U.S. Diplomat Resigns, Protesting 'Our Fervent Pursuit of War'

[Awam ki Awaz]

Well at least 1 US diplomat with a conscience - hopefully more to come.

"UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 — A career diplomat who has served in United States embassies from Tel Aviv to Casablanca to Yerevan resigned this week in protest against the country's policies on Iraq.
...
He said he had acted alone, but "I've been comforted by the expressions of support I've gotten afterward" from colleagues.

"No one has any illusions that the policy will be changed," he said. "Too much has been invested in the war."
..."

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0227-01.htm

[Malik73]

Quite significant, and something that does not bode well for America's war mongering over Iraq. If it's won diplomats don't want any part in their lies why should others?

[HSK]

wop die doo. one diplomat resigns? there must be thousands of US dimplomats. 1 out of a thousand is nothing.

[Nadia_H]

i think he is the first US official to resign, but certainly not the first official to resign over US policies. He is now the fourth to add his name to a distinguished list of officials who resigned in disgust rather than be complicit in policies they each viewed as completely immoral:

Denis Halliday, administrator of the 'oil-for-food' programme (resigned in 1998), former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN
Hans von Sponeck, administrator of the 'oil-for-food' programme (resigned in 2000)
Jutta Burghardt, head of the World Food Programme in Iraq (resigned in 2000)

[Malik73]

Originally posted by Nadia_H:
i think he is the first US official to resign, but certainly not the first official to resign over US policies. He is now the fourth to add his name to a distinguished list of officials who resigned in disgust rather than be complicit in policies they each viewed as completely immoral:

Denis Halliday, administrator of the 'oil-for-food' programme (resigned in 1998), former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN
Hans von Sponeck, administrator of the 'oil-for-food' programme (resigned in 2000)
Jutta Burghardt, head of the World Food Programme in Iraq (resigned in 2000)

American and UN diplomats are clearly not easy with the fact the US uses them for propoganda purposes.

[HSK]

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, someone much more interesting than this dude.

[Dil he Pakistani]

Bush Administration Official, Assigned to Improve US Image in Muslim World, Resigns VOA News 03 Mar 03

The State Department says Charlotte Beers, the person the Bush administration hired to improve the United State's image in the Muslim world, is resigning. Officials said her resignation as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy will be effective in about two weeks, and that she is leaving for health reasons.

Ms. Beers, a former advertising executive, was hired after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to be in charge of efforts to counter anti-American sentiments in Muslim countries. She made no comment regarding her resignation, but was quoted last week as saying her task was a daunting one that could not be easily or quickly accomplished.

[Nadia_H]

Let's keep a tab on who has/is resigning in protest...

Denis Halliday (Irish, 34 years with the UN), Hans von Sponeck (German, 32 years with the UN), Jutta Burghardt (German), John Kiesling (American), and now a British Tory MP, John Randall:

Tory whip resigns over war, 10 March 2003

The Conservatives today suffered their first resignation over Iraq with the surprise announcement from John Randall that he was quitting as he did not consider a case had been made for war.

He is the first opposition MP to have taken such a step on this issue, although there are some Conservative backbenchers - such as Kenneth Clarke and Douglas Hogg - who are vocally against a war under current circumstances.

Mr Randall, the MP for Uxbridge, said: "I wanted the freedom of the backbenches to be able to express my views about Iraq. I do not think at this stage military action is justified. "I was, in fact, against war in Kosovo when people like Clare Short were all for bombing the hell out of it."

~ ~ ~
Clare Short, has threatened to resign if Blair invades Iraq without a second UNSC Resolution: 'I will not uphold a breach of law or undermine the UN', 10 March 2003, The Guardian

[Dil he Pakistani]

"I cannot in good conscience support President Bush's war plans against Iraq, he said. Throughout the globe the United States is becoming associated with the unjustified use of force"

Second career US diplomat quits

11 Mar 03, News 24

Washington - A veteran US diplomat resigned on Monday in protest at US policy towards Iraq, becoming the second career foreign service officer to do so in the past month. John Brown, who joined the state department in 1981, said he resigned because he could not support Washington's Iraq policy, which he said was fomenting a massive rise in anti-US sentiment around the world. In a resignation letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Brown said he agreed with J Brady Kiesling, a diplomat at the US embassy in Athens who quit in February over President George W Bush's apparent intent on fighting Iraq.

