British Diplomats Scold Blair For Toeing Bush’s Doomed Policies
LONDON, April 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced Monday, April 26, a withering and unprecedented criticism from the most senior former officials in the Foreign Office for toeing the U.S. line in the Middle East and occupied Iraq.
Departing from the usual measured language of diplomacy, 52 British diplomats put their names to a letter rebuking Blair for the acquiescence to U.S. President George W. Bush's backing of Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon’s controversial disengagement plan, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
They described the plan, which will see the evacuation of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip only to occupy more Palestinian lands in the West Bank, as "one-sided and illegal".
"If that is unacceptable or unwelcome there is no case for supporting policies which are doomed to failure," wrote the signatories, the vast majority of whom were ex-ambassadors, many with considerable experience in the Middle East.
The British prime minister has insisted that this does not spell the end for the stalled internationally-brokered peace roadmap, but the diplomats disagreed.
"Our dismay at this backward step is heightened by the fact that you yourself seem to have endorsed it, abandoning the principles which for nearly four decades have guided international efforts to restore peace in the Holy Land."
Oliver Miles, former ambassador to Libya, said it was Blair's press conference with Bush in Washington two weeks ago that spurred him to act.
Blair followed the U.S. lead in endorsing Sharon's plan and U.S. guarantees for Israel, which eliminate the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes inside what is now Israel.
The British and U.S. endorsement of Sharon's plan would "cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood", the veteran diplomats warned.
The urged Blair to use his "influence" on the United States to secure a change of policies "doomed to failure".
"We believe that the need for such influence is now a matter of the highest urgency," said the extremely blunt letter.
Among the signatories were a series of well-respected figures, including ex-ambassadors to both Iraq and Israel, as well as Marrack Goulding, the former head of peacekeeping for the United Nations and Sir Crispin Tickell, who served as Britain's ambassador to the U.N.
Tickell told the Independent newspaper -- which front-paged the text of the letter -- that feelings among his former colleagues were unprecedented.
"I have never seen such a level of worry and despair among those who have been involved in the diplomatic field ever before," he said.
No Effective Plan
The diplomats had equally harsh words about the U.S. and British roles in the occupation of Iraq, especially after the latest U.S. offensive and bombardment of Fallujah, which left more than 600 Iraqis, mostly women and children, killed and at least 1500 others wounded.
"The conduct of the war in Iraq has made it clear that there was no effective plan for the post-Saddam settlement," they averred.
"All those with experience of the area predicted that the occupation of Iraq would meet serious and stubborn resistance, as has proved to be the case.
"To describe the resistance as led by terrorists, fanatics and foreigners is neither convincing nor helpful," the veteran diplomats said.
In their letter, they voiced anxieties "in the hope that they will be addressed in parliament and will lead to a fundamental reassessment".
Blair is pondering now how best to respond to this unprecedented criticism of his policies.
Blair's official spokesman only said Monday that the diplomats were "entitled to their views", adding that a further response to the letter would come "in due course".
On April 17, over 1,000 protestors converged outside Downing Street demanding Blair to withdraw troops from Iraq and withhold support for American recognition of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The Legal Action Against War, a British anti-war group, said in March it wanted the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to consider whether Blair and his government officials should be tried for war crimes over the Iraq occupation.
