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White House Brushes Off Foreign Service Dissent Over Immigration Order

by Steve Herman

   STATE DEPARTMENT --

   U.S. State Department personnel who have a problem with President
   Donald Trump's immigration order "should either get with the program or
   they can go," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters Monday.
   "This is about the safety of America."

   Spicer acknowledged that the dissent memo circulating among foreign
   service officers and other State Department employees is a legitimate
   channel for them to express concern. But he said that objection to the
   president's ban on travelers from seven predominately Muslim countries
   has been "blown way out of proportion and exaggerated."

   The Dissent Channel memo objecting to the recent order on refugees'
   travel restrictions asserts the administration's move "will not achieve
   its aims and will likely be counterproductive."

   White House spokesman Sean Spicer holds up documents comparing the
   makeup of the National Security Council (NSC) in the Trump and Obama
   administrations during his press briefing at the White House in
   Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2017.

   The State Department says it is aware of the memo, but declined to
   comment on the contents.

   "The Dissent Channel is a longstanding official vehicle for State
   Department employees to convey alternative views and perspectives on
   policy issues," said acting spokesman Mark Toner. "This is an important
   process that the acting secretary, and the department as a whole, value
   and respect."

   Trump last Friday signed an executive order banning entry to refugees
   and people from seven Muslim majority countries. The order includes a
   120-day suspension of refugee admissions and a 90-day entry ban for
   people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

   According to an early draft seen by VOA, the dissent memo expresses
   grave concerns that the travel ban will not achieve its goal "to
   protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals
   admitted to the United States." It also warns that the action will
   "immediately sour relations" with key allies in the fight against
   terrorism, given many of the nations whose citizens are now restricted
   from traveling to U.S. soil.

   The memo suggests alternatives, including improving visa and
   immigration screening.

   How it works

   The Dissent Channel was established in 1971 -- amid disputes about
   Vietnam War policies -- to allow U.S. diplomats to speak freely about
   foreign policy matters.

   The State Department Building is pictured in Washington, Jan. 26, 2017.

   Typically, four to five Dissent Channel messages are received each
   year, according to the State Department.

   When State Department or U.S. Agency for International Development
   employees believe their voices are not heard by supervisors, they may
   use the Dissent Channel. At the State Department, the policy planning
   staff is supposed to review it, circulate it to authorized people and
   reply in substance to the dissenters within 60 days.

   Those utilizing the Dissent Channel are protected from reprisals,
   disciplinary action or unauthorized disclosure of its use, according to
   the government's Foreign Affairs Manual.

   A prominent use of the Dissent Channel last year concerned Syria. More
   than 50 State Department diplomats signed a memo sharply criticizing
   the Obama administration for not carrying out a military strike against
   the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for constant violations
   of the cease-fire in the civil war.

   Foreign anger

   Officials on Monday also revealed that the State Department is
   receiving multiple cables from its embassies about foreign anger
   concerning the restrictions on travel to the U.S. from the
   predominately Muslim countries in the executive order.

   There has been no response yet from the State Department for a public
   comment about the cable. The department has held no briefings for
   correspondents since the start of the Trump administration. Such
   briefings are usually held every weekday.

   The president's nominee to be secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has
   yet to be confirmed by the Senate. A vote on Tillerson, a recently
   retired oil and gas company executive, is expected this week.