(no subject)

[nfotxn]

From The New York Times via Metafilter:

U.S. Diplomat's Letter of Resignation

The following is the text of John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Mr. Kiesling is a career diplomat who has served in United States embassies from Tel Aviv to Casablanca to Yerevan.

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I am writing you to submit my resignation from the Foreign Service of the United States and from my position as Political Counselor in U.S. Embassy Athens, effective March 7. I do so with a heavy heart. The baggage of my upbringing included a felt obligation to give something back to my country. Service as a U.S. diplomat was a dream job. I was paid to understand foreign languages and cultures, to seek out diplomats, politicians, scholars and journalists, and to persuade them that U.S. interests and theirs fundamentally coincided. My faith in my country and its values was the most powerful weapon in my diplomatic arsenal.

It is inevitable that during twenty years with the State Department I would become more sophisticated and cynical about the narrow and selfish bureaucratic motives that sometimes shaped our policies. Human nature is what it is, and I was rewarded and promoted for understanding human nature. But until this Administration it had been possible to believe that by upholding the policies of my president I was also upholding the interests of the American people and the world. I believe it no longer.

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.

The sacrifice of global interests to domestic politics and to bureaucratic self-interest is nothing new, and it is certainly not a uniquely American problem. Still, we have not seen such systematic distortion of intelligence, such systematic manipulation of American opinion, since the war in Vietnam. The September 11 tragedy left us stronger than before, rallying around us a vast international coalition to cooperate for the first time in a systematic way against the threat of terrorism. But rather than take credit for those successes and build on them, this Administration has chosen to make terrorism a domestic political tool, enlisting a scattered and largely defeated Al Qaeda as its bureaucratic ally. We spread disproportionate terror and confusion in the public mind, arbitrarily linking the unrelated problems of terrorism and Iraq. The result, and perhaps the motive, is to justify a vast misallocation of shrinking public wealth to the military and to weaken the safeguards that protect American citizens from the heavy hand of government. September 11 did not do as much damage to the fabric of American society as we seem determined to so to ourselves. Is the Russia of the late Romanovs really our model, a selfish, superstitious empire thrashing toward self-destruction in the name of a doomed status quo?

We should ask ourselves why we have failed to persuade more of the world that a war with Iraq is necessary. We have over the past two years done too much to assert to our world partners that narrow and mercenary U.S. interests override the cherished values of our partners. Even where our aims were not in question, our consistency is at issue. The model of Afghanistan is little comfort to allies wondering on what basis we plan to rebuild the Middle East, and in whose image and interests. Have we indeed become blind, as Russia is blind in Chechnya, as Israel is blind in the Occupied Territories, to our own advice, that overwhelming military power is not the answer to terrorism? After the shambles of post-war Iraq joins the shambles in Grozny and Ramallah, it will be a brave foreigner who forms ranks with Micronesia to follow where we lead.

We have a coalition still, a good one. The loyalty of many of our friends is impressive, a tribute to American moral capital built up over a century. But our closest allies are persuaded less that war is justified than that it would be perilous to allow the U.S. to drift into complete solipsism. Loyalty should be reciprocal. Why does our President condone the swaggering and contemptuous approach to our friends and allies this Administration is fostering, including among its most senior officials. Has oderint dum metuant really become our motto?

I urge you to listen to America’s friends around the world. Even here in Greece, purported hotbed of European anti-Americanism, we have more and closer friends than the American newspaper reader can possibly imagine. Even when they complain about American arrogance, Greeks know that the world is a difficult and dangerous place, and they want a strong international system, with the U.S. and EU in close partnership. When our friends are afraid of us rather than for us, it is time to worry. And now they are afraid. Who will tell them convincingly that the United States is as it was, a beacon of liberty, security, and justice for the planet?

Mr. Secretary, I have enormous respect for your character and ability. You have preserved more international credibility for us than our policy deserves, and salvaged something positive from the excesses of an ideological and self-serving Administration. But your loyalty to the President goes too far. We are straining beyond its limits an international system we built with such toil and treasure, a web of laws, treaties, organizations, and shared values that sets limits on our foes far more effectively than it ever constrained America’s ability to defend its interests.

I am resigning because I have tried and failed to reconcile my conscience with my ability to represent the current U.S. Administration. I have confidence that our democratic process is ultimately self-correcting, and hope that in a small way I can contribute from outside to shaping policies that better serve the security and prosperity of the American people and the world we share.