"I am joining my colleague John Brady Kiesling in submitting my resignation from the foreign service - effective immediately - because I cannot in good conscience support President Bush's war plans against Iraq," he said. "Throughout the globe the United States is becoming associated with the unjustified use of force," Brown said in the letter, a copy of which he sent to AFP. "The president's disregard for views in other nations, borne out by his neglect of public diplomacy, is giving birth to an anti-American century," he said. "I joined the Foreign Service because I love our country," Brown said. "Respectfully, Mr Secretary, I am now bringing this calling to a close, with a heavy heart but for the same reason that I embraced it."

Two senior state department officials confirmed that Powell had received the letter from Brown, who had served at the US embassies in London, Prague, Krakow, Kiev, Belgrade and Moscow before being assigned to be a diplomat-in-residence at Georgetown University in Washington. Brown and Kiesling are believed to be the only US diplomats to have resigned from the foreign service over Iraq to date.

[Nadia_H]

"I joined the Foreign Service because I love our country," [John] Brown said. "Respectfully, Mr Secretary, I am now bringing this calling to a close, with a heavy heart but for the same reason that I embraced it."

Thank you for posting this article, DhP.

So another one who resigned - during these times where one only hears the drums of war, these individuals of conscience let in a single ray of hope, that sanity somehow still exists. Some of these people are true patriots in every sense of the word.

[KhanAbadosh]

He must be working for the Aaarabs.

[Nadia_H]

*ahem* i am trying not to sound like i'm gloating over this, but there has been one more resignation... which brings the grand total up to (i think) six.

Denis Halliday
Hans von Sponeck
Jutta Burghardt
John Kiesling
John Randall
Andrew Wilkie

AUSTRALIA - Gov't Rocked by Resignation of Anti-War Official, Bob Burton, Oneworld.net, 12 March 2003

The Australian government has been stunned by the resignation of one of its senior intelligence analysts who argue that, based on U.S. and other intelligence information he has seen, there is currently no justification for a war on Iraq. "I'm convinced a war against Iraq at this time would be wrong. For a start, Iraq does not pose a security threat to the U.S., or to the U.K. or Australia, or to any other country, at this point in time, former Office of National Assessments intelligence analyst Andrew Wilkie said, announcing his resignation late on Wednesday evening. ''I just don't believe that a war at this time would be worth the risk,'' he said.

A critical factor behind Wilkie's resignation was claims made by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the U.N. Security Council purporting that a link exists between al-Qaeda and Iraq. "As far as I'm aware there was no hard evidence and there is still no hard evidence that there is any active cooperation between Iraq and al-Qaeda,'' Wilkie told Australia Broadcasting Corp (ABC) television. Three years ago, Wilkie, the 41-year-old career military officer, was seconded to the Office of National Assessments, which prepares briefings for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from a wide range of intelligence sources.

Wilkie has worked on global terrorism and transnational issues including Afghanistan and the likely humanitarian consequences of a war on Iraq.

Wilkie describes his resignation as the "biggest decision I think I've ever made in my life" but felt compelled to act by what he though is the prospect of a high risk of a humanitarian crisis from any U.S.-led attack on Iraq. "I don't believe I could stand by any longer and take no action as this coalition marches to war. I think the interests of the thousands of people, perhaps tens or even more, tens of thousands of people or even more who could be injured, displaced or killed in a war, I think their interests is more important,'' he said.

The director general of the Office of National Assessments, Kim Jones, sought to downplay the significance of Wilkie's resignation. "The officer concerned was a member of our transnational issues branch. He normally worked on illegal immigration issues. The transnational issues branch does not deal with issues related to Iraq,'' Jones said reading from a statement. Speaking to journalists in Jakarta late Wednesday evening, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer, also sought to dismiss Wilkie's resignation. "Mr Wilkie has come to the view that he doesn't support the Australian government's policy, and I think in those circumstances he's done the honourable thing and resigned.''

As one of the few ex-military officers that work at Office of National Assessments, Wilkie was identified as one of the people that would work in the national intelligence watch office if a war in Iraq eventuated. In preparation for that role he had access to all intelligence information flowing into the agency on the topic.

Only hours before Wilkie's resignation, Prime Minister John Howard sought to justify Australia's support for the U.S. war on Iraq on the basis of countering groups like al-Qaeda. "To me, the ultimate nightmare of the modern world is that chemical and biological weapons will get in to the hands of terrorists, and believe me, they will use them. They will not care about the cost ŕthey do to the countries against, or the peoples against which they are used,'' Howard said in Sydney.

Wilkie believes that a war on Iraq may well turn out to be counter-productive. "In fact, a war is the exact course of action most likely to cause Saddam to do exactly what we're trying to prevent. I believe it's the course of action that is most likely to cause him to lash out recklessly, to use weapons of mass destruction and to possibly play a terrorism card,'' he said.

