26 ex-diplomats, military officers join in crusade
Say U.S. president hurting American security interests
HARRY DUNPHY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON�A group of 26 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers
said yesterday that President George W. Bush should be voted out of
office in November for damaging U.S. national security interests and
America's standing in the international community.
"Today we see that structure crumbling under an administration blinded
by ideology and a callous indifference to the world around it," said
Phyllis Oakley, former assistant secretary of state for intelligence and
research. "Never before have so many of us felt the need for a major
change in the direction of our foreign policy."
Retired Gen. Merrill A. "Tony" McPeak, former air force chief of staff,
said Bush anticipated a rosy reception after a military victory in Iraq
but "we were totally unprepared for the post-combat occupation. So we
see here unfolding before us a total disaster."
Charles Freeman, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first
Persian Gulf war, said the administration's handling of wider relations
with the Islamic world was particularly damaging to U.S. interests.
The group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for
Change, did not explicitly endorse Democrat John Kerry for president in
its statement. But one of its members said Sunday "it goes more or less
without saying."
The Bush campaign said at least 20 members of the group have been
involved in partisan political activities in the past.
"It is not surprising that John Kerry has the support of a group of
people who share his belief that the threat of terror is exaggerated,"
Bush spokesperson Steve Schmidt said. "This is a group that shares John
Kerry's pre-Sept. 11 world view and supports John Kerry's failed ideas
for treating terrorism as a matter mainly for law-enforcement and
intelligence."
Among the group are 20 ambassadors, appointed by presidents of both
parties, other former U.S. State Department officials and military
leaders whose careers span three decades.
Prominent members include retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, commander
of U.S. forces in the Middle East during the administration of Bush's
father; retired Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., ambassador to Britain under
president Bill Clinton and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under
president Ronald Reagan; and retired Adm. Stansfield Turner, former head
of the Central Intelligence Agency.
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