Bipartisan panel (ISG) urges agencies to order civilians (Federal Employees) to Iraq

[CreekDog]

Federal employees, family and friends, watch out:

Bipartisan panel (ISG) urges agencies to order civilians to Iraq

kicker: "if not enough volunteer..."civilian agencies must fill those positions with directed assignments."


With the situation in Iraq "grave and deteriorating," the United States must begin the process of shifting troops out of the country, members of a bipartisan panel said Wednesday. But at the same time, the group recommended, the Bush administration must make sure that it has sufficient civilian personnel in Iraq -- if necessary, by ordering some employees to serve there.

...

To address the problem, the group recommended that the secretaries of State and Defense and the Director of National Intelligence put the "highest possible priority" on language and cultural training for military personnel and civilian employees about to be assigned to Iraq. And, the report said, if not enough of the latter group volunteer to go to the country, "civilian agencies must fill those positions with directed assignments."

http://govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=35621&dcn=todaysnews

Yikes.

[CreekDog]

1. All these smart people, some Democrats

Always think that to solve the problem in Iraq, other people should be FORCED to go there and risk their lives.

Well, as soon as Leon Panetta, Lee Hamilton, James Baker, et al go to Iraq themselves for extended duty, I will consider their opinion.

But if their solution is to send OTHER civilians and not go themselves, then forget them. It's easy to say someone else should go, that's how we got there in the first place.

[anotherdrew]

12. exactly the whole damn ISG should have been conducted in bagdad, first hand n/t

[IndianaGreen]

2. What a wonderful idea!

Perhaps some of those DOD civilians that support Bush and the war will experience a "road to Damascus" conversion if they know they are going to Iraq.

[CreekDog]

3. I don't think it's a wonderful idea, but I'm a fed, so I'm biased

They are talking about sending Feds from Justice, Agriculture and Treasury among others.

And most Feds are Democrats.

[IndianaGreen]

15. You can only be ordered to Iraq if you are a fed under NSPS

so if you work for Homeland Security or DOD, they can pretty much deploy you anywhere. I think NSPS is in litigation for Homeland Security.

Of course, the schedule C people can be sent anywhere, but they are all Republicans.

[rurallib]

8. Should have added RW radio talkers and bloggers also.

To show how democracy really works.

[Target_For_Exterm]

4. "Directed" = RepublicanSpeak for new draft

[CreekDog]

5. Leon Panetta and Lee Hamilton were on that panel

Leon, don't plan on running for anything in California.

You helped enable a "solution" that has been tried, but will force yet another group of people to partcipate in getting killed.

Thanks Leon, you are brilliant.

PS-Leon, I assume you are going since it's such a great idea.
When do you ship out?

[mcscajun]

6. Yikes, indeed. I have a friend in the DoD who's fairly high-ranked

and very highly skilled. The good news is, she does NOT have any Arabic language fluency whatsoever. I certainly hope she does not have to even think about going there, regardless of her politics.

[Pastiche423]

7. I am confused

Do all Fed civilans undergo military training?

What am I missing here?

On edit: spellin'

[CreekDog]

9. No, all Feds do not go through military training

For civilians, the Iraq mission would be a civilian mission.

There are already Federal Employees in Iraq, but thus far it has been on a voluntary basis. However, the Federal Government can pretty much assign you wherever it wants. I'm not clear if that means you can be shipped outside the US, but I believe it can be done.

It's clear that what they are trying to do is build civil institutions to provide a stable governance there. Of course, they had that before we invaded, but they dismantled the entire government and chaos ensued. So, they say that sending American revenue agents, food inspectors, prosecutors and legal experts, we can train the Iraqi civilians to have a stable, civil society.

Are these experts dumb as rocks?

The answer is yes. This has been another edition of simple answers...

[Pastiche423]

10. Good lord! How frightening

I never knew the govmint could do that.

[CreekDog]

11. considering sending the following letter to Mr. Panetta, member of ISG

Mr. Panetta,

Consider me a former supporter of you, Mr. Panetta. I had hoped that you would run for governor or other public office, however, your work on the Iraq Study Group has made me decide I could never support you or your organization in any capacity.

The recommendations to send yet more people to partipate in being killed in Iraq in largely the same manner as has been going on for military personnel and civilian contractors is a travesty that is not worthy of an idea that "experts" would produce.

What is worse is that a part of the "solution" you propose is forcing civilian employees to go to Iraq if enough of them do not volunteer, yet among the members of the commission, I see no committment to participate in the solution the ISG has advocated by going to Iraq themselves on extended missions.

That you participated in this is a disgrace, and it's something that you could have spoken out against within the group or in public.

The point of being part of an expert group is to come up with a good idea. Any 3 year old can preside over a commission whose solution is to change nothing except perhaps send more people in.

Egads. Please retire.

Sincerely,

[LynnTheDem]

13. "order civilians to Iraq"...that would be a

DRAFT.

[Amonester]

14. Uh... will "they" have the choice to resign, or will they be sent to

Gitmo and tortured there if they refuse?

I know the Bu$h Castle in Iraq (the "bloated" US Embassy of an Embarrassment...) risks of being "empty" for quite some time, but do they really have to go?

[cap]

16. i dont think they can be ordered to go there on anything else

but temporary assignment ... there are civil service laws about this. ... but we all know about temporary assignments being extended from the experiences of the Reserve.

[divineorder]

17. Those employees would be insurgent bait.

Leon and Lee I have a better and safer idea: why not hire back all those former Baathist people you let go in the first place? Or have some of those overpriced mercenary people do some typing? At least they are ready to handle what's coming down the pike.

Of course, the best idea would be to simply pull out. Nothing is going to look like a government until one of the insurgent chiefs comes out on top and actually forms one. Nobody takes our efforts in Iraq seriously enough-they know we can't impose our will and are leaving anyway.