Sunday, April 19, 2009

Deputy Ambassador Ricciardone and Wife: First Press Roundtable

Deputy Ambassador Frank Ricciardone and wife, Marie Photo from American Embassy Kabul

This came out recently from AmEmbassy Kabul: "Deputy Ambassador Francis Ricciardone and his wife, Marie, hosted their first roundtable discussion with Afghan press on April 13. The media included representatives from Afghanistan's leading TV broadcasters, radio stations, and newspapers. During the meeting, Ambassador Ricciardone and the press discussed the current situation in Afghanistan and the upcoming elections. He and his wife are delighted to be back in Afghanistan after their first visit to the region in 1977 and look forward to future meetings with the Afghan media."

Since Dr. Ricciardone is now in Kabul with her husband and Ambassador Eikenberry is reportedly going to be also accompanied to Kabul by his wife, I wonder if this means State has now reconsidered the status of Afghanistan as a fully unaccompanied post? The embassy in Kabul is on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Okay -- what's with Kabul PD's photostream in Flikr -- all photos posted are marked "all rights reserved" -- these photos are unmarked with regards to who took them, so I am presuming these were taken during the course of a USG employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, these images should be in the public domain.

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