Democratic Pakistan Bans BBC World News Over "Secret Pakistan" Documentary

Image via WikipediaAccording  to BBC News, Pakistani cable television operators have begun blocking the BBC's international news TV channel, BBC World News. This move was apparently due to a critical documentary broadcast entitled Secret Pakistan. Excerpts:

The BBC said it was deeply concerned by the move, and called for its channel to be speedily reinstated.

"We condemn any action that threatens our editorial independence and prevents audiences from accessing our impartial international news service," a BBC spokesperson said.

"We would urge that BBC World News and other international news services are reinstated as soon as possible."

The two-part BBC documentary questioned the country's commitment to tackling Taliban militancy.
[...]
The decision to block BBC World News and other international news channels comes after a media uproar in Pakistan over a Nato air strike that killed 24 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border at the weekend.

The All Pakistan Cable Operators Association announced on Tuesday that all foreign news channels airing "anti-Pakistan" content would be barred from Wednesday.

The operators called on the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) "to revoke the landing rights of foreign channels" if they are found to be "propagating" information harmful to the country.
[...]
Correspondents say it is not possible to see BBC World News in most Pakistani cities, with the ban expected to be extended to rural areas by Wednesday.

Cable Operators Association spokesman Khalid Arain said that no foreign anti-Pakistan channel would "ever" be broadcast in the country.

"We want to send them a strong message to stop this. If they don't stop this, then it is our right to stop them," he said.

Correspondents say the Pakistani government is likely to have put pressure on the operators to impose the ban.

Active link added above.  Read in full here.

The two-part documentary is, of course, now available on YouTube for everyone to see and unless pulled by BBC for copyright issues, available to anyone with access to the web. 

Secret Pakistan : Documentary by BBC Part 1
(Double Cross) | Length: 59:03
http://youtu.be/qSinK-dVrig

from BBC: In May this year, US Special Forces shot and killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Publicly Pakistan is one of America's closest allies - yet every step of the operation was kept secret from it.

Filmed largely in Pakistan and Afghanistan, this two-part documentary series explores how a supposed ally stands accused by top CIA officers and Western diplomats of causing the deaths of thousands of coalition soldiers in Afghanistan. It is a charge denied by Pakistan's military establishment, but the documentary makers meet serving Taliban commanders who describe the support they get from Pakistan in terms of weapons, training and a place to hide.

This first episode investigates signs of duplicity that emerged after 9/11 and disturbing intelligence reports after Britain's forces entered Helmand in 2006.

Secret Pakistan : Documentary by BBC Part 2
(Backlash) | Length: 58:59
http://youtu.be/G5-lSSC9dSE

from BBC: The second film in this timely and enthralling two-part documentary series reveals how Britain and America discovered compelling evidence that Pakistan was secretly helping the Taliban and concluded they had been double-crossed.

It tells the story of how under President Obama the US has waged a secret war against Pakistan. Taliban commanders tell the film makers that to this day Pakistan shelters and arms them, and helps them kill Western troops - indeed one recently captured suicide bomber alleges he was trained by Pakistani intelligence.

Chillingly, the film also reveals that, based on some evidence, Pakistani intelligence stands accused of sabotaging possible peace talks. Pakistan denies these charges, but relations between Pakistan and America now verge on hostility.

Since it is inevitable that some clips of this documentary will bleed into prime time news, I suspect that a host of foreign channels will also be banned for "propagating information harmful to the country."

Perhaps, the cable operators would like to use the following programming filler - a music video, titled "Zindagi Hai Yahan."  This has been created to showcase the treasures of the beautiful valley of Swat and promote it as a premium tourist destination in Pakistan, with assistance from USAID and the people of the United States of America:

Read more on Tourism Takes On Taliban (IPS) and USAID Support to Tourism in Swat. 

Related articles

• BBC World News blocked in Pakistan (guardian.co.uk)
• Pakistani Cable Blocks BBC Over Critical Documentary (huffingtonpost.com)
• Pakistan withdraws from Afghanistan peace conference (telegraph.co.uk)
• Threat to foreign TV channels issued (nation.com.pk)
• Pakistani Cable TV Blocks BBC Over Documentary (abcnews.go.com)

Iranian Mob Attacks British Embassy in Tehran -- It's Dejavu All Over Again!

I went to bed last night after posting a piece on Moorhead C. Kennedy Jr.'s article on the US Embassy hostages and woke up this morning to news that an Iranian mob has attacked the British Embassy in Tehran. Like Yogi Berra says, it's dejavu all over again.  Video below Via RT:

Dorsa Jabbari, of Al Jazeera reporting from Tehran, said that the men indicate "they would not leave until they get direct orders to do so from the Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hossein Khamenei." Excerpts below:

The British foreign ministry issued a statement saying it was "outraged" by the situation.
"It is utterly unacceptable and we condemn it," it said.

The Fars news agency also reported that six British embassy workers were freed by Iranian security forces and turned over to UK government representatives.
[...]
Our correspondent said that the police and various ministries had prior knowledge of the protest, which was organised by the student arm of the Basij armed group.

"Any such action of this could scale can never be independent in the Islamic Republic. These gatherings are always approved by higher officials," said Jabbari.
[...]
Iran's foreign ministry issued a statement saying it regrets the attack against the embassy, and that Tehran is committed to the safety of diplomats.

It's not like this has not happened before.

In 1979, a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian Revolution.  US hostages endured 444 days of captivity until their release on January 20, 1981.

Not to make light of that horrible experience by our diplomats, but the Russians way back had to bury their whole diplomatic staff. 

In 1829, an Iranian mob stormed and destroyed the Russian embassy and decapitated the Russian ambassador, Alexander Griboyedov. He was Russia's ambassador to Qajar Persia, where he was massacred along with the whole embassy by the angry local mob. According to this entry in Wikipedia, the Russian government demanded severe punishment of those responsible. In fear, the court of Shah Fath Ali Shah sent the Shah's grandson Khosrow Mirza to Saint Petersburg, where he gave the Shah diamond to the Russian Tsar as a present. In 1914, the Shah diamond came to the Kremlin Diamond Fund, where it is exhibited as one of Seven Historical Gems.

Related articles

• British embassy in Iran attacked by protesters (telegraph.co.uk)
• British Embassy Attacked in Tehran. Is War In Iran Inevitable? (forbes.com)
• Iranian mob storms British Embassy in Tehran (cbc.ca)
• Iran: British embassy attack brings to mind US siege (telegraph.co.uk)
• Iranian Students Storm British Embassy in Tehran (time.com)
• Iran students storm U.K. Embassy in Tehran (cbsnews.com)

Taking Care of the "Troops" -- The State Department Way

Back in March, I posted a first person account of an FSO in Mexico amidst that country's shooting war. (see US Mission Mexico: First Person from a Border Post).

I also did a follow-up post, In a War That Must Not Be Named, Leadership and Security On the Line. 

This is what I wrote then:

I supposed we may think of life in the Service as if it were a scale -- the national strategic and security priorities on one side and on the other side, the acceptable personal risk of the employees.   But not everyone will get to look at that scale. And not everyone will get to make the judgment call.  Employees do not get to vote, diplomatic missions are not democracies.

That might as well apply to the mothership of diplomatic missions.

Thirty-two years ago, our diplomats were taken hostage in Iran. Moorhead C. Kennedy Jr. who served as an economic and commercial officer in the U.S. embassy in Iran during the hostage crisis has written an op-ed over in Politico asking "Whose side is the State Dept. on?"

"I was one of the 66 U.S. citizens taken hostage in Tehran in November 1979. Ten months before, revolutionary militants stormed the U.S. embassy, holding the mission personnel hostage for several hours and generating fear for the safety of the remaining Americans in Iran. After this group of U.S. Foreign Service personnel were recovered and removed, our State Department sent out a request to all its posts worldwide, seeking volunteers to staff the embassy in Tehran. Volunteers were informed that it was safe in Tehran and were encouraged to bring their families, including preschool-age children. In all, 66 Foreign Service officers answered this call to serve.

It was not as safe as the State Department had indicated. By October it had seriously deteriorated, as the Carter administration agreed to allow the shah to enter the U.S. for medical treatment.

As Carter had predicted, in reaction to Washington’s acceptance of the shah, hundreds of thousands of Iranians demonstrated throughout Tehran. Nov 4, a group of Iranians stormed the U.S. embassy, kidnapping 52 Americans. That they did so with the blessings (and under the apparent direction) of Tehran can hardly be challenged, since less than a month later, the government announced its intention to try the hostages as spies and execute them — unless the U.S. paid $24 billion.
[...]
Ultimately, in January 1981, the Carter administration entered into a series of agreements known as the Algiers accords. These provided Iran a $7.8 billion payment and established the U.S.-Iran Claims Tribunal — through which businesses and financial institutions could file and obtain compensations for property and contract claims against Iran.
[...]
The accords, however, contained a provision that precluded the 52 hostages and their families from bringing suit against Iran for seizure, detention and injuries. They, and only they, were unable to obtain any compensation for the life-changing injuries they suffered while in the service of our country as volunteers answering the call of our government.
[...]
Congress has passed various statutes, allowing US nationals, victimized by terrorism, to obtain compensation for injuries. Literally hundreds have pursued claims in U.S. courts and received compensation for terrorism sponsored by Iran, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea and Libya.

The Tehran embassy hostages also sought to pursue similar claims in U.S. Courts. In August 2001, we obtained a judgment against Iran — which had refused to appear to defend their indefensible conduct. But the State Department intervened to protect Iran’s interests, asserting that dismissal was necessary to protect U.S. national security interests and uphold the waiver of claims in the Algiers Accords.
[...]
In the next 10 years, all our appeals, and other efforts to obtain justice and compensation, have been defeated by the State Department. At the same time, the department has aggressively protected the rights of all U.S. corporations and banks to seek compensation from Iran. Indeed each claim has been adjudicated, and literally billions of dollars awarded, through these channels and paid by Iran.

The signal that Iran has drawn from this is clear – the U.S. cares about protecting interests of its corporations — but has no real interest in protecting its diplomats, no matter the State Department’s lip service about to the importance of diplomatic immunity and the sacrosanct status of our embassies."

Read in full here.

I think his question deserves an answer.

Here is the relevant part of the Algiers Accords signed on January 19, 1981:

11. Upon the making by the Government of Algeria of the certification described in Paragraph 3 above, the United States will promptly withdraw all claims now pending against Iran before the International Court of Justice and will thereafter bar and preclude the prosecution against Iran of any pending or future claim of the United States or a United States national arising out of events occurring before the date of this declaration related to (A) the seizure of the 52 United States nationals on November 4, 1979, (B) their subsequent detention, (C) injury to United States property or property of the United States nationals within the United States Embassy compound in Tehran after November 3, 1979, and (D) injury to the United States nationals or their property as a result of popular movements in the course of the Islamic Revolution in Iran which were not an act of the Government of Iran. The United States will also bar and preclude the prosecution against Iran in the courts of the United States of any pending or future claim asserted by persons other than the United States nationals arising out of the events specified in the preceding sentence.

The late Warren Christopher, then the State Department's Deputy Secretary negotiated the agreement. He was appointed 63rd Secretary of State from January 20, 1993 – January 17, 1997 by President Clinton.

Related articles

• Whose side is the State Dept. on? (politico.com)
• 'Death to England': British ambassador to Iran kicked out in backlash over sanctions (dailymail.co.uk)
• Tehran votes to expel Britain's ambassador - Telegraph.co.uk (telegraph.co.uk)
• Iran parliament votes to reduce ties with Britain (dailytimes.com.pk)
• US, Allies to Hit Iran With New Sanctions (abcnews.go.com)

Delays in Haiti Reconstruction Connected to USAID Staffing Difficulties

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just released its report on the post-earthquake reconstruction in Haiti. The report notes that of the total funding of $411.6 allocated for reconstruction after the earthquake, only $3.1 million or less than 1% had been expended:

As of September 30, 2011, USAID and State allocated $411.6 million for bilateral post-earthquake infrastructure construction activities in Haiti using $356.9 million in fiscal year (FY) 2010 supplemental funds and $54.8 million from regular fiscal year appropriations.9 In addition, USAID and State had obligated $48.4 million10 (11.8 percent) and expended $3.1 million (0.8 percent) of the total allocated, as shown in table 2.11.

