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4/27/04
Dear Prime Minister:
We the undersigned, former British ambassadors, high commissioners,
governors and senior international officials, including some who
have long experience of the Middle East and others whose experience
is elsewhere, have watched with deepening concern the policies
which you have followed on the Arab-Israel problem and Iraq, in
close co-operation with the United States. Following the press
conference in Washington at which you and President Bush restated
these policies, we feel the time has come to make our anxieties
public, in the hope that they will be addressed in Parliament and
will lead to a fundamental reassessment.
The decision by the US, the EU, Russia and the UN to launch a "road-map" for
the settlement of the Israel/Palestine conflict raised hopes that
the major powers would at last make a determined and collective
effort to resolve a problem which, more than any other, has for
decades poisoned relations between the West and the Islamic and
Arab worlds. The legal and political principles on which such a
settlement would be based were well-established: President Clinton
had grappled with the problem during his presidency; the ingredients
needed for a settlement were well-understood and informal agreements
on several of them had already been achieved. But the hopes were
ill-founded. Nothing effective has been done either to move the
negotiations forward or to curb the violence. Britain and the other
sponsors of the "road-map" merely waited on American
leadership, but waited in vain.
Worse was to come. After all those wasted months, the international
community has now been confronted with the announcement by Ariel
Sharon and President Bush of new policies which are one-sided and
illegal and which will cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood.
Our dismay at this backward step is heightened by the fact that
you yourself seem to have endorsed it, abandoning the principles
which for nearly four decades have guided international efforts
to restore peace in the Holy Land and which have been the basis
for such successes as those efforts have produced.
This abandonment of principle comes at a time when, rightly or
wrongly, we are portrayed throughout the Arab and Muslim world
as partners in an illegal and brutal occupation in Iraq.
The conduct of the war in Iraq has made it clear that there was
no effective plan for the post-Saddam settlement. All those with
experience of the area predicted that the occupation of Iraq by
the coalition forces would meet serious and stubborn resistance,
as has proved to be the case. To describe the resistance as led
by terrorists, fanatics and foreigners is neither convincing nor
helpful. Policy must take account of the nature and history of
Iraq, the most complex country in the region. However much Iraqis
may yearn for a democratic society, the belief that one could now
be created by the coalition is naive. This is the view of virtually
all independent specialists on the region, both in Britain and
in America. We are glad to note that you and the President have
welcomed the proposals outlined by Lakhdar Brahimi. We must be
ready to provide what support he requests, and to give authority
to the United Nations to work with the Iraqis themselves, including
those who are now actively resisting the occupation, to clear up
the mess.
The military actions of the coalition forces must be guided by
political objectives and by the requirements of the Iraq theatre
itself, not by criteria remote from them. It is not good enough
to say that the use of force is a matter for local commanders.
Heavy weapons unsuited to the task in hand, inflammatory language,
the current confrontations in Najaf and Fallujah, all these have
built up rather than isolated the opposition. The Iraqis killed
by coalition forces probably total between ten and fifteen thousand
(it is a disgrace that the coalition forces themselves appear to
have no estimate), and the number killed in the last month in Fallujah
alone is apparently several hundred including many civilian men,
women and children. Phrases such as "We mourn each loss of
life. We salute them, and their families for their bravery and
their sacrifice", apparently referring only to those who have
died on the coalition side, are not well judged to moderate the
passions these killings arouse.
We share your view that the British Government has an interest
in working as closely as possible with the US on both these related
issues, and in exerting real influence as a loyal ally. We believe
that the need for such influence is now a matter of the highest
urgency. If that is unacceptable or unwelcome there is no case
for supporting policies which are doomed to failure.
Yours faithfully,
Sir Brian Barder, former high commissioner, Australia
Paul Bergne, former diplomat
Sir John Birch, former ambassador, Hungary
Sir David Blatherwick, former ambassador, Ireland
Graham Hugh Boyce, ambassador to Egypt 1999-2001
Sir Julian Bullard, former ambassador, Bonn
Juliet Campbell, former ambassador, Luxemburg
Sir Bryan Cartledge, former ambassador, Soviet Union
Terence Clark, ambassador to Iraq 1985-89
David Hugh Colvin, former ambassador, Belgium
Francis Cornish, ambassador to Israel 1998-2001
Sir James Craig, ambassador to Saudi Arabia 1979-84
Sir Brian Crowe: former director-general, external and defence
affairs, Council of the European Union
Basil Eastwood, former ambassador, Syria
Sir Stephen Egerton, diplomatic service, Kuwait
William Fullerton, former ambassador, Morocco
Dick Fyjis-Walker, ex-chairman, Commonwealth Institute
Marrack Goulding, former head of United Nations Peacekeeping
John Graham, former Nato ambassador, Iraq
Andrew Green, former ambassador, Syria
Victor Henderson, former ambassador, Yemen
Peter Hinchcliffe, former ambassador, Jordan
Brian Hitch, former High Commissioner, Malta
Sir Archie Lamb, former ambassador, Norway
Sir David Logan, former ambassador, Turkey
Christopher Long, former ambassador, Switzerland
Ivor Lucas, former assistant secretary-general, Arab-British Chamber
of Commerce, ambassador to Syria 1982-84
Ian McCluney, former ambassador, Somalia
Maureen MacGlashan, foreign service in Israel
Philip McLean, former ambassador, Cuba
Sir Christopher MacRae, former ambassador, Chad
Oliver Miles, diplomatic service in Middle East
Martin Morland, former ambassador, Burma
Sir Keith Morris, former ambassador, Colombia
Sir Richard Muir, ambassador to Kuwait 1999-2002
Sir Alan Munro, former ambassador, Saudi Arabia
Stephen Nash, ambassador, Latvia
Robin O'Neill, former ambassador, Austria
Andrew Palmer, former ambassador, Vatican
Bill Quantrill, former ambassador, Cameroon
David Ratford, former ambassador, Norway
Tom Richardson, former UK deputy ambassador, UN
Andrew Stuart, former ambassador, Finland
Michael Weir, former ambassador, Cairo
Alan White, former ambassador, Chile
Hugh Tunnell, former ambassador, Bahrain
Charles Treadwell, former ambassador, UAE
Sir Crispin Tickell, British permanent representative to the UN
1987-90
Derek Tonkin, former ambassador, Thailand
David Tatham, former governor, Falkland Islands
Sir Harold "Hooky" Walker, ambassador to Iraq 1990-91
Jeremy Varcoe, former ambassador, Somalia.
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