AFP

Some 48 percent of US diplomats who would refuse to volunteer to work in Iraq cited disagreement with President George W. Bush’s policy as a factor, according to a survey released Tuesday.

That reason ranked behind separation from family and security concerns, according to a survey by their union, the American Foreign Service Association.

In the survey in which 4,300 of the 11,500 US Foreign Service members responded, some 68 percent opposed forced assignments as unnecessary and undesirable.

…The survey also found that almost half of the US Foreign Service thinks Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is doing a “poor job” looking after their material and professional needs.

The survey revealed serious staff complaints about salaries and other personnel issues, as well as about staffing at the US embassy in Iraq.

(Original Article)