Quick background on Haiti from GAO:

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with more than 75 percent of the population living on less than $2 per day and the unemployment rate estimated at 60 to 70 percent. These conditions were exacerbated when the largest earthquake in Haiti’s recorded history devastated parts of the country, including the capital, on January 12, 2010. Since then, Haiti has suffered from a cholera epidemic that has affected over 450,000 persons and caused over 6,000 deaths. In addition, Haiti has experienced political uncertainty following the earthquake. Due to the inconclusive presidential election of November 2010, the new President was not inaugurated until May 2011. On May 13, 2011, the U.S. and Haitian governments signed the Haiti Reconstruction Grant Agreement.

The GAO report cites USAID's staffing difficulties as a factor in delaying USAID infrastructure construction activities in Haiti. Excerpts below:

Within a month after the earthquake, 10 of the mission’s 17 U.S. direct-hire staff12had departed Haiti, leaving the mission with 7 staff in country to manage a program heavily involved in massive relief operations and anticipating an increase in reconstruction activities. According to mission officials, U.S. direct-hire staff were permitted to leave for several reasons, primarily because approximately 40 percent of U.S. embassy housing was damaged or destroyed, the school for mission staff children was damaged and not functional, and staff were experiencing emotional challenges after the earthquake.

To fill the U.S. direct-hire vacancies, USAID posted 10 routine agency wide job announcements in March 2010, but no U.S. direct-hire staff applied. According to USAID officials, potential applicants did not apply due to, among other things, the damaged school, uncertainty about the quality of life in Haiti, and the lack of financial or other incentives in the job announcements. In May 2010, USAID again posted the 10 job announcements and, this time, attracted a number of applicants because the postings included financial incentives and waived the requirement that successful applicants bid on positions in four USAID-designated critical priority countries—Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Sudan—upon completion of their tours in Haiti.

Having received a sufficient number of applicants for the May 2010 posting, the mission soon selected the staff. However, U.S. direct-hire staff did not begin to arrive in Haiti until early 2011 because, among other things, households and families had to be moved and some staff required up to 6 months in language training. In addition to filling existing positions, USAID received approval from the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti in February 2011 for 15 additional U.S. direct-hire staff to manage the surge in earthquake-related funding.14 These positions were announced and some candidates selected when the approval was granted in February 2011. Eleven had arrived as of September 2011 and, according to mission officials, all are expected to arrive in Haiti by February 2012. However, the mission will be implementing infrastructure construction activities until at least 2015, according to USAID planning documentation. During the next 4 years, U.S. direct-hire staff will have opportunities to bid for other positions at other posts. As U.S. direct-hire staff leave Haiti, the mission will need to replace them in order to continue the progress of infrastructure construction activities.
[...]
To meet the increased need for mission staff to manage the program, the agency temporarily hired or reassigned staff, including staff from its Haiti Task Team in Washington, D.C., to complete more than 400 temporary duty assignments for periods ranging from one week to several months.17For example, USAID used personal services contracts to hire staff to provide financial management expertise; assigned headquarters-based staff from its Latin America and Caribbean Bureau to manage and oversee rubble removal and other efforts; and provided fiscal year 2010 supplemental funding to an implementing organization to manage people who repaired roads, cleaned drainage canals, and performed other rehabilitation activities.

According to mission officials, planning and implementation of reconstruction activities were delayed because the few staff remaining in Haiti were heavily involved in recruiting, placing, and training temporary staff in Haiti. Senior mission staff stated that, for many temporary staff positions, the mission had to develop detailed scopes of work for the positions and then brief and train newly arrived staff on substantive issues. In addition, mission staff noted that the continuity of efforts was sometimes problematic as multiple staff, who turned over frequently, managed the efforts.

HAITI RECONSTRUCTION: Factors Contributing to Delays in USAID Infrastructure Construction | November 2011(pdf)

Related articles

• GAO Reports on Delays in US Quake Aid for Haiti (abcnews.go.com)
• Absent Haiti quake panel slows reconstruction (sfgate.com)

Governor #HeBlowsALot Apologizes for Twitter Flap Over in Kansas, USA

Oh, Sam Brownback, one of the Senate's old advocate for human rights in North Korea who decamped to Kansas, USA after the last election is back in the news, and not in a good way.

As the story goes -- Shawnee Mission East senior Emma Sullivan, 18 and apparently newly registered voter went with a group of students to the statehouse for a Youth in Government program.

Must have been exciting, she tweeted:

Oops! Except that it's not even true ... she did not actually said that to the guv, but she did tweet it.

Normally, a tweet like that gets overtaken by well, a whole lot of noise in the twitterverse.

But not this time.  Apparently, Governor Brownback's office monitor social media comments over there in Kansas and saw this tweet. And so the highschooler was reported by the governor's office to Youth in Government officials. When this hit the news, Gov. Brownback’s spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag then said, “It was important for the organization to be aware of the comments their students were making. It’s also important for students to recognize the power of social media, how lasting it is. It is on the Internet.” She added of Sullivan’s tweet, “That wasn’t respectful. In order to really have a constructive dialogue, there has to be mutual respect.”

Holy molly guacamole .... where or where did this woman learn her public affairs skills, from Vladimir Putin's Russia?

So then, the highschooler was called into the principal's office where Mr. Krawitz, the principal asked her to write a letter of apology to Governor Brownback and his staff. Apparently, Monday was the due date for the letter.

In the meantime,  #heblowsalot started picking up on Twitter.

Somebody even bothered to make a poster here and here.

I imagined it was a rough weekend over there in Kansas.  As if the bad publicity was not enough, there is also a fake Sam Brownback Twitter account. And in the last 24 hours, a Govblowsalot account, specializing in twittermockery was born.

