posted on April 30, 2004 11:54:32 AM new
Former US diplomats send protest letter to Bush
By Guy Dinmore in Washington and Jean Eaglesham in London
Published: April 30 2004 1:15 | Last Updated: April 30 2004 1:15
Inspired by the attack of their British colleagues on Tony Blair's foreign policy, more than 20 former US diplomats have so far signed a letter to President George W. Bush protesting against his pro-Israeli stance.
The letter accuses Mr Bush of reversing long- standing American policy in the Middle East by endorsing the demands of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, that Israel retain big settlements in the occupied West Bank and deny the right of return to Palestinian refugees.
"Your unqualified 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 plan are costing our country its credibility, prestige and friends," the letter says.
The letter was drafted by Andrew Killgore, former ambassador to Qatar, and Richard Curtiss, former chief inspector of the US Information Agency. The letter was to have been sent to the White House today, but an organiser said it was being held to give more former envoys the chance to sign.
Former ambassadors to Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have signed so far.
Others include John Brady Kiesling, one of at least three US diplomats who resigned last year in protest against the war on Iraq, and Greg Thielmann, until recently a senior State Department intelligence analyst who has accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence on Iraq's weapons programmes and alleged ties with terrorist groups.
The letter begins by applauding the 52 former British diplomats who attacked the UK prime minister, and ends by calling for a reassertion of "American principles of justice and fairness in our relations with all the peoples of the Middle East".
"A return to the time- honoured American tradition of fairness will reverse the present tide of ill-will in Europe and the Middle East, even in Iraq," it says.
While the former UK diplomats made the headlines at home, the American letter has stirred little media interest so far.
It is already well known in Washington that numerous past and present officers of the US State Department, especially Arabists, are distressed by what they see as the cost in the region of Mr Bush's intimate support of Mr Sharon. For this reason the White House has effectively sidelined the State Department over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who was Britain's most senior coalition representative in Iraq until his retirement last month, revealed on Thursday that he had been consulted over the letter attacking Mr Blair's Middle East policy.
The former envoy, however, stressed that he was not consulted on the final draft and said he disagreed with its "unbalanced and confrontational" stance on Iraq. But the fact that he was approached over the explosive missive was seen by some critics as evidence of deep-seated establishment unease with the UK's postwar strategy.
