Diplopundit’s Blog Index for April 2009

If you can't find the blog posts in the "tag cloud" in the right-most column here, you may want to scroll through my monthly post index. The March Index is here. The February one is here.

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AFSA Election Goes Undiplomatic?

POTUS with 67: Out at a Picnic Table

SFRC Website Make Over - When?

Holbrooke on the Pak Side of Af/Pak

SFRC Hearings: Nominations of Carson, de Baca

Officially In: Eric Goosby to Global AIDS (S/GAC)

All US Posts in Mexico Suspend Services

PSA: CDC Symptoms of Swine Flu

Philip Gordon: Snared in Senate Hold and More

Today at the SFRC: Harold Koh, Legal Adviser Nomin...

2008 Annual Report on Foreign Service Grievance ...

Philip Barclay Says a Familiar Goodbye

SFRC Hearing: Nomination of Harold Koh to be Legal...

Officially In: Daniel Benjamin as Coordinator For ...

Flu Outbreak: US Embassy Mexico Suspends Non-Essen...

Secretary Clinton's Iraq Visit, April 25

Officially In: Ambassador Robert Blake to the SCA...

Video of the Week: Big Dog Wonder

Secretary Clinton on the Foreign Policy Priorities...

Ambassador Chris Hill Gets Face Time with POTUS

Officially In: Eric P. Schwartz to PRM

Officially In: Kurt Campbell to the EAP Bureau

State Department’s Briefing 2.0 Has Stalled But …

Quickie: Afghanistan Stopgap Measures

Quote: The Power to Protect from Being Wrong

All Over But the Props ... er Congressional Record...

DipNote Has Turned Green for Earth Day

Officially In: Richard Morningstar, Special Envoy ...

SFRC Hearings: Nominations of Burk, Daalder

Say Hello to Christopher Hill, Our New US Ambassad...

The Official "Under the Sea" Ambassador Hume Photo...

Ambassador Hill Adds More Pages to the Congression...

A Future Case Study: Mutiny of the Foggy Bottom Hi...

Ambassador Hill Edges Closer to Baghdad …

The Way Forward: Paperless, Consolidated and Guess...

US Passport Vulnerabilities: Knee-Jerk Variety Res...

Ambassador Hume in Tank with Sharks

Deputy Ambassador Ricciardone and Wife: First Pres...

Video of the Week: the fallacy of conventional ...

Remember More: Beirut Bombing Victims

Where, oh where are the diplomats going to get a ...

Torturing Democracy: How Did We Get to This Place?...

Insider Quote: Why Didn't You Quit?

Quickie: Nordlinger’s Negroponte at Large

Officially In: McHale to "R" and Crowley to ...

Don't Leave the Press Pissed and Puzzled Next Time...

Insider Quote: Defining the Self

Update on the Death of FSO Brian Adkins

FY09 Supplemental Request: Expanded Embassies in ...

Quickie: State's Centrality in Foreign Policy

Video of the Week: Using Soft Skills on the Field

Professional Development Fellowship Program 2009

Big Brother with Big Ears, In China

Officially In: Jeffrey D. Feltman to the NEA ...

Rooting for Rooney

There Was an Old Pirate Who Swallowed a Fly…

Up Close and Personal: Reconstruction & Stab...

Quick Update on State Department Nominations

More on the State Department’s Arabic Training

Foggy Bottom Sage Strikes Again: In Time for EERs

Where's Our Man in Iraq?

Insider Quote: Connecting Blindly

Shop Update: Gift Items for Af/Pak Crew and Friends...

Video of the Week: Chris Inglis on Leadership at ...

Baghdad Won't See Chris Hill Until After 4/20 ...

Ambassador Eikenberry and EFM Heading to Kabul?

Take the Ethics Training – In Crossword Puzzles!

One New Iraq Strategy: Clear, Hold, and Hold Hill?...

USAID -- In the State Department’s Orbit

Insider Quote: State Department, Future Perfect

Gem of the Day – Morales Charges U.S. Conspiracy ...

Eyes on London the Next Two Days

Quickie: State Department - Attracting a Different...

SFRC Approves Nominations

AFSA Election Goes Undiplomatic?

A big election is just down the corner for Foreign Service folks -- the AFSA Governing Board is up for election for the 2009-2011 term. Some 40 days to go before the ballots are counted, and the campaign buzz is heating up and not nicely, I must say.

E3 Team AFSA 2009: Experience, Equity, Excellence claims that the Clean Slate endorsements are misleading. It looks like two individuals complained that their endorsements were misrepresented. One says the slate endorsement “appears to be a gross misrepresentation,” and another says she “strenuously object to the use of my name.” E3 Team AFSA has a screaming green link to “CLEAN SLATE ENDORSEMENTS ARE MISLEADING.” And in case you miss the point, it adds: On their website and in their mailings, Clean Slate lists numbers of endorsements. That is not a race that we have entered, but here are some comments from people who were listed in earlier Clean Slate e mailings as having endorsed the Clean Slate or individuals on it. Look it up here, see what you’re missing.