Then Monday came, and the school district, after a weekend of adverse publicity released the following statement:

"District officials have reviewed recent events surrounding the reported tweet by Shawnee Mission East High School student Emma Sullivan.  The district acknowledges a student's right to freedom of speech and expression is constitutionally protected.

"The district has not censored Miss Sullivan nor infringed upon her freedom of speech.  She is not required to write a letter of apology to the Governor.  Whether and to whom any apologies are issued will be left to the individuals involved.

"The issue has resulted in many teachable moments concerning the use of social media.  The district does not intend to take any further action on this matter."

Also on Monday, at 10:46am, Governor Brownback's statement regarding Emma Sullivan's tweet was posted on Facebook:

Topeka – Kansas Governor Sam Brownback issued the following statement today regarding the tweet by Emma Sullivan:

“My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms.

I enjoyed speaking to the more than 100 students who participated in the Youth in Government Program at the Kansas Capitol. They are our future.

I also want to thank the thousands of Kansas educators who remind us daily of our liberties, as well as the values of civility and decorum.

Again, I apologize for our over-reaction.”

Yep, Emma, you're not in Kansas, Russia. 

As of this writing, Emma Sullivan http://twitter.com/#!/emmakate988 has 11,264 followers, up from 60.

The official Gov. Brownback account http://twitter.com/#!/govsambrownback is holding on to its 3,230 followers.

And the guv's social media monitoring shop just got a heck lot more stuff to monitor.

Related articles

• Gov. Brownback Apologizes For Reaction To Emma Sullivan's Tweet (forbes.com)
• Brownback Apologizes For '#heblowsalot' Incident: 'My Staff Over-Reacted' (thinkprogress.org)
• When Reputation Monitoring Backfires (forbes.com)

The Peter Van Buren Chronicles -- John Brown Interviews State's FSO-Non Grata

John H. Brown, a Princeton PhD, joined the Foreign Service in 1981 and served in London, Prague, Krakow, Kiev, Belgrade and Moscow. He was a member of the Senior Foreign Service when he resigned from the FS in 2003 over Iraq. He blogs in John Brown's Notes and Essays and John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review, Version 2.0.  Excerpts below from his interview with FSO Peter Van Buren.

Would you advise young -- and not so young -- people to join the US Foreign Service?

Before getting dumped into admin leave limbo, my position was at the Board of Examiners, where for over a year since returning from Iraq I administered the Oral Exam and helped choose the next generation of Foreign Service officers. I was competent at the task, got a good performance review and, after a year on the job, it was only after my book came out that State decided I could not work there.

So, I spent a lot of time around people interested in a Foreign Service career. They did not ask for advice and at the Board we did not offer it. However, since my book came out and I have gotten some media attention, ironically more people now approach me with your same question about joining the Foreign Service. Too much irony these days.

What I tell them is this: think very, very carefully about a Foreign Service career. The State Department is looking for a very specific kind of person and if you are that person, you will enjoy your career and be successful. I have come to understand that the Department wants smart people who will do what they are told, believing that intelligence can be divorced from innovation and creativity. Happy, content compliance is a necessary trait. The Department will not give you any real opportunity for input for a very long time, years, if ever. Even Consular work, which used to offer some space, now has fallen victim to standardization as posts must conform web sites to a single model, for example. There is no agreed-upon definition of success or even progress at State, no profits, no battles won, no stock prices to measure. Success will be to simply continue to exist, or whatever your boss says it is, or both, or neither. You may never know what the point is other than a Congressional delegation go away “happy,” whatever that even is.

At the same time, State has created a personnel system that will require you to serve in more and more dangerous places, and more and more unaccompanied places, as a routine. That sounds cool and adventurous at age 25, but try and imagine if you'd still be happy with it at age 45 with a spouse and two kids. What are your core obligations with a child who needs some extreme parenting as you leave your wife at home alone with him for a year?

Understand that promotions and assignments are more and more opaque. Changes in Congress will further limit pay and benefits. Your spouse will be un/under employed most of his/her life. Your kids will change schools for better or worse every one, two or three years. Some schools will be good, some not so good, and you'll have no choice unless you are willing to subvert your career choices to school choices, as in let’s go to Bogota because the schools are good even if the assignment otherwise stinks. You'll serve more places where you won't speak the language and get less training as requirements grow without personnel growth. As you get up there, remember your boss can arbitrarily be a used car salesman who donated big to the President's campaign. Make sure all these conditions make sense to you now, and, if you can, as you imagine yourself 10, 15 and 20 years into the future. It is a very unique person who can say “Yes” truthfully and after real soul-searching.

The full interview with Mr. Van Buren is here.



John also reviewed Peter's book for American Diplomacy here.  Plus here's a couple of other book reviews from FS folks below.

from Well, That Was Different

"If you’re going to torpedo your career, you should have a good reason.  And this is a story that needed to be told. I wish Peter Van Buren all the best in what appears to be his second career as a writer. And I hope that some day, a person in a position to make a difference will have read and carefully considered his story before pulling the trigger on a similar crusade mission."

from Dan Simpson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dan Simpson, a retired U.S. ambassador, is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette associate editor.  He previously served as United States Ambassador to the Central African Republic (1990–92), Special Envoy to Somalia, and Ambassador to the Congo-Kinshasa (1995–98).

"Mr. Van Buren's best question is, "So how did we end up accomplishing so little when we meant well?" He tries to answer it effectively from the corners of Iraq that he worked in, but I suspect that the real answer lies at a pay grade much higher than his in a maze of bad decisions, too-short tours of duty and massive American misunderstanding of Iraq and its people. The book is short, very readable and has humor as well as profound points in it. If the State Department is given the opportunity, Mr. Van Buren's next assignment is likely to be Mogadishu or Garry Trudeau's Berzerkistan."

