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Shuffle of diplomatic staff reflects new US concerns

The US will send an extra 15 diplomats to China, 15 to Latin America and 12 to India as part of a major rethink of its foreign policy for the next few decades.

US embassies in Europe will lose 38 diplomats in total, a reflection that the economic, political and religious frontlines have moved elsewhere.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in January that hundreds of diplomats would be moved from Europe and Washington to Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The shift of Washington's diplomatic weight comes after a Pentagon report last month which envisaged a "long war" against terrorism in which a major propaganda effort would be needed to win the hearts in the Muslim world.

The new postings indicate the countries identified by Washington as economic and political rivals or partners, such as China and India, as well as potential flashpoints.

The existing positions reflect the importance of Europe to the US during the cold war. Europe was also regarded as a relatively cushy posting for US diplomats, except for those based in Russia and eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The state department list shows that the biggest reduction worldwide will be in Russia, where the US embassy will cut 10 posts.

Germany will lose seven, and countries such as Belgium, Poland, Italy and Spain will lose two or three each.

The increase in diplomats in China is an acknowledgement by Washington not only of its importance but its possible military threat to US interests in the Pacific Rim countries and elsewhere in Asia, and the danger posed by unresolved territorial issues such as Taiwan.

The other priority for the US is India, not least as a counterbalance to China. Relations between the US and India have frequently been strained since independence, with New Delhi a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and often closer to Moscow than to Washington.

Bush and Rice will find there remains strong left-wing opposition in the government coalition and among the public towards the US. Thousands of protesters gathered in Mumbai yesterday, waving signs that read "Devil Bush Go Back."

Robert Pearson, who retired on Monday as director-general of the foreign service after a 30-year diplomatic career, said that demographics were a major element in most of the personnel changes.

He said the combined populations of North America and Europe would constitute no more than 10 percent of the world population by the middle of the century.
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