Its website has a Guest Book with one entry. Seven endorsements have also been posted. I would not count “Great info Mark, thank you for the post - good to see specialists running for AFSA - keep us posted on what happens. Department of State: Information Resource Management Facebook page April 2, 2009” as official endorsement if I were you -- the writer might complain. Some E3 Team AFSA links that might interest you: Who We Are and What We Believe – the latter page includes items on The Equity Imperative and Standards for Excellence. I wonder what happened to Experience, the first of the 3Es.

Susan R. Johnson (Maintains a TS Security Clearance) , a Foreign Service officer since 1979 is the top candidate for the E3 Team AFSA 2009 slate. She is a Senior FS Officer who has served twice as DCM (Romania and Mauritius) and who received the DCM of the Year Award in 2002. You can read more about her in the Women’s History Month page and her OHR bio from 2004. Diana Page (Maintains a TS Security Clearance) is also running in the same slate for State VP, as well as a few others whose last names did not include the “Maintains a TS Security Clearance” as surnames.

The other team running in this election is the CLEAN Slate (Courageous Leadership, Effective Action – Now). It promises to: A) Represent AFSA’s Members More Transparently, B) Secure Needed Resources and Better Management and C) Resolutely Defend Your Rights. Its platform is spelled out here. It calls its opponents “dedicated, distinguished professionals whom we are proud to call colleagues and friends” but points out to the major differences between the two slates including the fact that 11 of its 18 members are mid-level employees. And this not too subtle dig: “none of us has made AFSA a “second career.”

The CLEAN Slate page also includes a running a counter of endorsement, currently at 85. The other candidates running in this slate are here; none of them have the extended “TS” surnames, in case you’re interested. It also has a page on How to Vote.

David Firestein, a Foreign Service officer since 1992, is running at the top of the CLEAN slate ticket. You can read more about him here and here. In 2008, Firestein was appointed as senior advisor at the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. In 2006, he won the prestigious “Secretary of State’s Award for Public Outreach.” David Daniel M. Hirsh is also running in the same slate as State VP. He is probably the slate’s most controversial candidate – you can read Dead Men Working’s posts here, here and here. Daniel Hirsh himself recently posted in his blog An Open Letter To My DS Colleagues after a specific email has been circulated in what he says is an attempt to portray him as “a person hostile to DS.”

Okay, if you’re an election hound and up for some more of this -- go visit the election forum here. Somebody posted: “In order for you guys to winn you must stop using your negative tactics.” Another one said, “I have just been watching your campaign get dirtier and dirtier. And the latest email just adds even more filth.[…]Thanks for showing your true colors!” {Update 5/4}: I should add that the two comments above and a couple more have been posted on the election forum thread of E3 Team AFSA but no similar complaints appears on the other slate. I understand that candidates may not always have full control over what their surrogates write or say, but I also think that it is a sign of a good and strong leadership to be able to set the right tone and limits in a heated campaign. I am hoping that Team AFSA and the CLEAN Slate would utilize more fully the purpose of the AFSA online forum during this election campaign. I think this would be one way for members to assess the potential responsiveness of all candidates, as well as an opportunity for everyone to engage in an active discussion on the state of the Foreign Service. I see that the mandatory age retirement (MAR) has been discussed in the CLEAN Slate page; I would like to see similar discussions on other topics on both slates. I can read perfectly the campaign platforms, thank you very much -- but I and other folks would like to see that give and take discussion online and on the record. {end of this update}

Seems like there are more election emails in circulation, is that allowed? Character assassination and red herrings have allegedly entered this year's campaign toolbox, also. Seriously folks, you’re all diplomats -- fight hard and strong on the issues, but be dignified, do it nicely – you might scare the children.

The AFSA by-laws are here. See item V on the Governing Board.

Updated 5/1: Thanks to Diplopundit reader, Mike for correcting me on the name of the State VP candidate for the CLEAN slate. The candidate's name is Daniel M. Hirsch not David as I 've previously posted here. Apologies, not enough sleep and too much java. I must also add that there is a third candidate running for State VP. Katherine Hadda is running as a non-slate/independent candidate; she has 20 years experience in the FS (see p.7 of AFSA News Special Election Edition). She writes: "I hope you will vote for me, but even if you don't, please vote! How will we get management to take us seriously if we don't make ourselves heard?" And you know she's right. Go, fill out your ballot now before you forget it in your incoming box.

POTUS with 67: Out at a Picnic Table

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speak together sitting at a picnic table April 9, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza I'm not sure if she looks tired or unhappy about something in this photo. What went on April 9? Here is the original photo at (3500 x 2719).

SFRC Website Make Over - When?

screencapture 4/29/2009

In late January, Steve Clemons of The Washington Note wrote about the need for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to overhaul its website (see Jan 28 2009, 9:24AM). The same day, he got a response from the new Senate Foreign Relations Committee Communications Director and former FSO, Frederick L. Jones II (see Jan 28 2009, 11:55AM) saying that an overhaul is in the works and it is a "top priority." On February 3, the SFRC webmaster, Brian Young posted that “we're already in the process of redoing the site.” (see TPM, February 3, 2009, 6:44AM)

Okay - that’s about three months ago …sigh!

