Via US Embassy Nairobi:
U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Mr. Robert Godec marked this year’s World Environment Day by adopting a one year old orphaned elephant named Tundani at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi National Park.
Amb. Godec feeds the Matriarch of the baby elephants at the Orphange. — at David Sheldrick Wildlife Orphan Trust. Photo via US Embassy Nairobi/FB (click on image to view more photos)
From our inbox, a question about the recent nomination to NATO:
I don’t know Doug Lute. And I have no reason to doubt that he is a smart and very accomplished person, who has earned the President’s trust. However, that’s not the issue. What *is* an issue is the fact that Lute is a military man. And I think there need to be some probing questions asked asked about the appropriateness of sending a retired general to be ambassador USNATO.
The U.S. Ambassador to NATO is actually a shorthand title — s/he is the U.S. Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council (NAC). The NAC is NATO’s political decision-making body.
The United States has, of course, had veterans in the USUN job before, but never, to the best of my knowledge, a retired career military person. Indeed, the whole point of the North Atlantic Council is that it is run by civilians. That’s why it is the top and sovereign body in NATO.
Those responsible for this appointment either don’t know or care about the history of NATO and why the NAC exists.
Sending a career military man to [USUN] USNATO is similar to, although different in degree, naming a Secretary of Defense who is a retired general. In the United States, we have civilian control of the military. These kinds of appointments blur that distinction in a dangerous way.
By the way — lest anyone make the argument that, since Lute is retired, we really should just ignore his whole military career and view him as a civilian, that is a laughable argument on two fronts:
(1) The only thing that makes him a candidate for any senior government job is that very military experience; and
(2) The White House even calls him *General* Lute in their announcement of the nomination! So much for the civilian stuff.
A final note:
There is actually a quasi-counterpart to the North Atlantic Council for military reps at NATO — the NATO Military Committee.
Can one assume that, when the current 3-star who is the U.S. rep on the Military Committee leaves, he will be replaced by some just-retired FSO? Of course, the answer is no.
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Below via history.state.gov | The Chief of Mission has the title of U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Prior to 1 July 1967 the Representative on the Council of NATO was the Chief of the U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization nad European Regional Organizations at Paris.
Since post was created, only five six of those appointed as ambassador to USNATO were career diplomats from the U.S. Foreign Service. One of those FSOs and the sole female appointee is Victoria Nuland, former State spokesperson and current nominee to be Assistant Secretary for the EUR Bureau. Update: One of our readers wrote to inform us that although Kurt Volker was a “non-career appointment” to the USNATO position he actually was a career FSO for a number of years. We understand that he was not in the Senior Foreign Service when appointed ambassador. Whether by mistake or oversight, both Volker and Nuland are listed by history.state.gov as non-career appointees. Since Volker was in the FS and Nuland is currently in the FS (just promoted to FE-CM in 2012) we’re listing them both as FSOs in this blog post.
Only one previous appointee is a retired former military official – William Henry Draper Jr. who served during World War II as a major in the infantry, left and became a banker but stayed in the Army Reserves. He later became a brigadier-general after World War II, was promoted to major-general, and became the first under secretary of the Army from September 18, 1947 to February 28, 1949.
General Lute graduated from West Point in 1975 and left active duty in 2010.
Lieutenant General David R. Hogg is currently the United States Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee (USMILREP).
Updated to clarify details on Volker and Draper. Thanks to readers who helped!
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We have blogged previously about this case:
On June 4, the Department of Justice released the following statement:
U.S. Foreign Service Officer Charged With Conspiracy To Defraud the United States and to Commit Bribery and Visa Fraud – Scheme Allegedly Yielded Millions of Dollars in Bribes-
WASHINGTON – A U.S. Foreign Service Officer, Michael Todd Sestak, 41, has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit bribery and visa fraud, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Director Gregory B. Starr announced today.
Sestak appeared this afternoon before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was arrested on May 13, 2013, in California and had been ordered held without bond following a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He was removed to the District of Columbia, where the criminal complaint, dated May 6, 2013, was filed against him. Magistrate Judge Robinson ordered that he remain in custody pending further court proceedings.
According to the government’s evidence, Sestak was the Non-Immigrant Visa Chief in the Consular Section of the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from August 2010 to September 2012.
The investigation revealed that, beginning sometime in or around March 2012, Sestak agreed to approve visas to the United States for a fee. According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, he conspired with other U.S. citizens and Vietnamese citizens who worked to recruit customers – or to recruit other recruiters – to the visa scheme. Co-conspirators reached out to people in Vietnam and the United States and advertised a money-back guarantee for a visa to the United States. They particularly advertised that they could obtain visas for people who would not be able to obtain a visa on their own, such as people who had been previously denied or refused entry into the U.S. They encouraged customers with the idea that they could overstay their visas and disappear in the United States.
The affidavit alleges that co-conspirators assisted visa applicants with their applications and prepared them for their consular interviews. Upon submitting an application, the applicants would receive an appointment at the Consulate, be interviewed by Sestak, and approved for a visa. Applicants or their families paid between $20,000 and $70,000 per visa.
Applicants paid for their visas in Vietnam, or by routing money to co-conspirators in the United States. According to the affidavit, Sestak received several million dollars in bribes in exchange for approving the visas. He ultimately moved the money out of Vietnam by using money launderers through off-shore banks. Co-conspirators also had money laundered through off-shore banks to bank accounts in the United States, the affidavit alleges.
To date, the investigation has seized over $2 million from a co-conspirator’s investment account in the United States.
Two women have been charged in the scheme.They are Hong Vo, 27, an American citizen, and Truc Tranh Huynh, 29, a Vietnamese citizen, who are charged with conspiring with Sestak and others. Vo allegedly assisted with the recruitment of visa applicants and communicated with others about the payment for the fraudulent visas. According to charging documents, fraudulent visas granted by Sestak were connected to an Internet Protocol (“IP”) address controlled by Vo. Huynh allegedly participated in the visa scheme by obtaining documents necessary for the visa applications, collecting money and providing model questions and answers for visa applicants. Sestak also allegedly approved a visa for Huynh to the United States, the application for which was submitted by the IP address controlled by Vo.
Vo was recently arrested in Denver and is being held there while awaiting removal to the District of Columbia. Huynh was arrested June 3, 2013, and appeared today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She remains held without bond pending further proceedings.
Charges contained in criminal complaints are merely allegations that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brenda J. Johnson and Mona N. Sahaf of the National Security Section and Catherine K. Connelly of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.
13-194
Original statement is available online here.
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