A weblog by a former soldier and present-day U.S. foreign service officer. My views in no way represent anyone else's than my own although readers are welcome to agree with as much as they desire. If you're looking for gossip, for breaches of operational security or privacy, for public criticism of the declared foreign policies of the United States of America, leaks or other treasonous disloyalty, the reader is invited to look elsewhere.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
"a diplomat should be. . . . ."
"A diplomat should be like a Jesuit priest, who gives up his personal life and comfort to serve something far more important." - W.E.B. Griffin Quote lifted from page 200 of The Hostage, W.E.B. Griffin, Copyright (c) 2005/
THE JAMAICA Red Cross this week entered into a formal partnership with the United States Peace Corps that could see American volunteers assigned to each of Jamaica's parishes.
The agreement was signed on Thursday at the Peace Corps' Worthington Avenue office and formalises years of cooperation between the organisations that has seen the Red Cross provide training and the Peace Corps loaning its volunteers in reciprocation.
One such volunteer was 73-year-old Californian Robert Keagy. Robert and his wife Susan, 54, arrived in Jamaica with the Peace Corps in July after closing their businesses to pursue voluntary service.
Both are attached to the Manchester office of the Red Cross where Robert is assigned to disaster preparedness and Susan is an HIV/AIDS educator training high school students to be peer educators.
"It is a logical partnership," believes Robert. "A lot of the work the Peace Corps and the Red Cross do overlaps. One of the fundamental principles of the Red Cross is humanity which really speaks to the Peace Corps too," he told The Gleaner.
DISCUSSIONS
"There is no reason why this is not going to be replicated throughout other countries in the world so here it is again, Jamaica leading," said Red Cross Chairman Ferris Ziadie of the partnership.
He said that it arose from discussions which he initially had with Peace Corps Country Director for Jamaica, Dr. Suchet Loois, two years ago.
Dr. Loois confirmed that Washington was taking an interest. "They have seen this and perhaps if it works they can extend it to other countries." The exact nature of the co-operation was still flexible, added Mr. Ziadie. "As the necessity arrives to develop programmes or projects, then so the volunteers or the partnership will energise and expand."
The text of the agreement commits the parties to improving the planning, implementation and evaluation of joint programmes of assistance, particularly in disaster preparedness and management.
SANTO DOMINGO (AP) - The bodies of 24 Haitian migrants, who apparently died of asphyxiation crossing the border in a sealed truck, have been found in the Dominican Republic, police said yesterday.
The victims were among 69 Haitians, mostly grown men, driven across the border illegally at the northern town of Dajabon, said police spokesman General Simon Diaz.
"Preliminary investigations indicate that the Haitians suffocated in the vehicle and that the people who transported them later disposed of the bodies," said Diaz.
Eleven of the bodies were found on Tuesday in La Mina de Cacheo, and the remaining 13 yesterday in Los Guayacanes, police said. Both villages are about 370 kilometres (230 miles) northeast of the capital, Santo Domingo.
Police detained truck driver, Elvis Rodriguez Ortiz, and his assistant, Esteban Martinez Rosario, both Dominican nationals. A joint police and army commission was investigating the deaths, Diaz said. Plans have been drawn up to increase the 1,000-member Dominican force patrolling the porous 243-mile (391-kilometre) border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
About one million Haitians, many of them illegal immigrants, live in the Dominican Republic, home to 8.8 million people.The Dominican Republic has relied on Haitian labour for decades to cut sugar cane, harvest coffee beans and to work in construction.
Historic tensions have increased recently between the two nations, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.In December, Dominican villagers burned about 20 shacks occupied by Haitian migrants in reprisal for their alleged involvement in the killing of a businessman.
In May, the Dominican government deported at least 2,000 Haitians after the killing of a Dominican woman. No one was arrested for the murder, but Dominicans went on a retaliatory rampage, beheading two Haitians.
Taken April 30, 2003 in the Bandit fest tent at Camp Udairi, Kuwait. The Bandit pictured is a senior NCO who was already a veteran of service with the 4th ID, in Vietnam.
Author Jerry Pournelle makes some commentson Amb. Bremer's book. I find this particular remark to be notable: "you see that Bremer, like most FSO's, believe (sic) that a career in the Foreign Service fits you to do anything" Update 1 (22-Jan-2006): The quote, slightly edited for clarity, may now be viewed in the Consul-At-Arms sidebar under the "Quotations" heading.
By Bradley Graham and Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, January 20, 2006; Page A02
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice faced a barrage of pointed questions yesterday from employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development, who expressed concerns that an administration move to centralize the management of foreign assistance will weaken the agency and place short-term political goals ahead of long-term development aims.
Rice took the unusual step of holding a town-hall-style meeting with hundreds of USAID employees after announcing the creation of a high-level State Department position to oversee all foreign aid programs. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon visits Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the same day that Rice spoke to USAID workers. (By J. Scott Applewhite --
Rice said the position -- director of foreign assistance -- is intended to bring greater coherence and efficiency to a broad patchwork of often overlapping assistance programs that now total about $19 billion. Randall L. Tobias, a former pharmaceuticals industry executive who has headed the administration's global AIDS program for the past 2 1/2 years, was named to fill the position and also to serve as the new USAID administrator.
The moves eased fears at USAID that the agency, set up in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, would be merged into the State Department. But it prompted other worries, voiced in the questioning, that USAID's strategic planning role might end up diminished and that the agency's corps of experienced foreign aid specialists might be superseded by Foreign Service officers.
In her nearly hour-long appearance before a standing-room-only crowd gathered in the cavernous Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium next to USAID headquarters, Rice offered assurances that USAID will continue to play a key role in setting development strategy and that the administration will maintain a long-term view on development issues. "If we have a short-term perspective, we will fail," she said.
Several longtime USAID officials who heard Rice said in brief interviews afterward that her decision to hold the meeting was itself a significant gesture, but they also made clear that they will be withholding final judgment about the revamped management structure.
"The plan, in broad strokes, makes sense," said one official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the interview was not authorized. "But the devil is going to be in the details."
The choice of Tobias drew some criticism. He has little experience in development issues other than the anti-AIDS effort, and some activists have faulted him for placing less emphasis on condom use than on abstinence to reduce the spread of AIDS, and for moving too slowly to promote inexpensive generic drugs.
