Culture Shock: You Can Answer Your Phone Anywhere--Presidential Ceremonies no less

I arrived in Madagascar almost two years ago to open up an Office of Security Cooperation here in Antananarivo.

I had 10 years experience as a naval aviator, a fresh national security affairs master's degree and six weeks of the DoD specialized security cooperation training--I was screwed ready.

What none of this training prepared me for was the casual nonchalance military officers here will answer their phones.  I've been in meetings with the Minister of Defense, at Presidential ceremonies, seminars--neither the place nor the occasion matter.  If you get a phone call in Madagascar you are welcome to answer it.  

Even after two years this still catches me off guard.  In the American military the sacrilege of not having your phone silenced or turned off in a meeting, ceremony or seminar is so inculcated into one's DNA that the mere bumblee-ing cellular vibration in one's pocket can send shivers of psychological terror up one's spine.  

Here often time the officer won't even leave the table or room, he will just cup his hand over the phone and carry on a conversation with nary a side glance from the general or minister.  

I am still trying to figure out why this is acceptable.  Potential hypotheses include the fragility of life (i.e., life here is much more precarious so any phone call could literally be a life or death situation), lack of a real Plebe summer, lack of reverence for authority, etc.

Any other FAOs/FSO with similar experiences in their countries?

A Starter Reading List on Civil-Military Relations

While at NPS I took an excellent Civil-Military Relations Course from Dr. Tom Bruneau--many of these books come from his course.  The part that I enjoyed most about his course was that he distanced himself from the love affair with Huntington.  

Brooks stumbles in her "Socialist Military"--are we getting punk'd by Foreign Policy?

UPDATE:  I have decided to cut Brooks some slack.  The more I read her initial blog posts, the more I think readers must view her writing as a research-project-in-work.  Brooks is beginning her posts with a research question and a thesis statement of sorts that will no doubt be revised and fine-tuned in the coming months.  She is very open to comments/emails/critiques and I am confident her research sources and analysis will continue to improve.




Original Post:


Rosa Brooks' Welfare State: Meet America's Socialist Military annoyed me to no end because her analysis was so arbitrary and meandering.  Reading her follow up blog posts and her lack of research rigor (she uses USA Today as a source), I have to wonder whether we are getting punked by Foreign Policy??  If, however, FP's aim was to drive readership and begin a dialogue on military spending--WELL DONE.

Her basic thesis was (from what I could tell) that,

"These days, the same could be said of the American military. Is the military different from the rest of us? Yes -- it has more money."

And while she stated she was only looking for the facts, she obviously skewed those facts to favor her hypothesis.  There were two commenters that most aptly captured the main issues with her article.

Here's googooyou's (an unfortunate screen name that should not distract from his insight) great comments :

1. CBO caveats comparing military to federal civilian compensation and rightly so.  The biggest glaring example is that military are salaried whereas civilians are hourly.  Let's punch the time clock to see what soldiers actually are paid on an hourly basis and then see where compensation falls.  Interesting that the CBO report cited did not include postal, legislative, and judicial employees and excluded warrant officers from the military.

2. CBO in this report also analyzed enlisted soldiers versus federal civilians with high school diploma.  Given that today's enlisted personnel by the time they are NCOs will have a college degree, let's then make an accurate comparison of their pay for years in service and college degree versus federal civilian with college degree, and let's see how much less they actually make in comparison.

3. CBO's officer comparison is also off, since most officers will have a master's degree, so let's actually compare salaries of federal employees with master's degrees versus straight bachelor's.  Also, considering my small scope on things, having had many GS14-GS15's work for me who have half the time in service and less education than me, making more than me sure seems to go against what CBO is reporting here. Not to mention my comrades in State and other Agencies who make more than me with less time in service.

4. CBO reports are biased, not because CBO is necessarily biased, because CBO only goes off the parameters requested by the asking party.  In this case, it was from Dem Whip.  At least CBO dedicates an entire page to explaining reasons why comparison is difficult, although it makes some stupid assessments about intangible benefits like solidarity offsetting real costs of things like moving your family every 1-3 years.

5. Let's get a real estimate of what soldiers' compensation should be by just looking at what the government is willing, rather has to pay, security personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc as well as what the government has to pay federal civilians in those areas, then compare against military pay.  Let's start with security personnel making $160-$200 per day versus E-5 and below pay/compensation.  For equivalent college educated personnel at State and other Federal Agencies with the 75% plus compensation and other amenities on top of regular pay, versus junior office with equivalent college education.

