Personnel May Wish to Sleep in Another Country

By Al Kamen
Friday, July 13, 2007

More signs of progress in Iraq. In response to the recent increase in mortar and rocket attacks in Baghdad's Green Zone, U.S. Embassy officials announced yesterday that "a limited number of cots are available for use by authorized . . . personnel who wish to sleep in their offices for security reasons."

Why? Offices tend to be in concrete buildings, affording better protection against mortars and other projectiles than the metal-roofed trailers commonly used for housing.

Remember, though, the notice continued, "cots will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to the time stamp on e-mail requests received," and you needed to pick them up between 2 and 5 p.m. yesterday.

But, if you missed the deadline, not to worry. A "Duck and Cover Alert" from the embassy security office yesterday offered important tips on what to do if you're in an "unfortified structure (e.g. trailer, self-serve laundry facility, etc.) or outdoors."

"If there is a nearby Duck and Cover bunker" -- echoes of an earlier era? -- "quickly seek cover within and remain there until the All Clear signal is given." But "if no fortified structure is near-by, get as low as possible and protect your vital areas." (Of course, these may vary from person to person.) "Remain in place until the initial salvo has ended," the notice says, then hightail it to "the nearest Duck and Cover bunker."

If you are, say, in the embassy itself or in the "Palace pool restroom, etc." you should "quickly muster in an interior room or hallway, stay clear of windows and doors [and] seek cover underneath" your desk or a table.

Lawyer Wanted; Must Not Scare Easily

Are you an attorney looking for adventure? Do you have your own cot? Then remember, today's the deadline to apply for what a State Department notice rightly calls "an exciting opportunity . . . for an energetic, self-motivated U.S. citizen to serve as a Senior Rule of Law Advisor in Embassy Baghdad."

Yes indeed, this "full-time, permanent" job will ensure you "play a central role . . . in developing policy and programs to assist in developing the Iraqi justice system." You'll also run "programs to train and build the capacity of judges, provide security for courts, judges and witnesses" and "promote the development of an independent judiciary and functioning legal and criminal justice system in Iraq."

The idea apparently is to wean the militias off their deplorable penchant for summary beheadings. And your personal safety is assured. (See item above.)

Ex-FDA Chief Keeps Prestige, Head

Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Lester Crawford was sentenced Feb. 27 to three years of supervised probation and fined $90,000 for conflicts of interest and lying to federal ethics officers about stock he owned in FDA-regulated companies.

But he's listed as a keynote speaker Aug. 22 at the FDA Regulatory and Compliance Symposium at Harvard. The four-day conference is sponsored by FDAnews and two other publications. Dickinson's FDA Webview, a Web site that monitors the agency, says it's Crawford's first public appearance in an FDA-related confab since his sentencing. Unclear if it counts toward his required 50 hours of community service.

Some FDA folks are said to be most upset that Crawford is being given this prestigious platform.

The brochure says Crawford, now a "Senior Counsel, Policy Directions, Inc." will discuss "International Pharmaceutical Regulation and Compliance: Comparisons and Contrasts." He might want to discuss how the Chinese dealt with their recently beheaded former food-and-drug chief.

Delegation Frustration

There appears to be some grousing at the embassy in Beijing these days over the large "delegation" of family and friends of Ambassador Clark Randt (Yale '68), who are now finishing up a 15-day tour of the country -- including a neat trip to Inner Mongolia to see the Hohhot grasslands, watch a horseback-riding exhibition, drive to the Gobi Desert and visit Genghis Khan's home town.

First off, the group, staying at the Grand Hyatt Beijing -- we prefer the Peninsula, but the Hyatt's also fine -- toured Beijing and took in the embassy's Fourth of July celebration.

Then it was off by plane with the ambassador, first to Inner Mongolia and then down to lovely Hangzhou for the famous pagoda and the West Lake. Today the group is hanging at the very tony Fuchun golf and spa resort in Hangzhou before heading back to Beijing for various flights home Sunday.

We had heard embassy staffers helped with the group's arrangements. But an embassy spokeswoman, via e-mail, assured us the embassy "did not incur any expenses related to this private visit." What's more, "embassy staff did not make any arrangements for travel that did not involve Ambassador Randt."

And we should note that the only travel that "involved" Randt was the 10-day Mongolia and Hangzhou jaunts, not the delegation's entire trip.

Seems Like Old Times

In these troubled times, it's good to know that some things can survive a bad spell. So we were pleased to hear the other day that, despite a recent spate of negative publicity, former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, now at the American Enterprise Institute, and Shaha Riza, apparently still working at the World Bank, were at the traditional Fourth of July picnic hosted by Hudson Institute chief executive Kenneth Weinstein.

This three-decade-old event, heavily populated by devotees of the late neocon guru and former University of Chicago professor Leo Strauss, drew 80 or so political scientists and their families, we were told. Other notables included Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol and William Galston, the University of Maryland political theorist and former Clinton White House senior aide.