But his supporters in the administration and in Congress stressed his management skills yesterday. "He has proven in his private and public sector responsibilities that he can successfully manage big organizations and complicated programs," Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
The foreign assistance initiative is part of a series of moves announced by Rice this week under the banner "transformational diplomacy." Her plan, announced Wednesday, to redeploy U.S. diplomats from Europe to difficult assignments in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere received some backing yesterday from the American Foreign Service Association.
J. Anthony Holmes, the association's president, said his group supports the plan in general but is concerned about the security arrangements for diplomats who will be placed in large cities away from capitals. He also questioned whether the government has the financial resources to carry out Rice's vision.
Rice said 100 Foreign Service officers due to rotate into posts in Europe and Washington this summer will get new assignments. Holmes said a number of the officers are halfway through training for such difficult languages as Russian and Polish, and so the new assignments will be "very disruptive for families and individuals."
By Deborah Charles Reuters Friday, January 20, 2006; 12:52 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (Reuters) - A former Pentagon analyst was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison on Friday for passing U.S. defense information to two pro-Israel lobbyists and for sharing classified information with an Israeli diplomat.
Lawrence Franklin, 59, who previously worked as an analyst in the office of the secretary of defense, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis. Franklin had pleaded guilty in October to sharing the information and also to illegally possessing classified documents.
Franklin had faced up to 25 years in prison. His sentence could still be reduced further because of his cooperation with the government which is still prosecuting a case against the two remaining defendants in the case -- former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group.
Ellis said Franklin would not have to go to jail to start serving his sentence until he is finished cooperating.
Franklin is expected to testify against the two former AIPAC officials, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman. They have both pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to communicate national defense information provided by Franklin. Their trail is scheduled to begin on April 25.
Franklin did not make any statement at the sentencing but he said previously that he had never intended to harm the United States.
Federal prosecutor Kevin DiGregory urged Ellis to give a tough sentence since Franklin had knowingly disclosed classified information to unauthorized people.
"The danger of such unauthorized disclosure, when you disclose national defense information ... is that the United States government loses control of such information," he said.
When he pleaded guilty in October, Franklin said he disclosed the national defense information to the two AIPAC officials from early in 2002 through June 2004.
Franklin said he met with the political officer from the Israeli embassy at least nine times from August 2002 through June of last year and admitted he gave the officer classified information that he was unauthorized to receive.
A MONTEGO Bay businessman, who is wanted in the United States along with St. Ann businessman Norris 'Deedo' Nembhard and others to face drug charges, has waived his right to an extradition hearing.
He is 56-year-old Ivan Kenneth Huggins, also called 'Rasta Teddy'. When he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, Huggins told Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle he had decided to go to the U.S. to face his trial. Huggins was arrested last week by the Fugitive Apprehension Team. It is being alleged that Huggins, along with Nembhard and others, were part of a ring that was involved in trafficking tons of cocaine into the United States.
Nembhard and five other men were ordered extradited in June last year to face drug trafficking charges in the U.S. They are, however, seeking to have the extradition orders overturned.
I AM not a fan of Edward Seaga. As a matter of fact I have disagreed with most of his policies as PM and Leader of the Opposition, but I am in total agreement with his commentary on remittances and its impact on the Jamaican economy. Most Jamaicans in the diaspora have always believed that we are a significant force in the Jamaican economy, not only from the hard currency, but the food and clothing that is sent to the island in the countless barrels over the years.
RECOGNISE THE CONTRIBUTION
I believe that the Government needs to recognise the contribution of the two-plus million Jamaicans living outside Jamaica. We did not abandon our country when we chose to migrate. Maybe Mr. Seaga in further commentaries could also speak to the impact that Jamaicans in the diaspora have on tourism, one of the other major sources of foreign exchange.
We can be rewarded with greater involvement in the political process like voting in the national elections. Other countries have been doing it for years.
By the way, I just noticed the counter is approaching 11,000 visitors. Thanks again to my regular readers, especially those who leave coherent comments, and a welcome to new readers, a number of whom seem to have wandered over from the FSWE and FSOA Yahoo!Groups or possibly by following links at those FS web logs mentioned in the January edition of the Foreign Service Journal.
By Ann Scott TysonWashington Post Staff Writer Thursday, January 19, 2006; Page A03
The Army announced yesterday that it will cut six National Guard combat brigades -- or up to 24,000 infantry and other combat troops -- as part of an effort to ease budgetary pressures and shift manpower into homeland defense missions.
Wasn't the whole point of transforming the Army's combat divisions to be able to squeeze out an additional, more-easily-deployable combat brigade within each manuever division? In addition to scaling back the guard's combat brigades to 28 from 34, the active-duty Army will add one fewer combat brigade than it had planned, ending up with 42 instead of 43, Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey told a Pentagon news briefing yesterday.
As a result, the Army in coming years will grow to 70 instead of the anticipated 77 active-duty and National Guard combat brigades to respond to overseas and domestic contingencies, Harvey said. In 2003, the Army had 67 combat brigades, Army officials said.
"This force structure we think is appropriate to the threat," Harvey said, explaining that the change resulted from a broad review of Pentagon strategy and resources that will be made public next month with the new defense budget.
The changes suggest that budgetary pressures are exerting limits on the expensive manpower increases that the Army initiated in recent years in its struggle to meet demands in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also reflect recruiting difficulties, as well as a greater National Guard emphasis on homeland missions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The six National Guard combat brigades -- 3,500-to-4,000-troop infantry and armor units at the core of the Army's war-fighting force -- will be replaced by brigades made up of engineers, military police, civil affairs soldiers, and other support troops "very appropriate for homeland defense missions," Harvey said.
Still, some National Guard leaders strenuously objected to the cut in Guard combat forces, as well as an Army decision announced by Harvey yesterday to fund the National Guard at its current troop level -- 333,000 -- rather than the congressionally approved strength of 350,000.
"The adjutants general all agree that we need to be at 350,000 . . . and indications are that this year we can get there again, so in our view that has to be funded up front," said Maj. Gen. Roger P. Lempke, president of the Adjutants General Association of the United States.
Harvey said if the National Guard manages to recruit more members, the Army will fund them, but he did not indicate where the money would come from -- and Lempke and other Guard officials worry it would come from their existing budget.
