Why We Said No: Three Diplomats’ Duty
Five years ago this month, the three of us left the US Foreign Service in opposition to the war on Iraq. We were not pacifists. We were professional, non-partisan diplomats bound by our oath of loyalty to the US Constitution. Our job was to build effective relationships with key figures outside the United States. We used our language skills, respectful curiosity, and understanding of local politics to promote US national interests as our president and secretary of state directed.
We did not know each other. Ann, who was also a reserve colonel in the US Army, had helped reopen US Embassy Kabul after the fall of the Taliban. Brady was a 20-year political officer who had learned something about tribal politics and the limits of US power. John was a practitioner of public diplomacy with over twenty years’ experience, mostly in Eastern Europe. We shared one key professional judgment, that this war we were ordered to promote would be a disastrous mistake.
Love of country and professional self-respect compelled each of us to speak out, in the only honorable way open to us, by resigning. In our letters to Secretary of State Colin Powell, we opposed invading a country that posed no genuine threat to the United States. We underscored that our invasion would not be understood by our allies, that our occupation would be resisted, and that the consequences of the war would be dire for both Americans and Iraqis.
The war happened, with tragic but predictable consequences. Mistakes by ambitious, ignorant political appointees worsened the fiasco. For domestic political reasons, the Bush Administration could not adapt its policies to the reality that its “war on terrorism” was actually an intricate maze of local conflicts into which it had blundered without a guide.
The invasion of Iraq had a terrible impact on America’s relationship with the world. The tricks of totalitarian manipulation of public opinion the White House used to “sell” the war at home — simplification of the issues, repetition of empty phrases, demonization of foreigners, and falsification of history — simply did not work abroad.
By counting on such methods, Bush appointees tainted the US informational, educational, and cultural programs that once were the beating heart of America’s public diplomacy efforts. The desperate PR campaign by Mr. Bush’s Texas confidante, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes, failed utterly to repair the damage.
Five years later, we are convinced that the Bush administration is still on the wrong path for regional stability. Key officials lack the empathy and local knowledge needed to wield the tools of US diplomacy effectively in the Middle East. America’s outsized military presence is the principle around which local fanaticism organizes itself, to the detriment of the ordinary Arabs and Kurds America aspired to help. A rapid withdrawal from Iraq, coordinated with Iraqi factions and neighboring states, is the least destructive option remaining.
Our gesture earned us a brief moment in the media and the cautious respect of our colleagues. Five years later, we do not regret our decision to leave the profession we loved. Faced with a flawed policy we had no power to change, the three of us embraced the hope Brady expressed in his resignation letter, that “our democratic process is ultimately self-correcting; [we] hope in a small way to contribute from outside to shaping policies that better serve the security and prosperity of the American people and the world we share.”
Between now and next January 20 the stakes for our former profession are high. The stakes for the American people and the planet are even higher.
Ann Wright, an anti-war activist based in Hawaii, is touring with her new book Dissent: Voices of Conscience (Koa Books 2008). John Brady Kiesling is a writer in Greece, the author of Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower (Potomac Books 2006). John Brown until recently compiled The Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review. He teaches on public diplomacy at Georgetown University.
Copyright © 2008 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
When you are young, you see the world in black and white. This shows that you have heart. As you grow older, you start to see shades of gray. Those that grow old and don’t learn life’s lessons are fools. Such foolishness in the young is charming; in older people it is pathetic.
You begin to untangle the strands, which form your own, true self, separating the voices of courage, wisdom and love from fear, stupidity and hate. It is not an easy task. To show courage, you must feel fear. To show wisdom takes courage, and wisdom is destroyed by fear. Hate is ultimately self-destructive. Being self-destructive is stupid and cowardly.
Most of the peers of these three must have had similar struggles over what their best nature was telling them, and they chose to not listen. I admire these diplomats for their actions of principle. They reaffirm in me my belief in the invincible strand of good found in each of us, if we look.
call bush at 202.456.1111
When evil prevails and fires burn brightly, and destruction and the smell of death hang heavily over the cities and the countryside, the bloodied voices of reason and hope can at last be heard over the thunder of war. Wisdom and courage are again given birth in the quiet voices of peace. The dogs of war are again caged and the hope for humanities survival can again be addressed. It’s time to get it right. Imperialism must end and be replaced by a less competitive and more cooperative Spirit. Justice must be applied to those who violated human rights as a central part of the healing process. Economic justice must be restored as well. A reverence for all life must become our lifeway. People must become the center of economic thought. Profit maximization must be given a disrespectful and permanent burial. Philosophy must be elevated above technology and scientists and technologists must learn the meaning of no. The new paradigm of cooperation, green living, and respect must be secure in our minds and hearts and it must be nurtured to grow. The patient care of the new paradigm will lead America on a good path to happiness and sustainability, one person at a time.
