Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for June 30, 2012
Newsline: US Ambassador to Kenya Quits Before Audit Release
The American ambassador to Kenya, once a confidant of President Obama, abruptly announced on Friday — days before the release of a stinging internal audit — that he was resigning, citing “differences with Washington.” His departure will leave the top embassy post vacant at a time when Kenya is increasingly being drawn into a battle with militant Islam. Mr. Gration’s announcement came just before the release next month of a United States government audit that is highly critical of his leadership and management of the embassy, State Department officials told The Associated Press. Mr. Gration announced his resignation after seeing a draft of the report, The A.P. said. Mr. Gration, a former Air Force pilot and general who had served as a campaign adviser to Mr. Obama, said the ambassadorship to Kenya was his “dream job.” But since he got here in May 2011 — and even before that — Mr. Gration has been a bit of a lightning rod. Before his posting to Kenya, he served as Mr. Obama’s special envoy for Sudan and was routinely criticized by advocacy groups as being too conciliatory toward Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges for massacres in Darfur. In Kenya, many of his underlings at the American Embassy said he was remote and imperial. He also did not seem to be engaged in Kenyan politics as the country heads into one of the most anticipated presidential elections in its history, the first since 2007, when the country exploded in ethnic violence. But some State Department and embassy staff members said they were reluctant to press their criticisms of him because of his close ties to the president. People familiar with the disputes confirmed reports on Friday that Mr. Gration preferred to use Gmail for official business and set up private offices in his residence — and an embassy bathroom — to work outside the purview of the embassy staff. On Friday, Mr. Gration issued a statement saying, “Differences with Washington regarding my leadership style and certain priorities lead me to believe that it’s now time to leave.” The American Embassy in Nairobi, one of the biggest in Africa, is also home to an aid mission that works throughout the region and an extensive intelligence operation that keeps a close eye on Somalia. Mr. Gration, who grew up in East Africa as the son of missionaries, ended his statement by saying, “Our hearts will remain here with you and with the true friendships that will endure until death.”
Consular affairs: Oil-rich Calgary a magnet for consulates
His first week as Britain’s first-ever consul-general in Calgary was packed with meetings with Alberta cabinet ministers, Shell and BP executives, and Mayor Naheed Nenshi. The fact that he’s even in Calgary is part of a surprising trend. Britain and other Western countries are slashing foreign-service budgets and closing consulates. When they open one, it’s not in North America or Europe, but emerging markets like China or India. Calgary is the exception. Britain expanded its Calgary trade office to a full consulate-general. France opened a consulate last year. The United States, cutting elsewhere, brought in a few more diplomats. China’s 14-year-old consulate now has 16 staff. In 2005, Japan moved its big consulate-general from Alberta’s capital, Edmonton, to the oil-business centre Calgary. They’re there because of money, and opportunity. The oil sands offer foreign companies a rare chance to buy, and own, a chunk of massive oil reserves. Alberta wealth means business. But they also know Canada’s economic and political centre is shifting west. The oil sands, and their environmental impact, can be hot politics back home. And pipeline plans could affect energy security of Asian countries and the United States. The diplomats insist they’re not rivals, though China’s moves into the oil sands have raised eyebrows. Officially, the United States isn’t worried that proposed pipelines to B.C. would allow Alberta oil, now exclusively exported to the United States, to go to China. But a diplomat from another country noted privately that they’d keep an eye out for things like a Chinese oil company making a deal that allows it to reserve oil for China, rather than global markets. France used to place its Canadian consulates in the biggest cities, or francophone ones, but diplomat Jean-Charles Bou opened one in Calgary in 2011. French oil giant Total plans to expand to 1,200 employees in four years.
Newsline: US Embassy Raises New Concerns Over Dubai Hunger Striker
The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi is raising new concerns about the health of a jailed American businessman on hunger strike in the United Arab Emirates. Zack Shahin has been held in Dubai for more than four years on corruption allegations, but has yet to stand trial. He has denied any improprieties and began a hunger strike on May 14 to demand authorities hear his case. Embassy official L. Victor Hurtado said in a statement that “obviously there are serious concerns about Mr. Shahin’s health” after more than six weeks without food. Hurtado is the U.S. Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires and visited Shahin this week. He urged authorities to release Shahin on bail. UAE officials had no immediate comment.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-raises-concerns-dubai-hunger-striker-16676564
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