Curbing the growth in Army combat brigades could give troops less time than officials had hoped between war-zone rotations, officials said.
The reduction of combat brigades "will put strain on the Guard even greater than it is today, because we will have to rotate more frequently," said retired Brig. Gen. Stephen M. Koper, president of the National Guard Association in Washington.
Harvey said the Army has not yet been able to achieve its rotational goal for active-duty brigades of spending one year in a war zone and two years at home; instead units are spending 15 to 22 months at home, he said.
On recruiting, Harvey said "the future looks promising" for meeting the enlistment target in 2006 after the Army fell short by about 7,000 soldiers last year. Yesterday, the Army said it is raising the age limit for active-duty enlistees from 35 to 40, and doubling the maximum cash enlistment bonus to $40,000 for active-duty recruits who choose a high-priority skill and will serve at least four years. What always troubles me about "initiatives" like this is how "doing-more-with-less" and "working-smarter-not-harder" (in terms of taking advantage of modern combat multipliers) and "synergy" means having less when it comes time to do more. Remember Sec. Rumsfeld's famous "You go to war with the army you have" remark? These decisions determine the army we will have the next time we need it right then and there to go to war. And by the way, we're still engaged in two ground campaigns in this, our Global War On Terror.
WP - Diplomats Will Be Shifted to Hot Spots. Rice Also Plans to Elevate USAID Chief.
The speech described in this article, and this article itself, has generated a lot of attention around the "blogosphere," and for good reason. Some of it, the changes to requirements for entry into the Senior Foreign Service, are not exactly new, but have received relatively little media attention over the last year when they were first announced within the Department. Washington Post
By Glenn Kessler and Bradley Graham Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, January 19, 2006; Page A01
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that she will shift hundreds of Foreign Service positions from Europe and Washington to difficult assignments in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere as part of a broad restructuring of the diplomatic corps that she has dubbed "transformational diplomacy."
The State Department's culture of deployment and ideas about career advancement must alter now that the Cold War is over and the United States is battling transnational threats of terrorism, drug smuggling and disease, Rice said in a speech at Georgetown University. "The greatest threats now emerge more within states than between them," she said. "The fundamental character of regimes now matters more than the international distribution of power." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledges to create what she calls "transformational diplomacy." (Alex Wong - Getty Images) Photos 'Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that she will shift hundreds of Foreign Service positions from Europe and Washington to difficult assignments in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere as part of a broad restructuring of the diplomatic corps that she has dubbed "transformational...','Glenn Kessler and Bradley Graham')
As part of the change in priorities, Rice announced that diplomats will not be promoted into the senior ranks unless they accept assignments in dangerous posts, gain expertise in at least two regions and are fluent in two foreign languages, citing Chinese, Urdu and Arabic as a few preferred examples.
Rice noted that the United States has nearly as many State Department personnel in Germany -- which has 82 million people -- as in India, with 1 billion people. As a first step, 100 jobs in Europe and Washington will be immediately shifted to expanded embassies in countries such as India, China and Lebanon. Many of these diplomats had been scheduled to rotate into coveted posts in European capitals this summer, and the sudden change in assignment has caused some distress, State Department officials said.
Officials said that ultimately as many as one-third of the 6,400 Foreign Service positions could be affected in the coming years.
Separately, today Rice plans to unveil a restructuring of U.S. foreign assistance, including announcing the nomination of Randall L. Tobias as the new administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Officials said Rice plans to elevate the USAID post, giving Tobias -- a former Eli Lilly chief executive who now heads the administration's global AIDS relief program -- an office and a planning staff in the State Department. Rice will designate Tobias as having a rank equivalent of deputy secretary of state.
Although the move stops short of merging USAID with State, it is intended to draw the agency closer into the department's fold, the officials said. Additionally, the new director will be given broader authority over a range of foreign assistance accounts now managed by separate entities. "Effectively, this will allow a single person to have visibility into these various accounts," a State official said.
Anticipating such a change, some outside the government have warned that it could result in a greater politicization of foreign assistance. "We're concerned that the same priority won't be given to long-term development as resources are siphoned to support shorter-term diplomatic or military objectives," said Jim Bishop, a senior officer of InterAction, the largest coalition of non-governmental U.S. aid groups.
But State Department officials described the restructuring as necessary to reverse a growing fragmentation of foreign assistance programs in recent years and to ensure more effective and focused spending overseas.
The two announcements -- combined with changes announced Tuesday to streamline the movement of people and goods across U.S. borders -- are intended to fill in the details of Rice's promise to make what she calls transformational diplomacy the hallmark of her tenure as secretary of state.
"These proposals are part of the secretary's continuing strategy to dramatically increase America's engagement and dialogue with the world," said Jim Wilkinson, senior adviser to Rice.
Rice has described the notion of transformational diplomacy as a shift from merely reporting on events to influencing them to foster the growth of democratic states worldwide.
Under the plan outlined yesterday, Rice will expand the U.S. presence by encouraging the spread of new one-person diplomatic outposts, now located in a few cities such as Alexandria, Egypt, and Medan, Indonesia. "There are nearly 200 cities worldwide with over 1 million people in which the United States has no formal diplomatic presence," Rice said. "This is where the action is today."
The move is intended to bring U.S. diplomats -- now often barricaded in fortified embassies -- closer to the mood in the streets.
The State Department will also expand the use of interactive Web sites maintained by diplomats to communicate with foreign citizens, promote the creation of rapid-reaction forces to deal with regional problems and seek to work more closely with military officers to promote the stability of nations after conflicts, Rice said.
JAMAICAN and Colombian nationals holding diplomatic and official passports will no longer require a visa to travel between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday, following the signing of a reciprocal visa abolition agreement.
The decision, which was announced at the conclusion of the 5th Jamaica/Colombia Binational Commission held in San Andres, Colombia from January 16 to 17, took immediate effect.
According to a statement from Jamaica's ministry of foreign affairs, the island would also "consider the granting of multiple-entry visas for an extended period for Colombian nationals who wish to visit Jamaica for tourism or business purposes, as well as the establishment of an Honorary Consulate in San Andres Island in the near future".