Wilkie hopes that his actions will force Howard to rethink its unquestioning support for a unilateral strike against Iraq. "If my action today and over the next couple of days, if it can make the Australian government rethink its position, and maybe take a more sensible approach to developing its policy on Iraq, I think it's been worthwhile,'' he said.

In the make of mass rallies in mid-February in which well over half a million citizens publicly demonstrated against the war, Wilkie's resignation has demonstrated the depth of concern amongst the normally conservative ranks of the intelligence and foreign affairs establishment. Former Office of National Assessments analyst and now the head of the Global Terrorism Centre at Monash University, David Wright Neville, believes there is great concern about Howard's policy in intelligence and military circles. "Speaking to former colleagues, former contacts both in the Office of National Assessments and other elements of the intelligence community, (there) are widespread concerns that are similar to Andrew's about the direction in which the Government is taking us,'' he said.

With opposition to Australia's deployment of 2,000 personnel to the Middle East growing, opposition political parties and the peace movement sense that where Howard is now becoming electorally very vulnerable. An opinion poll commissioned by the public relations company that works for the Labor Party and released on Wednesday revealed that 59 percent of Australians oppose a unilateral attack on Iraq. However, a U.N.-endorsed attack was supported by 64 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed.

According to opposition foreign affairs spokesman, Kevin Rudd, Wilkie's resignation "torpedoes the credibility" of Howard.

[Nadia_H]

Robin Cook adds his name to the list of resigned officials. He was the former British Foreign Secretary.

Denis Halliday
Hans von Sponeck
Jutta Burghardt
John Kiesling
John Randall
Andrew Wilkie
Robin Cook

Cook quits over Iraq crisis, BBC, 17 March 2003

Robin Cook has resigned from Tony Blair's cabinet as the build-up to apparent war with Iraq gathers pace. The decision by the Leader of the House of Commons, one of the highest profile figures in the Labour Party, came as the cabinet held an emergency meeting in Downing Street.

Former Foreign Secretary Mr Cook, who saw Mr Blair before the meeting, said: "It is with regret I have today resigned from the cabinet.

"I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support."

Downing Street said Mr Cook would make a full personal statement in the House of Commons on Monday evening. There is speculation that International Development Secretary Clare Short, who has already threatened to resign, may follow Mr Cook onto the back benches on Monday.

[Dil he Pakistani]

"I strongly believe that going to war now will make the world more dangerous, not safer,"

Third U.S. diplomat resigns over Iraq policy

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - A third U.S. diplomat has resigned partly because of opposition to U.S. policy toward Iraq, a U.S. State Department official said on Thursday. Mary Wright, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, cited U.S. policy toward Iraq, North Korea and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as reasons for her decision to step down, said the official, who asked not to be named. The official did not know when Wright's resignation took effect.

"I strongly believe that going to war now will make the world more dangerous, not safer," Wright, the senior-most U.S. diplomat to step down over Iraq, said in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell that quoted by the Washington Post. The newspaper said Wright also criticized what she called a "lack of policy on North Korea" and a "lack of effort" by Washington to try to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Wright followed John H. Brown, a former cultural attache at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and John Brady Kiesling, political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, in stepping down this year because of U.S. policy on Iraq.The United States began its war against Iraq on Wednesday by bombing targets on the outskirts of Baghdad and it attacked key sites in the Iraqi capital with cruise missiles on Thursday in an effort to end Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's rule.

[Dil he Pakistani]

"We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security"

Longtime U.S. diplomat quits over Iraq threat

Goleta Valley Voice, CA. 20 Mar 03

Veteran U.S. diplomat Brady Kiesling has resigned his job at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, protesting the Bush Administration’s threat to invade Iraq. Kiesling, a 20-year Foreign Service official serving in Greece as political counselor to the Embassy, wrote to Secretary of State Colin Powell, tendering his resignation.

In part, Kiesling’s letter said:
"The policies we are now asked to advance are incompatible not only with American values but also with American interests. Our fervent pursuit of war with Iraq is driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America’s most potent weapon of both offense and defense since the days of Woodrow Wilson. We have begun to dismantle the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known. Our current course will bring instability and danger, not security."

Citing the "sacrifice of global interests to global politics and to bureaucratic self-interest," Kiesling also wrote that "we have not seen such systematic distortion of intelligence, and such systematic manipulation of American opinion, since the war in Vietnam."