Some 50 former US diplomats have gathered to attack President George W. Bush's Middle East policy. In an open letter, the former officials accuse the White House of costing the US "credibility, prestige and friends".
The letter expresses the signatories' support for 52 retired British diplomats who also sent a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair last week.
"We former diplomats applaud our 52 British colleagues who recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair criticizing his Middle East policy and calling on Britain to exert more influence over the United States," the American letter begins.
The letter firmly slams Bush for his support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. It 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."
The letter has been signed by several former ambassadors, including James Akins, who was US ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1973 to 1976, and Robert Keeley who was assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 1978 to 1980 and later ambassador to Zimbabwe and Greece.
Other top former diplomats said they were considering joining and were deeply disturbed by the recent direction of US policy, not only in regard to the Middle East but also on human rights in general.
"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 served as Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs in the mid-1970s. Rogers said he had not decided whether to sign the letter.
The diplomats said they were concerned by Bush's endorsement last month of Sharon's plan to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza Strip.
The letter said that by backing the plan, the US leader had tossed away the rights of three million Palestinians.
They said Bush had placed US diplomats, civilians and military overseas in an untenable and even dangerous position by pursuing an unbalanced Middle East policy. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