The meeting, the ministry also said, was used to exchange views on various matters of multilateral, regional and bilateral interest to both countries.
Head of Jamaica's delegation, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade KD Knight said the meeting was a success.
"The co-operation between our countries will play a major role in addressing areas of national priority such as security, education and culture, as well as developing new initiatives for collaboration in other areas such as trade, science and technology and tourism," he said at the closing ceremony. In the meantime, Colombia's minister of external relations, Dr Carolina Barco, noted that she was pleased that Jamaica and Colombia could develop mutually beneficial initiatives to advance relations between the two countries.
Jamaica and Colombia will be working more closely to tackle the drug problem which has dogged the two countries for years, the ministry also announced.
FOREIGN RESIDENT and non-resident diplomats will next week be hosted by the Government during Diplomat Week.
The event, running from Sunday, January 22 to Saturday, January 28, is held each year to apprise foreign resident and non-resident diplomats of current government policy. Diplomats will be addressed by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and leading ministers on the Government programme, allowing for feedback and discussion.
The week aims to establish a greater understanding between Jamaica and other countries, and will feature several bilateral discussions.
THE SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS:
SUNDAY, JANUARY 22
Diplomats arrive in Jamaica
MONDAY, JANUARY 23
Non-resident diplomats from six countries will present their credentials to Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Evening reception by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, K.D. Knight, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24
Diplomats will be addressed in the morning by the following ministers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Minister of Development, Dr. Paul Robertson; Minister of Industry and Tourism Aloun D'Assamba; and Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Omar Davies.
The Kiwanis Club of Kingston and St. Andrew will hold a special luncheon for diplomats at the Kingston Hilton Hotel.
Evening reception by Dean of the Consular Corps, Arnold Foote, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25
Hosted at the Office of the Prime Minister, diplomats will be addressed at 9:00 a.m. by Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, followed by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson at 10:00 a.m.
In the afternoon diplomats will be addressed by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, K.D. Knight, at his ministry.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26
The highlight of the week, a diplomatic dinner at King's House hosted by Sir Howard Cooke.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27
Diplomats to be taken on a sight-seeing tour of rural areas and projects.
'Maroon Warriors' march from the Old Town to Kindah for a ritual feeding of gatherers at the famed Mango Tree where legendary Maroon Leader, Captain Cudjoe planned war strategies at Accompong in St. Elizabeth on Friday. The occasion was the 268th anniversay of the signing of the peace treaty following the last Maroon war with the British. - HERBERT MCKENIS/FREELNCE PHOTOGRAPHER
WESTERN BUREAU:
DIRECTOR Of Culture in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, Sydney Bartley, has issued a challenge to Maroons to move swiftly to document their history in order to bring clarity to controversial issues surrounding their existence.
"The story of the people has been written too much by other people, and a lot of it has been written wrong!" Mr. Bartley declared recently. "It is time for the Maroons to decide that they can tell their story to the people in this country."
Mr. Bartley was speaking at the 268th Annual Accompong Maroon Celebrations in Accompong, St. Elizabeth.
REMOVING PREJUDICE
"The Maroons cannot continue to feel as if they are enemies in a territory," he said. "You need to write, because when you tell your true story, some of the intolerance, some of the prejudice, some of the ignorance will be removed."
Mr. Bartley contended that Maroons should not always be 'knocking' themselves.
"Too many times on the radio everything you hear about Jamaica is bad," he said.
"We are the country that made Britain abolish the slave trade. We are the country who sent a man to Haiti to start the Haitian Revolution and, there is something about a Jamaican education, when you have it, nobody stops you anywhere!" he said, evoking a round of applause from the gathering.
The celebrations were staged under the theme 'Celebrating our African Ancestry: the Ghana connection'.
Prior to the civic ceremony, members of the Accompong Maroons, in the presence of a massive audience of locals and tourists, conducted their traditional ceremony which entailed drumming using the rattle and Gumbe drums, Myal dancing, throwing of the libation (rum) and the eating of the famed unsalted pork under the mango tree at Kindah, the spot where Colonel Cudjoe and his troops met to make war plans against the British.
A portion of the pork was taken to, and left at Old Town - the original Maroon settlement - as a sacrament to their ancestors.
Many visitors struggled to get a piece of the pork, which is said to bring year-long good luck. This was followed by a street march which culminated at the site of the civic ceremony.
AinB has excellent good taste as demonstrated by his inclusion of Yours Truly in the "From Greater Washington" portion of his blogroll. From time-to-time I even get a mention. Perhaps AinB's greatest flaw is that he doesn't host comments. But nobody's perfect.
It was bound to happen: somebody at work "made" me as Consul-At-Arms.
I'm not all that surprised, anyone who knows me reasonably well could make the connections.
The good news is that they liked the web log.
I don't really mind that they figured it out, they'll be discrete about it. I can imagine that there are some who might get a bit wiggy to learn there was a blogger on the premises and I don't need any extraneous grief thereby.
In the meantime, I reiterate some of my guidelines for this web log.
I don't talk about the people at my post, especially gossip. I don't even specify at which post I'm assigned.
I don't badmouth the host nation.
I don't work to undermine the foreign policy of the United States.
Any criticisms I make about U.S. politics are in my capacity as a private citizen and will more than likely not be of my fellow State Department officers and superiors. I support the State Department and its mission, I believe in it wholeheartedly; if I didn't, I'd find another line of work. (Also, as a foreign service officer, my professional critiques and opinions are provided in-house and need no airing here.)
I do comment on immigration issues, based on my experiences and training in visa matters. I also comment, in my capacity as a veteran of military service, on military affairs; likewise will I comment upon intelligence and security matters, being a former longtime professional in those arenas. I will tend to generalities when it comes to intelligence or security matters as I will always attempt to avoid any still-sensitive matters and will err on the side of caution wherever possible.
Lastly, as an Ordinary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (FSA Scot.), will I occasionally hold forth on some topic of Scottish interest.
Last week I began viewing the second season of the re-made Battlestar Galactica. Once upon a time in a childhood far, far away, I loved the original BSG. With special effects harkening to the then-recently-first-released "Star Wars" (the original Star Wars, "Episode IV"), BSG rocked! But BSG has matured over the decades since and I'm pretty pleased with the reworked version. It's kind of fun seeing echos of the original in the names and characters and seeing how they differ from the old version. The new version is a bit grittier, a bit darker, and that's appropriate given the genocidal theme of the series.
