Kosovo Serbs Are Like Teenagers

Working on a piece about alumni in the foreign service. Just talked to an alum who is Obama's Europe guy on the National Security Council. In the middle of our conversation, he says, "I just got an urgent note from General Jones. Can I call you back?" Sure.

He calls back and goes on to explain how rationalizing with Kosvo Serbs is like rationalizing with a teenager. Fun interview.

This week or next, I get to interview Spencer's mission president, who just e-mailed me his Foreign Service resume:

"I provide briefly my previous assignments:

FOREIGN SERVICE
1979 - 1982.....American Embassy Panama.....Director of Human Services
1982 - 1984.....American Embassy Costa Rica...Director of General Services
1984 - 1987.....American Embassy Bolivia......Counselor to the Ambassador for Administrative Affairs.
1987....Nominated for the "Leaman R. Hunt" -Manager of the year Award
1987 - 1989.....American Embassy Spain......Director of General Services
1989 - 1992.....American Consulate.............Counselor to the Consulate General for Administrative Affairs.
1992 - 1994.....Washington D.C. - Department of State...Director of Career Development for Administrative Officers.
1994....Received the "Manager of the Year Award", by the BYU Marriott School of Management - MPA.
1994 - 1995.....Selected to the "Senior Service Seminar".....15 Senior Diplomats send throughout the United States via Presidential Airforce 1 and military aircraft to assess our military capability to handle mulitple wars at one time. In addition, we met with local community leaders in various states to determine the affect of U.S. policies on our local economies.
1995-1997.....American Embassy, Kenya....Counselor to the Ambassador for Administrative Affairs.
1997 - 1999....American Embassy Panama....Counselor to the Ambassador for Administrative affairs. Also Representative for the Ambassador to the Government of Panama for Development of Secondary Educational Facilities on the Panama Canal for American Embassy children.
1999 June..... Retired from the foreign service.
2000 January - September.....State Department requested I return to be deployed to Dijbuti, East Africa for a special assignment as Counselor to the Ambassador.
2000 September - December....State Department requested I represent them at University Forums for Career Opportunites. I recruited for the State Department.
2001 - 2002 ... State Department requested I go to Abuja, Nigeria for special assignment as Counselor to the Ambassador for Administrative Affairs.
2002 - November.....Church contacted me in while I was in Africa. Issued call as Mission President effective June, 2003

Church Assignments as Missionaries:
2003 - 2006....Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints send me and my wife to Costa Rica as Mission President.
2006 - 2008....Served as the CEO of "Key Group Security Professional Services" and as member of their board of Directors.
2008 -2009.....Sent to Belize, Central America as"Leadership & Reactivation" Missionaries for the Church. (Mission was originally for 23 months, however the Chuch curtailed our assignment by 4months to serve in Mexico City)
20010 - 2012.......Our present Assignment for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Director of the Mexico City Temple Visitor's Center, in Mexico City.