Wanted: Baghdad Diplomats
Violence in Iraq has made the embassy an unpopular post for many U.S. diplomats.
July 30, 2007— -- Facing the challenge of finding diplomats to serve amid the violence and chaos in Baghdad, the U.S. State Department offers new incentives to its diplomats to work in the embassy.
According to a memo sent to employees last Friday and obtained by ABC News, the State Department is allowing diplomats who volunteer to serve the next year in Iraq to choose their following assignment now, including coveted and more comfortable posts in Western Europe.
It would allow the diplomats a greater chance of getting the post they want after Iraq by securing that job a year ahead of time.
"The idea behind linked assignments is that a volunteer for Iraq service will be able to be paneled to an onward assignment at the same time he or she is paneled to Baghdad," the memo, titled "Announcing Additional Incentives for Baghdad Service: Opportunities for Linked Assignments" announced.
It goes on to list 22 midcareer positions in the Baghdad Embassy open to this new program, including several in political, economic and political-military affairs.
This is the first time such a program has been implemented, and the latest indication that the State Department anticipates having difficulty finding qualified diplomats to staff the embassy next year. The department has warned that if not enough people volunteer, some will be forced to staff the embassy.
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