Diplomats warn Bush unqualified support of Israel harms U.S.

Last Update: 04/05/2004 09:23

Diplomats warn Bush unqualified support of Israel harms U.S.

By Nathan Guttman and Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondents and AFP


U.S President George W. Bush's unqualified support of Israel is damaging America's credibility and prestige, some 50 U.S. diplomats state in a letter to the American president.


The diplomats, some of whom belong to the American Educational Trust (AET), plan to release the text at a press conference in Washington later on Tuesday.

The diplomats state in their letter, "Your unqualified support of [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon's extra-judicial assassinations, Israel's Berlin Wall-like barrier, its harsh military measures in occupied territories and now your endorsement of Sharon's unilateral plan are costing our country its credibility, prestige and friends."

The inspiration was a letter signed by 52 retired British diplomats, who urged British Prime Minister Tony Blair to reconsider Britain's approach to the Middle East.

"Early responses [to the letter] are staggering," the AET said in a brief statement Monday, adding "signatories are united by their belief that the U.S. government is heading toward great danger."

"Our hope is that both political parties will take heed and listen to the voices of experienced diplomats," it said.

The Financial Times said on April 30 that the letter had been drafted by Andrew Killgore, a former US ambassador to Qatar, and Richard Curtiss, former chief inspector of the US Information Agency.

The newspaper said the missive was to have been sent to the White House on that date, but was held back to allow more former envoys to sign it.

It reported that former ambassadors to Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates had signed the letter.

Quartet to meet Tuesday to discuss road map

The international Quartet that is attempting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis will convene in New York later on Tuesday for what diplomats are describing as "the most important [meeting] the Quartet has ever held."

The meeting is the first since Sharon announced his unilateral disengagement plan, which has been backed by the United States but which both the United Nations and the European Union view as a threat to the Quartet's road map peace plan, and therefore to the Quartet's very existence.

The four members - the U.S., UN, EU and Russia - will be represented by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, representing the EU while Ireland holds the current presidency.

The participants' goal is to arrive at an agreed formula that on the one hand expresses support for the planned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but also stresses that the disengagement must be implemented in a way that complements the road map rather than supplanting it.

Lower-level diplomats have already started drafting the joint statement.

The UN's goal is for the disengagement to be implemented under the auspices of a special Security Council resolution, in cooperation with the Palestinians, with Annan himself as the Israeli-Palestinian mediator and with an international force replacing Israeli troops in Gaza.
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