Holbrooke on the Pak Side of Af/Pak

Today, Wednesday, April 29,This has been moved to Tuesday, May 05, 2009, 12:00 PM. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke will be at the Rayburn House answering questions from the full House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) members. HFAC chairman, Howard L. Berman (D-CA) is holding an open hearing on the Pak side of Af/Pak -- From Strategy to Implementation: The Future of the U.S.-Pakistan Relationship.

Tomorrow, April 30, Ambassador Holbrooke will be at the Dirksen Senate Building to testify at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC). Senator John Kerry is also holding a hearing on the Pak part of Af/Pak -- US Strategy Toward Pakistan. (Update 4/29 @ 8:50 pm: It seems only a matter of time; this one has also been postponed. Will update when this is rescheduled).

You know CSPAN will be covering it as well as a few more media outlets because like Strobe Talbott says, he’s “the diplomatic equivalent of a hydrogen bomb,” okay? And speaking of Holbrooke -- In the Loop’s Al Kamen has written earlier this week about Holbrooke’s Growing Orbit.

I will not repeat the joke that has migrated from the Balkans to Foggy Bottom , but Holbrooke is reported to “have announced to a meeting of career Foreign Service folks in the South and Central Asia bureau (SCA) that they were now working for him, something that stunned more than a few of them.”

If true, boy oh boy -- does that mean the incoming Assistant Secretary for SCA, Ambassador Robert Blake, also works for him? Hmmn….hmmnnn.. Ambassador Blake has just been announced as the Assistant Secretary nominee for the SCA bureau. If you look at this map, you’ll see that Af/Pak runs right at the center of the South Central Asian region, and some have pointed out that without Afghanistan and Pakistan, the SCA bureau has a shrunken domain. Even then, I thought, well, at least SCA still has India and Kazakhstan, two of the largest countries in the region with their own sets of challenges. But now … one wonders. It would be interesting to hear how Ambassador Blake sees his role in the big picture; after all he’ll be the one facing a confirmation hearing, not the special envoy. Blake’s nomination has been sent to the Senate and is currently pending at the SFRC (15 nominations in the queue ahead of him at the moment).

I did say back in February that I could not imagine the org boxes to stay the same with Ambassador Holbrooke on the scene. I’m sure there will be more on this later…

Related Post:

• Officially In: Ambassador Robert Blake to the SCA Bureau
• Richard Holbrooke: Our Af/Pak Man and Diplomatic H-bomb
• HRC on Special Representative Holbrooke's Role in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Related Item: Matthew Kaminski: Holbrooke of South Asia

SFRC Hearings: Nominations of Carson, de Baca

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE 111^th CONGRESS 1st SESSION

Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Time: 9:30 A.M. Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Building Presiding: Senator Feingold

Nominees:

The Honorable Johnnie Carson to be Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (see WH Announcement)

Luis C. de Baca to be Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (see WH Announcement)

Updated 4/30: Links to testimonies have just been added. To view the video of this hearing, go here. Then click on the heading "NOMINATIONS," a small video should pop up. Note that there is blank space here, the hearing starts at approximately 13:05 into the video.

Officially In: Eric Goosby to Global AIDS (S/GAC)

President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Eric Goosby, Ambassador at Large and Global AIDS Coordinator (S/GAC).

Eric Goosby, MD, has been CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation since 2001. He is also Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Goosby has played a key role in the development and/or implementation of HIV/AIDS national treatment scale-up plans in South Africa, Rwanda, China, and Ukraine. He focuses his expertise on the scale-up of sustainable HIV/AIDS treatment capacity, including the delivery of HIV antiretroviral drugs, within existing healthcare systems. Dr. Goosby has extensive international experience in the development of treatment guidelines for use of antiretroviral therapies, clinical mentoring and training of health professionals, and the design and implementation of local models of care for HIV/AIDS. He has worked closely with international partners on the development of successful HIV/AIDS treatment and treatment-based prevention strategies for high-risk populations. Dr. Goosby has over 25 years of experience with HIV/AIDS. His experience ranges from his early years treating patients at San Francisco General Hospital when AIDS first emerged to engagement at the highest level of policy leadership. In his role at HHS as the first director of the Ryan White Care Act, Dr. Goosby helped develop HIV/AIDS delivery systems in the United States. During the Clinton Administration he served as deputy director of the White House National AIDS Policy Office and director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy of the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Goosby has longstanding working relationships with leading multilateral organizations including UNAIDS, the Global Fund and the World Health Organization.

Related Items:

• President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 4-27-09
• Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation: Dr. Eric Goosby

All US Posts in Mexico Suspend Services

The US Embassy in Mexico has released an April 27 Public Announcement Update on the flu outbreak in the country. The US Embassy in Mexico City and all U.S. Consulates throughout the country have now suspended all non-essential services to the public until May 6.

“On April 27, the Government of Mexico announced that as a precautionary measure, all schools throughout the country from kindergarten through university level will remain closed until May 6. All government-sponsored events involving large crowds in Mexico City have also been canceled, and museums and most tourist attractions are closed. […] Additionally, U.S. consulates in Mexico will suspend some nonimmigrant visa operations until May 6, but may see a limited number of applicants. More information will be provided on April 28, 2009 about nonimmigrant visa operations at U.S. consulates. If visa operations need to be suspended beyond May 6, we will inform the public as soon as possible.”

