Amman 2007

In February of 2007 the State Department had an Entry Level Officer conference in Amman. Basically, they got Junior Officers from posts around the Middle East, sent us to Amman, and stuck us in a conference room for a few days while we got to listen to people talk about how awsome the Foreign Service is, how important the work we're doing is, and how significant of a challenge Iraq poses to the Service as a whole. Fun stuff.

However, there was one part of the conference that dwarfs all others both in terms of interest and significance. About half of us in attendance had the opportunity to have an audience with King Abdullah. Now, I know that a lot of people don't approve of his reign, and he ceratinly has more than his fair share of challenges, triumphs, and mistakes, but I was honored to have the opportunity to shake his hand and hear him speak, at lenght, on his take on the situation in the Middle East. It was a priceless opportunity, and one for which I am grateful.