Diplomats blast Blair for "U.S." foreign policy

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

A roll-call of former British diplomats blasted Tony Blair on Monday and said it was time for the prime minister to start influencing America's "doomed" policy in the Middle East or stop backing it.

In an unprecedented letter signed by 52 former ambassadors, high commissioners and governors -- the top ranks of British diplomacy -- Blair was urged to sway U.S. policy in the region as "a matter of the highest urgency".

The diplomats, among them former ambassadors to Iraq and Israel, told Blair they had "watched with deepening concern the policies which you have followed on the Arab-Israel problem and Iraq, in close cooperation with the United States.

"We feel the time has come to make our anxieties public, in the hope that they will be addressed in parliament and will lead to a fundamental reassessment," said the letter, sent to Blair on Monday and made available to Reuters. Blair's spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the attack, which the diplomats believe is unprecedented in scope and scale.

contd:
http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp?type=worldNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=4940453

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. High Anxiety

"We feel the time has come to make our anxieties public"

Well, it's about time old trout.

[Capt_Nemo]

2. this is one of the most significant developments in the last weeks

These guys are the establishment. These guys are taking a stance for
the Foreign Office's civil servants. They are on the inside and this
is a sign that the situation in the ME maybe even worse than we think.

This is unprecedented and these guys acted because they fear a
catastrophe could happen.

[Vladimir]

5. Its also a sign

of the trouble Blair is in. Its unbelievable, he is getting slammed from all sides. These guys are, IMO, washing their hands of a government they see as on its last legs.

[Capt_Nemo]

3. The letter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3660837.stm

[Lindacooks]

4. That's really great

What took them so long?

[Capt_Nemo]

7. They thougt it would all be fine and dandy

turns out they are staring into an abyss and are scared shitless!

[The Stranger]

6. They huff and they puff,

but they just can't seem to blow the house down.

I loathe Tony Blair, as do many in the UK, yet -- despite repeated warnings and supposed threats -- they can't seem to get rid of him, or even come close.

[huckleberry]

8. Kick! This is really important!

[ze_dscherman]

9. I suppose this is what many think, but don't dare to express

due to fear or false loyality. But things need to get much worse, before this will be transformed into the appropriate action - kicking out the thugs and their poodle.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. Blair's "benefit of the doubt" has been his ability to influence Bush

and it is now apparent to all that he has no real influence, as far as moderating Bush's policies (no one moderates Bush and his extremist cabal). So Tony's last leg to stand on is gone. It was sad to see Blair in the press conference in D.C., with Bush, his eloquence at last failing him, as he tried to defend the indefensible.

[legin]

11. The problem is

these are just career diplomats with a wealth of experience, expertise and knowledge, so blair will probably ignore them, and that is working on the assumption that he will even notice them in the first place.

However if it was Iving Seltzer of behalf of Murdoch and the neo-cons saying jump through this hoop then blair would be doing his best performing seal act.

[fedsron2us]

12. A public statement from former diplomats

criticizing British government policy is unprecedented. In the UK civil servants nearly always express such views to ministers in private. This letter confirms the serious concerns that the foreign office have held about Tony Blair's policy on Iraq. It should be noted that their chief legal officer resigned before the outbreak of war because she was convinced that the proposed invasion broke international law. Her views were obviously shared by many of her colleagues. The opinion that Blair has made a disastrous mistake in his slavish following of American policy in the Middle East is not confined to the diplomatic corps. Many of the senior figures in the UK military are alarmed that the Prime Minister is committing them to a course of action for which the army simply does not have the resources in manpower, money and equipment. This has led to the bizarre situation where the British commander in Basra has been forced to adopt tactics in his dealings with the local Shia leaders that not only diverge from the policies being pursued by the CPA in Baghdad but also from those of his own government. The officer corps has been making off the record statements to the press implicitly criticizing the way the occupation has been handled. When establishment figures in the senior civil service and the military start showing this level of insubordination you know a government is in serious trouble. It may not look like it at the moment but I think that Mr Blair's goose is slowly being cooked.

[AP]

13. I'd love to see the party affiliation break down of the 52. Mostly Tory,

I bet.

[Capt_Nemo]

16. So what AP? Do you disagree with anything they said?

Or do you believe that the neo-con policies they criticise are sound?
Aren't these the same policies that Michael Howard stands for?
If so how can this not be ALSO a warning to the Tories?
What will it take for you to realise that Blair IS a neo-con in
Labour clothing?

[T_i_B]

18. Here's the letter AP

Pray do tell what there is to disagree with in it, other than that it is mildly critical of your darling Tony.

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=515676

[dArKeR]

14. Nothing like this has ever happened in history! This is incredible.

Think it'll be on the American Whore news?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3660529.stm

[dArKeR]

15. Didn't see a peep of this on the TV news tonight. WOW! If this isn't

enough evidence to RICO the media there never will be!

[Capt_Nemo]

17. Of course not. Imagine the following quote:

"50 British ex-diplomats say Bush's ME policies are doomed"
read out loud on cable news...

And that is the most relevant thing in this. The situation is worse
than we thought and will have a disastrous end.

[Just Me]

20. Logical conclusion: "The situation is worse than we thought,...

,...and will have a disastrous end."

Those tens of millions of us who were called "traitors", "appeasers", "commies", "(insert here)" for having the courage to protest and warn against this preventive/elective/aggressive war will not truly experience affirmation until the criminals who led this crusade into Iraq are charged, tried, convicted and sentenced.

[T_i_B]

19. Kick

:kick:

[Hokie]

21. Even "John Birch" signed this letter

No kidding, check out the story. One of the guys who signed this is named John Birch. I find this ironic.