6. Just because there are noncash benefits does not mean that all soldiers are able to use them.  Given housing costs in various areas, it is cost prohibitive to go to the commissary.  I also disagree with the cost comparison of the commissaries since I don't know where they get the figures since it seems where I shop on the economy is cheaper than the commissary, even if going to one wasn't cost prohibitive.  Plus, the commissary is famous for saying that you don't pay tax, but there is a surcharge, not to mention the baggage fees.  Same applies for recreation centers etc.  Medical care is a whole different animal considering, as anon12 said so well, it isn't so much a benefit as it is a requirement for readiness.  Given that it takes so many appointments to get anything done in the military health system these days, the costs seem to be more administrative bureaucratic ones rather than quality health care.  That cost should not be spread across as some compensation to military personnel.  I'd really like to see how CBO or other people actually calculate noncash benefits, because this is where the real fluff goes when trying to compare.

The English major in me loved Morgan Rock's comments:

I think the author needs to have a talk with her husband.  It seems she has a misunderstanding of the term "dangerous job".  I don't really understand how anyone with the slightest bit of understanding about the way the military works could write this article.  It seems like the kind of thing I would have seen over a decade ago in my high school AP english class... as an example of how not to write well-reasoned, coherent analysis pieces.  The title barely makes any sense in context with the article, and there doesn't seem to be one actual argument or theme to the whole thing.

Here's what I saw in the article (not all inclusive):

- The military gets too much money

- The military gets much more money than the State Department

- The military's benefits are unjustly higher than those in other civilian professions

- Civilians don't understand the military

- Civilians reflexively revere the military, with reverence approaching that of religion

- The military is being asked to do too much

- The military is overworked and deployed too much, too often

Which of these statements are the primary point of the article?  How does she reconcile the contradictory ideas?  Why should civilians NOT revere the military?  How SHOULD the military be compensated (or should civilians get the same "unsustainable" social programs)?  Good lord, this article is a mess.

LINKS:

January 2011 Congressional Budget Office: Analysis of Federal Civilian and Military Compensation

http://byothermeans.foreignpolicy.com/

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/07/19/welfare_state?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full

PGONism of the Week- BLUF

People love to BLUF in the Pentagon!  I can honestly say I never encountered this term until coming to work here in the PGON.  There is not a day (or two) that goes by that I don't see this term in a powerpoint brief or email...peoples be loving to get their BLUF on   let me reemphasize: people in the PGON love to use this term.

PGONism of the Week- BLUF

Of course this term means: Bottom Line Up Front.  It's most often used at the start of 124 slide powerpoints or circuitous homeresque emails.   And in this aspect, it is hugely valuable!  It allows the reader to assess the nature of the email or brief and then completely zone out of the brief or place the email in the appropriate .pst folder  frame their attention appropriately.


I only wish the users of the ubiquitous BLUF could be just a succinct in the rest of their writing.


The English major in me would like to add though that the general public knows "BLUF" by another name: The topic sentence.  A good topic sentence needs no acronym loudly belching its presence.


PGONism corollary:  When I first saw the term BLUF I immediately went to google to figure out what it meant and this website was the #1 result:


NSFW: http://www.bluf.com


No kidding, this is a website dedicated to Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub...yup, that kind of website.  So next time you use or see the word BLUF in a brief I want you to think about the "fraternal homosexual leather organization" and the smart-aleck LT that most likely (earned a fitrep bullet) coined the term BLUF.
FUUO's Pentagonisms:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/11/pgon-ism-of-week-circle-wagons.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/12/pentagon-ism-of-week-bandwidth.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/10/pgon-ism-of-week-missionary-work.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/09/pgonism-of-week-bluf.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/pgon-ism-of-week-across-river.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week-reaching-out.html

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/07/pentagon-ism-of-week.html

http://famousdc.com/2010/09/03/for-unofficial-use-only/

Website of the Week: Corporate Council on Africa

This week I'd like to highlight the Corporate Council on Africa's website:  http://africacncl.org/

The CCA is one of those organizations that does something.  They engage with businesses/investors and facilitate the dialogue necessary to develop Africa. 

Please check out their events (to include their frequent Working Group Breakfasts) and get involved.

Secretary Clinton "Speaks out" on Mass Rapes in the DRC...

One thing that struck me today was how long it took to get the word out to the public and for the mainstream media to pick up this story.  The horrific rapes occurred between 30 July and 3 August. 


