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05/03/2004 Entry: "But we already knew this."
But we already knew this.
Bush doesn't believe in dpilomacy, and the diplomats know it.
Around 50 former U.S. diplomats say President George W. Bush's Middle East policy is costing the United States credibility, prestige and friends, in an open letter to be made public on Tuesday.The letter, which was obtained by Reuters, expresses the signatories' support for 52 retired British diplomats who also sent a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair last week.
"We former diplomats applaud our 52 British colleagues who recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair criticising his Middle East policy and calling on Britain to exert more influence over the United States," the U.S. letter begins.
Harshly criticising Bush for his support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the letter said:
"Your unabashed support of Sharon's extra-judicial assassinations, Israel's Berlin-Wall-like barrier, its harsh military measures in occupied territories and now your endorsement of Sharon's unilateral plans are costing our country its credibility, prestige and friends."
According to Andrew Killgore, who served as U.S. ambassador to Qatar from 1977 to 1980 and was coordinating the effort, the letter has been signed by several former ambassadors, including James Akins, who was U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1973 to 1976; Robert Keeley who was assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 1978 to 1980 and later ambassador to Zimbabwe and Greece; and John Gunther Dean, ambassador to India from 1985 to 1988.
Killgore told Reuters the group intended to go public on Tuesday with a Washington news conference. He said so far there were around 50 signatories.
Other senior former diplomats said they were considering joining and were deeply disturbed by the recent direction of U.S. policy, not only in regard to the Middle East but also on human rights generally.
"We're not the good guys any more and our foreign relations have been and are being damaged. We are viewed as hypocritical," said William Rogers, who was Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs in the mid-1970s. Rogers said he had not decided whether to sign the letter.
Replies: somebody speaks up.
Huzzah and hurrah to these folks, even though I am guessing from the dates that most of them are retired and thereby safe from the savage vindictiveness of the current malAdministration. In fact it looks like they may have gone out of their way to avoid anybody connected with the Clinton era, to avoid accusations that this was done for partisan purposes during an election year.
Of course the Thugocracy will charge that anyway, if this gets any sort of traction in the media.
MOST interesting that they focus entirely on the Israel-Palestine mess, at least in the parts quoted. Maybe they're saving comments on the effects of the Operation Iraqi Liberation debacle for a sequel.
Posted by Xan @ 05/03/2004 07:59 PM NY