The announcement also states that operations at the U.S. consular agencies throughout Mexico may be curtailed. “Several are closing to the public entirely for walk-in services, seeing the public by appointment only.”

The US Mexico Mission covers all the nine US Consulates in Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Monterrey, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana and the 13 Consular Agencies in Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Cancún, Ciudad Acuña, Cozumel, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Oaxaca, Piedras Negras, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta, Reynosa, San Luis Potosí and San Miguel de Allende.

See US Embassy Mexico’s Public Announcement page.

Updated: 1:08 PM I should add that according to the WHO update (see Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response for daily update) as of 27 April 2009, the United States Government has reported 40 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine influenza A(H1N1), with no deaths. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection with the same virus, including seven deaths. Canada has reported six cases, with no deaths, while Spain has reported one case, with no deaths.

Although the alert has been bumped up to phase 4, the WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. "It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities. There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness."

Related Post:

• Flu Outbreak: US Embassy Mexico Suspends Non-Essential Services
• PSA: CDC Symptoms of Swine Flu

Related Items:

• CDC on Swine Flu (updated daily)
• Pandemic Flu – One Stop Access

PSA: CDC Symptoms of Swine Flu

CDC Symptoms of Swine Flu 5:26 min

More CDC videos on YouTube here. Click here for other video downloads/podcast/transcript)

The CDC has also released tips on What You Can Do to Stay Healthy and every day preventive actions.

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
• If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Philip Gordon: Snared in Senate Hold and More

Philip H. Gordon was nominated by President Obama to be Assistant Secretary of State for the EUR Bureau (European and Eurasian Affairs), to succeed Daniel Fried, who has since been appointed as Special Envoy for Guantanamo closure.

It does not look like his nomination is going anywhere right now. Below are the legislative actions on this nomination:

Floor Action: March 11, 2009 - Received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Committee Action: March 26, 2009 - Committee on Foreign Relations. Hearings held.

Committee Action: March 31, 2009 - Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported favorably.

Floor Action: March 31, 2009 - Reported by Senator Kerry, Committee on Foreign Relations, without printed report.

Floor Action: March 31, 2009 - Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar No. 40. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to requests to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of the Senate.

He has been on that Executive Calendar No.40 for 28 days now. The Washington Post’s Who Runs Gov says that Gordon’s nomination has been held up (reportedly by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.)) because “Gordon is not willing to call the sustained Ottoman attacks on Armenians during and after World War I a genocide.⁽³⁾ As a result, Gordon could not accompany Obama on his March 2009 trip to Europe. Foreign Policy’s The Cable reports that Gordon “had his bags ready to go,” but a last-minute hold kept his Senate confirmation vote off of the floor.⁽⁴⁾ It is unclear when the Senate will now consider Gordon.”

Mr. Gordon is not the only one snared in the world of politics and senate holds. Remember career diplomat Richard Hoagland? He was nominated for the United States ambassadorship to Armenia on May 23, 2006. The Boston Globe reported then that “Armenians and their backers in Congress are trying to hold up the appointment of the man President Bush wants to succeed Evans, Richard E. Hoagland, who has declined to describe what happened as genocide.”

On September 12, 2006, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez issued a hold on the confirmation vote for Hoagland, stating that "if the Bush Administration continues to refuse to acknowledge the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide, then there is certainly cause for great alarm, which is why I am placing a hold on this nominee." ^[2] On January 9, 2007 Richard Hoagland was renominated as ambassador to Armenia but the nomination was eventually withdrawn by the White House on August 3, 2007 ^[5]

On a side note -- Evans was career diplomat John Marshall Evans who served as US ambassador to Armenia, and who was reportedly recalled for using the word “genocide” in informal meetings with Armenian-American groups a couple or so years ago. He was also the awardee at the center of a big flap on a dissent award withdrawn by AFSA. On that AFSA had this to say:

AFSA did not present the Christian A. Herter Dissent Award this year. The AFSA Awards Committee, upon review of the original decision to confer the award on Ambassador John Evans, withdrew the award because the nomination did not meet the criteria for constructive dissent.

A story of many parts for sure ... but you get the idea, kind of like the obstacle course in Untold Legends. And since there's a hold on the Gordon nomination, can another one be far behind for whoever is going to be the nominee for US Ambassador to Armenia?

Related Post: Officially In: Philip Gordon to the EUR Bureau

Related Item: "Testimony of Philip H. Gordon: Assistant Secretary of State-designate for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs," Senate Foreign Relations Committee, March 26, 2009

Today at the SFRC: Harold Koh, Legal Adviser Nominee

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE 111^th CONGRESS 1st SESSION

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Time: 2:30 P.M. Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Building Presiding: Senator Kerry Senator Kerry's Opening Statement Senator Lugar's Opening Statement Nominees:

The Honorable Harold H. Koh to be Legal Adviser to the Department of State (see WH Announcement)

