Sponsored Content




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support





























































« 62% of Radiohead Fans Downloaded for Free | Main | McCain is Spinning New Polls »
November 07, 2007

Not All Foreign Service Officers Are Whiners

I don’t know how representative John Matel is of his colleagues but I sure hope there’s a lot more like him in the State Department than the ones we tend to hear about. Currently serving on a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Anbar Provience, Matel has a few choice words for the folks who spoke up about forced deployments to Iraq. In short, shut up and let the grownups do the important work.

Calling Iraq a death sentence is just way over the top. I volunteered to come here aware of the risks but confident that I will come safely home, as do the vast majority of soldiers and Marines, who have a lot riskier jobs than we FSOs do.

I wrote a post a couple days ago where I said that perhaps everyone's talents are not best employed in Iraq . That is still true. But I find the sentiments expressed by some at the town hall meeting deeply offensive. What are they implying about me and my choice? And what do they say to our colleagues in the military, who left friends and family to come here and do their jobs? As diplomats, part of our work is to foster peace and understanding. We cannot always be assured that we will serve only in places where peace and understanding are already safely established.

If these guys at the town hall meeting do not want to come to Iraq , that is okay with. I would not want that sort out here with me anyway. We have enough trouble w/o having to baby sit. BUT they are not worldwide available and they might consider the type of job that does not require worldwide availability.

Matel is scheduled to be in Iraq through next September. I haven’t had a chance to read a lot of his stuff yet but it looks like his blog bears watching for a different perspective on what’s going on over there.


digg this
posted by DrewM. at 12:05 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Beartooth : "Coworker fosters momma cats and kittens. He lived ..."

wth: "SAVE THE BEANS ..."

sharon(willow's apprentice): "SiD, you're just saying that because you're my fri ..."

Ben Had: "That little kid in the box is pure joy. ..."

FenelonSpoke: " cafe bats are cute, but I wouldn't want to get cl ..."

[/i][/b]andycanuck (Vwz3I)[/s][/u]: "Okay, so it was a pretty lame attempt at a joke bu ..."

gourmand du jour: "Tomorrow I'm off for a Big Adventure. I've alread ..."

[/i][/b]andycanuck (Vwz3I)[/s][/u]: "Quote Tweet: Steve Herman @W7VOA · 37m "Lowe ..."

AZ deplorable moron: "Best of Breed and third in the Hound Group for Mis ..."

Lamontyoubigdummy: "...when Fetterman actually sounds better than Bide ..."

FenelonSpoke: "Very cute lamb And here's my latest report on " ..."

Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden: "Here and I thought Ace was going to live blog the ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64