U.S. diplomat died 'doing what she loved' in Afghanistan

[itshappening]

What did she love doing? Being part of an occupying force in a foreign country?

Are these people crazy? Young, idealistic Hillary Clintonites who work for the State Dept. and think they're changing the world.

Well, the reality is you're part of an occupying force committing crimes against the population on a daily basis.

They're not wanted there so the message to all State Dept staff is get out while you can or face being targeted and killed.

It doesn't matter how secure you think the compound is or how tall the walls they build. They will find a way to kill you because they're a resistance and all American personnel are deemed legitimate targets.

I'm sorry for the loss of life and thoughts to the family but if you go there to be part of the this braindead adventure then this is what happens.

-
(CNN) -- Anne Smedinghoff lived inside a heavily secured compound.

But the public diplomacy officer for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was always pushing to get out.

"We thought she was relatively safe in the embassy compound, but as it turned out, Anne really wanted to do a lot more," her father, Tom Smedinghoff, told CNN.

This past weekend, the 25-year-old was trying to do just that -- delivering books to a school in southern Afghanistan -- when a suicide bomber smashed into her convoy Saturday, killing Smedinghoff and four others. She is believed to be the first U.S. diplomat killed since the September attack in Benghazi, Libya.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/07/us/diplomat-killed-profile/index.html

 

[itshappening]

Anyone want to take her place??

The job probably pays $100k

 

[Cowlesy]

Cold, man...just cold. Did you know her personally?

I hope folks realize that some people actually enter these jobs with the best intentions. Maybe she was doing great work.

How many folks on this board pre-2007 were stalwart traditional conservatives or libertarians? I wasn't. I was a rank and file GOP'r. My point is, it looks awful to dance on people's graves or question their intentions, especially when they aren't public figures. May she RIP.

 

[itshappening]

All Department of State employees, enjoy the following benefits:

Annual Leave
Credit Union and Fitness Facility
Employee Consultation Service
Employee Recreation Association
Family Medical Leave
Health Benefits Plans
Life Insurance
Long-Term Care Insurance
Sick Leave
Thrift Savings Plan (equivalent to 401(k) with Government Matching)
10 Paid Holidays
-

All you need to join is a worthless degree and you too can join the occupation in Afhganistan and hand out textbooks to kids.

It doesn't say if the Department will cover funeral expenses.

 

[itshappening]

Cold, man...just cold. Did you know her personally?

I hope folks realize that some people actually enter these jobs with the best intentions. Maybe she was doing great work.

How many folks on this board pre-2007 were stalwart traditional conservatives or libertarians? I wasn't. I was a rank and file GOP'r. My point is, it looks awful to dance on people's graves or question their intentions, especially when they aren't public figures. May she RIP.

My hope is people don't join the occupation or if they're there they leave so I can save some lives.

Sadly the young, idealistic people who join the State Dept. think they're changing the world and clap like a seal at the sight of Hillary Clinton. They have no idea what they're getting involved in or signing up to.

 

[itshappening]

And you don't need to be a libertarian to know that you shouldn't be in Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya.

But thousands of Americans are either directly through the military and State dept. or through private contractors.

It's puzzling because they're considered legitimate targets. They should leave. Indeed, the State Dept's own advice that they issue to foreigners visiting various countries should be for them to leave!

These are dangerous, unstable countries with car bombs going off daily.

LEAVE folks, for Gods sake.

Don't become just another statistic commemorated by a two bit politician like John Kerry.

 

[nano1895]

What did she love doing? Being part of an occupying force in a foreign country?

Are these people crazy? Young, idealistic Hillary Clintonites who work for the State Dept. and think they're changing the world.

Well, the reality is you're part of an occupying force committing crimes against the population on a daily basis.

They're not wanted there so the message to all State Dept staff is get out while you can or face being targeted and killed.

It doesn't matter how secure you think the compound is or how tall the walls they build. They will find a way to kill you because they're a resistance and all American personnel are deemed legitimate targets.

I'm sorry for the loss of life and thoughts to the family but if you go there to be part of the this braindead adventure then this is what happens.

-
(CNN) -- Anne Smedinghoff lived inside a heavily secured compound.

But the public diplomacy officer for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was always pushing to get out.

"We thought she was relatively safe in the embassy compound, but as it turned out, Anne really wanted to do a lot more," her father, Tom Smedinghoff, told CNN.

This past weekend, the 25-year-old was trying to do just that -- delivering books to a school in southern Afghanistan -- when a suicide bomber smashed into her convoy Saturday, killing Smedinghoff and four others. She is believed to be the first U.S. diplomat killed since the September attack in Benghazi, Libya.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/07/us/diplomat-killed-profile/index.html

As one person she did more to improve the situation in the Middle East than the entire US Military + trillions of debt for the past 10 years. Say what you want about naive idealism and liberal foolishness but like Ron Paul said, we need more people like her (diplomats) rather than soldiers.

 

[Nirvikalpa]

Cold, man...just cold. Did you know her personally?