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/08/25/congo.rapes.un/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Let's examine the timeline:

-IMC (International Medical Corps) stated they reported rapes to UN's Office of Humanitarian Affairs on 6 August (3 days after). 
-MONUSCO (UN forces there) state they found 12 August (9 day after).
-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks Tuesday saying he was "outraged." (22 days after)
-I found out and commented 20 days after.  State commented 22 days later. 
-Investigations are 'ongoing.'

       One item that has been continuously harped in various news articles is the fact that these atrocities occurred less than 20 miles from a UN outpost/headquarters (supposedly in Kibua, which is along the 529R Road from Walikale and Goma in the east).  I haven't been able to confirm this though (the main UN headquarters are clear across the country in Kinshasa and it's unclear where these 'headquarters within 20 miles' is physically located).

However, reviewing the attached maps boost one's situational awareness considerably.  20 miles in the Sud-Kivu (South Kivu) province may as well be 1000 miles in this densely forested area. 

The orange tack represents the town of Walikale (a mining town).  The 529R Road runs east from there to Goma.  The rapes have been reported to occur along this road. 

Here's a satellite shot of that road.  Looks like it would be pretty easy to hide away in...

 Some sources in the MONUSCO have stated that they came into the villages but that the rebels fled back into the woods (LFDR and Mai Mai.  However, the UN's official position now states they didn't know they were occurring till 12 August. 

   Also telling is the confusion in the basics of geography and succint language.  Among the incongruities:
-Some reports describe the atrocities as occuring in the eastern congo (vice Eastern DRC, which is the correct location).
-Others describe them as occurring in the town of Luvungi (google map this 'town', you won't find anything in the DRC despite one article describing as a small town with a population on 2,200, although I believe it is there, just not in the online databases I have searched).  
-Some call the province in which the rapes occurred as the North Kivu, others as the South Kivu.

 On the map to the left it clearly shows Goma in the Nord-Kivu (North Kivu) and the rapes happened due West (and a little North) from there, thus they DEFINTELY did not occur in Sud-Kivu.













-Some don't mention Luvungi at all and say the rapes occurred throughout 13 villages along a 20 km stretch in North Kivu (Banamukira territory).  FUUO's position is that this all occurred in North Kivu for the record and most likely within 10 miles of the village of Walikale (the orange tack a few maps above). 

STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE (my comments in italics)

Allegation of Mass Rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Washington, DC

August 25, 2010

________________________________


The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mass rape of women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – an armed, illegal rebel group that has terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade – and elements of the Mai Mai, community-based militia groups in eastern Congo.
Both groups deny the attacks but little is also known about these groups intel-wise...other than that they are bad news...I know of only one interview ever done with FDLR's leader. I was mistakenly referring to Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, who is also Bad news with a capital 'B'.
This horrific attack is yet another example of how sexual violence undermines efforts to achieve and maintain stability in areas torn by conflict but striving for peace.


The United States has repeatedly condemned the epidemic of sexual violence in conflict zones around the world, and we will continue to speak out on this issue for those who cannot speak for themselves. Less than a year ago, I presided over the UN Security Council session where Resolution 1888 (2009) was unanimously adopted, underscoring the importance of preventing and responding to sexual violence as a tactic of war against civilians. Now  the international community must build on this action with specific steps to protect local populations against sexual and gender-based violence and bring to justice those who commit such atrocities.


Sexual violence harms more than its immediate victims. It denies and destroys our common dignity, it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as humans, it endangers families and communities, it erodes social and political stability, and it undermines economic progress. These travesties, committed with impunity against innocent civilians who play no role in armed conflict, hold us all back.


When I visited the DRC last year, I learned an old proverb -- “No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come.” In the depths of this dark night of suffering and pain, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The United States will do everything we can to work with the UN and the DRC government to hold the perpetrators of these acts accountable, and to create a safe environment for women, girls, and all civilians living in the eastern Congo. 

There is no doubt that Secretary Clinton's statement is heartfelt and while a large portion of it strikes FUUO as rhetoric, that is only because she (State) are keenly aware of the monumental undertaking that must be done and achieved to create this 'safe environment
It is FUUO's belief that creating this safe environment means infrastructure.  And the ability to maintain that infrastructure.  We are talking about roads, mass transportation, effective and reliable communication, to name only a small portion of requirements)  This is not something that the United States is currently structured or positioned to do (or the UN for that matter...but I won't get started on that rant). 


But there is a way...but this will require a 'radical' departure in how the "Trinity" (DOD, State, AID) do business...

Pentagon Protester of the Week: The best part of waking up...