Thanks to Ann, JOhn, and Brady for showing that diplomats don’t all have to be amoral cynics who see their job as “doing deals” no matter how unseemly. As I read this article, I wondered why more military officers didn’t do the same thing.
In war, soldiers are most loyal to fellow soldiers, Poet.
Moratoria on support of the aspects a system that has become overwhelmingly self destructive. From the 1830 Supreme Court Johnson v M’Intosh (doctrine of discovery) that undergirded genocide and treaty abrogations of native peoples and an insidious conflation of church and state, to taxation without representation, profit and hypocricy define a criminality far exceeding shredding of the constitution. Momentum that has been defining reality according to distortions through economic theories based on distorted rationalizations of religion is unsustainable and ultimately proving to be anthropophagic (cannibalistic). Cease and desist.
To the diplomats - Thank you for speaking truth to power.
The authors are a wonderful example of proper behavior and worthy of the utmost respect. I am very impressed and thankful.
These great three diplomats join Lt. Watada and others in the military who chose to walk the high road of justice. How? They kept their oaths to the Constitution to uphold the supreme law of the land, our “treaties made” such as the UN Charter. These three give me hope for America and for Humanity. Thank you Ann, John and Brady for your moral and legal leadership.
Three diplomats’ refusal to carryout orders of the American government shows neither patriotism nor treasonous mindset on their behalf.
Truth be told: American voters twice elected President Bush II to carryout America’s age-old imperial objectives. President Bush II did not do anything that American voters did not want; otherwise, he would not have been elected twice.
However, 3 diplomats think they know more than what American voters know.
Three diplomats think their knowledge is far superior to that of the president, vice-president, cabinet members, and the legislators of the United States of America.
Three diplomats simply failed to recognize that American voters might choose Sen. John McCain to continue America’s imperial mission at every corner of the globe for another 8 years.
If in your diplomacy you were “promot[ing] U.S. National Interests,” then you were essentially tasked with smoothing over imperialist policies. It is commendable that you would not serve after the Iraq invasion, but Iraq is only a symptom of a deeper disease. Nearly every administration in the history of the country pursued imperialist policies. Imperialism is like gravity. Competition among nations for supremacy. Why? Because our species includes character types. Some of us are especially aggressive and ambitious, driven to maximize power. Takers, marauders. Historians and journalists can vilify individuals, but that won’t stop such people from popping up. If not for them, we could live in peace and harmony, and manage to muddle though our problems quite satisfactorily. But again, the growing size of the human population, together with its requirements for survival (and comfort), create an atmosphere in which elite control of society and resources through mass economy naturally arises. And their determination to maintain and expand that control leads to Iraq, Equador, Nigeria, Sudan, etc. A decline in the population might reverse this phenomenon.
The truth is the USA both people and government wants and thinks she is the hyperpower of the world. This world is today too small for such a monster. America cannot and must not continue to exist as she is and it is right that the Muslim world, call it Al Queada or Muslim Brotherhood or whatever has just cause to whittle down the might of the USA. The USA is the very essence of pure evil; she lies and she destroys millions of people and paint herself as the lamb.
The USA is in quakmire shit and every day longer that she remains in Iraq draws her closer to “3rd world status. How do you like it now that the USA is 3rd world and China is the superpower of the world ? Oops ! I correct myself, we Chinese just do not want to be the superpower of any kind; we leave that to the USA, but we would dearly like to gloat !
The USA has squandered 3 trillion as of now and every year hereafter the USA would have to spend another US$900 billion per year add on interests and the figure per year will be like 1.5 trillion. The USA has no room to spin; AMERICA IS BROKE AS OF NOW !
What inspirational courage for the rest of Americans to emulate, but few have so far chosen to do so. I admire and salute you all.
“Unknown..”, while I respect your right to your own opinion and voice, I strongly disagree with your conclusions.
George the Lesser has NEVER been elected to the presidency. The first time, he was APPOINTED by the “Supreme Court” for the first time in American history. It’s well-documented how the 2004 election was totally rigged in numerous places, especially Ohio and Florida.
I have always refused to call this clown “President Bush”, for he is not and hopefully never will be. However, according to his own words, probably in the next year, he WILL be our dictator officially (as he is legally and technically even now). 2008 elections? Improbable at this point that they will even undertake that charade this time.
If anyone disagrees with this observation, do your own homework and research and see what conclusions you come to.