Related articles

• Peter Van Buren: Veteran's Day: Knocking on Heaven's Door (huffingtonpost.com)
• Peter Van Buren: State Department Fixing the Facts Based on Policy in Iraq (huffingtonpost.com)

Photo of the Day: Clowning around for cross-border theatre ties

Via US ConGen Calgary/Flickr | 20 October 2011: Clowning around to promote cross-border theatre ties:

Photo from US CG Calgary/Flickr

"Red noses were the required dress code at a welcome reception hosted by Consul General Laura Lochman for members of Aga-Boom Theatre of Physical Comedy and Circus Arts. The Las Vegas-based clown troop created by veterans of Cirque du Soleil is in Calgary for three days of performances for Y Stage at Vertigo Theatre, an arts group specializing in theatre for young audiences. Staff of the Consulate clowned around with guests from Calgary’s cultural community to highlight the collaborations and partnerships Y Stage has been forging with American artists specializing in theatre for young people. “Usually when we talk about our bilateral relationship, the conversation revolves around trade or security. We don’t often get the opportunity to highlight the many links between our two countries in the arts, but they are extensive,” Consul General Lochman told guests, adding that this kind of collaboration supports the development and well-being of young people on both sides of the border. The event also provided an opportunity to plug Las Vegas as a destination for family fun with guests donning colorful “flash” pins provided by Las Vegas Tourism. The evening ended with an impromptu musical performance by Aga Boom."

Laura Lochman arrived in Calgary June 22 to take up her post as Consul General for Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories for a three-year term. Her foreign languages include French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.  And don't mess up with her, she also holds a black belt in karate!

Related articles

• U.S. to thank Calgarians for 9/11 support a decade ago (calgaryherald.com)
• Calgarians take time to remember 9/11 (calgaryherald.com)

US Mission Pakistan Warns Amcits Against Possible Retaliation After Cross-Border ISAF Incident

                            Image via WikipediaOn November 26, the US Embassy in Islamabad posted the following alert to U.S. citizens in Pakistan regarding Saturday's cross-border ISAF incident which reportedly left at least 24 Pakistani soldiers dead and 14 injured.

"The U.S. Mission is alerting all U.S. citizens residing in Pakistan to be especially vigilant in their personal security, and against possible retaliation, in the aftermath of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) cross-border incident that occurred the morning of Saturday, November 26.  Although the U.S. Mission is not aware of any specific threats or demonstrations at this time, the Embassy in Islamabad is advising U.S. government employees to minimize non-essential travel, and to utilize “buddy systems” to account for colleagues’ whereabouts.  In addition, some U.S. government personnel assigned outside of Islamabad are being recalled to the capital as a precaution.  The U.S. Mission urges all U.S. citizens to maintain vigilant situational awareness; to avoid crowds and demonstrations; to keep a low profile; and to be unpredictable, i.e. by varying the times and routes of all movements.  It is particularly important to verify that travel documents and visas remain valid."

Related articles

• Pakistan stops NATO supplies after deadly raid | - Reuters (reuters.com)
• Pakistan orders key US airbase to close after ISAF troops conduct cross border attack (longwarjournal.org)
• NATO: "Highly likely" it killed Pakistanis (cbsnews.com)

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day 2011: Foreign Service Roundup

US Embassy New Zealand:
2011 Downtown Community Thanksgiving Lunch| Photos from the annual American Thanksgiving Lunch held in conjunction with the Downtown Community Ministry and the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Chef's Association at the Wesley Church Hall.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Photo from US Embassy NZ/Flickr

US Embassy Thailand:
Thanksgiving Lunch at Ambassador Kristie Kenney's | Photos of the Thanksgiving lunch at the Ambassador's residence garnered the following comment on Facebook: "Would have been nice if the Ambassador and folks at the Embassy invited long term USA residents of Bangkok, who lost everything in the floods to dinner as well. Very crass of Excellency Kenney to celebrate with the "haves" while the "have nots" suffer. It is not going to be a very thankful holiday this year for some of us." To which Ambassador Kenney quickly responded: "No tax dollars used. This was my personal thanks to Embassy staffers for great work despite being flood victims themselves." On Thanksgiving Day, Ambassador Kenney also hosted fifty US military (army, navy, air force and marines) for dinner. They are all in Thailand to help with flood recovery efforts.

Photo from US Embassy Bangkok/FB

US Embassy El Salvador

Thanksgiving Day arrived with Occupy El Salvador protesting at the U.S. Embassy San Salvador "in solidarity with the 99% Global Occupy Movement." More here.

 
US Embassy Belgium
Ambassador Gutman invited American sportsmen and women to his residence for a Thanksgiving do.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Photos from US Embassy Bryssels/Flickr

U.S. Embassy Malaysia
Thanksgiving lunch for more than 300 staff and family members of the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur. Turkey, pie, mashed and sweet potaties, corns and peas ... mmmmmm. Thanksgiving Day will have an extended run in Malaysia this year as the embassy will have a PUMPKIN PIE EXTRAVAGANZA open to the public next week with U.S. Embassy Officer Nelson Wu and other embassy staff!

Photo from US Embassy KL/FB

The big news, of course, on Thanksgiving Scaredy was non-halal turkeys "for Americans who still value their freedoms." Below an excerpt from Crossroads Arabia (a blog by a retired FSO):

“It seems that Butterball’s best practices also permit it to produce turkeys that meet the requirements for halal food. That is, its whole turkeys are deemed permissible for Muslims to eat.

This, apparently, has caused Islamophobe Pam Gellar to go berserk. She somehow sees the fact that Butterball turkeys are halal as a stealth attempt to convert Americans to Islam. I won’t – on principle – link to Gellar’s writing, but here’s an indirect link through Outside the Beltway. Yes, she’s as nuts as that post makes her seem.

Gellar has some really strange beliefs, quite laughable ones.

She appears to believe that if one eats a halal turkey, one mysteriously becomes a Muslim. Or gets tugged toward Islam. Or something. If this is true, it creates an interesting situation…

If I were to become Muslim by eating a halal turkey, then it logically follows that I would become Jewish by eating a Kosher pickle or hotdog. What would happen if I ate both at the same meal? Would I explode? Would I suddenly become Palestine, at war with myself?”

Which led us to this most disturbing image of a suicide turkey ever.  And Thanksgiving will never be the same again after this stealth infiltration.

