http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/diplomats/ en-us Tue, 1 Jul 2008 17:54:26 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039294/posts BELGRADE, Serbia: Serbian authorities have started a disciplinary procedure against two of its diplomats accused of helping a Serbian college basketball player flee the U.S. after being charged with severely beating a classmate, a radio station reported Monday. The Serbian Foreign Ministry said it will "be extremely efficient" in solving the case of Miladin Kovacevic, Belgrade's independent B92 radio reported, without providing any details about what it would do. The 6-foot-9-inch (2.05-meter), 260-pound (118-kilogram) Kovacevic, who was recruited to play basketball for Binghamton University in upstate New York, was arrested after a May 4 fight at a downtown Binghamton bar... www.iht.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039294/posts#comment Tue, 1 Jul 2008 17:54:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026472/posts HARARE, Zimbabwe - U.S. diplomats and British colleagues were attacked as they tried to investigate political violence in Zimbabwe, American officials said Thursday. The U.S. ambassador reportedly blamed the incident on President Robert Mugabe's government. "Police put up a roadblock, stopped the vehicles, slashed the tires, reached in and grabbed telephones from my personnel, and the war veterans (Mugabe's supporters) threatened to burn the vehicles with my people inside unless they got out and accompanied police to a station nearby," Reuters quoted U.S. Ambassador James McGee as saying. McGee said he believes the orders of intimidation are "coming directly from... MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2026472/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 14:57:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993465/posts Rift between UK diplomats and Army in Basra By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 1:13am GMT 29/03/2008 British forces are facing increasing pressure to intervene in fighting in southern Iraq after government efforts to defeat Shi'ite militias in Basra ground to a halt. Signs of a rift were growing among British officials as diplomats said that UK forces "stand ready to support" Iraqi soldiers as and when requested, contradicting military statements that UK forces would be confined to "niche" roles. Fighting in Basra, Baghdad and the central town of Kut has claimed at least 100 lives this week... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993465/posts#comment Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:57:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963441/posts WASHINGTON - More and more, top government diplomats are straying from official Bush foreign policy as the administration wanes, leaving Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice struggling to keep them in check. Twice just this week, Rice and her aides had to rebuke, disavow or otherwise try to explain away public words or actions by three top officials on delicate affairs ranging from North Korea and Iran to the violence in Kenya. The trouble began on Jan. 17, when Jay Lefkowitz, the special U.S. envoy for human rights in North Korea, delivered a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think-tank... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963441/posts#comment Fri, 1 Feb 2008 21:27:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1944783/posts A senior United Nations official and the acting head of the European Union's mission in Afghanistan were expelled from the country Thursday after the government accused them of holding talks with the Taliban and giving the group cash. UN officials have denied the allegations. Analysts say the incident reflects divisions over growing efforts to neutralize the Taliban by negotiating with their tribal alliances. The two men, whose expulsion was announced Tuesday, left Kabul Thursday morning, reports Reuters. UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said the UN staffer had left on Thursday morning on a regular chartered flight to neighbouring Pakistan. Diplomats in... CSM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1944783/posts#comment Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:58:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926638/posts The State Department expects to announce, perhaps as early as today, that volunteers have filled all 48 open jobs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for next year and that it will not order any foreign service officers to work there against their will, officials said yesterday. Volunteers for the last three or four positions are currently being vetted. Once that process is completed, a senior department official said, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will ask personnel officers to assure her that everyone selected "does in fact have the right skill sets" and meets all requirements before an announcement is... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926638/posts#comment Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:19:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926421/posts The State Department is backing down for now from forcing diplomats to serve in Iraq this summer because enough have volunteered to work in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and in outlying provinces, officials said Thursday. Three foreign service officers who signed up for the last of the 48 vacancies have won tentative approval. Once personnel panels give a formal OK, the department will announce it will not need to enforce a plan for the forced assignments, the officials said Thursday. That word could come as early as Friday, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1926421/posts#comment Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:44:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1921757/posts The ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee has called on the President to fire State Department personnel who refused to be deployed to Iraq and replace them with wounded veterans at Walter Reed and Bethesda Hospitals. “We have a lot of wounded warriors at the [military] hospitals -- a pool of great talent,” Rep. Duncan Hunter (R.