Kick out Bush, say US heavy-hitters

By ANDREW BUNCOMBE

WASHINGTON - A group of heavy-hitting former US diplomats and military officials has called on the American public to vote George Bush out of office in November - accusing the president of undermining the nation's interests and failing to provide proper leadership.

The 26 former officials - calling themselves Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change - say they are not explicitly endorsing Democrat John Kerry. But they say Bush's handling of issues ranging from the war in Iraq, through to environmental and AIDS policy, has left them disillusioned.

"We agreed that we had just lost confidence in the ability of the Bush Administration to advocate for American interests or to provide the kind of leadership that we think is essential," said William Harrop, who served as the first President Bush's ambassador to Israel, and previously in four African countries.

"The group does not endorse Kerry, although it more or less goes without saying in the statement." He said some of those involved in the project felt uncomfortable making such an explicitly political statement.

But he added: "We just feel very strongly that the country needs new leadership."

Among the group are 20 ambassadors appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents, other former State Department officials and military leaders whose careers span three decades.

Among the more prominent members are retired Marine General Joseph Hoar, commander of US forces in the Middle East during the administration of Bush Sr, retired Admiral William Crowe, ambassador to Britain under President Bill Clinton and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan, and Jack Matlock, a member of the National Security Council under Reagan and ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991.

The group was last night due to launch its campaign at a news conference in Washington.

The Bush-Cheney campaign said it would have no response until the group issued its statement.

This is not the first time that former diplomats have lambasted the current president.

Last month more than 60 former US diplomats accused Bush of running a one-sided Middle East policy, claiming that the President's open-ended support for Israel was costing the US "credibility, prestige and friends".

- INDEPENDENT