The scene in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)
(CNSNews.com) - In the months leading up to the Sept. 11 terrorist
attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, the U.S. Embassy in Libya was
seeking to hire two bodyguards with “limited” English language skills at
salaries of about $13,000 per year.
Job descriptions for these openings that the
U.S. Embassy in Libya posted online
said the State Department would give preference in filling them to
qualified U.S. citizens who were family members of U.S. government
employees.
The job descriptions explicitly stated that this included the “same-sex domestic partners” of U.S. government employees.
In addition to
the two bodyguards, the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya was also seeking a
security guard, a
surveillance detection specialist, a
chauffeur for the consulate in Benghazi and a “
Senior Guard” for the Local Guard Force working to secure the embassy.
One of the duties of the Local Guard Force that this Senior Guard
would join was “providing limited emergency response in the event of a
terrorist attack, criminal incident, or major accident.”
All the job descriptions for these positions were
posted online by the embassy,
and all, except the security guard position, said that applicants
needed to be fluent in Arabic. None required full fluency in
English. All of them said the State Department would give preference in
filling the position to a qualified U.S. citizen who was the “same-sex
domestic partner” of a U.S. government employee.
Four of the six job descriptions—the two bodyguards, the security
guard and the surveillance detection specialist—listed the salaries
being offered for the positions. The highest was 16,288 Libyan dinars
per year for the bodyguard positions (if the successful applicant came
in at “full performance level” and not “training level”). At the
current exchange rate (1 Libyan dinar to 0.80225 U.S. dollars), that works out to about $13,000 per year. (In 2010, according to the
CIA's World Factbook Libya's per capita GPD was $14,100.)
Each of the
security-related job descriptions
that the U.S. Embassy in Libya posted online included this disclaimer:
“When fully qualified, U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Members (USEFM) and
US Veterans are given preference.” All the descriptions defined an
Eligible Family Member as follows: "1. Eligible Family Member (EFM): An
individual related to a U.S. government employee in one of the following
ways: Spouse or same-sex domestic partner (as defined in 3 FAM 1610);
..." They then defined U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Member as follows:
"2. U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM): For purposes of
receiving preference in hiring for a qualified position, an EFM who meet
the following criteria: US Cititzen; and EFM (see above) at least 18
years old; ..."
The U.S. Embassy also posted—in both
English and
Arabic--copies
of a standard State Department application form. Block 19 of this
application asks the applicant to list any “relatives” or “members of
your household” who work for the U.S. government. Section 20 asks the
applicant if he or she is “claiming preference in hiring” as, among
other things, a U.S. Eligible Family Member.
The form includes instructions for completing Block 19. These
instructions say: “Relatives and members of household include father,
mother, husband, wife, unmarried partner of the opposite or same sex…”
The instructions for completing Block 20 say that USEFMs are deemed to
include a U.S. citizen who is a “spouse or domestic partner of the
sponsoring employee.”
The U.S. State Department has long given hiring preferences to
Eligible Family Members (EFM) of foreign services officers posted
overseas--as long as the EFM is a U.S. citizen and is fully qualified
for the job opening in question. In June 2009, however, President Barack
Obama and Secretary State Hillary Clinton expanded this policy to treat
the unmarried same-sex partners of foreign service officers as if they
were their legal spouses.
“In consultation with Secretary of State Clinton, as well as OPM
Director John Berry, my administration has completed a long and thorough
review to identify a number of areas where we can extend federal
benefits to the same-sex partners of Foreign Service and executive
branch government employees,” Obama said at a
White House ceremony on June 17, 2009, when he signed a "
memorandum" instituting the new policy.
“I’m requesting that Secretary Clinton and Director Berry do so where
possible under existing law—and that the heads of all executive
departments and agencies conduct reviews to determine where they may do
the same,” said Obama.
The next day, Secretary of State Clinton issued a statement
announcing the policy changes she was implementing under Obama’s
memorandum.
“Domestic partners of federal employees have for too long been
treated unequally,” said Clinton. “As one of my first acts as secretary,
I directed the department to review whether we had the flexibility to
extend additional benefits to domestic partners.
“Yesterday, the president issued a memorandum reflecting his
commitment to ensuring that same-sex domestic partners receive the
maximum benefits that each agency legally can undertake,” said Clinton.