Related articles

• The Latest Threat To America: The Sharia Turkey (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Pamela Geller and the Stealth Jihad Turkey Conspiracy (littlegreenfootballs.com)
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US Hip-Hop Diplomacy "Recovers" in Karachi and No On Stage B-Boying by American Diplomats

The hip hop group on tour in Pakistan performed in Islamabad, was detained briefly in Rawalpindi, was barred from performing in Lahore (long shadow of Raymond Davis?), then on November 24th, successfully performed at the port city of Karachi.

One may be tempted to call this a 50-50 success, given that the group skipped Peshawar (for good reasons), was unable to perform in Lahore (for fuzzy reasons) but did have successful performances in the capital city of Islamabad, and the country's largest city of Karachi. But is the ability to be on stage in two out of four U.S. posts in Pakistan sufficient to gauge the success of this program in a country where anti-American protests and demonstrations have tripled since the beginning of 2011? Probably not. One might wonder at the effectiveness of a program like this since it only reaches the more or less westernized and educated parts of the country as compared to the more rural, less educated, more suspicious variety of the local population.  I hope somebody back at State's Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau is looking at the performance metrics of programs like these.

On a side note, I am pleased to report that none of our diplomats in Karachi -- not the Consul General or the Public Affairs Officer (PAO) or Cultural Affairs Officer (CAO) went on stage to try their luck with mcing or breakdancing even if it looks like a whole lot of fun. Whew to you, too!

Via YouTube/rashidkhan1973, the FEW Collective with Amjad Sabri Qawwal:

Related articles

• Life & Death in Karachi: A Review of Instant City (changinguppakistan.wordpress.com)
• US 'hip hop diplomacy 'fails to heal rift with Pakistan' (telegraph.co.uk)
• US hip-hop diplomacy hits speed bump in Pakistan (sfgate.com)
• Karachi rally will decide Pakistan's future: Imran (nation.com.pk)

US Embassy Kinshasa Diplomat Reportedly Assaulted by Uruguayan Major in the DRC

Image via WikipediaA Nov 23 AP report carried by WaPo says that an unidentified female U.S. embassy official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused an Uruguayan army major stationed in the country with assault.

The report which quotes an Uruguayan official was filed from Montevideo and there does not appear to be any other source on this at this time.  Note that approximately 1300 U.N. peacekeeping troops from Uruguay are posted in the DRC. Although the news report did not indicate where the alleged assault took place, US presence in the country includes the embassy in Kinshasa and a small office in Goma, the center of the UN presence in the east.

The most recent OIG report we could find for the US Embassy in the DRC is dated 2009.  At that time, U.S. Embassy Kinshasa has 63 American direct-hire employees plus 11 personal services contract positions. The official presence in the country includes the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Defense, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) located on three compounds. It is entirely possible that the staffing number is no longer accurate due to mission expansion in the last couple of years.

The OIG report also note that "Steady mission growth since 2007 has resulted in a lack of office space, and more growth is projected. Recent plans to begin construction of a NEC have now been pushed back to 2014 because of the inability to find a suitable site."

More excerpts:

Through the U.S. presence in the city of Goma in the conflictive eastern Congo, Embassy Kinshasa is successfully advancing U.S. foreign policy interests through political and humanitarian representation, reporting, and delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The Embassy has carried out an impressive effort to establish and provide administrative and security support for the U.S. presence in Goma, a presence that is likely to be necessary for the next three to five years.

There is an important need to regularize the status of the Goma location as a small, medium-term presence in order to assure the security and proper functioning of the U.S. personnel there.

As U.S. engagement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo has grown, and U.S. development assistance has resumed, the size of the U.S. embassy in Kinshasa has increased greatly and is scheduled for further growth in the next several years. Future growth of embassy program staff needs to be adjusted to the embassy’s ability to provide security and administrative services.

SECURITY
The Ambassador and the DCM recognize the importance of security in Embassy Kinshasa, and support the strong security program of the regional security officer. Because of the poor maintenance record of local airlines, the Ambassador has prohibited Embassy employees from using local carriers with resultant difficulties in getting around this large country.

U.S. PRESENCE IN GOMA
The city of Goma in eastern Congo is located a 2.5 hour flight by UN aircraft and is unreachable by any other safe transport from Kinshasa. Goma is on the border with Rwanda and close to military clashes and consequent population flights in that region. The United States has been present in Goma with temporary duty (TDY) political and humanitarian representation since October 2007 in response to the request of Democratic Republic of the Congo President Kabila to the U.S. Government. USAID humanitarian officers, a political officer, and rotating diplomatic security officers have been based full-time in Goma since November 2008. In order to diminish costs and provide a safer location, the Embassy leased, furnished, and helped secure, with Department support, a residence and small compound for these permanent officers and frequent TDY visitors.

THE STAKES AND THE TIMEFRAME
Although Goma would not be the U.S. Government's first choice for a consulate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the situation in the Goma area encompasses the most significant U.S. interests and objectives in the Congo: regional and domestic stability and conflict, humanitarian assistance to the war-affected population, human rights and movements of refugees and internally displaced people. In addition to being the city closest to ongoing Rwanda/Congo military operations, Goma is the center of the UN presence in the east, and provides access through the United Nations to areas and populations affected by Ugandan operations against the Lord’s Resistance Army in the remote northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo. Goma is also a frequent stop for visiting congressional and congressional staff delegations. The Embassy estimates, and the OIG team agrees, that the United States will need a political and humanitarian presence in Goma for the next three to five years.

INSPECTION
The OIG team that visited Goma confirmed the excellent work being done by personnel there in representing U.S. interests with the UN peacekeeping mission, other diplomatic missions, local authorities and the many humanitarian nongovernmental organizations and the voluminous reporting that keeps an avid Washington and regional readership informed. The OIG team also confirmed the outstanding management and security support provided by Embassy Kinshasa in leasing, equipping, and securing a compound of two houses for the political officer and TDY personnel. The position of political officer in Goma is currently filled on a permanent basis by an officer officially assigned to Kinshasa, who receives full meals and incidental expenses in Goma. The regional security office in Kinshasa and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in Washington support Goma with TDY security officers and the FY 2011 MSP proposes a new assistant regional security officer position for Goma.