Milblogger SapperSgt over at LiveJournal has posted an excellent short essay, excerpts to follow (with permission of SapperSgt himself.) (NOTE: SapperSgt is an Iraq veteran preparing for his second deployment "downrange." SapperSgt's bride of only a few months has only recently re-deployed "Stateside.") "There has been a lot written (more than a little bit in this space) about the definition of the phrase "support the troops" and "support the mission". I have observed a couple different varieties disagreement with "the mission" in Iraq. One argument goes that the speaker supports the War on Terror, the invasion of Afghanistan, the continuing destruction of terrorist safe havens, and the hunting of terrorists worldwide. The person in question does not, however, feel that a conventional invasion of Iraq at the time it was conducted was the most efficient means of using our resources at that time. However, given that we are there the most important issue to conduct the war in the most efficient way possible, transfer power to an acceptable Iraqi government, and move on to the next step in fighting against Islamic fundamentalist terrorist. I think this mostly summarizes speaker2packets and others who argue in his vein. I can understand this argument. I might agree or disagree with the premises but that's above my paygrade, and not my problem. It's like the debate over Churchill's Med-focused strategy. It's essentially about the most efficient means, not the morality of the means nor about the ultimate ends. This is not what I mean when I say that supporting the troops requires supporting the mission. The argument that other people take is the poorly nuanced argument that "Bush lied about WMD". I have argued repeatedly that WMD was not quite trivial, but damn near it, on the list of reasons to invade Iraq. Congress listed 16 reasons to curb-stomp the Ba'athist government of Iraq, and only one of that was that Iraq failed to prove it did not have a WMD program. This argument also fails to address the fact that the relevant UN resolutions and provisos of the cease-fire agreement signed by the Iraqi government back in 1991 clearly indicate that the burden of proof was on the Hussein regime to prove that he did not have active WMD programs by being open and honest with the UN inspectors. I have difficulty discussing things with this type of person because this is not an argument for or against the war in Iraq. It is a statement of belief (nigh-unto religious in fervor) in the perfidy of George Bush. What implications does it have on future actions or the conduct of the War in Iraq? Generally (and I use a broad brush here) this sort of person is thinking in partisan political terms and is so focused on hating George Bush that either they have ceased all higher brain function and critical thinking, repeating cliches and platitudes like a Democratic Senator with a list of talking points, or they end up falling back to the third argument against the War in Iraq.That argument is that the War in Iraq is illegal and immoral. This is again a sign of sloppy logic and pitiful brain function, as well as a total misunderstanding of both just war theory and United States Constitutional Law. However, to append to this "But I support the troops", that's what makes my brain hurt. You believe I'm engaging in something illegal and immoral and you support me in doing so. What in the fuck are you thinking? Would you wander up to Mr. Dahmer as he's chewing on an adolescent and say "I support you"? No, you'd notice Mr. Dahmer chewing on a human being and either call the cops or shoot him dead and then call the cops, depending on the laws in your state and your personal inclinations. If you believe that the actions of my leadership is illegal and immoral, then you believe my actions are illegal and immoral because I am willingly--nay, enthusiastically--carrying out their orders. I'm a volunteer who reenlisted while in Iraq. I am fighting in this war of my own free will. Please don't patronize me by saying "You were just following orders." Bullshit. We hung German generals and concentration camp guards for following orders. Of course then comes the argument, "Well, you believe in what you are doing and I support that." Bullshit. Right and wrong are not matters of opinion. Even less so is legal and illegal. We aren't talking about something trivial like speeding or running a red light here. People are getting killed on both sides of the equation, and only those who have never done it nor been part of it can be flip about that. Either it is righteous or it is not. There is no fence, no middle ground. If you honestly believe that the war in Iraq is immoral than I am a murderer, and if you believe that and yet support me, I can't understand you at all. Nor do I believe you. Then along those veins in montieth's LJ, we get this quote:"By that logic, supporting my grandfather and his brothers when they were in Stalingrad means supporting Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union. "I'm not attributing it because I'm not sure that guy really wants his LJ handle bandied about a prime example of someone I'm comfortable calling a fascist. But he is correct in that. Supporting a war is supporting a war. You cannot separate the Soldiers from the war in a case of questioning the legality or morality of orders. The actions of a Soldier and of a murderer are indistinguishable. We both end human life. The difference is the right authority and right cause. A murderer ends human life on his own authority for reasons of personal gain or of passion. A Soldier ends human life on the authority of a legitimate government in defense of his people and way of life. Without that authority and cause, we are simply murderers. And if you feel that murder is OK, then that's something else entirely and I'm not qualified to help you."
Last night I had the opportunity to view the very first episode of "Over There," a recent television show, the very first, set in Iraq and portraying the fictionalized experiences of newly arrived U.S. soldiers there.
It wasn't as bad as it could have been. The characters seem more than a little bit stereotyped, or perhaps archtyped, and the writing could clearly use a little more technical assistance from someone who'd actually spent a day or more in uniform, or perhaps even in a war zone.
One minor gripe that I have is the uniforms. They're too. . . . uniform. They're too perfect. Now, it's understandable that newly arrived troops would be wearing brand-new DCUs that look new, but there were introduced several characters in the first episode who'd supposedly been "in-country" for as long as a year.
Let me hasten to reassure anyone who doesn't already know where I'm going with this that after washing your own DCUs in a washtub (i.e., the caveman 'beating-on-rocks' technique) with a various assortments of detergents, your DCUs take on a very faded, quite fashionable "distressed" look. The old-timers in "Over There" are wearing uniforms that look just a new as the newby's.
There should be holes in the uniforms. The uniforms should be patched and mended. I recommend some of the actors running full-bore into a single-roll concertina-wire fence in the dark, in order to develop realistic tears and rips, the same way I did.
BTW, thanks to those of you out there who helped untangle my firmly-affixed self from said concertina wire. You know who you are. Okay, not that big a deal in terms of drama and thematic what-have-you, but it's my web log and I'll quibble what I like.
