If you needed more evidence that those in power have no respect for the Foreign Service, just check out this article:
Prisoner? No, Your Honor, I’d Rather Be a Diplomat
Yes, you read that correctly.
It seems that former NY state senator Vincent L. Leibell III, pleaded guilty in December to corruption charges, is going to be sentenced in two weeks, and prosecutors want him to spend two years in prison.
Leibell (R - Putnam Co.) has a better idea.
He wants to be a diplomat, maybe someplace like Iraq or Libya.
He of course has no experience and doesn't speak any of the languages used there, but then again, maybe he thinks his corruption experience would help him deal with any corrupt officials he met with.
Oh, and then he'd like to get a Master's in Diplomacy.
Even Leibell’s successor in the Senate, former Air Force officer Gregory R. Ball, a former Air Force officer, doesn't get it. He called the proposal a “slap in the face to all troops.”
No, it isn't.
It is a slap in the face to all diplomats.
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7 comments:
How very sad.
I can't imagine how he'd pass the security investigation.
Did they remove that whole security background check thing from the process and forget to tell us? Mr. Leibell can get in line behind the rest of us who are more qualified and less criminal.
I thought about that as well...all FSOs need at least a TS clearance, in some cases an even higher clearance. Last time I checked, a recent criminal background made that difficult to get.
AFSA will be sending in a letter today expressing our outrage and clarifying that FS members are held to the highest standards of integrity and honesty.
I am very glad to hear that.
When I first read the article last week I couldn't help but ..chuckle.. that this guy was suggesting going to parts of the world that believe in wasta and protexia - and while neither is "corruption" per se... for a guy being convicted of corruption - if we sent him there it seems it'd only be a matter of time before he was up to no good.... I'm glad to hear that AFSA is sending a letter...
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