WASHINGTON - The 26 former US diplomats and military leaders who were due to issue a joint statement on Wednesday accusing President George W Bush of hurting American foreign policy includes former ambassadors appointed by presidents from both major US political parties and retired career military leaders.
The Iraq war put the United States at odds with many of its closest allies. Admiral Stansfield Turner, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Admiral William Crowe, a former chairman of the US military’s joint chiefs of staff, are part of the group. Another member, Phyllis Oakley, a former state department official, has commented: “What has caused us to speak out in what could be seen as a partisan or political way is simply our deep, deep concern about the future security of the United States.”
The group’s statement comes two months after a similar criticism was issued by former British diplomats. They criticized their prime minister, Tony Blair, for his close alignment with Bush’s foreign policy.
It says its members simply want to alert voters to what they believe is “the damage Bush’s policies have done to America’s long-standing alliances and hard-won prestige”.
Lichtman rejects the Republican strategist’s argument that the way the US acted in Iraq had the support of other countries and that it is building even broader support for its occupation of Iraq through the UN.
“The fact that now, during this very difficult period, the United States has been able to get a UN resolution on the transfer of power to Iraqis does not in any way undermine the essentially unilateral thrust of American policy in Iraq and the broader unilateralism followed by this administration, which has rejected a number of international treaties,” Lichtman says.
Lichtman cites the rejection of the Kyoto treaty on the environment, the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and its 18-month imposition of tariffs on imported steel, which punished many US trading partners, including the European Union.
Heavyweight former leaders rebuke for Bush’s foreign policy
Well well well, Bush and crew wont listen to rest of the world looks like they wont even listen to there own kind either!