BY INVOKING his right to avoid self-incrimination, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller has avoided a much-needed cross-examination of his role in the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He has also added to his dishonor as a commander who oversaw improper interrogations at Guantanamo Bay, then introduced some of the same practices in Iraq in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Gen. Miller's subsequent account of his actions, in sworn testimony to Congress and Army investigators, has been contradicted by at least four other witnesses, so it's not surprising that he has sought shelter in the military's equivalent of the Fifth Amendment. He has yet to be the subject of any charge. But anyone who still accepts the Abu Ghraib cover story peddled by the White House and the Pentagon -- that the abuses portrayed in now-infamous photographs were invented by rogue guards on the night shift -- ought to be asking what this two-star general is afraid of.
Gen. Miller was commander at Guantanamo in 2002 when prisoners were subjected to abuses documented by shocked FBI agents as well as the International Red Cross, which called them "tantamount to torture." An Army investigation completed last summer found that an al Qaeda suspect named Mohamed Qahtani was threatened with snarling dogs, forced to wear underwear on his head and led by a leash attached to his chains -- the very abuse later shown in the Abu Ghraib photographs. In August 2003 Gen. Miller was dispatched to Iraq with the mission of improving intelligence collection from detainees. Within weeks dogs had been introduced to interrogations at Abu Ghraib, and Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, had issued several memos authorizing other interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo but violating the Geneva Conventions, including painful shackling, sleep deprivation and nudity. The military intelligence commander at Abu Ghraib, Col. Thomas M. Pappas, told investigators in 2004 that Gen. Miller specifically recommended the use of dogs in interrogations. The prison's former warden, Maj. David DiNenna, supported that account in sworn testimony last summer. So did a military interrogator who said he had been trained in using dogs by a team that Gen. Miller sent to Iraq. But the general denied recommending dogs for interrogations in sworn testimony to Congress in 2004 and in interviews with military criminal investigators. "No methods contrary to the Geneva Convention were presented at any time by the assistance team I took to Iraq," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. This highly questionable testimony was not challenged by the Senate or by the numerous Pentagon investigations into Abu Ghraib, which excused all senior officers except for one reserve brigadier general who says, convincingly, that she was made a scapegoat. That Gen. Miller has now been obliged to hide behind a self-incrimination shield is mainly due to the tenacity of defense lawyers handling the court-martial cases of two Abu Ghraib dog handlers. The lawyers won a court order giving them the right to interview Gen. Miller. What's not yet clear is whether Army prosecutors and senior commanders are willing to stop protecting the general. Last year his superior, Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, rejected a recommendation by the military's own investigators that Gen. Miller be sanctioned for his performance at Guantanamo. Army prosecutors have obtained immunity for Col. Pappas; that should have been done only if they intended to use his testimony against more senior commanders. Unless charges are forthcoming against Gen. Miller, he could yet escape all responsibility for his actions -- even that of telling the truth.
THE floating book fair, Logos II, will be stopping at the Rockfort Cement Company Pier in Kingston next month for a four-week visit.
The ship will return to the island on February 11 and will remain in the island until March 12. However, it will not be docking in Montego Bay because of expansion work being carried out at the pier in that city. A press statement yesterday said that the Logos II was returning, although at the end of its 2004 trip to Jamaica it was announced that the ship would have been sent to dry dock and replaced by a new vessel, Logos Hope. However, the statement said the Logos Hope will not be ready for the high seas until 2007.
The upcoming visit by Logos II to Kingston is part of a world tour through Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.
In 2004, more than 101,000 Jamaicans boarded the book fair to buy books at below-cost price and participated in several programmes of Christian ministry conducted by the 200 volunteers from 50 countries.
From my archive of press clippings: (NOTE: The writer of this article is a former prime minister of Jamaica.) Jamaica Gleaner Remittances rescuing the Jamaican economy published: Sunday January 8, 2006
Edward Seaga, Contributor
JAMAICA ENJOYS one of the highest rates of remittance of money from overseas Jamaicans compared to other countries. In fact, remittances now top the list of foreign exchange inflows into Jamaica, exceeding tourism and bauxite/alumina. Indeed, after deducting outflows from all export earners, where applicable, retention from net remittances considerably exceeds all other foreign exchange inflows. Every dollar goes directly to the pocket or bank account of the recipients.
A comparison of how major export earning categories perform is very revealing. After outflows are deducted in each category to pay for imported requirements, the result shows a much different picture of the extent to which each contributes to the economy. Compare the net retention of the major foreign exchange earners in 2002:
Category US$ Million
Remittances 1204 Bauxite/Alumina 770 Tourism 389 Sugar 60.2 Rum 34.5
(NOTE: Both ganja, compressed or otherwise, and transhipped cocaine & weapons are omitted from this table.)
Remittances actually equal all other categories of foreign exchange inflows in terms of net retention in the economy.
The performance is even more startling. According to the World Bank Time for Action Report 2005, remittances are more than 100 per cent greater than foreign direct investment when each is measured as a percentage of GDP. What these figures are saying, is that remittances are now the mainstay of the external economy both in terms of contribution to the balance of payments and in providing disposable income for household expenditure. Some one million Jamaicans, it is estimated, benefit from these funds remitted to families and friends, or for private payments to Jamaican suppliers, or real estate investments.
STEADY INCREASE
A profile of the remittance inflows over the last 25 years shows that while there has been a steady increase over the years, a surge in receipts began in 1992 and has continued since then.
A report submitted by the Bank of Jamaica to the XXIX Annual Conference of Monetary Studies in Barbados, in 1997, argues that in Jamaica, "with contradictory policies, there may be a greater dependence of Jamaicans on relatives abroad to supplement the dwindling incomes". Conversely, "if macroeconomic policies are conducive to growth and expansion in the Jamaican economy, then with less unemployment, Jamaicans are expected to be less dependent on migrants for support".
The surge of migrant remittances since 1992 coincides with commencement of the stagnation in economic performance which has continued for more than a dozen years. In contrast, while the economy was stagnating, the poverty rate showed dramatic improvements beginning at the same time. This is expected since increased remittances would be a main contributor to poverty alleviation.
The correct social perspective of remittances must give due credit to Jamaican migrant families for standing behind their families in times of need when a stagnated economy fails to function. This should not detract from the efforts of the government's anti-poverty programme which would also have some success to its credit from other contributing factors. But real credit for lowering the poverty rate belongs moreso to the families abroad who care for Jamaicans in need at home.