This is the current line-up's third Marshall Scholar, after Kurt Campbell, EAP nominee and Philip Gordon Daniel Benjamin, nominee for S/CT. Hearing will be on C-SPAN3 today at 2:15pm ET. Look for the link to the hearing here. Update 4/28 9:14 pm: Senator Lugar has submitted pre-hearing questions to Legal Adviser-Designate Harold Hongju Koh. The questions and the response are here (pdf). The link in cspan seems to have disappeared right now. But you can watch the hearing at SFRC here (video starts at 9:40). When you get to the specific hearing page, click on "NOMINATION" (green big letters), that's the link to the Senate live stream for this hearing. It's a wacky set-up, but I could not locate a direct link to the video at this time. Somebody please tell SFRC that posting their videos this way really sucks!?!! Found a Senate.gov video link of hearing here (h/t to Koh's Facebook supporters' page) Related Items:

• Time: On Harold Koh, April 24, 2009
• The Boston Globe: Obama nominee touches a nerve in conservatives, April 21, 2009
• Yale Law School Biography of Harold Koh

2008 Annual Report on Foreign Service Grievance Now Online

I don't know about you but -- every time I visit the Foreign Service Grievance Board website, I feel sorry for these folks. The FSGB website is like a relic from an Internet cold war, frankly in a lot worse state than the SFRC website. All the documents are still posted in MS Word, the search function is not terribly helpful and there is no option to search/browse its pending or resolved cases. I must say that considering the website/social media improvements at State, this one is the poor, poor cousin indeed, and I'm not sure help is on the way. But they are hopeful, writing:

We hope to continue to improve the process by increased use of conferences to better focus issues at earlier stages of the process and decrease unnecessary paper filings, by improvements to our website (which presently is hampered by budgetary considerations), and by reductions in the length of some of our rulings (to enhance the readability of the decisions and better highlight the analysis that is central to our holdings in a given case).

In any case -- in 2008, 57 cases were filed at the FSGB. Majority of the cases were Employee Evaluation Reports (EERs) related. I could not tell from the report how many cases are currently pending, but 53 cases were closed in 2008, disposed as follows:

Agency Decision Affirmed 16

Agency Decision Reversed 16

Settled/Withdrawn 15

Dismissed 6

Terms explained: "Agency Decision Affirmed means that the grievance filed with the Board was denied and the grievant did not prevail. Agency Decision Reversed means that the grievance was sustained in whole or in substantial part. Dismissals were cases in which the Board found it lacked continuing jurisdiction to proceed. These cases included dismissals due to untimeliness, mootness, and lack of subject matter jurisdiction."

The average time for consideration of a grievance, from the time of filing to a Foreign Service Grievance Board decision was a total of 37 weeks.

The Annual Report which goes to the Director General of the Foreign Service and to both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) reports that “None of the cases decided in 2008 reversed long-standing Board precedent; however, one case established new ground on the legal issue of estoppel. Additionally, a number of themes emerged that are noteworthy.” Excerpts below:

EERs and OPFs Employee evaluation reports (EERs) and official performance files (OPFs) are at the heart of the Foreign Service promotion and retention system. Of the cases decided by the Board in 2008, almost one-third involved those issues. This is consistent with the Board’s case load in recent years.

One of the more significant EER cases was FSGB Case No. 2008-006 (December 31, 2008), in which the grievant alleged that he had never been counseled on supposed deficiencies that ultimately led to his being denied tenure. Counseling, confirmed by a written counseling statement, is an explicit regulatory requirement for untenured employees. Although the agency invalidated a key counseling certificate that had been provided after the rating period, it nevertheless found that the rater had provided sufficient oral counseling, and that written counseling during the prior rating period had given the grievant adequate notice that he needed to improve certain skills. The agency also found that the tenure board had drawn its own conclusions with respect to one area for improvement not noted by the rater, and that it could do so without providing counseling.

The Board reversed the agency decision. It found that written counseling outside the rating period did not fulfill the Department’s obligations under the regulations, and that the claimed oral counseling was not proven to have, in fact, taken place. The Board also confirmed its earlier decision that the requirement for counseling applies to agencies as a whole, not just the rater and reviewer, and that the tenure board could not make decisions based solely on its own conclusions regarding deficiencies if the employee had not been counseled on those deficiencies.

A recurring theme in the EER cases was a claim that the EER contained alleged inaccuracies, omissions, errors, or information of a falsely prejudicial character which was or could have been prejudicial to the member. Those claims were often coupled with claims that the EERs had not been processed according to the regulations. In a number of these cases, the challenged material had already led to the employee being low ranked. Several of the cases involved claims that an employee had not been promoted because documents were missing from the employee’s OPF. The Board looks at the circumstances of each case to determine the potential effect of the missing documents.

In FSGB Case No. 2008-036 (November 20, 2008), the Board found that the omission of a Superior Honor Award from an employee’s OPF had not disadvantaged him in consideration for promotion. However, in FSGB Case No. 2008-027 (November 17, 2008), the Board found that a missing Meritorious Honor Award and narrative may have been a substantial factor in grievant’s failure to be promoted or receive a meritorious step increase. That case was remanded to the agency to show that grievant would not have been promoted or received a step increase had the error not occurred. Similarly, in FSGB Case No. 2006-036 (March 17, 2008), the Board found that a missing evaluation may have affected the grievant’s chances of being promoted.