“I am pleased to announce that the Department of State is extending the
full range of legally available benefits and allowances to same-sex
domestic partners of members of the Foreign Service sent to serve
abroad.”
“The Department of State,”
Clinton's statement said,
“intends to provide the following additional benefits and allowances
for declared same-sex domestic partners of eligible employees serving
overseas: Diplomatic passports … Family member preference for employment
at posts abroad.”
The State Department later elaborated on the new policy in a
guidebook it publishes for the family members of new foreign service officers.
“As of June 19, 2009, the Department of State extended the full range
of legally available benefits and allowances to declared same-sex
domestic partners of members of the Foreign Service sent to serve
abroad,” the handbook said. “The Department also will work with foreign
governments to provide same-sex domestic partners diplomatic visas,
privileges and immunities, and authorization to work in the local
economy.”
Despite this new policy, not all of the U.S. embassies in
predominantly Muslim countries spell out in their online job
descriptions the fact that the same-sex domestic partners of U.S.
government employees will be given a hiring preference.
For example, the U.S. Embassy in Egypt does post the State Department application form in both English and Arabic, but the
online job descriptions
it has currently posted do not say that the same-sex domestic partners
of U.S. government employees get a hiring preference. They do say that
the “US Mission in Cairo provides equal opportunity and fair and
equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political
affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation.” And they do say:
“When equally qualified, U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Members (AEFMs)
and U.S. Veterans will be given preference."
But then the U.S. Embassy in Egypt’s online job descriptions define
an “AEFM” as follows: “AEFM: A type of EFM that is eligible for direct
hire employment on either a Family Member Appointment (FMA) or Temporary
Appointment (TEMP) provided s/he meets all of the following criteria:
U.S. citizen; Spouse or dependent who is at least age 18.”
The U.S. Embassy in Egypt currently has eight online descriptions posted for job openings ranging for a “
Financial/Administrative Assistant” to a “
gardener.”
The term “same-sex domestic partner”—which appears even in the job
descriptions for bodyguards and security guards posted by the U.S.
Embassy in Libya—does not appear in any of the job descriptions posted
by the U.S. Embassy in Egypt.
By contrast, four descriptions for job openings posted by
the U.S. Embassy in Yemen—including
two protective detail trainers and
two cultural assistants—do
include the same language about a hiring preference extending to
“same-sex domestic partners” that is in the job descriptions posted in
Libya.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen had also posted a
job description for a “guard receptionist”
that included language indicating a preference would be given to the
U.S. citizen “same-sex domestic partner” of a U.S. government employee.
This job description also said: “Female candidates are encourage [sic]
to apply.”
On Oct. 2 House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa
and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the Oversight and Government
Reform Subcommittee on National Security,
sent a letter
to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton citing what they called “a long
line of attacks on Western diplomats and officials in Libya in the
months leading up to September 11, 2012,” when terrorists attacked the
U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed the U.S. ambassador and three
other Americans.
“It was clearly never, as administration officials once insisted, the
result of a popular protest,” Issa and Chaffetz wrote Clinton. “In
addition, multiple U.S. federal government officials have confirmed to
the committee that, prior to the September 11 attack, the U.S. mission
in Libya made repeated requests for increased security in Benghazi. The
mission in Libya, however, was denied these resources by officials in
Washinton.”
One of the attack cited by Issa and Chaffetz occurred on April 6 in Benghazi.
“Two Libyans who had been fired from a contractor providing unarmed
static security for Consulate Benghazi, threw a small IED over the
Consulate fence,” Issa and Chaffetz wrote in their letter to Clinton.
“There were no casualties or damage and the suspects were arrested but
not prosecuted.”
Another attack occurred on June 6. “Under cover of darkness,
assailants placed an IED on the north gate of Consulate Benghazi,
blowing a hole in the security perimeter that was described by one
individual as ‘big enough for forty men to go through.’”
One of the bodyguard
job openings listed
on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Libya, said the opening date for
applications was April 2, four days before the first attack on the
Benghazi consulate by two fired Libyan security guards.
“The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli is seeking an individual for the
position of Bodyguard in the Regional Security Section,” said the job
description. “Close Protection Unit (CPU) bodyguards are responsible for
providing a safe and secure environment for the conduct of foreign
policy. Body guards are responsible for protecting COM [Chief of
Mission] personnel and official visitors from physical harm and
embarrassment.”
