I’m trying out some new themes with the blog. I think I like this one, but I need to tweak it a bit and clean up some rough edges. Feel free to provide any input.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2007.
It is always nice to see The Foreign Service getting mentioned in the news so that the average American might know that we exist. Here is a recent article from The Washington Post. I’ve pasted it in full below.
We took our first trip outside of Kyiv this past weekend. We were on a trip sponsored by the Community Liaison Office (in charge of the general morale and welfare of embassy employees and their families.) Chernihiv is less than two hours to the north of Kyiv near the border with Belarus. We had an English-speaking guide and, all in all, a good day.
It is a well-known and scientifically proven fact that most of the cool kids from high school end up marrying each other and eventually living in trailer parks. Less well-known is that a small percentage of the cool kids escape this lifestyle and become something else altogether.
I’ve had a topic I’ve meant to cover since we arrived in Kyiv, but like many blog entries, just haven’t had the time or motivation to get around to it. However, I saw something today that gave me the kick in the butt I needed.
I read an interesting article today from the International Herald Tribune about how the efforts of U.S. diplomats are hampered by security restrictions. It isn’t much of an issue here in Kyiv, but I have colleagues serving in places like Kabul, Sanaa, Port-au-Prince, and Riyadh and I know it really affects what they can and cannot do. The security is there for a reason, but we must also struggle with what is acceptable risk. From the watercooler talk I’ve heard, many Foreign Service Officers in Baghdad can accomplish very little due to the well-meaning security precautions. However, if all the diplomats can do is stay behind fortified walls all day and be ready to duck and cover, what are they doing other than waiting until something bad happens? I’ve heard countless diplomats complain that any other mission in the world would have been evacuated by now. Hopefully we’re standing strong for a reason. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve had a chance to experience my first Congressional Delegation (Codel) this past week. We actually took to calling it the Mega-del because of the size of it. We had over a dozen Congressmen and a Senator in town, add in their support staff and it was more than 40 people. Granted, a visit of the President or Secretary of State would dwarf this visit, but our added difficulty was that each member of Congress considers themselves equally important and they all want the freedom to go in whatever direction they want. We had to be ready to accomodate that desire. All in all, I think it was pretty successful.
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