I hope folks realize that some people actually enter these jobs with the best intentions. Maybe she was doing great work.

How many folks on this board pre-2007 were stalwart traditional conservatives or libertarians? I wasn't. I was a rank and file GOP'r. My point is, it looks awful to dance on people's graves or question their intentions, especially when they aren't public figures. May she RIP.

This. She was delivering books to schoolchildren for fuck's sake...

 

[itshappening]

Do you people not get it ??

All American personnel are a legitimate target because the US is occupying the country.

That means diplomats and doctors are legitimate targets to be ruthlessly killed, kidnapped or tortured.

They should not be there. Even by the State dept's own criteria and advice for foreign countries their advisory would point out it's a dangerous place that Americans should not be traveling to.

So why are tens of thousands of Americans in these countries?

LEAVE and leave now.

For God's sake...

 

[Nirvikalpa]

Do you people not get it ??

All American personnel are a legitimate target because the US is occupying the country.

That means diplomats and doctors are legitimate targets to be ruthlessly killed, kidnapped or tortured.

They should not be there. Even by the State dept's own criteria and advice for foreign countries their advisory would point out it's a dangerous place that Americans should not be traveling to.

So why are tens of thousands of Americans in these countries?

LEAVE and leave now.

For God's sake...

Not every doctor over there is there for the "occupation." Some American doctors are quite welcome there, and in other areas of the world, and are there through private charities (Doctors without Borders, etc).

If they are there on their own free will, they understand what could happen - plain and simple.

And yes I "get it" - and I hope to be one of those doctors, someday. And I'd be pretty damn pissed if some American stuck his nose in my business and rallied and kept me from what I want to do.

 

[itshappening]

Not every doctor over there is there for the "occupation." Some American doctors are quite welcome there, and in other areas of the world, and are there through private charities (Doctors without Borders, etc).

If they are there on their own free will, they understand what could happen - plain and simple.

Car bombs are going off daily. The State dept's own advisory should be saying this is a dangerous place and not to travel there.

If you go to this hellhole you're at serious risk of kidnap, torture or death.

It's not rocket science.

These idealistic young people who clap like a seal at the sight of Hillary Clinton and who think they're saving the world are dead wrong. They're not wanted in these countries and should NOT be there. Do something else.

 

[Pericles]

All Department of State employees, enjoy the following benefits:

Annual Leave
Credit Union and Fitness Facility
Employee Consultation Service
Employee Recreation Association
Family Medical Leave
Health Benefits Plans
Life Insurance
Long-Term Care Insurance
Sick Leave
Thrift Savings Plan (equivalent to 401(k) with Government Matching)
10 Paid Holidays
-

All you need to join is a worthless degree from an appropriately elitist university and you too can join the occupation in Afghanistan and hand out textbooks to kids.

It doesn't say if the Department will cover funeral expenses.

FIFY

 

[juleswin]

This. She was delivering books to schoolchildren for fuck's sake...

So what? she was delivering books, she was there to give life saving immunization etc etc. The fact that she is with and working for the occupiers who most likely killed the parents of many of those children receiving the books is the point.

Imagine for a minute, if someone kidnaps you, locks you up in his labor camp and every once in a while, they send the hair dresser, make up crew to visit and pamper you. Remember, the make up and hair dresser crew is working for the kidnappers, they have no interest in freeing just, their objective in helping you is to comfort you so you see the kidnapper in a positive light.

Now would you give a fuck if someone kills the make up and hair dresser crew as they journey to take care of you in the camp? I hate to be harsh but you gotta look at the big picture here and less on this individual.

 

[Cowlesy]

Car bombs are going off daily. The State dept's own advisory should be saying this is a dangerous place and not to travel there.

If you go to this hellhole you're at serious risk of kidnap, torture or death.

It's not rocket science.

These idealistic young people who clap like a seal at the sight of Hillary Clinton and who think they're saving the world are dead wrong. They're not wanted in these countries and should NOT be there. Do something else.

Oh my god you're so much smarter than all of us, we never realized it was a dangerous country, thank you for the enlightenment oh great one.

Sometimes I think people are so plugged into the internet that they lose all social and empathy skills, and everyone like this woman who get blown up, it's like some videogame death. Her parents say she died "doing what she loved" while in the process of trying to help some kids, and you write a blistering post that she's an idiot and had no clue what the risks are. Did you ask her if she knew what the risks are? Given that she was educated and part of the diplomatic core, I doubt she was a dummy.

What really burns me is that you turn her into a caricature of some naive brainwashed occupier without likely knowing a damn thing about her. Would you say this to her parents face that was she was an idiot and that Afghanistan is a dangerous place? We all enjoy some anonymity on the internet, but also take into account this post will be here forever, and someday her parents/friends/colleagues may read it.

I get it with public personas, but not with ordinary people.

My friend is in the USO and at Bagram AFB to try and make things a bit easier for our soldiers. That doesn't mean I don't want that person home, not to mention all our troops, and to just let Afghanistan burn if its people don't care about it. They know the risks. Believe it or not, I don't think many folks think Afghanistan is paradise.

