Rice tries to quell fury over forced Iraq postings

updated 1:33 p.m. ET Nov. 1, 2007

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to quell a revolt among U.S. diplomats angry over attempts to force foreign service officers to work in Iraq or face dismissal.

Rice plans to send a cable to all U.S. embassies and missions abroad explaining the decision to launch the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam, following a contentious town hall meeting on Wednesday where angry diplomats raised deep concern about the “potential death sentence” of being ordered to work in Iraq, the State Department said.

“The secretary is going to send out a cable worldwide to people talking about this decision as well as encouraging people to serve in Iraq,” spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, saying the message would be distributed Thursday.

He stressed the cable was not a “direct response” to Wednesday’s unusually hostile session, but that “it speaks to some of the concerns that were aired in that town hall meeting.”

Rice, who did not attend the meeting, was also making clear in the cable that foreign service officers have an obligation to uphold the oaths they took to carry out the policies of the government and be available to serve anywhere in the world, McCormack said.

Positions largely filled
Despite the resistance to mandatory Iraq duty displayed at the meeting, McCormack noted that since 2002, more than 1,500 U.S. diplomats have served at the Baghdad embassy and in Provincial Reconstruction Teams in outlying areas and that 94 percent of the positions there are currently filled.

He took pains to point out that the diplomatic corps is not shirking its responsibilities and to note that since the call-up to fill 48 vacant Iraq posts was announced last Friday, 15 diplomats have volunteered to work there. He acknowledged, however, that that represents only 0.1 percent of the roughly 11,500-member foreign service.

At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino told reporters that President Bush understood the diplomats’ concerns but believed that both Rice and the foreign service would be able to handle the challenge in Iraq.

“The president understands that at a time of war it is distressing for some individuals to serve in those areas,” she said. “The president is concerned, but he also has confidence that Secretary Rice will handle this matter in a way that is caring for the people at the foreign service, but also ensures that the mission that the United States is on is supplemented by the foreign service officers who took an oath in order to serve their country.”

Pelosi: Revolt indication of Iraq 'failure'
On Capitol Hill, reaction to the diplomatic concerns broke down along partisan lines.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she thought the revolt was an indication of the unpopularity of the Iraq war and the “failure” of Bush’s Iraq policies.

“People are patriotic, they take hardship duty all over the world to represent our country and we’re very proud of them when they do,” she told a news conference. “And so, when they resist, it’s very unusual and should be a very clear message about the direction of this war, the prospect for success in it and the lack of interest in people in serving our country in that way.”

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the House Armed Services Committee’s top Republican, said he intends to suggest that diplomats who refuse to serve in Iraq be replaced by wounded veterans.

“Let’s replace these reluctant Nellies with America’s finest citizens,” he said in a statement. “Our wounded warriors will serve our country efficiently, effectively and with undying patriotism.”

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