http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aWcp2Lwuxyd4&refer=us
May 4 (Bloomberg) -- A group of former U.S. diplomats wrote a letter to President George W. Bush denouncing his policy for dealing with the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, saying it is harming American credibility abroad.
The letter, posted on the American Educational Trust Web site with 16 signatures, applauds a similar letter former British diplomats sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair last week criticizing his Middle East policy. The Web site solicits more support, and Reuters said more than 50 ex-diplomats have now signed.
The former U.S. diplomats' concern focuses on Bush's support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to evacuate Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip while retaining major West Bank enclaves. Bush and Sharon's talks on the plan last month excluded the Palestinians. Bush's stance ``reverses longstanding American policy,'' the group said.
``By closing the door to negotiations with Palestinians and the possibility of a Palestinian state, you have proved that the United States is not an even-handed peace partner,'' the former diplomats, led by Andrew Kilgore, ambassador to Qatar from 1977 to 1980, said in the letter.
``You have placed U.S. diplomats, civilians and military doing their jobs overseas in an untenable and even dangerous position,'' the group said. ``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.''
`Historic Moment'
Bush last month described Sharon's proposal as an ``historic moment'' on the road to peace.
The withdrawal would remove 7,000 Israelis from Gaza, the coastal strip that is home to 1.3 million Palestinians, and keep some of the larger groups of settlements in the West Bank, where 2.5 million Palestinians and 220,000 Israelis live.
Sharon's Likud Party on Sunday rejected the Gaza plan, prompting him to seek the advice of political allies on his next steps. The Sharon proposals agreed upon by Bush also rule out the return of Palestinians who left before 1948 to what is now Israel.
Greg Thielmann, a former head of the U.S. State Department's Office for Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs and a signatory to the letter, today told the British Broadcasting Corp. that Likud's rejection may create ``the worst of all possible worlds'' for the future of the region.
`Irretrievable Damage'
``We've probably done irretrievable damage in the eyes of the Arab world and yet we will not even accomplish what seemed to have been at least one positive part of the Sharon plan,'' Thielmann said, referring to the proposed Gaza withdrawal.
Other letter signers include former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Akins, former Ambassador to Syria Talcott Seelye, former Ambassador to Egypt Richard Nolte and Richard Curtiss, former chief inspector of the U.S. Information Agency.
``This letter represents the tip of the iceberg in terms of those who have served extensively overseas and have a good feel for the consequences of this action and a feel for the way that foreign policy should be made and the importance of following through on national commitments in a consistent and predictable way,'' Thielmann said.
The American Educational Trust, with which some of the signatories are associated, scheduled a news conference on the letter for noon today in Washington.
Sharon's office today declined to comment on the letter. A call to the State Department seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
May 4 (Bloomberg) -- A group of former U.S. diplomats wrote a letter to President George W. Bush denouncing his policy for dealing with the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, saying it is harming American credibility abroad.
The letter, posted on the American Educational Trust Web site with 16 signatures, applauds a similar letter former British diplomats sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair last week criticizing his Middle East policy. The Web site solicits more support, and Reuters said more than 50 ex-diplomats have now signed.
The former U.S. diplomats' concern focuses on Bush's support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to evacuate Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip while retaining major West Bank enclaves. Bush and Sharon's talks on the plan last month excluded the Palestinians. Bush's stance ``reverses longstanding American policy,'' the group said.
``By closing the door to negotiations with Palestinians and the possibility of a Palestinian state, you have proved that the United States is not an even-handed peace partner,'' the former diplomats, led by Andrew Kilgore, ambassador to Qatar from 1977 to 1980, said in the letter.
``You have placed U.S. diplomats, civilians and military doing their jobs overseas in an untenable and even dangerous position,'' the group said. ``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.''
`Historic Moment'
Bush last month described Sharon's proposal as an ``historic moment'' on the road to peace.
The withdrawal would remove 7,000 Israelis from Gaza, the coastal strip that is home to 1.3 million Palestinians, and keep some of the larger groups of settlements in the West Bank, where 2.5 million Palestinians and 220,000 Israelis live.
Sharon's Likud Party on Sunday rejected the Gaza plan, prompting him to seek the advice of political allies on his next steps. The Sharon proposals agreed upon by Bush also rule out the return of Palestinians who left before 1948 to what is now Israel.
Greg Thielmann, a former head of the U.S. State Department's Office for Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs and a signatory to the letter, today told the British Broadcasting Corp. that Likud's rejection may create ``the worst of all possible worlds'' for the future of the region.
`Irretrievable Damage'
``We've probably done irretrievable damage in the eyes of the Arab world and yet we will not even accomplish what seemed to have been at least one positive part of the Sharon plan,'' Thielmann said, referring to the proposed Gaza withdrawal.
Other letter signers include former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Akins, former Ambassador to Syria Talcott Seelye, former Ambassador to Egypt Richard Nolte and Richard Curtiss, former chief inspector of the U.S. Information Agency.
``This letter represents the tip of the iceberg in terms of those who have served extensively overseas and have a good feel for the consequences of this action and a feel for the way that foreign policy should be made and the importance of following through on national commitments in a consistent and predictable way,'' Thielmann said.
The American Educational Trust, with which some of the signatories are associated, scheduled a news conference on the letter for noon today in Washington.
Sharon's office today declined to comment on the letter. A call to the State Department seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
Justin's on a roll (cinnamon sarcasm) for sure but he's posted some pretty interesting discussion topics, no? Props to Justin. 
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