GOMA OPERATIONS
During the inspection, OIG personnel traveled to Goma, met with the Goma political officer and accompanied him to a number of meetings. The officer, experienced in Africa, is Embassy Kinshasa’s senior representative vis-à-vis Congolese and international authorities in Goma. He serves as the primary reporting officer on the regional conflicts in the eastern Congo. As the eyes and ears of the U.S. Government in a conflict-torn region, he sends in daily reports to the political section in Kinshasa, which then adds its own input, puts the reports into cable format, and transmits them to Washington, thus providing hungry Washington consumers with conflict-related reporting from this extremely isolated part of the Congo. He also reports by telephone to offices in the Departments of State and Defense, as well as to other embassies in the region.

The Goma officer has forged strong bonds with UN officials, European governments, nongovernmental and religious organizations, international media, and civil authorities. He attends the UN forces daily military briefing to remain current on UN operations and has accompanied UN officials to visit conflict zones throughout eastern and northern Congo. He has provided invaluable assistance to visiting Members of Congress and Congressional staff with interest in issues related to the conflict, humanitarian assistance, refugee affairs, sexual and gender-based violence, child soldiers, and trafficking in persons. The U.S Government presence in Goma is successfully advancing U.S. foreign policy interests in the region.

OIG Report No. ISP-I-09-36A, Inspection of Embassy Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo - May 2009(pdf)

Related articles

• US Diplomat Accuses Uruguay Major of Assault (abcnews.go.com)
• Mini-boom: DR Congo's volcanic tourism (bbc.co.uk)
• Congo tourism promotes erupting volcano (cbsnews.com)
• VIDEO: Eruption attracts tourists in DR Congo (bbc.co.uk)
• Tensions high with Congo's election on horizon (csmonitor.com)

 

 

 

No Superrappin for U.S. Hip-Hop Envoys in Lahore

So last week, the Chicago-based FEW Collective was briefly detained in Pakistan after one of the performers was alleged to have taken "sensitive photographs in the garrison city of Rawalpindi." The US Embassy in Islamabad stresses that "The performer was not aware of restrictions placed on photography in or near the cantonment, and had no intention of taking photographs of sensitive Pakistani government or military installations."

As part of U.S. Embassy's cultural exchange programs,
F.E.W. Collective came to Pakistan to share their dancing
and singing talents with the world.
Photo from US Embassy Islamabad/Flickr

That was last week. Over the weekend the group traveled to Lahore for more performances. USCGLahore tweeted on Nov 19: "Hip Hop group FEW Collective is now in Lahore playing at universities & jamming with students!"

Today, the group was barred from performing at a state-run hall in Lahore for "security reasons." Reports citing the local arts council director, Zulfikar Ali indicate that the scheduled performance had to be cancelled after "the local Al-Hamra Arts Council refused permission over its alleged failure to provide a no objection certificate (NOC) from the provincial home office."

MSN India reports that Lahore Arts Council's executive director Muhammad Ali Baloch says that "the band was not allowed to perform as it failed to provide a "no-objection certificate" issued by the Home Department of Punjab province."

"We had requested the US Consulate in Lahore to provide the NOC but it didn''t give us the same," Baloch told reporters. He said the NOC was a "mandatory legal requirement" for holding such a concert.

This was apparently contradicted by the US Consulate General spokesman Leslie Goodman who  told journalists that "all necessary documents had been provided to the Lahore Arts Council but its management did not allow the band to go ahead with its concert."

US ConGen Lahore posted the following message on its Facebook page:

Sorry fans, due to circumstances beyond our control, the venue decided it could not host the American hip hop performance tonight.  We regret the inconvenience the cancellation has caused to you.

The group's next stop is Karachi.

US Mission Pakistan: Hip-Hop Diplomacy Almost Hit the Wrong Note

Image via WikipediaVia the Express Tribune:

Pakistani military officials on Wednesday briefly detained a visiting US hip-hop troupe, accusing a performer of taking sensitive photographs in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the embassy said. The nine American nationals were detained by the Islamabad police for allegedly taking photographs and making video footage of the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

The six members of FEW Collective, a US officer, Pakistani staff from the embassy and Pakistani musicians were detained for around an hour on a military base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

US Embassy Islamabad released the following statement:

"A performing arts group sponsored by the U.S. Embassy was briefly detained and later released by military authorities today in Rawalpindi. One of the performers was accused of taking photographs of sensitive installations. While one of the performers may have taken a photograph while travelling in an Embassy vehicle on a public road, no sensitive installations were visible from the vehicle. The performer was not aware of restrictions placed on photography in or near the cantonment, and had no intention of taking photographs of sensitive Pakistani government or military installations."

Now, it is quite easy to get mad at this incident. However, I suspect that Pakistan has the equivalent of our "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign.  Remember that one launched in conjunction with the rollout of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) (PDF, 2 pages - 545 KB)?  The Pakistanis are just late in coming up with a sassy name for their program.

Read this one and tell me which government put this out:

Every day, law enforcement officers at all levels of
government—state, local, tribal, and federal—observe
suspicious behaviors or receive such reports from
concerned civilians, private security, and other government
agencies. What might not seem significant (for instance,
taking a picture of a ferry during loading), when combined
with other actions and activity, may become a composite
indicating the possibility of criminal—even terrorist—
activity.

Yep.

On a related note, Hishaam Aidi, editor, with Manning Marable, of Black Routes to Islam (Palgrave Macmillan 2009), and a fellow at the Open Society Foundation in New York recently had a lot to say about hip-hop diplomacy in Al Jazeera. Excerpts below:

Warning that Osama bin Laden's associate Abu Yahya al-Libi has made al-Qaeda look "cool", one terrorism expert recommends that the US respond "with one of America's coolest exports: hip hop", specifically with a "subgroup" thereof.
[...]
But it's unclear how "Muslim hip hop" will exert a moderating or democratising influence: Will a performance by an African-American Muslim group trigger a particular calming "effect", pushing young Muslim men away from extremist ideas? Nor is it clear what constitutes "Muslim hip hop": Does the fact that Busta Rhymes is a Sunni Muslim make his music "Islamic"?  
[..]
For State Department officials, the hip hop initiatives in Muslim-majority states showcase the diversity and integration of post-civil rights America. The multi-hued hip hop acts sent overseas represent a post-racial or post-racist American dream, and exhibit the achievements of the civil rights movement, a uniquely American moment that others can learn from.
But it's unclear how persuasive this racialised imagery is. Muslims do not resent the US for its lack of diversity. Where perceptions are poor, it is because of foreign policy, as well as, increasingly, domestic policies that target Muslims.

