equal treatment

American diplomats are facing a draft to serve in Iraq, and they aren't happy. Guess I can't blame them - plenty of soldiers are also equally unhappy about being forced to serve in Iraq.

But I was struck in reading this story that American diplomats get TWO WEEKS of training before being sent to Iraq. That doesn't seem like much - American military personnel are always training and we've all seen the TV news reports about the elaborate training they get in pseudo-Iraqi towns and villages set up in the US' southwestern deserts. What do they train diplomats in two weeks? How to avoid incoming mortars?

But there is some equality in treatment between our military and diplomats - one diplomat said she had served in Iraq, came home with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the State Department refused to authorize medical treatment for her.

Classy. And she won't even be able to rely on Veteran Administration hospitals.