One case did established legal precedent, perhaps of particular interest to IT specialists:

FSGB Case No. 2007-034 (July 30, 2008) was an unusual case that established legal precedent when the Board found that the agency was estopped from denying the grievant incentive pay under the unique circumstances present. The grievant was an Information Technology Specialist who made the decision to accept an employment offer that involved a significant pay cut from his previous salary, only after having been assured by the agency personnel specialist that he would be receiving a 15% incentive payment in addition to his base salary. After the grievant had left his former job, moved his family overseas, and been employed for a month, he was advised that he was not eligible for the incentive pay, since he had earned the certificates needed to qualify before he was employed, rather than after. The Board found that all the elements for equitable stoppel were present: misrepresentation by someone who had actual authority to make the salary offer; good faith reliance by the employee; and financial detriment resulting from that reliance. It also found that the case was distinguishable from Office of Personnel Management v. Richmond, 496 U.S. 414 (1990), in that the payment did not violate law or regulation. The Board sustained the grievance and the agency was directed to pay the allowance retroactively.

Related Item:

• Foreign Service Grievance Board - 2008 Annual Report (pdf) Alternate report location (click here)
• AFSA's Guidance for filing a Grievance

Update 10/09/09: It looks like this report had been pulled down and is no longer available at the FSGB website. Click here if unable to locate the file at the FSGB site.

Philip Barclay Says a Familiar Goodbye

Philip Barclay, the Second Secretary at the British Embassy in Zimbabwe who blogs at the FCO’s Global Conversations says goodbye to Zimbabwe … his final blog post has a familiar feeling for those who move every 3-4 years in this business. I’ve come to think of these arrivals and leavetakings as a large part of the wear and tear of this lifestyle. The getting to know phase in every place is familiar and different in the same breath. It takes about 6-8 months. The goodbyes are often sticky and hard as glue. It takes months, years. You may still be talking about your previous post in the middle of your current tour, hankering about the food, the weather, your old life, etc., etc. You meet find friends and leave friends. And every place that you have called home is lodged in the forever country of memory, the only place where you grow roots … here is Philip:

"The Foreign Office is cruel. I was posted to Zimbabwe despite its awful reputation. I stepped off the plane anxiously, expecting to be butchered at once and fed to lions. That didn’t happen, but I have suffered a greater pain - falling in love with this beautiful, cursed nation and now, after more than three years, having to leave. […] Until today, I had not realised how much I am feeling about leaving Zimbabwe. But now, Easter Monday, the day before I leave for good, I find myself crying tears for the sweet friends and the soul-expanding life I have to leave behind. I know I signed up for a job that makes me move country every three or four years, but I didn’t know it would be as hard as this."

Read his final post here. Check out the Harare bloggers home here for Grace’s posts.

SFRC Hearing: Nomination of Harold Koh to be Legal Adviser

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE 111^th CONGRESS 1st SESSION

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Time: 2:30 P.M. Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Building Presiding: Senator Kerry

Nominees:

The Honorable Harold H. Koh to be Legal Adviser to the Department of State (see WH Announcement)

Officially In: Daniel Benjamin as Coordinator For Counterterrorism (S/CT)

President Obama has also announced recently his intent to nominate Daniel Benjamin, for Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT), with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large.

Daniel Benjamin is director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Prior to joining Brookings in 2006, he spent six years as a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 1994 to1999, Benjamin served on the National Security Council staff: In 1998-1999, he was director for counterterrorism within the Directorate of Transnational Threats in 1998-1999; prior to that, he was a foreign policy speechwriter and special assistant to President Clinton. Before entering the government, Benjamin was a foreign correspondent for TIME Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. Daniel Benjamin has co-written two books: The Age of Sacred Terror was published by Random House in 2002 and documents the rise of religiously motivated terrorism and American efforts to combat it. The book was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2002 and given the Arthur Ross Book Award of the Council on Foreign Relations for the best book of the year on international affairs. The Next Attack: The Failure of the War on Terror and a Strategy for Getting it Right, was published by Holt/Times Books in 2005 and named a Washington Post "Best Book" of 2005. Mr. Benjamin has written numerous articles for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate, TIME, the Los Angeles Times and other publications. He holds degrees from Harvard and Oxford, where he was a Marshall Scholar.

I think this is the second Marshall scholar we have in the current line-up. The other one is Kurt Campbell, nominee for the EAP Bureau.

Related Items:

• President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 2-24-09
• Brookings Expert – Biography: Daniel Benjamin

Flu Outbreak: US Embassy Mexico Suspends Non-Essential Services

One of our largest embassies in the world, US Embassy Mexico, will suspend non-essential consular services the week of April 27. In its Warden Update dated April 25, the embassy issued the following notice:

In accordance with measures announced by the City of Mexico to limit the congregation of large crowds, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City will suspend all non-essential consular services from Monday, April 27, 2009 through Thursday, April 30, 2009. On Friday May 1st the Embassy is closed for a local holiday.

From Monday, April 27 to Thursday, April 30th, consular services for U.S. citizens will be limited to citizenship applications (passports and consular reports of birth abroad, or CRBA) and emergency assistance only. Notarial and other routine services will not be available; anyone with passport or CRBA appointments is encouraged but not required to reschedule to a later date. Additionally, the Federal Benefits Unit is requesting all persons to postpone interviews on Social Security claims.