THE ROLE OF MIGRANT FAMILIES
It is time to put the role of migrant families in perspective too. They are often discredited as lacking in attention and parental support for their children. While there are many who can be so condemned, the exceptional support given by Jamaican migrants to families at home includes children who are left behind in order to allow parents to find better means of support abroad.
Remittance flows peak in August and September, the two months involved in the re-opening of school. Another peak occurs in November and December, Christmas time, which is also involved primarily with children.
Jamaicans abroad also remit money for real estate purchases at home, whether as returning migrants or to make better provision for families left behind and for themselves when they visit or return. The Bank of Jamaica estimates that 15 per cent of remittances are pensions for returning residents who are returning at a rate of more than 2,000 per annum. These returning residents make real estate purchases which have become the principal area of expenditure of remittances. Migrant support from abroad serves not only the social purpose of dealing with the welfare needs of families and education of children, but economically, it spurs investment in housing and construction, generating employment and economic growth.
Given the broad-based, substantial contribution of remittances, the question arises as to what policy initiatives are in place to promote further growth.
According to the World Bank, 80 per cent of Jamaica's graduates of tertiary institutions are abroad. This figure is far higher than the corresponding data for other countries. A brain drain is the natural consequence of this outflow of higher-level talent, assuming that there are local job openings. There is good reason to believe that, for the most part, there is little shortfall of higher level skills in Jamaica. Migration of tertiary level skills ought not to affect the requirement for skilled personnel and would be a significant source of remittances given the higher level of salaries earned. But this assumption needs empirical research. Meanwhile, government should not hesitate to promote and assist tertiary-level education to take advantage of jobs available overseas.
STRONGER TIES WITH THE JAMAICAN DIASPORA
Other initiatives are possible and the appointment by Government of Vice Chancellor Emeritus the Hon. Rex Nettleford to head a unit to promote stronger ties with the Jamaican diaspora is a good move. Likewise, the organisation established by Jamaicans overseas to promote relations with Government is a step in the right direction. But I cannot help but believe that there is lots more that can be done over and above promoting goodwill. So little is known about the motivational forces which drive remittances that a specific in-depth study should be done to deepen the knowledge base on determinants of remittance flows. After all, we know practically all that there is to be known about the other two major foreign exchange earners: bauxite/alumina and tourism. Why not remittances too?
Edward Seaga is a former Prime Minister. He is now a Distinguished Fellow at the University of the West Indies. Email: odf@uwimona.edu.jm.
Can you imagine my shame and dismay when I read this. Over at Son of Clown Ops, there's a nice little post about that wonderful absurdity of Virginia life: Lee-Jackson-King Day. There I was, observing Martin Luther King Day all by itself, forgetting the true richness of American culture that L-J-K Day represents. I must do penance, expat transplant Virginian that I am.
PAUL CLARKE, Observer staff reporter Saturday, January 07, 2006
A 34-year-old British woman was yesterday slapped with an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of drug possession and dealing, when she appeared in the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court in Kingston. Christine Rodriguez, a canteen assistant of a London address, twice attempted to export ganja to England, the court heard.
Rodriguez, court files say, was booked to travel to London on Air Jamaica flight number 001, on the 21st of December 2005. However, when she was checking in for her flight, she was stopped and interviewed by the police at the Norman Manley International Airport. Her luggage was searched, and the compressed ganja was found concealed in four Dasheens weighing about 9 pounds. She was taken to court, where she was fined $9,600 for possession, $19,200 for dealing the drug and $48,000 for taking steps to export the weed.
Justice Martin Gayle also handed Rodriguez an 18-month sentence at hard labour.She was also given a two-month mandatory sentence by Gayle.
In a previous court appearance, Rodriguez was fined $11,400 for possession of ganja, $22,800 for dealing in and $57,000 for steps to export ganja.
Magistrate Gayle told Rodriguez that if the fines were not paid, the sentences would run concurrently, including the previous six-month sentence for the first offence.
Rotations are a system used at some of the larger posts whereby entry-level officers (ELO) rotate through a series of ELO positions within different sections of the embassy or consulate. The primary objective of rotation is to give as many ELOs as possible the benefit of the widest range of entry-level experiences within a mission.
Why does size matter?
In this instance, where a post only has one, for instance, entry-level consular position, that ELO is already getting experience in all aspects of consular work available at that mission.
Ideally, an ELO would have an opportunity to work in the various consular sections and at least one non-consular section within a mission, including a staff assistant position. Although some duty positions themselves incorporate a split tour between, for instance, consular work and political, or consular and economic sections, this way some "straight consular" positions don't leave an individual ELO trapped doing only NIV work for an entire two-year tour, or only IV work. Some posts work out a precise schedule for officer rotations, other do it in a less ordered manner, simply moving officers around whenever a new officer arrives at post.
Rotations are a good thing in that they allow a post to provide not only the broadest range of professional experience for new officers, but they can prevent or at least delay burn-out of new officers.
"Welcome to the Pocus! I am Italian-American living in Canada. I am blissfully wed to my soul mate, and we have two extraordinary, and therefore exigent, daughters. My passions are Italian folk magic, of which I am well-versed and a practitioner, and cooking. I come from a family of psychics and psychotics. It is not lost on me how blessed I am to have been afflicted with the former, and not the latter condition. I really relish in calling people on their bullshit, and I don't take any prisoners. I'm a nice person, really."
As of this posting, Abraca-Pocus! is #3700 in TTLB's Eco-System. {72}
Franklin Williams (second right), chief engineer and senior vice-president at the National Water Commission, makes a point yesterday to (from left) Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica, Zhao Zhenyu; Donald Buchanan, Minister of Water and Housing and Desmond Munroe, chief technical director at the ministry, while viewing a shipment of pipes from the People's Republic of China. - RUDOLPH BROWN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE GOVERNMENT yesterday received 52 40-foot containers of PVC water and sewer pipes valued at $160 million (US$2.5 million) from the People's Republic of China. They are to be used for water supply and sewage services across the island.
The shipment is the first of three, which are to arrive in the island within the next six to eight months, under the Jamaican Water Systems Rehabilitation and Extension Project.