-Cal.), the last Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and now a candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in ’08, told me outside the White House last week. Hunter was going to a meeting with President Bush as well as... HUMAN EVENTS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1921757/posts#comment Tue, 6 Nov 2007 17:49:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917188/posts WASHINGTON — In the largest call-up of U.S. diplomats since the Vietnam War, the State Department is planning to order some of its personnel to serve at the American Embassy in Iraq because of a lack of volunteers.Those designated "prime candidates" — from 200 to 300 diplomats — will be notified Monday that they have been selected for one-year postings to fill the 40 to 50 vacancies expected next year. They will have 10 days to accept or reject the position. If not enough say yes, some will be ordered to go to Iraq and face dismissal if they refuse,... Associated Press via FOXNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917188/posts#comment Sat, 27 Oct 2007 14:21:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875003/posts Fearing Iraq Pullout, State Boosting Private Chopper Force August 01, 2007 4:59 PM Kirit Radia Reports: Fearing an imminent drawdown of U.S. troops and equipment from Iraq amid escalating violence, the State Department is hiring its own private helicopter squad to ferry its personnel around the country. Government military contractors Blackwater, DynCorp and Triple Canopy are the only three companies competing for the contract, possibly valued at more than $100 million a year for up to the next five years, sources tell ABC News. The requirements call for approximately 20 helicopters with maintenance, storage and crew to ensure 24-hour availability.... abcnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875003/posts#comment Thu, 2 Aug 2007 01:07:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1868491/posts Four UK diplomats expelled as Russia retaliates By Matthew Moore and agencies Last Updated: 4:47pm BST 19/07/2007 Russia has expelled four British diplomats from Moscow, in tit-for-tat retaliation for the expulsion of four of its own officials earlier this week. Moscow will also halt co-operation in the war on terror David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, branded the move "completely unjustified" and said the Government would be doing all it could to ensure their families are properly looked after. Moscow also announced that it would withhold future co-operation with Britain in the war on terror, and stop issuing visas to British... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1868491/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:01:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866986/posts Putin vows revenge as Britain expels diplomats By David Blair, Diplomatic Correspondent, and Adrian Blomfield in Moscow Last Updated: 3:07am BST 17/07/2007 Russia threatened Britain with "serious consequences" last night after David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, revived memories of the Cold War by announcing that four Russian diplomats were to be expelled from London. President Vladimir Putin: emboldened by Russia’s growing economic strength The decision showed how Anglo-Russian relations have sunk to their lowest ebb since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. Mr Miliband said that Britain had no choice but to send a "clear and proportionate signal" to Moscow... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866986/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jul 2007 02:49:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864630/posts Britain is poised to expel Russian diplomats for the first time in a decade in protest at Moscow's refusal to extradite the chief suspect in the murder in London of a KGB defector.The option is one of several being considered by Downing Street after Moscow formally refused to hand over Andrei Lugovoi, a suspect in the poisoning of the former agent Alexander Litvinenko last November. The expulsions would be reminiscent of former Cold War rows between Moscow and London and almost certainly prompt similar retaliation by the Kremlin. Incensed by Russia's refusal to co-operate in the inquiry into Mr Litvinenko's... London Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864630/posts#comment Thu, 12 Jul 2007 04:28:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770666/posts Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA website Baghdad, 20 January: Five Iranian diplomats arrested in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil nine days ago could be released this week, an Iranian envoy said here Saturday [20 January]. Speaking to IRNA, Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Hasan Kazemi-Qomi said that the Iraqi government has promised to free the diplomats. "The host country is responsible for safeguarding diplomatic bureaus and missions. The Iraqi government has made efforts to release the Iranian consular officials since the early hours of this incident," he said. US forces broke into Iran's consulate in... BBC Monitoring http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770666/posts#comment Sat, 20 Jan 2007 13:30:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1761800/posts THE ZOA MIDDLE EAST REPORT Wednesday, Jan.03.07 Join us as we speak with Amb. Moshe Arens, about his latest (and brilliant, as always) article in which he discusses the issues Israel must consider in responding to Syria; and Scott W. Johnson,of POWERLINEBLOG.com. Scott has been pursuing a story for more than a decade: that the US had factual, timely proof that Yassir Arafat was behind both the murder of two US diplomats in Khartoum in 1972, and the Munich Massacre, 6 months earlier. Scott has finally been vindicated - we'll discuss how, and why the US lied about it for... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1761800/posts#comment Wed, 3 Jan 2007 16:06:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1687482/posts KINSHASA, Congo (AP) -- The U.N. said Monday it had launched a military operation to rescue foreign diplomats inside the besieged home of a Congo presidential candidate. AP News Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1687482/posts#comment Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:43:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1657714/posts MOSCOW -- Russian lawmakers yesterday unanimously blamed the United States for the deaths of four Russian diplomats in Iraq, highlighting growing tensions between the two countries ahead of a meeting of Group of Eight foreign ministers in Moscow today. Moscow also demanded in a proposed U.S. Security Council resolution that coalition forces in Baghdad provide better security for diplomats. The United States and Britain resisted the resolution. President Vladimir Putin instructed Russian security services to find the killers and "destroy" them. "The tragedy that occurred recently in Iraq was only possible because of the growing crisis in the country as... THE WASHINGTON TIMES http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1657714/posts#comment Thu, 29 Jun 2006 13:53:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1653271/posts Baghdad. In a statement published in Internet by the organization Mudjahidin Shura announced that the Russian diplomats had been executed, CNN reports. The info has Echo of Moscow Radio announced. CNN via Focus English News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1653271/posts#comment Wed, 21 Jun 2006 20:50:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635442/posts American diplomats have been instructed not to keep classified material on 16,000 newly purchased computers because the manufacturer is partly-owned by the Chinese government.Richard Griffin, the assistant secretary of state, told Congress he would ensure that the machines did not "compromise our information and communication channels". The row erupted when a congressman raised questions about the purchase of machines from Lenovo, the world's third biggest personal computer maker. The company is 28 per cent owned by a state-controlled Chinese entity. At least 900 of the computers were to be used by diplomats at embassies around the world and would have... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1635442/posts#comment Sat, 20 May 2006 14:37:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1618669/posts BERLIN, April 20 (Reuters) - European diplomats on Thursday dismissed as unacceptable a suggestion that Iran take a brief "technical pause" from its nuclear enrichment activities in an attempt to revive collapsed negotiations with the EU. Several diplomats told Reuters that Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), discussed this idea with Iranian officials during a visit to Tehran last week and hoped it could revive collapsed negotiations with the "EU3" -- France, Britain and Germany. But European Union diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was unacceptable and reiterated that Iran had to... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1618669/posts#comment Fri, 21 Apr 2006 01:50:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1616287/posts LONDON, April 17 (IranMania) - Tehran is replacing 60 of its ambassadors, or around half the total, Iran's deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying, while rejecting any talk of a purge by ruling hardliners, AFP reported. "Some media said the changes were due to political reasons while it is not true. Rotating the diplomats every year is natural in the foreign ministry," Mehdi Mostafavi said. Following the shock election win of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2005, authorities had announced that around 40 of Iran's most senior diplomats posted abroad were being changed. Many of these diplomats were seen... IranMania http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1616287/posts#comment Mon, 17 Apr 2006 07:09:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605796/posts Peoria man pleads guilty in diploma mill case Latest News more>> Truck pulling horse trailer full of illegals crashes SPOKANE, Wash. An Arizonan has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors for his role in a gigantic diploma mill operation. Richard John Novak pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Spokane, Washington, to conspiracy and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Novak, who formerly lived in Spokane and now lives in Peoria, could face up to ten years in prison and (m) millions of dollars in fines. Novak is the second person to reach a plea agreement with the Justice Department... KVOA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605796/posts#comment Thu, 30 Mar 2006 00:56:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1570568/posts Diplomats Visit Panjshir Reconstruction Team The Panjshir team is the first of its kind -- a joint effort between Combined Joint Task Force-76 and the U.S. Embassy. By U.S. Army Maj. T.G. Taylor 20th Public Affairs Detachment BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Feb. 2, 2006 — Diplomats from around the world visited the new Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team in Panjshir Province on Jan. 21 to view the progress of the reconstruction efforts. "This was an excellent opportunity to see how [the team] worked on the ground. The visit was a good opportunity to see this new type of integration of military... Defend America News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1570568/posts#comment Fri, 3 Feb 2006 00:30:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1560871/posts Washington is planning to move hundreds of its diplomats from Europe to the Middle East and the Asian powers, such as China or India. "America must begin to reposition our diplomatic forces around the world," the US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice said in a speech to students at Georgetown University on Wednesday (18 January), the BBC reported. She pointed out that it is not normal to have as many diplomats in Germany, with 82 million people, as in India with 1 billion people. Adding that there are still almost 200 world cities of over a million inhabitants without any... EUobserver http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1560871/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jan 2006 13:25:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1560643/posts WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today highlighted the importance of promoting a more cooperative working relationship between American diplomats and the U.S. military in order to achieve global objectives. "Over the past 15 years, as violent state failure has become a greater global threat, our military has borne a disproportionate share of post-conflict responsibilities because we have not had the standing civilian capability to play our part fully," she said in a speech at Georgetown University here. "This was true in Somalia, in Haiti, in Bosnia, in Kosovo and it is still partially true in... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1560643/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jan 2006 01:03:54 GMT