NOTE:  For those who don't know,  every Monday morning the Pentagon allows only the biggest idiots best and brightest dissenters to post up on the grassy area by the Metro entrance escalators and display their signs. 

This Monday the first sign I noticed coming up the escalator was:

"Turn swords into plowshares"

Which immediately made me think: what the heck is a plowshare.  Which led me to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plowshare
In agriculture, a plowshare (or ploughshare) is a component of a plow (plough). It is the cutting or leading edge of a moldboard which closely follows the coulter (one or more ground-breaking spikes) when plowing.
The plowshare itself is often a hardened blade dressed into an integral mouldboard (by the blacksmith) so making a unified combination of plowshare and moldboard, the whole being responsible for entering the cleft in the earth (made by the coulter's first cutting-through) and turning the earth over.
Okay, so our protester of the week Comrade Birkenstocks is obviously a fan of Michael Jackson's 1991 single Heal the World  or maybe just a fan of the book of Isaiah. 
     Either way, I took his sign to mean that we should take our swords and fashion them so as to be able to attach them to plows and become farmers instead of warriors. 
     I would love to get on board with him, unfortunately we don't use swords anymore and I don't see how to convert an M-16s or H-60 Seahawk onto a plow.  But maybe he could update his sign to:

Turn Search and Rescue helicopters into civilian Search and Rescue helicopters

or since there aren't too many weapons systems in use inside the Pentagon proper:

Turn desks into farmhouses or teepees

Article of the Week-Barron's Africa the Final Frontier

This is a HUGE article for Africa but I say that with MAJOR reservations.  I begin by saying before you invest a dollar there that you first read "Dead Aid" by Dambisa Moyo.  In her book she highlights the GROSS misuse of aid in Africa (almost an across the board misuse by the countries there on the continent) which leads me to think that if they can't manage "free money" why should I trust them with my money as an investment?!  Of course this question easily serves as a lead-in for one of the points of her book which is that it's easy for corrupt regimes to misue aid because there's so little oversight or repercussions, but you can only ripoff an investor once (hopefully).
   A couple of specific issues I had with the article:

1.  "The image of lawlessness, corruption, unstable governments, an inadequate infrastructure, uneducated or untrained people and an unwelcoming government attitude toward business serve as major deterrents.  That depiction is increasely mistaken" 

This is true for a select few countries (just look where our major defense contractors are investing), but by and large this still holds true.

2.  "People... are amazed to learn [that Africa] has transformed itself into one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, where banks haven't needed bailing out, no large companies have folded, with no accounting scandals and where the biggest problem businessman have is getting capital to finance growth."

Hahahahahah for so many of those naive 'jingoist' statements. 

If you don't have reliable stable banks (as we know them here) to begin with-of course they don't need bailing out. 

If you don't have large companies to begin with-of course they can't fold.

There may not have been any accounting scandals (an assertion I find hard to believe)- just civil wars and political scandals and coups.

3.  The article trumpets Nigeria as the next Brazil, which it has the 'opportunity' to become to be sure, HOWEVER there is still plenty of corruption to overcome before that happens.

4.  The author's assertion that China is "helping to raise income levels on the continent" is an very oversimplified view of China's involvement in Africa!  Then the author continues to laud China's efforts at building infrastructure on the continent which is well and good, but completely ignores the detrimental effects of building infrastructure without also building the capacity to sustain and maintain that infrastructure!  (See Howard French's The Next Empire from the May issue of The Atlantic Monthly for more on China in Africa)

5.  "The consumer growth potential is huge...While many are very poor, incomes generally are rising, thanks to globalization and China's hefty appetite from commodities."

Are you serious?!  'Very poor' is a gross understatement and is also very lazy!  Please tell us Vito 'how poor' they are because most Americans can't even begin to fathom just how poor they are. 

Furthermore, what does 'generally are rising' mean?!  More sloppy journalism!  How long have they been rising?  In what countries or regions? From what $365 a year to $367?  Give us a scale to work with! 

Finally, it would be more accurate to say 'thanks to China's pillaging of their natural resources.'

To get a sense on China's involvement in Africa, go to Professor Brautigam's thoughtful blog:
http://www.chinaafricarealstory.com/


    Now none  of this is to say that there isn't infinite potential for Africa, but our financial investment there needs to be done thoughtfully and in a manner that is globally responsible.
     Most of these countries are in their infancy and have been taken advantage of for far too long.  The people of Africa deserve to engaged in the process and not merely looked at as pawns in a game of corporate investment chess!

