The United States Department of State has a problem.
The isolated employees of this government agency that serves as the face of America across the world appears to have their own agenda regardless of who is serving in the White House.
A “dissent cable” is being reported widely within the corporate media and has garnered 1,000 signers of State Department employees . . . and it’s still being circulated.
The letter started in an office in Washington, D.C. then electronically shuffled its way around the world, showing up in one embassy after another.
The Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) document is reproduced in full below.
The memo, while written in a standard government format that is difficult to understand due to overuse of acronyms and “inside talk” essentially vents about the Executive Order signed by President Trump.
The order temporarily blocked refugees from seven hostile nations.
Standing out within the document is its emotional tone that is designed to invoke sympathy for non-Americans. The memo recalls an Iranian boy whose parents had spent $6,000 on a trip to NASA who asked, “Can I not go because I am Iranian?”
Other sob stories told by State Department employees included an Iranian couple who were traveling to see their son who was dying of cancer in the United States, and another Iranian man, married to an American who wanted to travel to see the birth of his child.
The author of the sensitive document, along with its 1,000 signers clearly place the personal interests of foreign nationals over the security of the United States.
But it’s nothing new.
The “dissent channel” has existed within the United States Department of State since the Vietnam War.
It is an unusual method to voice complaints and resolve conflicts that creates confusion abroad and discontent at home as the internal memos are nearly always leaked.
In June of 2016, 51 American diplomats circulated a similar dissent cable critical of President Obama’s Syrian policy and called for “bombing” within the war-torn nation. The bombing runs were promoted by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The corporate media of course buried that story.
Fast forward just four days, and President Trump’s discussions with foreign leaders were leaked to the press and offered in a way to embarrass the new president.
The Drudge Report blared with the headline. “Trump Threatens Troops in Mexico” while another story recalled a tense discussion with the Australian Prime Minster over Syrian refugees.
Who would have had access to these transcripts?
Employees of the Department of State.
Who leaked them? Take a guess.
Diplomats and their many employees and assistants, paid for by American taxpayers, have for many decades taken a “let’s all get along for a better world” mentality rather than doing what they are paid to do which is placing America’s interests above all else.
Compromise appears to be their only solution as they mingle with their well-healed foreign counterparts; attend their cocktail parties and treat any foreigner with power as close as family.
The loyalty of these entrenched diplomats appears to stop at the borders of their own nation.
It’s time for President of the United States to clean house and terminated the jobs and contracts of anyone and everyone working for the Department of State. Their institutional knowledge is best forgotten and replaced with the acumen of American business leaders who have had no other choice but to deal with foreign nations fairly yet firmly.
Incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the example of the type of diplomat America needs at this point in time.
For far too long, our nation has served as not only the World’s Police Force, but the wealthy, dumb uncle that everyone takes advantage of.
One-by-one, Trump can take pleasure in marching in every State Department employee . . . down to the last secretary . . . and repeating the words, “You’re fired.”
“Dissent Cable” printed below.
Subject: Visa Applicants at Consulate General Dubai Seek Clarification on Executive Order
SUMMARY
1. (SBU) Begin summary. For the second consecutive day, pursuant to official guidance from Consular Affairs on the President’s January 27 Executive Order (EO) on Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals, Consulate General (CG) Dubai canceled over 180 visa interviews on January 30. Consular officers once again staffed the security checkpoint at the Consular Services Entrance and personally provided letters explaining the appointment cancellations to over 50 Iranian nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants; consular staff also informed several Legal Permanent Residents and immigrant visa beneficiaries who had not yet entered the United States about the EO. Consular officers witnessed significant frustration and confusion, especially among the mostly Iranian NIV applicant pool, as they relayed and explained the new policy. End summary.
GREEN CARD HOLDERS AND IMMIGRANT VISA HOLDERS
2. (SBU) Several green card and immigrant visa holders sought clarification on their ability to travel to the United States. An Iraqi man, who previously obtained a Special Immigrant Visa for his work as an interpreter with the U.S. Army in Iraq, provided a letter of recommendation from the U.S. military and said, “I just don’t know what to do.” Another young Iraqi man with an approved immigrant visa, accompanied by his Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) mother, inquired as to whether he or she could travel to the United States. An Iranian green card holder expressed concern that the 90 day suspension would affect her LPR status.
FINANCIAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON IRANIAN NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANTS
3. (SBU) Over half of the Iranian NIV applicants appeared for their canceled January 30 appointments, despite Consulate General Dubai’s GSS contractor having informed them on January 29 of their appointment cancellation. [Note: While NIV appointments for January 30 included applicants from the other six countries affected by the EO, none appeared at the consulate for their interview. CG Dubai’s GSS Contractor notified all applicants affected by the EO of the interview cancellations via email and text message. End Note] Many applicants lamented the financial burdens incurred in traveling from Iran to Dubai for an interview that had been canceled. One couple said that they had waited for over six months for their appointment date; they expressed concern about the difficulty of rescheduling if the ban is lifted.
4. (SBU) Several applicants were elderly parents trying to visit their children in the United States. One Iranian woman stated, “I haven’t seen my daughter in two years. I was going to meet my new grandchild. I pray this all gets situated. We were hoping we could have been interviewed and have our cases put on hold. Then we would have felt that we had made some sort of progress.” Another Iranian applicant accompanied by his wife and daughter complained about “the arbitrariness” of the EO. He stated, “Tell President Trump that my government is the terrorist, but we the people are not terrorists.”
5. (SBU) Applicants became extremely emotional while interacting with consular officers, believing that the recent reports of a judicial stay on the EO applied to them. An Iranian man with a pregnant American citizen wife in the United States pleaded, “Please, can I just go see the birth of my child? Is there any exception? I will have to have my wife come to Iran for the birth. I want to be there to see my child.” Another Iranian couple said that they were traveling to care for their dying son in the United States, stating, “By the time the ban is lifted, my son is going to be dead from cancer.”
6. (SBU) A thirteen-year old Iranian boy also came to the Consulate to inquire about the validity of his previously issued U.S. NIV. He said that his parents had paid $6,000 for an upcoming school trip to NASA. He asked, “I heard about the Presidential order. Can I not go because I am Iranian?”
COMMENT
7. (SBU) CG Dubai is still inundated with Iranian NIV applicants, green card holders, and immigrant visa holders affected by the EO who are seeking clarification and explanations. Post believes that communication challenges reaching individuals inside Iran mean that applicants are not receiving appointment cancellation notifications from Post’s GSS contractor and continue to travel to Dubai to attend their visa appointments. CG Dubai will continue to deploy consular officers to directly engage with those who have questions or complaints about interview cancellations or bars on U.S. travel. CG Dubai seeks updated talking points on how the EO impacts legal permanent residents seeking to return to the United States and dual nationals of countries of concern.