Is it hopeless? A better question is, “Is resistance needed at this point?” Or have we gone so rapidly and irreversibly down the path of destruction of our resources that it is truly a moot point. Our planet will very soon become virtually uninhabitable, probably with few survivors.Don’t believe it? Then why has the Bush Crime Family bought about 100,000 acres of land over a major clean aquifer in Paraguay with both military personnel and their own private mercenaries to protect the area? The personnel were only moved into place when granted total immunity from ever being held liable for breaking international laws by the local government. And all for WHAT??? A retirement home?
Bottom line: learn to take care of yourself and your loved ones without outside assistance or supplies; learn to think for yourself; keep abreast of current events (NOT just from American propaganda machines); move away from large population groups ASAP; learn how to live in co-operative rural situations. HAVE THE COURAGE OF THESE 3 BRAVE DIPLOMATS–TO PUT YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE FOR WHAT YOU KNOW IS RIGHT. But most of all–keep your heart open.
Senior Master
Chuck Blackburn, M.A.
Adjunct Psychology Professor
Thank you all, especially to you Col. Wright, I’ve met and talked with you, I’ve been on conference calls with you and I have never known you to say ‘No’ to anyone that has asked you to speak from NYC to Cali to Texas within 26 hours, telling TRUTH wherever you speak. Thanks Ann.
Out-of-pocket expenses for imperial invasion and occupation of Iraq cost about $500-$800 billion so far.
This is the, if not exact, amount of money actually returned back to American economy as American corporations and contractors earned revenues.
Therefore, money that is spent in Iraq is simultaneously earned by war-profiteering American corporations and contractors.
One might talk about the opportunity cost of economics, which is essentially choosing one expense over another expense. For instance, American government could have spent the same $500-$800 billion inside the continental United States to improve land, environment, infrastructure, and social services.
American voters do not prefer to do that.
American voters love the idea of allocating over $600 billion annually in military or defense budget, which is in addition to the out-of-pocket expenses mentioned earlier for imperial invasion and occupation of Iraq.
“Federal budget deficit” is technically a matter of joke for any sitting American president as long as foreigners are willing to buy trillions of dollars of American government’s debts. If foreigners do not refuse to buy American government’s debt, there is practically nothing to fear.
But, the real problem for average Americans lies in runway inflation as the Fed keeps lowering interest rates, which takes everyday buying power away from average consumers. This is the true and current problem for American economy.
Other than that, war in Iraq is not harmful for the U.S. economy.
In fact, imperial military aggression, invasion, military build-up and war-spending help recover an economy from recession as well as deflation. Prime example of that was World War II. American economy was able to quickly overcome the Great Depression only because of World War II.
Thus, from pure economic standpoint, waging war or military aggression in other countries is good for a capitalist economy of the invader nation.
As you all know very well that, spoils of war go to the war-criminals and war-criminals become very rich in the time of war.
Teachur sez:
Then why has the Bush Crime Family bought about 100,000 acres of land over a major clean aquifer in Paraguay with both military personnel and their own private mercenaries to protect the area? The personnel were only moved into place when granted total immunity from ever being held liable for breaking international laws by the local government. And all for WHAT??? A retirement home?
********************
Teachur, itr wouldn’t surprise me, but what is your source for such a claim? I have searched and cannot find any confirmation. If this is an urban legend or aimless yearning we sure wished were true, well and good. Satirical and farcical fantasy is okay as long as it is clearly understood as such. It is delusional when presented as a fact as you have apparently done.
UNKNOWN: Did you ever read Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol?” You sound like scrooge before he was granted a spiritual epiphany.
DOOM & GLOOM: Wonderful post. Gee, you’re optimistic with the onset of spring!
As the eight year nightmare of Dubya, Cheney, & Co. lurches to its’ constitutionally mandated end, we can only hope that career professionals like the three diplomats are once again able to carry out their duties in a manner consistent with First World governance.
Doom&Gloom says:
“The new paradigm of cooperation, green living, and respect must be secure in our minds and hearts and it must be nurtured to grow. The patient care of the new paradigm will lead America on a good path to happiness and sustainability, one person at a time.”
Your complete post was inspiring. Not bad for a Doom&Gloomer.
Because of communication technology (Internet et al.), it is so unnerving to see/experience our fragmentation from the thousands of “labels,” ideologies, personal wantings and needs translated into gotta’ have or else … from which we define ourselves as individuals and cultures.
Hopefully this is just a necessary step/view for the juvenile to adolescent-level human species to evolve. The pain and horrors that have come as a consequence of this perceived fragmentation hopefully represent the hammers pounding the raw ore on the red-hot anvil, breaking it down, breaking it apart until what is left is pure gold, the Gold being the result of the leap of consciousness that becomes awareness of Universal Mind/Universal Heart …
That awareness is what will allow for what you have posted.
At this point in our human history, sooner rather than later would be nice.
The ancient, indigenous peoples and those who still practice the old ways–Native Americans, the Shuar of Ecuador, the Aborgines and so many other tribes still extant, just barely, are the beginnings of the circle. Now we have to recognize that what we call “civilized” is NUTZ, and the circle must go round until we reunite with and remember our beginnings and discover that It’s all ONE and everything is interconnected.
Amen … Thanks for your post, D&G. A Good Morning waker-upper.
peace …
Its good to know a few professinals in the government stood up to the sinister, radical, imperial, naive, oversimplified neocon vision that has infiltrated the Republican Party and the White House, and then forced into the civilian and military buracracies. Some like Admiral Fallon have trie going public with reason. Some like James Hansen at NASA defied the minders and spoke out, and I’m sure many are waiting it out, hoping for a return to sanity.
At this point, let’s be very clear about one thing: the people plotting the Iraq war from inside the OSP were not colluding with oil executives or any other corporate interests at that time - they were in collusion with Sharon’s Likud government. In fact, everyone who worked to create the case for war against Iraq shared one common interest: an undying loyalty to the state of Israel.
# Neocon lackey Ahmed Chalabi, the lying criminal [69] who was convicted and sentenced by the Jordanian authorities for embezzlement and bank fraud in his absence (he fled the country before the police got their hands on him), and who provided most of the information that the ziocons used as “evidence” of Saddam having ‘links-to-Al-Qaeda’ and WMDs [70], was a long-time friend of 10th Dan Grandmaster ziocon Richard Perle [71], co-author of A Clean Break which cited the removal of Saddam Hussein as the key to the beginning of a securer Israel;
# The Niger documents [72] forged to make it look like Saddam’s regime had tried to acquire yellowcake uranium from Africa came from Israeli dual national ziocon Michael Ledeen [73] [74] who came under the scrutiny of the FBI for that very reason but will probably (definitely) get away with it;
# Paul Wolfowitz, “architect” of the Iraq war and the man who pushed hardest for it is an Israeli dual national and a spy for Israel, having forwarded to an Israeli government official a classified US document back in 1978, and has a sister living in Israel; [75] From The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, a scholarly paper authored by Stephen Walt of Harvard University and John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago:
Wolfowitz is equally committed to Israel. The Forward once described him as “the most hawkishly pro‐Israel voice in the Administration,” and selected him in 2002 as the first among fifty notables who “have consciously pursued Jewish activism.” At about the same time, JINSA gave Wolfowitz its Henry M. Jackson Distinguished Service Award for promoting a strong partnership between Israel and the United States, and the Jerusalem Post, describing him as “devoutly pro‐Israel,” named him “Man of the Year” in 2003. [76] (Not surprising, considering Richard Perle is director of it)
# Lewis “Scooter” Libby, another OSP operative, Cheney’s chief of staff, and Israeli dual national, credited with pushing Cheney to go public about Saddam’s supposed ties to Al Qaeda and 9/11 and pushing Colin Powell to include the fake reports about Mohammed Atta’s ties to Iraqi intelligence in his famous 2003 speech to the UN [77], was responsible for the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent to punish her husband, Joseph Wilson, for exposing the Niger documents as fraudulent [78]. He was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison but was later pardoned by Bush; [79]
# Douglas Feith, dual citizenship ziocon who worked out of both the OSP and PCTEG to bring us the Iraq war was also investigated by the FBI for spying for Israel and forced to leave the National Security Council (NSC) for his double-dealing [80]
# Larry Franklin, Feith’s deputy who worked under him at the OSP in the Pentagon [81] was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison [82] for leaking documents to Israel in the AIPAC spy scandal; [83]
# Harold Rhode [84], Feith’s Middle East Specialist and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy was investigated by the FBI over passing on classified information to Israel:
An UPI report said another under-investigation official Mr Rhode “practically lived out of (Ahmad) Chalabi’s office”. Intelligence sources said that CIA operatives observed Mr Rhode as being constantly on his cell phone to Israel, discussing US plans, military deployments, political projects and a discussion of Iraq assets. [85]
# William (or Bill) Luti [86], Chief of the OSP and another of Feith’s men, having worked under Feith and Cheney before Bush wasn’t elected, was subject to the same FBI investigation, for the same reason.
