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[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
First of all, State has usually pulled people out of situations as dangerous as Iraq now is. Vietnam and Haiti are examples. So to suggest that they signed on to get sent wherever is wrong. My friend signed on to be a diplomat. If he'd wanted to be in the military, he would have joined the military. My friend has served in the Middle East, which is where he picked up the Arabic that put at risk of being sent to Iraq, so it's not like he is unwilling to accept risk. Obviously, there is a quantum difference in going to Baghdad.

Second, my friend has a wife and small kids. They live on-site with him -- but obviously they wouldn't in Iraq. That, too, is not what he signed up for. Indeed, the life insurance FSOs have does not cover them if they're killed in Iraq.

we had no diplomats in Vietnam? Wasn't the embassy the last place to go?