Click here to read the letter in full http://www.islamonline.net/English/Views/2004/04/article06.shtml
Article republished, courtesy of IslamOnline.net http://islamonline.net
Please also see:
Revolt in Whitehall as quiet voices speak up
“The signatories are: Brian Barder, former high commissioner to Australia; Paul Bergne, Tony Blair’s former representative in Afghanistan; John Birch; David Blatherwick; Graham Boyce; Julian Bullard; Juliet Campbell, former ambassador to Luxembourg; Bryan Cartledge, former ambassador to Hungary; Terence Clark, former ambassador to Oman ; David Colvin, former ambassador to Belgium ; Francis Cornish, former ambassador to Israel; James Craig, former ambassador to Syria; Brian Crowe, former ambassador to Austria; Basil Eastwood, former ambassador to Switzerland; Stephen Egerton, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia; William Fullerton; Dick Fyjis-Walker; Marrack Goulding; John Graham; Andrew Green; Vic Henderson; Peter Hinchcliffe; Brian Hitch; Archie Lamb; David Logan; Christopher Long, former head of the Near East affairs at the Foreign Office; Ivor Lucas, former ambassador to Syria; Ian McCluney, former British high commissioner to Sierra Leone; Maureen MacGlashan, former ambassador to the Holy See; Philip McLean, former ambassador to Cuba; Christopher MacRae, former British high commissioner to Pakistan; Oliver Miles, former ambassador to Libya; Martin Morland, former ambassador to Libya; Keith Morris; Richard Muir, former ambassador to Kuwait; Alan Munro, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Stephen Nash, former ambassador to Georgia; Robin O'Neill, former ambassador to Austria; Andrew Palmer; Bill Quantrill; David Ratford; Tom Richardson; Andrew Stuart; David Tatham; Crispin Tickell, former ambassador to the UN; Derek Tonkin; Charles Treadwell; Hugh Tunnell; Jeremy Varcoe; Hooky Walker; Michael Weir and Alan White.” http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=13&id=472382004
Britain: Former diplomats blast Blair’s support for US Middle East policy
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/apr2004/lett-a28.shtml
George Bush has legitimised terrorism
What better recruiting sergeant could Bin Laden have than the President of the United States? By Robert Fisk http://informationclearinghouse.literati.org/article6037.htm
Statistics of the Palestinian Losses (29/9/2000 to 29/2/2004)
http://www.pnic.gov.ps/arabic/quds/eng/statistics/ivid_18.html
Iraqi Civilian Casualties http://www.independent-media.tv/gtheme.cfm?ftheme_id=42
Civilian deaths in “noble” Iraq mission pass 10,000
We need a tribunal to administer justice for the victims
February 7th 2004 http://www.iraqbodycount.net/editorial_feb0704.htm
The Red Crow http://www.rwor.org/redcrow/antiwar.htm
Electronic Iraq http://electroniciraq.net/news/
Photos of Military Coffins (Battlefield and Astronaut Fatalaties) at Dover Air Force Base
exclusive: Due to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Memory Hole, the Air Force has released 288 photographs showing soldiers' remains arriving home (and 73 photos of the Columbia astronauts). These are the images that the Pentagon prevented the public from seeing
The Memory Hole http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/
Costs of War http://costofwar.com/
Veterans for Common Sense http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org
Veterans Against the Iraq War http://www.vaiw.org/vet/index.php
The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research: FEATURES http://www.transnational.org/features/index.html
LONDON, April 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced Monday, April 26, a withering and unprecedented criticism from the most senior former officials in the Foreign Office for toeing the U.S. line in the Middle East and occupied Iraq.
Departing from the usual measured language of diplomacy, 52 British diplomats put their names to a letter rebuking Blair for the acquiescence to U.S. President George W. Bush's backing of Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon’s controversial disengagement plan, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
They described the plan, which will see the evacuation of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip only to occupy more Palestinian lands in the West Bank, as "one-sided and illegal".
"If that is unacceptable or unwelcome there is no case for supporting policies which are doomed to failure," wrote the signatories, the vast majority of whom were ex-ambassadors, many with considerable experience in the Middle East.
The British prime minister has insisted that this does not spell the end for the stalled internationally-brokered peace roadmap, but the diplomats disagreed.
"Our dismay at this backward step is heightened by the fact that you yourself seem to have endorsed it, abandoning the principles which for nearly four decades have guided international efforts to restore peace in the Holy Land."
Oliver Miles, former ambassador to Libya, said it was Blair's press conference with Bush in Washington two weeks ago that spurred him to act.
Blair followed the U.S. lead in endorsing Sharon's plan and U.S. guarantees for Israel, which eliminate the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes inside what is now Israel.
The British and U.S. endorsement of Sharon's plan would "cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood", the veteran diplomats warned.
The urged Blair to use his "influence" on the United States to secure a change of policies "doomed to failure".
"We believe that the need for such influence is now a matter of the highest urgency," said the extremely blunt letter.
Among the signatories were a series of well-respected figures, including ex-ambassadors to both Iraq and Israel, as well as Marrack Goulding, the former head of peacekeeping for the United Nations and Sir Crispin Tickell, who served as Britain's ambassador to the U.N.
Tickell told the Independent newspaper -- which front-paged the text of the letter -- that feelings among his former colleagues were unprecedented.
"I have never seen such a level of worry and despair among those who have been involved in the diplomatic field ever before," he said.
No Effective Plan
The diplomats had equally harsh words about the U.S. and British roles in the occupation of Iraq, especially after the latest U.S. offensive and bombardment of Fallujah, which left more than 600 Iraqis, mostly women and children, killed and at least 1500 others wounded.
