2014 Foreign Service Promotions Stuck on Glue in the Senate. Again. Yo! Wassup?

Posted: 15:04 EST
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The Foreign Service promotion list typically comes out in the fall. It looks like last year’s list was stuck in the Senate in 2014, and was resubmitted on January 13, 2015 to the 114th Congress.  To-date, 181 names on this list are still  stuck in the Committee on Foreign Relations (There are other names pending in committee under different lists, see all here). It also appears that one name on this list has been on ice at the SFRC since 2012. That’s right, 2012 —  the year of the Arab Spring, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee,  and the year when Curiosity, the rover landed on Mars.  What’s going on here?

 

List of Nominees:

The following-named Career Members of the Senior Foreign Service of the Department of State for promotion into and within the Senior Foreign Service to the classes indicated: Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor:

Gregory Adams, of VA
Larry Edward Andre, Jr., of TX
Elizabeth Moore Aubin, of MD
Charles Edward Bennett, of WA
Gloria F. Berbena, of CA
Rena Bitter, of DC
Charles Kevin Blackstone, of FL
James A. Boughner, of WA
Michael B. Bretz, of VA
Duane Clemens Butcher, Jr., of VA
William Brent Christensen, of VA
Sandra Eliane Clark, of VA
Mark J. Davidson, of DC
John Paul Desrocher, of DC
Benjamin Beardsley Dille, of MN
Bruce E. Donahue, of VA
William H. Duncan, of TX
John Martin Eustace, Jr., of VA
Christopher Fitzgerald, of IA
Lawrence W. Gernon, of TX
Thomas B. Gibbons, of VA
William Kevin Grant, of VA
Kristin M. Hagerstrom, of LA
Matthew Tracy Harrington, of GA
Brent R. Hartley, of MD
Debra P. Heien, of HI
Simon Henshaw, of VA
Christopher Paul Henzel, of NY
L. Victor Hurtado, of CO
Makila James, of DC
Kathy A. Johnson, of TX
Patricia K. Kabra, of DC
Steven B. Kashkett, of FL
Glen C. Keiser, of CA
Laura Jean Kirkconnell, of FL
John M. Kuschner, of NH
Patricia A. Lacina, of CA
Alexander Mark Laskaris, of MD
Timothy Lenderking, of DC
Earle D. Litzenberger, of CA
Naomi Emerson Lyew, of VA
Matthew John Matthews, of VA
Michael McCarthy, of VA
Elisabeth Inga Millard, of VA
Judith A. Moon, of VA
Richard Walter Nelson, of CA
Hilary S. Olsin-Windecker, of NY
Joseph S. Pennington, of FL
Ann E. Pforzheimer, of NY
H. Dean Pittman, of DC
Joan Polaschik, of VA
Joseph M. Pomper, of CT
Michael A. Ratney, of MA
Thomas G. Rogan, of NH
Christopher John Rowan, of PA
Eric N. Rumpf, of WA
Michael R. Schimmel, of MI
Jeffrey R. Sexton, of FL
Lawrence Robert Silverman, of VA
Susan N. Stevenson, of VA
Kevin King Sullivan, of VA
Lynne M. Tracy, of OH
Bruce Irvin Turner, of FL
Conrad William Turner, of VA
Karen L. Williams, of FL
Brian William Wilson, of WA
Charles E. Wright, of CA
Hoyt B. Yee, of CA

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State Dept Suspends US Embassy Yemen Operations, Relocates Staff Until Further Notice

Posted: 00:46 EST
Updated 2/14/15 11:47 PST

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The State Department suspended embassy operations at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen and American staff were relocated out of the country according to the February 11, 2015  Travel Warning released late tonight. Embassy Sanaa had previously announced the suspension of all consular services until further notice on February 8.

On February 11, 2015, due to the deteriorating security situation in Sanaa, the Department of State suspended embassy operations and U.S. Embassy Sanaa American staff were relocated out of the country. All consular services, routine and/or emergency, have been suspended until further notice. The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart. This supersedes the Travel Warning for Yemen issued on September 25, 2014.

The level of instability and ongoing threats in Yemen remain extremely concerning, and there are no plans for a U.S. government-sponsored evacuation of U.S. citizens at this time. We encourage U.S. citizens wishing to depart to do so via commercial transportation options. If you wish to depart Yemen, you should make plans to depart as soon as possible. Airports may experience unexpected closures with little to no warning and access to the airport also may be cut off if the security situation deteriorates. All U.S. citizens in need of emergency assistance should contact a U.S. embassy or consulate in a neighboring country. For U.S. citizen inquiries, you may send an email to YEMENEMERGENCYUSC@state.gov.

The announcement followed a whirl of rumors surrounding the suspension of operations at Embassy Sana’a in less than 24 hours.

 

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Apparently, the Houthi leader was not happy about this possible closure (technically a suspension of operations since the US has not terminated diplomatic relations with Yemen):

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It’s just a slogan, really?

 

The British ambassador to Yemen:

 

Whoa, a practice siege?

 

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And just like the suspension of operations at US Embassy Tripoli, this, too, unfolded on social media:

 

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Around dinner time EST, the AP confirmed the suspension of operations in Sanaa and the evacuation of staff due to security concerns:

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Update: