Boot Bush out, say former US army chiefs

A GROUP of 26 retired US diplomats and military officers yesterday advocated that President George W Bush be voted out of office in November.

They criticised his damaging of 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 General Merrill McPeak, former Air Force chief of staff, said the Bush administration 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”.

Chas Freeman, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf war, said the administration’s handling of wider relations with the Islamic world was particularly damaging to US interests in the long run.

The group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, did not explicitly endorse Democrat John Kerry for president. But one of its members said “it goes more or less without saying”.

Among the group are 20 ambassadors, appointed by presidents of both parties, other former State Department officials and military leaders whose careers span three decades. Prominent members include retired Admiral William Crowe, ambassador to Britain under President Bill Clinton and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan and retired Admiral Stansfield Turner, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Normally, former diplomats and military commanders avoid making political statements, especially in an election year.

But last month 53 former diplomats accused the Bush administration of undermining US credibility in the Middle East by its strong support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In Britain, 52 former officials criticised Prime Minister Tony Blair for supporting the US over Iraq and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.