The Visa Unit also suspends normal operations during this week. Visa applications scheduled for this week will be rescheduled according to the announcement. Read the whole thing here.

The Warden Update did state that “these are precautionary measures only, taken to best assure the well-being of our clients and staff,” and that “the United States has imposed no additional constraints or limitations on travel between the United States and Mexico.”

The US Embassy Mexico mission is one of the largest in the world with nine consular posts and 14 consular agencies around Mexico. It looks like the suspension of consular services is limited only to the US embassy at this time, and does not include the constituent posts around the country.

Meanwhile the CDC Health Advisory (April 25, 2009, 3:00 EST (03:00 PM EDT) has the following update:

CDC has also been working closely with public health officials in Mexico, Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO). Mexican public health authorities have reported increased levels of respiratory disease, including reports of severe pneumonia cases and deaths, in recent weeks. CDC is assisting public health authorities in Mexico by testing specimens and providing epidemiological support. As of 11:00 AM (EDT) April 25, 2009, 7 specimens from Mexico at CDC have tested positive for the same strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) as identified in U.S. cases. However, no clear data are available to assess the link between the increased disease reports in Mexico and the confirmation of swine influenza in a small number of specimens. WHO is monitoring international cases. Further information on international cases may be found at [the WHO website].

In the same advisory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that “The viruses contain a unique combination of gene segments that have not been reported previously among swine or human influenza viruses in the U.S. or elsewhere. At this time, CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment of infection with swine influenza viruses. The H1N1 viruses are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine but not to oseltamivir or zanamivir. It is not anticipated that the seasonal influenza vaccine will provide protection against the swine flu H1N1 viruses.”

More here on the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment of infection, including how it works and its possible side effects, especially on children.

CDC has not recommended that people avoid travel to affected areas at this time. CDC has posted recommendations at the CDC Travelers' Health page to help travelers reduce risk of infection and stay healthy. Note that the current World Health Organization phase of pandemic alert is at 3, the initial stage which correlates with preparedness, including capacity development and response planning activities.

From WHO Outbreak Communication Guidelines (pdf)

Related Post: Peakniks and Pandemic: Implications for the Foreign Service

Related Items:

US Embassy Public Announcement Page

CDC on Swine Flu (updated daily)

CDC Traveler’s Health CDC Outbreak Notice WHO Disease Outbreak News CDC Swine Flu Update RSS Feed

WHO Outbreak News RSS Feed

USG Pandemic Flu Website

Updated: 4/27 C-SPAN: White House Press Briefing-Government Response to Swine Flu, April 26 (00.41 min)

Secretary Clinton's Iraq Visit, April 25

Photo Credit: Eric W. Brooks, U.S .Embassy

Secretary Clinton has arrived in Baghdad, Iraq, April 25. The unannounced visit to Iraq is her first trip as Secretary of State. She was met by Ambassador Chris Hill who got to Baghdad yesterday and Admiral Mike Mullen, who was also in Iraq on an unannounced visit. Secretary Clinton reportedly will depart later today for Kuwait. One part of State's digital team is actually at work today (make that the weekend). News of this trip broke about 10 hours ago and there was not a tweet from DipNote, nothing in its blog, and you might as well skip the US Embassy Baghdad website because there's nothing there. But a check a short while ago on state.gov showed this photo and the press release on this visit posted online already. So it's Saturday as normal work day for some folks at State... The press release indicates that while in Baghdad, Secretary Clinton will meet with Prime Minister al-Maliki, President Talibani, Deputy President al-Hashimi, Foreign Minister Zebari, and other senior leaders in the Government of Iraq. They will discuss issues of common concern including security, stability operations and assistance. She will also meet with Multinational Force-Iraq Commander Odierno, hold a roundtable with Iraqi women and have a townhalll with Iraqi citizens who work with Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

Related Items:(Updated 4/26: townhall transcript added)

• Secretary Clinton: Travel to Iraq and Kuwait, April 25
• AP Raw Video of Secretary Clinton's Arrival in Iraq
• Transcript-Townhall Meeting PRTs/Partners

Updated: 4/28: Secretary Clinton did have a meet and greet with US Embassy Baghdad employees and US troops during her brief visit. Check out the video and transcript here.

Officially In: Ambassador Robert Blake to the SCA Bureau

Map from the State Department/SCA Bureau

As has been rumored for weeks, President Obama announced yesterday his intention to nominate Robert O. Blake for Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs (SCA).

Ambassador Blake is a career Foreign Service Officer. He entered the Foreign Service in 1985. He has served at the American Embassies in Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt. He also has held a number of positions at the State Department in Washington. Most recently Ambassador Blake served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and to the Republic of Maldives. Before that, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in New Delhi, India from 2003 to 2006. Ambassador Blake earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1980 and an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1984.

In February 2007, BBC News reported that Ambassador Blake and Italian Ambassador Pio Mariani were hit after getting off a helicopter at an air base in Batticaloa, where they were to attend a development meeting. Mr. Mariani received hospital treatment for head wounds. Mr Blake had minor injuries and flew back to Colombo. Soon after the incident, Sri Lankan air force planes bombed suspected Tamil Tiger positions in the east of the country. The long running conflict has been on since 1983.