 

[belian78]

Not every doctor over there is there for the "occupation." Some American doctors are quite welcome there, and in other areas of the world, and are there through private charities (Doctors without Borders, etc).

If they are there on their own free will, they understand what could happen - plain and simple.

And yes I "get it" - and I hope to be one of those doctors, someday. And I'd be pretty damn pissed if some American stuck his nose in my business and rallied and kept me from what I want to do.

You guys are right of course, diplomatic missions and helping with schooling/medicine etc is the way to go. But what itshappening is getting at, and which I agree with, is that it's just not smart to try to do these things while we are occupying their frickin country.

Seriously, it's like holding out candy in your hand to a child, but having a friend snap them with a rubber band when they get close. Eventually even though you are trying to do something good, they will hate you for it because they will associate you with your friend and the pain they bring, and rightly so.

Let's get our occupying forces out of there, make it known we won't be meddling in their country's affairs going forward, but will offer humanitarian services if they would like them.

 

[Nirvikalpa]

Car bombs are going off daily. The State dept's own advisory should be saying this is a dangerous place and not to travel there.

If you go to this hellhole you're at serious risk of kidnap, torture or death.

It's not rocket science.

These idealistic young people who clap like a seal at the sight of Hillary Clinton and who think they're saving the world are dead wrong. They're not wanted in these countries and should NOT be there. Do something else.

I think you are underestimating the want/need for medical care in some countries - a friend working with the Red Cross I met on a deployment begged me to come to Africa with him, where he primarily was deployed to - because the hospital he worked at had one working sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff) for the routine 600-800 patients within it. Could you even imagine that as an American... one working blood pressure cuff, in a hospital?

I'm not arguing with you that they are potentially putting themselves in harm's way - I'm arguing that there are good people who do wish to change the world, and are ok with putting themselves in harm's way. And there are also people who are incredibly thankful that there are people willing to do that.

EDIT: and for the record... charities (especially medical) were in Afghanistan/Iraq before the occupation. I know for a fact Doctors Without Borders were asked to stop during the occupation for five years. So, the US gov't created enemies just with that fact alone - they took away some area's only source of health monitoring - especially OB/GYN care.

 

[itshappening]

Oh my god you're so much smarter than all of us, we never realized it was a dangerous country, thank you for the enlightenment oh great one.

Sometimes I think people are so plugged into the internet that they lose all social and empathy skills, and everyone like this woman who get blown up, it's like some videogame death. Her parents say she died "doing what she loved" while in the process of trying to help some kids, and you write a blistering post that she's an idiot and had no clue what the risks are. Did you ask her if she knew what the risks are? Given that she was educated and part of the diplomatic core, I doubt she was a dummy.

What really burns me is that you turn her into a caricature of some naive brainwashed occupier without likely knowing a damn thing about her. Would you say this to her parents face that was she was an idiot and that Afghanistan is a dangerous place? We all enjoy some anonymity on the internet, but also take into account this post will be here forever, and someday her parents/friends/colleagues may read it.

I get it with public personas, but not with ordinary people.

My friend is in the USO and at Bagram AFB to try and make things a bit easier for our soldiers. That doesn't mean I don't want that person home, not to mention all our troops, and to just let Afghanistan burn if its people don't care about it. They know the risks. Believe it or not, I don't think many folks think Afghanistan is paradise.

They should not be there. Plain and simple. The State Dept's own advice to you and me would be not to travel to these countries.

I don't care whether it's MSF, some charity, a State dept. worker who is "educated" or someone in the military. Afghans can do all that,. They dont want foreigners there and will kill them.

 

[itshappening]

I think you are underestimating the want/need for medical care in some countries - a friend working with the Red Cross I met on a deployment begged me to come to Africa with him, where he primarily was deployed to - because the hospital he worked at had one working sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff) for the routine 600-800 patients within it. Could you even imagine that as an American... one working blood pressure cuff, in a hospital?

I'm not arguing with you that they are potentially putting themselves in harm's way - I'm arguing that there are good people who do wish to change the world, and are ok with putting themselves in harm's way. And there are also people who are incredibly thankful that there are people willing to do that.

Afghans can do medical work. They dont want foreigners there. Don't go there. Do something else. Tell everyone who is even thinking about providing medical care in Afghanistan not to go there.

 

[belian78]

Private organizations should most certainly try to organize resources/people for humanitarian causes, no question. However, until we get our occupying forces out of their country, those humanitarians will be seen as more of the enemy, end of story.

 

[jay_dub]

"Doing what she loved" is cold comfort for a parent losing their child. I suppose it's a way of coping.

I have to agree with it'shappening. Whether in a combat role or not, any American going over there is supporting an occupying force. She made her choice. She's dead. And some other starry-eyed young person will take her place.

It's past time to quit supporting the American regime, whether it's for adventure, money, education benefits or altruistic reasons. We have no draft. Nobody is there against their will. I sort of understood it right after 9/11, but geez, this is 10+ years later.