What were the qualifications for this position? According to the
description, the person needed to have completed secondary school, have
“a minimum of six months security, police or military experience,” have
“Level IV (Fluency)” in “reading, writing and speaking Arabic,” and
“Level II (Limited)" skills "in reading, writing and speaking English.”
The description, like the others on the U.S. Embassy Libya website,
then said that qualified “US Citizen Eligible Family Members (USEFMs)
and U.S. Veterans are given preference,” and explained that a USEFM
included the spouse “or same-sex domestic partner …. of the sponsoring
employee.”
The
other job description
for a bodyguard that the embassy posted listed the same salary and
qualifications, but said the opening date for the job was Jan. 2, 2012.
The “
surveillance detection specialist”
job description said the applicant needed to have completed secondary
school, have one or two years of “security or military experience,” and
be fluent in Arabic while having a “Level III (Good working knowledge)
in reading, writing and speaking English.” The opening date for this job
was June 11, 2012.
The job description for the surveillance protection specialist said:
“Provides security for USG facilities, employees, and family members by
performing procedures to detect, recognize, and report on surveillance
directed against U.S. Government facilities and/or personnel and
provides support directly, or by calling for assistance. In case of an
imminent attack, calls for immediate assistance and takes action to
prevent injury and death to personnel, and destruction of property.”
This job description also said preference would be given to the U.S.
citizen “same-sex domestic partner” of a sponsoring U.S. government
employee.
The
security guard job description
said: “This position provides protective services to U.S. Government
employees an facilities.” It required “[t]wo years of experience in
military, law enforcement or security work” and “Level I (Rudimentary
Knowledge)" of English. The requirements also said: “Must be able to
follow guard orders and take action in the event of an emergency.” This
position opened on Jan. 2, 2012. It gave preference to a qualified U.S.
citizen who was the “same-sex domestic partner” of a U.S. government
employee.
The
job description for the Senior Guard
said: “The incumbent serves as Senior Guard in the Local Guard Force
(LGF), which provides security for the Embassy by conducting perimeter
patrols, controlling vehicular and pedestrian access, and providing
limited emergency response in the event of a terrorist attack criminal
incident, or major accident. The Senior Guard performs the most complex
duties of the LGF, such as the Technical Security System (TSS), which
consists of a CCTV camera system, and Imminent Danger Notification
System (IDNS), an intranet-based access control application (WebPass),
emergency controls, a two-way radio network and the after-hours
emergency telephone line.”
The job description posted by the U.S. Embassy said the
qualifications for this job included “[c]ompletion of secondary school,”
“[t]hree years of experience in security, military or police work, OR,
three years of experience in a field that can be directly applied to the
security work required.” This person needed to be fluent in Arabic but
have a “Level III (Good working knowledge)” of English.
The job description said the State Department would give preference
in hiring for this position to the qualified citizen “same-sex domestic
partner” of a U.S. government employee.
The salary offered for the Senior Guard position was 14,673 Libyan dinars—or a little less than $12,000 per year.
On the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 8, CNSNews.com contacted the State
Department about these job descriptions posted on the website of the
U.S. Embassy in Libya. CNSNews.com then sent a series of questions to a
State Department press officer via email about the job postings.
CNSNews.com also sent to the press officer PDF copies of the job
descriptions themselves as they had been posted on the website of the
U.S. Embassy in Libya. On Oct. 9, CNSNews.com contacted the State
Department again, and sent its questions and the PDFs to two additional
State Department press officers. On Oct. 10, CNSNews.com contacted the
State Department again about it's questions. At 9:50 a.m on Oct. 10, a
State Department press officer responded that they believed somebody
would be responding but were "not sure of the timing."
The State Department did confirm that its policy is to give a
preference in hiring at foreign missions to qualified U.S. citizens who
are family members of U.S. government employees and that this policy
extends to same-sex domestic partners.
In its
Country Report on Human Rights in Libya,
released by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on May 24, the State
Department said: “Under Qadhafi the government deemed lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) orientation illegal, and official and
societal discrimination against LGBT persons persisted during the year.
The Qadhafi-era penal code made consensual same sex sexual activity
punishable by three to five years in prison. The law provided for
punishment of both parties.”
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