iraq invasion was hyped bullshit from day one, yet did nothing, because the grunts were the ones that were going to do the fighting.

In a real war, everyone has to make sacrifices. It has been mentioned before that support (and funding) for the war will go hell the minute a draft was activated. Here is just a glimpse of all the groans you'll hear if that ever happens.

wait , new idea
Lets send send all of the warmongers to Irac ( and their familys ) and then lets close our borders and freeze their accounts and of course that will include AIPAC .

Freedom is just another word for nothing left too lose .

One cannot help but find it somewhat incredulous that civil servants whine and worry about their families in advance of such an assignment when those they have so gleefully annexed to doom cannot voice similar concerns for fear of being labelled "phony," "traitors," or "un-American." Moreover, where have the supposed 88% of these idiots been the past five years? Can anyone tell me that none of these bozos saw the writing on the wall when the US announced that it was to build its largest embassy ever in the middle of a country it has so gallantly dismembered?

Nice try, but you are too late…and for your complacency to this point, you are going. Welcome to regime change: Have a nice trip...BANG!

"Q: Sometimes if it’s 88-12. Maybe the 88 % are correct.

Thomas: 88% of this country believed in slavery at one time, were they correct? (grumbling) So don’t come here with that."

88% of this country supported the American Revolution, too, were they incorrect, Mr. Thomas?

Ass.

They're not diplomats so much as place holders. With targets on their backs. I'd rather quit than end up there anyway.

GonzoD @ 69:

When I watched this live, I was speechless for about an hour after that slavery comment.
Un-fucking-believable!

My jaw dropped when the guy started being indignant about who was going to raise their children. Yes, there is a differenc between a soldier who volunteers to be in the armed forces, and a diplomat. But give me a break. I'm sorry that you're luncheons in palaces and your foofy-poofy lifestyle are going to be interrupted by real life. But that kind of comes with the territory of being a US Diplomat, if you ask me.

I guess I missed it when this guy was indignant about our soldiers and marines in Iraq and their families. Be a diplomat. End the war, genius.

I know ... they work for an administration that wouldn't let them end the war if they could. But, still. That statement seemed a little melodramatic given the circumstances of our men and women in true harm's way.

ZERO SYMPATHY.

These people work for a corrupt and traitorous administration, and as long as their own kids are safe and sound, and as long as other parents' kids are being slaughtered, all's well in their world.

Who will take care of our children? Ask the damned traitors sitting in the White House, the ones you work for.

How galling this is.

a black republican playing the race card in order to send diplomats to their deaths or dismemberment....now i have heard everything

but shit...we are winning...what do these people have to fear?

I never comment on this site, but I read it daily. And I know why now. Not because it seems to be honest, but because where else can you get the news and get the line "OMG, Harry Thomas used slavery to tell them to go f*&k themselves! Only in BushWorld. " Ok, now if Katie Couric would do a piece on this and use that quote I would respect her much more. Kudos to the author of this.

...I just notice Harry Thomas looks like a black Rush Limbaugh. These soft, pudgy, doughy, cowardly, conservative, blowhards, all look alike regardless of their skin color.

These are career diplomats. Lets go easy.
Most had little idea of what hell Bush would set loose.
But Thomas looks just like the Supreme Court asshole.

The best candidate I can think of is Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield and their families. I'm sure their patriotism is "unquestionable". I'll bet they'll do this in a heartbeat. Besides Bush would not want to do nothing when his term is over.