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A generic term for any officer in the armed forces (air force, army or navy) temporarily attached to a diplomatic mission. The term ‘defence attaché’ is also sometimes used for this group as a whole though the British, French, and Americans now usually reserve this title for the senior service attaché at a diplomatic mission, irrespective of that person\'s own branch of the armed forces. (To make things a little clearer, the title indicating service affiliation is usually added, in the British case for example: ‘defence and air attaché’.) In French diplomacy the term Attaché militaire denotes seniority. At high commissions in the Commonwealth the word ‘adviser’ is substituted wherever ‘attaché’ appears in the above titles.
The duties of service attachés, or as they are known in the US Foreign Service ‘armed forces attachés’, invariably involve acquiring information on the armed forces of the country in which they are based. Where relations are close this will not be difficult and, in such circumstances, an important part of their duties is also to organize collaboration between the two countries’ armed forces - examples of which are joint training exercises, officer exchanges, harmonization of weapons systems, defence sales and after-sales services and training, naval ship visits, and visits in both directions by senior and other officers and units.
It has been well said that service attachés stand at the interface between secret intelligence and diplomacy (sense 1), and this sometimes gets them into trouble, especially when they find themselves in unfriendly states. In the first place, there is always the risk that they will find themselves having to serve different - and sometimes competing - masters: the ambassador, the defence ministry, the secret service. In the second place, they are always liable to be declared persona non grata by a receiving state on grounds of espionage. It is because of the sensitivity of their work that, apart from the head of mission (where agrément is mandatory), the service attaché is the only member of the staff of a diplomatic mission whose name may, if the receiving state so requires, need to be submitted for approval prior to appointment. (In practice, receiving states almost always do so require.) Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations a receiving state can also refuse to accept service attachés altogether, or certain kinds of service attaché.
Persons faintly resembling service attachés had begun to appear in early modern Europe and in 1681 Wicquefort argued for their introduction, not least to spare the ambassador himself the inconvenience and possible embarrassment of being obliged to accompany an importunate prince on campaign. (It could be especially embarrassing for a Christian ambassador required to accompany the Ottoman sultan or his grand vizier on campaign against fellow Christians.) However, it was not until the nineteenth century that the habit of appointing recognizably modern military and naval attachés became common in Europe. Air attachés, of course, were an innovation that had to await the interlude between the First and Second World Wars of the twentieth century. |
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