A career U.S. diplomat indicted this week for sending threatening messages to an Arab political organization has retired from the foreign service, the State Department said Thursday.Patrick Syring retired last month, about a year after he allegedly left racist and intimidating phone and e-mail messages with the Arab American Institute, but before his Wednesday indictment on federal charges of threatening and violating civil rights laws, spokesman Sean McCormack said.
"Mr. Syring has chosen to retire from the State Department," McCormack told reporters. He declined to comment on the specifics of the matter, citing privacy concerns but stressed that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would not tolerate the behavior in which Syring is alleged to have engaged.
One of the statements this "diplomat" made was, "The only good Lebanese is a dead Lebanese. The only good Arab is a dead Arab."
Syring [...] also praised Israeli forces for "bombing Lebanon back to the Stone Age where it belongs" and said "Arabs are dogs," according to an e-mail cited in the indictment.
My question is why, if the threats from which the indictment was handed down happened a year ago, did we have to wait for Mr. Syring to voluntarily step down? The man left his name on the phone messages and sent the emails from his personal account. It's not like he was hidden behind some anonymous wall and perhaps innocent. Apparently State will indeed tolerate that behavior.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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