After it was announced that diplomats at the State Department would be forced to serve at the US Embassy in Iraq, many expressed their displeasure with the plan at a meeting this week. Essentially these career diplomats have been told by the Bush administration that if they are assigned to Iraq and refuse to go they will lose their jobs.
Traditionally diplomats are not forced to serve but rather are required to list preferences and then are assigned based on that list if appropriate. One diplomat at the meeting this week likened the Bush scenario of service in Iraq as a death sentenced passed on them for being career diplomats. However, the Bush people don’t seem to give a shit about the careers of the diplomats or the success of the State Department since they are willing to randomly send diplomats off to dodge rockets and gun fire inIraq or if they refuse to go fire them. Not a great moral booster for a department that has not had great success during this administration and faces many obstacle such as North Korea and Iran
Now a GOP lawmaker has decided to add his stupidity to the problem. Rep. Duncan Hunter a low level candidate for the presidency has decided to give us his ideas on the issue. In a statement Hunter said, “Let’s replace these reluctant Nellies with America’s finest citizens, our wounded warriors will serve our country efficiently, effectively and with undying patriotism.” Who the hell said any of our wounded soldiers would even be willing to go back to a place where they were wounded and scarred and shouldn’t have been in the first place.
Additionally, where does a low level politician like Hunter, who isn’t willing to serve in Iraq himself, get off questioning the patriotism of our diplomats. Not wanting to serve in a war zone, an illegal war zone, has nothing to do with patriotism. This is again the typical bullshit that you get from the GOP. Whenever someone doesn’t want to support Bush’s illegal oil grab in Iraq they are labeled unpartiotic. Why don’t we ask our brave men and women that have served in Iraq how they would feel if they were forced to return their against their will as a private citizen.