Thus, the casus belli for the Iraq war was put together by Israeli spies and zionist agents, and derived from what’s come to be known as “Feith-based intelligence” [87], or in other words, complete bullshit from the bowels of the ziocon Lie Factory [88], served on the silver platter of mainstream media to the American public and the people of the world who swallowed it whole for Eretz Israel [89]. Even so, most of the treachery that led to the Iraq war will go unpunished. It’s usually a pretty sure thing that if you’re a senior official in the US government and you’re caught spying for Israel, your treason will be dealt with leniently, or not at all. From an article by Laura Rozen and Jason Vest:
Since the Pollard case [90], U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement sources have revealed to the Prospect that at least six sealed indictments have been issued against individuals for espionage on Israel’s behalf. It’s a testament to the unique relationship between the United States and Israel that those cases were never prosecuted; according to the same sources, both governments ultimately addressed them through diplomatic and intelligence channels rather than air the dirty laundry. A number of career Justice Department and intelligence officials who have worked on Israeli counterespionage told the Prospect of long-standing frustration among investigators and prosecutors who feel that cases that could have been made successfully against Israeli spies were never brought to trial, or that the investigations were shut down prematurely. [91]
http://crimesofzion.blogspot.com/2007/10/dying-for-zion.html
A month before the war, the Forward’s Ami Eden, commenting on Kinsley’s piece, noted that what was “once only whispered in back rooms… [was] lately splashed in bold characters across the mainstream media, over Jewish and Israeli influence in shaping American foreign policy.”
“In recent weeks,” he wrote, “the Israeli-Jewish elephant has been on a rampage, trampling across the airwaves and front pages of respected media outlets, including the Washington Post, The New York Times, the American Prospect, the Washington Times, the Economist, the New York Review of Books, CNN and MSNBC.
“For its encore,” he added, “the proverbial pachyderm plopped itself… smack in the middle of “Meet the Press,” NBC’s top-rated Sunday morning news program.”[28]
It occurred on February 23, when host Tim Russert read from a February 14 column by veteran journalist Arnaud de Borchgrave, editor at large of the Washington Times, who argued that the “strategic objective” of senior Bush administration officials was to secure Israel’s borders by launching a crusade against its enemies in the Arab world.
One of Russert’s guests was Richard Perle, at the time chairman of the Defense Policy Board, a key advisory panel to the Pentagon, as well as a fellow of the influential pro-Israel American Enterprise Institute. Of, perhaps, even more significance, Perle had been a founder of JINSA, the Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs, a little known neo-con think tank that will be examined later in the article.
Russert turned to Perle and addressed the question: “Can you assure American viewers across our country that we’re in this situation against Saddam Hussein and his removal for American security interests?” And then came the bombshell: “And what would be the link in terms of Israel?”
Both Perle and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, who has family in Israel, have been routinely described in the press as the “architects” of the war on Iraq, so the question was addressed to the right person.
Clearly Perle was not prepared. Squirming slightly he replied: “Well, first of all, the answer is absolutely yes. Those of us who believe that we should take this action if Saddam doesn’t disarm - and I doubt that he’s going to - believe it’s in the best interests of the United States. I don’t see what would be wrong with surrounding Israel with democracies; indeed, if the whole world were democratic, we’d live in a much safer international security system because democracies do not wage aggressive wars.”
I’ll leave that contradiction for another time and note, as did the Forward’s Eden, that:
… it was a startling question, especially when directed at Perle, the poster boy - along with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith - for anti-semitic critics who insist the United States is being pulled into war by pro-Likud Jewish advisers, on orders from Jerusalem.
But Russert is no David Duke, nor even a Patrick Buchanan. If Russert is asking the question on national television, then the toothpaste is out of the tube: The question has entered the discourse in elite Washington circles and is now a legitimate query to be floated in polite company. [29]
In a lengthy front page story, the Washington Post’s Robert Kaiser described what appeared to be an unprecedented political partnership between Ariel Sharon and George W. Bush, headlined, “Bush and Sharon Nearly Identical On Mideast Policy.”
“Over the past dozen years or more,” Kaiser wrote, “supporters of Sharon’s Likud Party have moved into leadership roles in most of the American-Jewish organizations that provide financial and political support for Israel.”[30]
http://www.leftcurve.org/LC28WebPages/WarForIsrael.html
If Obama wins, I hope the three of you get ambassadorial appointments, in the interest of damage control.
My admiration for these three diplomats. But at the same time my condemnation for US citizens in general (I am one of them) for letting all this happen.
Lest anyone starts criticizing me: we either DO NOT have democracy in the US or we citizens as a group are complicit.
Amen citizen
Now let’s be complicit in bringing our nation back from the edge of 1984