PGON-ism of the week: "Across the River"

Get more than two O-6s (or three O-5s, or one O-4, or four obnoxious O-3s) in a conference room, office, starbucks, subway, bathroom, sauna, or weight room (all things which the PGON has) and you are sure to hear the phrase "across the river".

I was a note-taker for a conference last week and I must have heard this phrase hundreds of times. 

The 'river' in this case is the mighty Potomac which is all that separates (physically at least) DOD (Department of Defense) from the rest of the government.  Sometimes this refers to the State Department (usually though they are "Foggy Bottom") but more often than not this refers to Congress or the Executive Branch, pour example:

"Until we get buy-in (future PGON-ism) across the river, we are just spinning our wheels.  We need to start leveraging (future PGON-ism) our OLA contacts"

translation:

"Until Congress allocates money for this, we are wasting our time.  We need to start prank-calling some of those OLA Lieutenants (we'd have lunch with them but Capitol Hill trips requires whites which we try to avoid at all costs)."

Again, as with all PGON-isms, the beauty is in the vagueness of the term.  The first sentence of the above quote could be referring to state department which is great if you aren't really sure what is needed to get something done.

Bonus question:  The canal below is NOT the potomac, what was the original vision (and whose vision was it) for this canal?

Excited for this event next week: China's Engagement with Africa

This should be a great event and I am excited I get to attend this!  One of the myriad reasons I love my job...yup, I said it.  I work in the PGON and I said I love my job!  One of the speakers at the event Deborah Brautigam has a great blog whose link is on the sidebar of my blog. 

Diplomat's Daily Quotable- U

Useful: "There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy but to one there is no exception.  When an official reports that talks were useful, it can be safely be concluded that nothing was accomplished." 
-John Kenneth Galbraith, 1969

Wait, you are supposed to accomplish stuff in 'talks' and meetings?  I thought they were just to get you out of the office!

CNO dishes on fish...OR Fish is the new cocaine

Important article from the globe...nowhere are territorial fishing rights more important than in Africa, specifically West Africa!  The global shwarming aside, this article highlights the incredible global revenue fishing yields.  

   It's estimated that West Africa's overall inability to stop illegal fishing off of it's shoreline cost those countries in excess of $1 billion a year.  More to come on this.

As the world’s ice melts, the Navy’s role grows

WHEN THE chief of naval operations of the United States starts rattling off global fishing statistics without notes and frets about climate change like an MIT scientist, we should all stand at attention. If Admiral Gary Roughead had his way, it would be full speed ahead toward a military strategy that considers not just nukes and nutty dictators, but also oceanic food resources and melting Arctic ice.

“All I know is that there’s a lot more water out there,’’ Roughead said in a meeting last week with the Globe editorial board.

Roughead joked that lots of water is great for a Navy guy, but he otherwise was quite serious. He noted how the growth of China’s navy runs parallel to the explosive growth of that nation’s fishing operations, similar to how the British and Dutch royal navies of centuries past grew to protect their seafaring mercantile trade. Roughead said China now accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s fishing. According to a 2009 United Nations report, China’s marine and inland fish captures reached 17 million tons, equaling the next three countries of Peru, the United States, and Indonesia combined.

Roughead also said the potential for conflict is growing, with fishing fleets of many nations now traveling around the world to plunder waters after depleting stocks close to home. The UN says 52 percent of the world’s fish stocks are already fully exploited and another 27 percent are overexploited or depleted. But in a world where marine and inland capture was worth $91 billion in 2006, the exploiting will still go on without global cooperation, and many developing countries are already angry that more developed countries are conducting industrial-scale fishing off their shores.

Parallel to that, Roughead said that the melting Arctic creates all kinds of issues as more water is freed up for fishing, shipping and mineral exploration. The United States, Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark (via Greenland) have made new claims for territory, prompting Chinese naval Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo to say four months ago, according to the China News Service, “The Arctic belongs to all the people around the world as no nation has sovereignty over it . . . China must play an indispensable role in Arctic exploration as we have one-fifth of the world’s population.’’

For Roughead, that means that the United States needs to become an indispensable player in the global marine legal arena. The first step, he said, is for Congress to finally approve the UN Law of the Sea Convention. The convention has 160 signatories, but not the United States. It creates a global structure for using the oceans. The Obama administration and the preceding Bush administration, as well as other military leaders, support the treaty. But hard-line conservatives and some business interests have blocked passage in the Senate, saying the United States would cede too much to the UN in territorial sovereignty and resource rights.

