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WASHINGTON (AFP) - A group of former US diplomats scolded some colleagues for violating the US foreign service's traditional political neutrality by condemning President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s foreign policy. In June, a group of 27 former diplomats and military officials, called Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, condemned Bush's policies in Iraq (news - web sites) and the Middle East. The group said then in a statement that Bush had failed to meet the "responsibilities of world leadership. It is time for a change." In response, Thomas Boyatt, a former US ambassador to Colombia, said at...

<p>WASHINGTON ? A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON — A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON -- Angered by Bush administration policies they contend endanger national security, 26 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers are urging Americans to vote President Bush out of office in November.</p> <p>The group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, does not explicitly endorse Democrat John Kerry for president in its campaign, which will start officially Wednesday at a Washington news conference.</p>

News Advisory: Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, a group of retired ambassadors and senior military officers, will hold a Morning Newsmaker news conference Wednesday, June 16, at 8 a.m. EDT at the National Press Club (Zenger Room), 13th floor, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. The topic will be "The Need for Change in U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy." The group includes former ambassadors Jeffrey Davidow, William DePree, Charles Freeman Jr., William Harrop, Arthur Hartman, H. Allen Holmes, Samuel Lewis, Princeton Lyman, Jack Matlock Jr., Donald McHenry, Richard Murphy, David Newsom, Phyllis Oakley, John Reinhardt, Ronald Spiers, Nicholas Veliotes...

WASHINGTON - Angered by Bush administration policies they contend endanger national security, 26 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers are urging Americans to vote President Bush (news - web sites) out of office in November. AP Photo The group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, does not explicitly endorse Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) for president in its campaign, which will start officially Wednesday at a Washington news conference. The Bush-Cheney campaign said Sunday it would have no response until the group formally issues its statement at the news conference. Among the group are 20...

A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November.

WASHINGTON - Angered by Bush administration policies they contend endanger national security, 26 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers are urging Americans to vote President Bush out of office in November. The group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, does not explicitly endorse Democrat John Kerry for president in its campaign, which will start officially Wednesday at a Washington news conference.

A group of retired US diplomats and generals has condemned the foreign policy of the Bush administration as ideological and callously indifferent. Members of the 26-strong group of Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change demanded a major rethink in an open letter published in Washington. "I think we will in time come to be very ashamed of this period in history," said one, Chas Freeman. Another, Gen Merrill McPeak, talked of the "terrible disaster" in Iraq. Never before have so many of us felt the need for a major change in the direction of our foreign policy Phyllis Oakley former...

THE TERRORIST ATTACKS of 9/11 — self-evidently — signaled the worst intelligence failure in American history. Less well understood: They also signaled the worst policy failure. For more than two decades, extremist ideologies within the troubled Islamic world gathered strength. On campuses and in Washington think tanks, most “experts” either misunderstood radical Islamism or underestimated the terrorist threat it posed. “Experts” in the Foreign Service prescribed only weak broths as remedies. Such failures should be prompting re-examinations within the foreign-policy community. Evidence that is not happening is the formation of a group calling itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change....