Blog
Spending bills threaten Foreign Service pay and hiring
Legislation that significantly reduces Foreign Service pay would hinder the State Department’s ability to conduct its mission, observers say.
The Senate Appropriations committee late last month approved a funding bill for 2012 that would cut State’s budget by 8 percent, while the House Appropriations committee is holding on to legislation that would reduce funding by 18 percent [...]
Cat fight at U.S. Embassy in Kabul
Veteran diplomat Ryan C. Crocker can handle Islamist insurgencies, hostile heads of state and management of some of the world’s largest embassies. But what’s he going to do about the cats?
The new leader of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul has probably already walked past (and possibly petted?) Gordo, Freckles, Dusty, Ferdinand and Maria Teresa or [...]
City of Men: The Foreign Policy Community’s Women Retention Problem
Micah Zenko points out in a recent piece for Foreign Policy the glaring lack of women in Washington’s foreign policy community. Searching for numbers to support her assumptions, Zenko found less than 30 percent of policy and leadership positions held by women when she reviewed Washington’s ten most prominent think tanks.
The Center for Strategic and [...]
Abroad… All Eyes Turn to Old Glory
The following piece was written by former Ambassador to Morocco, Ambassador Marc Ginsberg for the Huffington Post:
“Never take America for granted!” Words my American parents drilled into me during my formative years growing up in the Middle East. Is it possible to become more patriotic when the United States is far over the horizon? Perhaps.
Just [...]
Language Skill Levels Explained
Interagency Language Roundtable Language Skill Level Descriptions
The following proficiency level descriptions characterize spoken language use. Each of the six “base levels” (coded 00, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50) implies control of any previous “base level’s” functions and accuracy. The ”plus level” designation (coded 06, 16, 26, etc.) will be assigned when proficiency substantially exceeds one base skill [...]