Ambassador Blake is married to Sofia Blake. He is also the son of of Robert O. Blake, retired U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Mali). There had been other multi-generational families in the State Department (e.g. John Adams and son, then grandson) but not many who served as ambassadors and not in recent memory (this detail of diplomatic history has not been updated in a while I think).

Related Item: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 2-24-09

Video of the Week: Big Dog Wonder

More coverage and links on this from Danger Room here.

Secretary Clinton on the Foreign Policy Priorities of the Obama Administration

HFAC Photo, Secretary Clinton with Howard Berman

At the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman (D-CA) held a hearing on April 22, 2009 on New Beginnings: Foreign Policy Priorities in the Obama Administration. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took center stage:

"I want to begin by recognizing and thanking the men and women of the State Department and USAID, who are serving our country around the clock and around the world. I’m extremely proud of their work. With their talents, and under President Obama’s leadership, we have put forward a new diplomacy powered by partnership, pragmatism, and principle.

Our priorities are clear. We are deploying the tools of diplomacy and development along with military power. We are securing historic alliances, working with emerging regional powers, and seeking new avenues of engagement. We’re addressing the existing and emerging challenges that will define our century: climate change, weak states, rogue regimes, criminal cartels, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, poverty, and disease. We’re advancing our values and our interests by promoting human rights and fostering conditions that allow every individual to live up to their God-given potential.

Full Committee Testimony:

• The Honorable Howard L. Berman,
• The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton

Webcast (Real Player Download)

State Department Video and Transcript of Remarks

Ambassador Chris Hill Gets Face Time with POTUS

White House Photo

Here's the WH readout on the meeting: "Earlier this week, Ambassador Hill was confirmed by the Senate to serve as our Ambassador to Iraq. Ambassador Hill will head to Iraq this week, and the President wanted to speak with him before he leaves for his important new post. They discussed the current situation in Iraq and the need to make political progress."

Folks were probably waiting for this to happen before he gets his public swearing in at Foggy Bottom with the Secretary, and then off to Iraq. We'll see if that's how it'll play out this time. One on one with VPOTUS here. Update 4/25: I don't know what happened to the official swearing in, haven't seen anything out of Foggy Bottom yesterday. But Baghdad now has Chris Hill. He arrived in Baghdad on April 24, 2009, three days after his confirmation to begin serving as America’s Ambassador to Iraq. AP reports that Ambassador Hill formally presented his credentials Friday to Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari but made no public statements.

Officially In: Eric P. Schwartz to PRM

President Obama has announced his intent to nominate Eric P. Schwartz, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). Eric P. Schwartz is Executive Director of the Connect U.S. Fund, a foundation/NGO initiative focused on foreign and international affairs, and Visiting Lecturer of Public and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. Between 2005 and 2007, he served as UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, working to promote coordination, accountability to donors and beneficiaries, and best practices in the recovery effort. Prior to that, he served as lead expert on conflict prevention and reconstruction for the Congressionally mandated Task Force on United Nations Reform, and as a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Between 1993 and 2001, Schwartz served at the National Security Council, ultimately as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs. For eight years, he was the NSC official responsible for refugee issues, and managed Administration policy responses on the rescue of Kurdish refugees from Northern Iraq, the resettlement of Vietnamese boat people, and safe haven for Haitian refugees and Kosovars. Prior to that, he served at the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, where he was responsible for most of the Committee's work on Asian refugee issues, including Vietnamese boat people, Laotian refugees and the U.S. immigration issues relating to the transfer of sovereignty in Hong Kong.

Related Items:

• President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 4/23/09
• HIAS Biography: Eric P. Schwartz

Officially In: Kurt Campbell to the EAP Bureau

Map from the State Department/EAP

President Obama has announced his intent to nominate Kurt Campbell for Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP Bureau). Dr. Kurt Campbell is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), an organization dedicated to advancing a strong, centrist national security strategy. He concurrently serves as director of the Aspen Strategy Group and as chairman of the Editorial Board of the Washington Quarterly. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president, director of the International Security Program, and Henry A. Kissinger Chair in National Security Policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Campbell is also the founder of StratAsia, a strategic advisory firm focused on Asia. He has been a contributing writer to the New York Times, an on-air commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered, and a consultant to ABC News. Previously, Campbell served in several capacities in government, including as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia and the Pacific in the Pentagon, a director on the National Security Council Staff, deputy special counselor to the president for NAFTA in the White House, and White House fellow at the Department of the Treasury. For his service, he received the Department of Defense Medals for Distinguished Public Service and for Outstanding Public Service. Campbell is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Wasatch Group, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He was also associate professor of public policy and international relations at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and assistant director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. Campbell also served as the Co-Chairman of the recently completed 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Fund. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in the Chief of Naval Operations Special Intelligence Unit. He received his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego, a certificate in music and politics from the University of Erevan in the Soviet Union, and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University as a Marshall scholar. Related Item: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 4/23/09 CSIS: Expert Profile of Kurt Campbell