It's getting hard to keep things in perspective. I went from
dealing with the serious issues left by the recent threat and meeting
with embassy staff (American & local) to discuss this with them
to a phone call from the Director General. You can bet on how I
looked forward to the Ops Center connecting him to me. Sure enough,
not good news. Not a late recognition of my deserving advancement or
a word on how well I was handling the current crisis. No, he wanted
to tell me that AID Director* thought he had not been treated well
enough during his recent visit. Then I went to see the Egyptian
ambassador for a scotch and a chat. I enjoy talking with him. Home
for dinner and then after dinner, I discover the back lights are out.
In the current context, makes me predisposed to paranoia. Then I
talk to USAID Washington about a food shipment being held up by a
rebellious Agriculture Minister. There is an open feud over this
pitting the Minister against the Vice President (and "strong man")
and Foreign Minister who told us last month that we could ship
despite GOS concerns over GMOs. (Hardliners vs "moderates.")
The senior USAID official (who was on the trip) told me we have only
days before the food problem will lead to costly diversions. (But
"no", he knew of no problem with Andrew.) Then the RSO
calls me to tell me the government is already withdrawing police from
our facilities including some from my residence. I'm beginning to
wonder just what the early signs of coup would be here. I call the
desk just to chat. They feel good because the peace delegations had
a good meeting in London. (For all I know, they were talking to dead
men walking.)
What
part of this do I take seriously? I don't think I can handle all of
it. Think I'll concentrate on police guards.
*Note: Andrew Natsios was the Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), 2001-06. USAID was a hotbed of USG support for the "Christian" African rebels (SPLM) fighting the Khartoum government in southern Sudan. The SPLM boosters within the USG did not like the Embassy constantly raising the distracting issue of Darfur. But Natsios also understood the need to be seen doing something about Darfur by sending food aid while the Sudanese government went ahead with its ethnic cleansing there. (Natsios reportedly said in a 2003 interview that the
total cost of rebuilding Iraq would not cost US taxpayers more than $1.7 billion.)
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