Roughead said these burgeoning sea issues mandate that the United States sign the treaty “so we have a seat at the table. The Arctic makes it imperative.’’ In congressional testimony in March, he said, “Not being a party to this Convention constrains efforts to develop enduring maritime partnerships, inhibits efforts to expand the Proliferation Security Initiative (the United States-led effort to stop trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, including sea smuggling), and elevates the level of risk for our sailors as they undertake operations to preserve navigation rights and freedoms.’’

Roughead argued that a more orderly ocean would actually allow the United States to “expand its sovereign rights to the increasingly accessible outer continental shelf areas of the resource-rich environment of the Arctic.’’

When the Navy’s head of operations talks about the continental shelf as well as how much fish is being caught by whom and can see melting ice having a direct impact on geopolitical relations, that is all the more reason we need to understand that our vast waters have their environmental and political limits. We need to understand those limits before water becomes a source of war.

Derrick Z. Jackson can be reached at jackson@globe.com.

Diplomat's Daily Quotable- L

Diplomat's Daily Quotable:

Leaders, incompetent enemy: "When the enemy is poorly led, finish him off fast.  Do not give him time to discover more competent leadership by the process of elimination."

The above quote is in honor of Karate Kid-- 'put him in a bodybag Johnny!'

Leadership, essence of: "All fo the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time.  This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership."  -John Kenneth Galbraith

Galbraith was an influential intellectual as well as an Ambassador to India under Kennedy.  He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1946 from President Truman and from President Clinton in 2000. 

The Third Law of the Navy

One would think that General McChrystal (and his staff) would show more restraint when they knew what they said would most likely be published.  I think this speaks to the type of Command Climate/Culture he allowed to permeate and exist. 
   It would be unfathomable for me to think of saying the same things to a reporter about my current (or any past) bosses/skippers/commodores.  It's something an inexperienced ensign, midshipman, or junior enlisted might do.  But for a 4-star and his staff to think that type of behavior is not only acceptable but funny--that's worrisome to me. 
    And for those who say, cut him some slack-these guys are the warfighters-with the boots on the ground-putting their lives at risk everyday-we couldn't know unless we were there fighting--I say those are BS excuses.  Just because you are in combat doesn't mean ALL order and discipline go totally out the window...ESPECIALLY in front of a reporter.

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotables- K

Knowledge: "[An ambassador] must be an indefatigable reader, else he is sure to fail, as a soldier who should be indfferent to physical exercise."  -Bishop Germonius, 1627

Knowledge of foreign nations: "The temper, qualities, and limitations of many a man can be divined on short acquaintance; those of a nation need longer contact."   -J.J. Jusserand, 1924

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotable

Jokes: "Most jokes entertain through plays on words, double entendres, the clever alteration of clichés, anecdotes embellishing individual or group stereotypes, or surprise twists to apparently familiar stories...
So it is a rare joke that translates effectively across a linguistic or cultural divide.  That is why interpreters generally wince when speakers being to tell one."

Jokes, friendship: "Shared laughter is a step toward friendship."

Justice, charity: "Charity is no substitute for justice withheld."   -St. Augustine.

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotable

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotable:

Hatred, cure: "The only cure for hatred is a brave act of love."

This one is probably my favorite quote thus far! 

Humility, virtue of: "Never seem wiser or more learned than the people you are with."

-Lord Chesterfield, 1748

Humility is the lost virtue of the 20/21st century.

Humor, sense of: "It's better to have a sense of humor than no sense at all."

-Mark Twain

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotables

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotables

Geography: "Geography is destiny."

-Chinese Military aphorism

Government, weak: "You can tell a weak government by its eagerness to resort to strong measures."

-Benjamin Disraeli

Gratitude: "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you.  This is the principle difference between a dog and a man."

-Mark Twain

Gratitude: "Nations are never so grateful as their benefactors expect."

-Wellington, 1814

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotable

We are in the E's today!

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotable:

Enemies, contact with: "In diplomacy, as in war, one should never lose contact with the enemy."

Enemies, hating:  "Never hate your enemies, it affects your judgment."

Enemies, importance of choosing: "Enemies should be made on purpose and not by inadvertence."

Diplomat's Dictionary Daily Quotable- A

In addition to a poem of the week, I will also begin including a quote of the daily taken from the Diplomat's Dictionary (by Chas W. Freeman, Jr.). 
   Today's quote emphasizes the importance of involvement and really- just being present.  I would add the caveat that perhaps a long term absence would portend a long period of being wrong...thus why we need to engage, why we need to be present not just when crisis arises.

"The absent are always wrong."
-French Proverb