He may have hit the right note to ask here. Sometimes it takes someone from outside to bring up the right questions. 

Continue reading, Leveraging hip hop in US foreign policy.

 

Related articles

• US hip-hop diplomacy hits speed bump in Pakistan (sfgate.com)
• Pakistan Briefly Detains U.S. Hip-Hop Group (foxnews.com)
• VIDEO: Can hip hop improve US-Pakistan relations? (bbc.co.uk)
• America employs jazz diplomacy with Pakistan (cbsnews.com)

Goodbye Foggy Bottom, Hello Oxford!

On Saturday, November 19, 2011, the American Rhodes Scholar Class of 2012 was announced.  From a pool of 830 candidates who had been nominated by their colleges and universities, 32 students were selected to commence their studies at Oxford in October 2012.

One familiar name from Foggy Bottom:

Ronan S. Farrow | Washington, DC, graduated with double majors in philosophy and biology from Bard College in 2004. He was the college’s youngest graduate ever, at age 15. He is now its first Rhodes Scholar. He graduated from Yale Law School in 2009, where he edited the Yale Journal of International Affairs. He is currently Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues, and before that was Special Advisor for Humanitarian and NGO Affairs. He has been a political commentator on three networks and in many national publications, and is a songwriter and guitarist. He grew up with fourteen adopted siblings from seven countries speaking six languages. At Oxford, Ronan plans to do a D.Phil. in international development.

Read the bios of the American Rhodes Scholars for 2012 | 11/20/2011 here.

Related articles

• 32 Students From US Named Rhodes Scholars for 2012 (abcnews.go.com)
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Peace Corps Officially Suspends Program in Kazakhstan, Digital Diplomacy Crash Lands!

Image via WikipediaYesterday, I posted about the reported suspension of Peace Corps operations in Kazakhstan.  (Read After 18 Yrs in Kazakhstan, Peace Corps Will Reportedly Suspend Operations Due to Safety Issues). Today, Peace Corps officially confirmed it. See statement below:

Washington, D.C. | November 18, 2011 -- Peace Corps has suspended its volunteer activities in Kazakhstan based on a number of operational considerations. All 117 Peace Corps volunteers serving in the country are safe and accounted for, and will soon be participating in a transition conference.

“The Peace Corps has made significant contributions to the development of Kazakhstan for almost two decades,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. “For the past 18 years, Peace Corps volunteers have worked alongside their Kazakhstan counterparts to create a lasting impact that lives on in schools, clinics, NGOs and community and youth centers throughout the country. We thank the government and people of Kazakhstan for welcoming Peace Corps volunteers into their communities, and we are grateful for their strong support and partnership over the years.”

Kazakhstan is celebrating its 20th anniversary of independence this year. According to the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index, Kazakhstan is one of the most developed countries in the world to host a Peace Corps program.

Peace Corps has operated in Kazakhstan without interruption since 1993. Over 1,120 Americans have served in Kazakhstan since the program was established, working with communities in projects focused on teaching English, education, youth development, HIV/AIDS prevention, and community development.

Families with questions or concerns may contact the Peace Corps’ Counseling and Outreach unit, which maintains a 24-hour, 7 days a week duty system. The telephone number during standard office hours is (800) 424-8580, extension 1470; the after-hours number is (202) 692-1470.

"Operation considerations" ... sounds like they could not hire a truck or something.

No mention of the sexual assaults/rape incidents, or allegations of espionage against PCVs.  Apparently, there are also reports of racial persecution against African-American volunteers.  Read more here.

In the one case of espionage allegations, Alexander M. White, who joined the Peace Corps in 2010 took to his blog to write a personal statement addressing the allegations.  His case  made it to the local papers and his blog post on November 7, 2011 blares with the blog title,

Мен шпион емеспін: I am not a spy!

There doesn't seem to be any "rapid response" or "correction for the record" on this issue from either the U.S. Embassy or the Peace Corps office in Astana.  Why was it hard to release a statement clarifying the role of PCVs?  Would it have upset our partner in the GWOT? If this happened in Egypt or Pakistan, wouldn't the embassy have rolled out its "correction for the record" already?

"Persons who have been employed by an intelligence agency, or otherwise have been associated with intelligence activities, are ineligible to serve as volunteers in the Peace Corps. This exclusionary policy is one aspect of the broader, long-standing policy of maintaining an absolute separation between Peace Corps and intelligence activities conducted by the U.S. government. This absolute separation is necessary to protect volunteers' safety and to maintain the trust and confidence of the people in the countries in which volunteers serve."

The official Peace Corps statement above is not posted anywhere in the US Embassy Astana's website, not in the embassy's Facebook page, not in the US Peace Corps in Kazakhstan website and oh, Ambassador Fairfax's FB page talks about an outstanding article he read:

Ambassador Ken Fairfax:

I just read an outstanding article by Kazakhstan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yerzhan Kazykhanov, on the need to improve relations between the Islamic countires and "the West." He makes great points by approaching the question from the perspective of Kazakhstan's multiethnic secular society and Kazakhstan's role as the current chair of the 57-country Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The Peace Corps is pulling out of the country after 18 years of continuous operation and the embassy's media arm says nothing about it ... but we're told about what the ambassador is reading.

This is a great example of digital diplomacy crash landing in Kazakhstan!

Related articles

• US Peace Corps to quit Kazakhstan (telegraph.co.uk)
• Peace Corps to Quit Kazakhstan (abcnews.go.com)
• Peace Corps to quit Kazakhstan in Central Asia (sfgate.com)
• U.S. Peace Corps to Leave Kazakhstan (time.com)
• Peace Corps to Quit Kazakhstan (abcnews.go.com)