A group of former senior US diplomats and military commanders launched a campaign aimed at helping to unseat Bush, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington In another embarrassing blow to United States President George W Bush, a group of 27 former senior diplomats and military commanders launched a campaign late last week to press for ousting the Republican president and his right-wing team from the White House, saying his "policies failed in the primary responsibilities of preserving national security and providing world leadership". The group, named "Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change", includes Republicans and Democrats as well as officials who served under former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton. Unlike the group of 50 US diplomats that issued a letter two months ago, also criticising Bush's foreign policy and how it has actually increased the threats facing US national security, the new group includes several retired four-star generals, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and ambassadors to key countries such as the former Soviet Union, Saudi Arabia, Israel, several African countries and the United Nations. After noting the failures of Bush's foreign policy, particularly in Iraq and in the "war on terror", the group declared in a statement released at a news conference on 16 June: "Serious issues are at stake. We need a change." Members of the group said they were particularly concerned with the growing feelings of anti- Americanism all over the world, particularly in Arab and Muslim nations, saying that, "Never in the two and a quarter centuries of our history has the United States been so isolated among the nations, so broadly feared and distrusted." They also recognised that the US "suffers from close identification with autocratic regimes in the Muslim world, and from the perception of unquestioning support for the policies and actions of the present Israeli government. To enhance credibility with Islamic peoples we must pursue courageous, energetic and balanced efforts to establish peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and policies that encourage responsible democratic reforms." The statement said that, "from the outset, President George W Bush adopted an overbearing approach to America's role in the world, relying upon military might and righteousness, insensitive to the concerns of traditional friends and allies, and disdainful of the United Nations." It added: "Instead of building upon America's great economic and moral strength to lead other nations in a coordinated campaign to address the causes of terrorism and to stifle its resources, the administration, motivated more by ideology than by reasoned analysis, struck out on its own." The group charged that the Bush administration did not only lead the US into "an ill-planned and costly war from which exit is uncertain". It also accused the Bush administration of having "justified the invasion of Iraq by manipulation of uncertain intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, and by a cynical campaign to persuade the public that Saddam Hussein was linked to Al-Qaeda and the attacks of 11 September. The evidence did not support this argument." Particularly alarming to the group was the fact that "public opinion polls throughout the world report hostility toward us. Muslim youth are turning to anti- American terrorism." To counter the argument so often expounded by Bush supporters that the US alone should decide how to protect its national security, the statement noted that, "no loyal American would question our ultimate right to act alone in our national interest; but responsible leadership would not turn to unilateral military action before diplomacy had been thoroughly explored." The career diplomats and retired military leaders referred to the many challenges facing the world in the 21st century -- namely the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, unequal distribution of wealth and the fruits of globalisation, terrorism, environmental degradation, population growth in the developing world, HIV/AIDS and ethnic and religious confrontations. "Such problems cannot be resolved by military force, nor by the sole remaining superpower alone; they demand patient, coordinated global effort under the leadership of the United States. The Bush administration has shown that it does not grasp these circumstances of the new era, and is not able to rise to the responsibilities of world leadership in either style or substance." Thus, the group concluded, "It is time for a change." Phyllis Oakley, the group's spokesperson and former assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research who worked with both Republican presidents Reagan and Bush, said the statement they issued received large support since they first started working on it. But they intentionally chose a limited number of signatories who are "a representative group of like-minded former senior career officials." He added that some of those who signed the statement had actually voted for George W Bush in 2000 but later changed their mind after he insisted on launching the Iraq war. Oakley admitted that as career government officials, taking what is clearly a political, and partisan step ahead of upcoming presidential elections in November was "very hard to do and we have made our decision after deep reflection". However, he added, the turning point for them was their fear of losing the fruits of the long years they spent in building "piece by piece a structure of respect and influence for the United States that has served our country very well over the last 60 years". "Today we see that structure crumbling under an administration blinded by ideology and a callous indifference to the realities of the world around it. Never before have so many of us felt the need for a major change in the direction of our foreign policy," Oakley told reporters at the news conference announcing the launch of the group. While recognising that Bush has recently been trying to mend damaged ties with the rest of the world, particularly ahead of upcoming elections in which he hopes to win a second term, Oakley said that "everything we have heard from friends abroad on every continent suggests to us that the lack of confidence in the present administration in Washington is so profound that a whole new team is needed to repair the damage." Connie Coopersmith, another of the group's spokespersons, said she was not denying that the statement and the campaign could be interpreted as direct endorsement for Bush's Democratic opponent, John Kerry. "Yes, we want people to vote for Kerry because that will be the only way to get Bush and his team out of the White House," she told Al-Ahram Weekly. Coopersmith added that the group's next step would be to organise tours and to take part in speeches and talk shows. "We have been overwhelmed by requests for interviews since the first news on our statement leaked to the press. This alone will keep us busy until November, when we hope to see the real change."