"The conduct of the war in Iraq has made it clear that there was no effective plan for the post-Saddam settlement," they averred.
"All those with experience of the area predicted that the occupation of Iraq would meet serious and stubborn resistance, as has proved to be the case.
"To describe the resistance as led by terrorists, fanatics and foreigners is neither convincing nor helpful," the veteran diplomats said.
In their letter, they voiced anxieties "in the hope that they will be addressed in parliament and will lead to a fundamental reassessment".
Blair is pondering now how best to respond to this unprecedented criticism of his policies.
Blair's official spokesman only said Monday that the diplomats were "entitled to their views", adding that a further response to the letter would come "in due course".
On April 17, over 1,000 protestors converged outside Downing Street demanding Blair to withdraw troops from Iraq and withhold support for American recognition of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The Legal Action Against War, a British anti-war group, said in March it wanted the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to consider whether Blair and his government officials should be tried for war crimes over the Iraq occupation.
Click here to read the letter in full http://www.islamonline.net/English/Views/2004/04/article06.shtml
Article republished, courtesy of IslamOnline.net http://islamonline.net
Please also see:
Revolt in Whitehall as quiet voices speak up
“The signatories are: Brian Barder, former high commissioner to Australia; Paul Bergne, Tony Blair’s former representative in Afghanistan; John Birch; David Blatherwick; Graham Boyce; Julian Bullard; Juliet Campbell, former ambassador to Luxembourg; Bryan Cartledge, former ambassador to Hungary; Terence Clark, former ambassador to Oman ; David Colvin, former ambassador to Belgium ; Francis Cornish, former ambassador to Israel; James Craig, former ambassador to Syria; Brian Crowe, former ambassador to Austria; Basil Eastwood, former ambassador to Switzerland; Stephen Egerton, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia; William Fullerton; Dick Fyjis-Walker; Marrack Goulding; John Graham; Andrew Green; Vic Henderson; Peter Hinchcliffe; Brian Hitch; Archie Lamb; David Logan; Christopher Long, former head of the Near East affairs at the Foreign Office; Ivor Lucas, former ambassador to Syria; Ian McCluney, former British high commissioner to Sierra Leone; Maureen MacGlashan, former ambassador to the Holy See; Philip McLean, former ambassador to Cuba; Christopher MacRae, former British high commissioner to Pakistan; Oliver Miles, former ambassador to Libya; Martin Morland, former ambassador to Libya; Keith Morris; Richard Muir, former ambassador to Kuwait; Alan Munro, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Stephen Nash, former ambassador to Georgia; Robin O'Neill, former ambassador to Austria; Andrew Palmer; Bill Quantrill; David Ratford; Tom Richardson; Andrew Stuart; David Tatham; Crispin Tickell, former ambassador to the UN; Derek Tonkin; Charles Treadwell; Hugh Tunnell; Jeremy Varcoe; Hooky Walker; Michael Weir and Alan White.” http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=13&id=472382004
Britain: Former diplomats blast Blair’s support for US Middle East policy
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/apr2004/lett-a28.shtml
George Bush has legitimised terrorism
What better recruiting sergeant could Bin Laden have than the President of the United States? By Robert Fisk http://informationclearinghouse.literati.org/article6037.htm
Statistics of the Palestinian Losses (29/9/2000 to 29/2/2004)
http://www.pnic.gov.ps/arabic/quds/eng/statistics/ivid_18.html
Iraqi Civilian Casualties http://www.independent-media.tv/gtheme.cfm?ftheme_id=42
Civilian deaths in “noble” Iraq mission pass 10,000
We need a tribunal to administer justice for the victims
February 7th 2004 http://www.iraqbodycount.net/editorial_feb0704.htm
The Red Crow http://www.rwor.org/redcrow/antiwar.htm
Electronic Iraq http://electroniciraq.net/news/
Photos of Military Coffins (Battlefield and Astronaut Fatalaties) at Dover Air Force Base
exclusive: Due to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Memory Hole, the Air Force has released 288 photographs showing soldiers' remains arriving home (and 73 photos of the Columbia astronauts). These are the images that the Pentagon prevented the public from seeing
The Memory Hole http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/coffin_photos/
Costs of War http://costofwar.com/
Veterans for Common Sense http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org
Veterans Against the Iraq War http://www.vaiw.org/vet/index.php
The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research: FEATURES http://www.transnational.org/features/index.html