The first shipment was unloaded yesterday on the grounds of the Mona Reservoir in Kingston. Minister of Water and Housing, Donald Buchanan, who received the shipment said that the pipes would improve the delivery of water in rural communities.
"This shipment from China will go a far way in accelerating the delivery of water, especially in our rural communities," he said.
SPECIFIC PROJECTS
Franklin Williams, chief engineer at the National Water Commission (NWC) told The Gleaner that the pipes have been earmarked for specific projects in rural areas such as Kellits in Clarendon; Goshen in St. James; the Albert Town Water Supply system in Trelawny; the Mile Gully Water Supply system in Manchester; Goshen in St. Elizabeth, among others.
The total shipment of pipes, with an overall value of $800 million (US$12.5 million), is the result of a concessionary loan agreement which was signed between the Jamaican Government and the government of the People's Republic of China in February 2004 and 2005.
The loan agreement has an interest rate of two per cent with a 20-year repayment period.
Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan would be the first to be held criminally liable in the Iraq abuse scandal. His supervisor, granted immunity, may testify. His former supervisor being Col. Pappas. (See also this article.)
By Richard A. Serrano and Mark Mazzetti, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — Army investigators have recommended that criminal charges be filed against a supervising military officer in the abuse of detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, according to Pentagon officials and legal documents obtained Thursday. Charges against Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, who was the top Army supervisor at the prison where detainees were frequently abused and sexually humiliated, would mark the first instance in which the Pentagon has sought to hold an officer criminally liable for the scandal that ignited a sharp anti-U.S. furor in the Arab world in 2004.
Nine low-level members of an Army Reserve military police unit have been convicted in connection with the abuse. A Pentagon official said the Army's Criminal Investigative Command had reviewed allegations against Jordan and recommended that he be charged with offenses that might include dereliction of duty and making false statements to military investigators about incidents at the prison outside Baghdad. In addition, documents in upcoming courts-martial of two Army dog handlers accused of threatening detainees with their animals show that Jordan's immediate supervisor, Col. Thomas M. Pappas, has been granted immunity from prosecution so he can testify in "any court-martial resulting from the investigation into alleged offenses committed by Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan." A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Jordan is the next guy in the scope. They're looking to prosecute him." In the cases against the dog handlers, Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, a top detention commander who led a team of experts to Abu Ghraib in 2003 to overhaul interrogation procedures, invoked his right against self-incrimination when called to testify. Miller's attorney denied that the move suggested possible wrongdoing.The Pentagon official said that Miller, once considered a rising star in the Army, was planning to retire. Jordan, who could not be reached for comment, has been reassigned to duty in Washington. His commanding officer, Maj. Gen. Guy C. Swan III, must decide whether to act on the Criminal Investigative Command's recommendations to bring charges. If action is taken, Jordan could face a court-martial and a possible prison term. Alan Chaset, a Washington lawyer who represented Jordan after revelations of the abuses at Abu Ghraib, said that the officer had been waiting for months to learn whether he would be prosecuted. "It's moved from the CID stage, and I wish I could speculate, but I have no specific information" about whether he will be charged, Chaset said. At Abu Ghraib, Jordan supervised the interrogation task force. According to accounts by those around him, Jordan failed to follow Army guidelines on the legal rights of prisoners, not reporting abuses he witnessed, The Times has previously reported. He was described as someone who worked to exhaustion, sometimes losing his composure and contributing to the chaotic situation at the crowded, understaffed facility. Jordan earlier invoked his right against self-incrimination when called to testify against lower-ranking soldiers in pretrial hearings in the Abu Ghraib case. In sworn statements, however, he has said that Pappas gave him too much authority and never properly supervised him. Pappas in his own sworn statements has called Jordan a "loner" and said "I failed in not reining him in." In nonjudicial punishment, Pappas last year was formally reprimanded and fined $8,000 for his role at the prison. He did not face criminal charges. His immunity deal in the dog handlers' case was reached Tuesday, the same day that Miller invoked his right against self-incrimination. Miller's decision and Pappas' immunity offer were first reported Thursday by the Washington Post. Miller's visit to Abu Ghraib in 2003 has been the subject of intense scrutiny, and several officers implicated in the scandal — including Pappas — have said that Miller recommended using military guard dogs to intimidate prisoners during interrogations. Miller has denied doing so in statements to military investigators. Maj. Michelle Crawford, a lawyer for the general, wrote in a statement to reporters Thursday that Miller stood by his previous testimony to investigators and to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Crawford added that neither she nor Miller were aware of Pappas' immunity deal when Miller invoked his right against self-incrimination. Last year, an investigation into abuses at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, recommended that Miller be reprimanded for failing to monitor abusive interrogation sessions. Miller was the commander of the Guantanamo prison at the time the interrogations occurred. The recommendation for a reprimand was rejected by Miller's supervising officer, Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock.
My previous description read as follows: A weblog by a former soldier and present-day U.S. foreign service officer. My views in no way represent anyone else's and perhaps not even my own since I might just be feeling a bit cranky about things for an unsupervised moment at the keyboard.
MEMBERS of a United States bi-partisan congressional delegation, currently visiting Jamaica, called on Prime Minister P J Patterson at his office yesterday.
According to a statement from Jamaica House, Patterson was congratulated by a member of the delegation, US Congressman Gregory Meeks, for the role he has been playing in bringing Caribbean countries closer together as a regional body.
Patterson, Jamaica House said, told members of the visiting team that his government was moving ahead with the diversification and modernisation of the economy, taking into consideration the challenges of gobalisation and the need to build a competitive economy.
He said that initiatives to liberalise and diversify the economy, to increase competitiveness and create greater access to stakeholders, had resulted in significant benefits.
On the matter of energy, rising oil prices were of great concern to the country given the fact that Jamaica is 95 per cent energy deficient, Patterson said, and that it was against this background that the country had entered into the Petrocaribe agreement with Venezuela.
He said that renewable sources of energy would have to be explored, including solar energy, wind, biogas, and coal which is being proposed for the 120 megawatt increase in generating power being prescribed for the Jamaica Public Service Company.
The eight US congressmen, who are also members of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus, arrived in the island on Wednesday on a familiarisation trip during which they will seek to improve relationships between the United States and the Caribbean. They leave tomorrow.
