Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte sent out an e-mail Friday telling officers that 22 of 48 positions have been filled with volunteers four days before a Tuesday deadline, The Washington Post reported. That leaves 26 open spots.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Dallas Morning News in an interview Friday that many Foreign Service employees have volunteered for Iraq in the past four years, and said news accounts have overstated dissension in the ranks. But she also said the posts at the Baghdad embassy will be filled.

"If I need somebody to serve in Iraq, they have to serve there," she said.

The department has listed 250 Foreign Service officers eligible for Iraq service. Once the deadline passes, senior officials will decide who should be ordered there in the first forced assignments since Vietnam.