Comments

[folkyboy.livejournal.com]

woah

yeah woah...

[withinearshot.livejournal.com]

that's like so deep n stuff man. like, totally.

[ranger1.livejournal.com]

It's nice to see someone inside the Foreign Service speaking out. I'm pleasantly shocked that an Amercian media outlet covered something that's anti-Bush administration. Unfortunately the guy is just an underling for the Greek ambassador. This story does not appear to have propagated beyond the International section of the NYT (and how many Americans bother reading *that* part?) Hopefully it'll do some good but I ain't holding my breath.

[thafuzz.livejournal.com]

He's absolutely right about the self-protective status quo. One of President Clinton's best qualities was letting the have-nots know they too had power, and they didn't have to take crap from zealots (i.e., right-wing controlled Republicans). Journalists and pundits are wondering why American citizens are complacent while the current administration is running rampant with the Bill of Right dismantling. It's because the Bush administration has done a tragically effective job of letting the have-nots know that if they're not in the loop, they'll never get in.

[scottbear2000.livejournal.com]

So WHY isn't THIS letter posted in EVERY newspaper in America for ALL to read? Why isn't this letter being discussed on the 6:00 news? Why don't other American leaders speak up - PUBLICLY - against what George dub-yah is doing to our democracy??? Sometimes I feel as though we Americans have become apathetic, but I still have some hope for us.

I VOTE - and therefore, I have EVERY right to complain about what our politicians are doing. If you don't VOTE, then SHUT THE FUCK UP. By NOT VOTING, you've given up your right to complain. If you don't like what's going on in American politics, then get yer butt down to city hall while you still can and register to vote. Come November 2004, join with me on Election Day to FIRE THIS MAN and kick his ass out of office - just like we did to his father in 1994. Remember: across the world and throughout history, millions of people have DIED for the right to vote. The American system of democracy is not perfect. But it's a hell of a LOT better than most places. Before John Ashcroft finds a way to take away your right to vote, I suggest that you do your little part to see that dub-yah is sent packing.

I am an American - proud of what my country stands for, and what its principles are. But I am not blinded by nationalism nor patriotism to my country. I can see the injustices that our American government - and our society - are guilty of. I know that we can do better and that we MUST do better. But it's a struggle and there are huge forces of history, economics, and politics against sudden change. But we can work to make little changes that over time, will grow into huge differences from the way we've done things in the past. I'd like to think that this period of time is an in-between place in history.

Needless to say, I'm hoping and praying that when election 2004 comes along, we Americans will learn from election 2000 and choose a better leader. I plan on doing MY PART as a citizen of this country to get rid of this man by the legal and peaceful means provided to us. GWB has utterly failed the American people with his trickle-down economics, and other domestic and foreign policies. This man has demonstrated just how much can be done to destroy so much in so little time. He needs to go.

In the meantime, I'm utterly disgusted and ashamed for our nation and our government's behavior.

And for all you non-Americans out there in LJ land, please keep in mind that with all the anti-American crap that is being said, the ideals of the United States and of Americans in general are still the best. Americans are some of the most generous and well-meaning people in the world. And rest assured that our own built-in democratic processes will correct itself and will hopefully rebuild what we have destroyed. Perhaps by reflecting upon these four nightmarish years of the Bush administration, I'm hoping that we Americans will open our eyes and see the wrongs that we have done and will make amends by taking on fairer policies at both home and abroad. So maybe in the end, something good WILL come out of all this.

Politics

[jbear70.livejournal.com]

I recently heard part of Kiesling's interview with Diane Rehme on her show on NPR a couple days ago. I have to say that I was very impressed with the interview and I am glad to be able to read the entire text of his resignation letter. I agree with the other responders to your journal post in that it is too bad that this did not get such a widespread airing. I agree with Mr. Kieslings assertions that the current administration (illegitimate as it is) is pandering to it's domestic constituents and holding hostage the global interests of the US. Apparently the NYT readers and NPR listeners are the only ones who will know. No wonder the Repubs. lambast the liberal media and want to cut funding for NPR. Unfortunately it seems the vast right-wing conspiracy is alive and well. But as one responder put it, the American democracy is self-correcting and I can only hope that it truly is in this case.

Re: Politics

[nfotxn.livejournal.com]

All I can do is hope that American democracy is self-correcting.

[jbear70.livejournal.com]

Here is something on NPR that you might find interesting related to the Bush administration policy regarding Iraq.

http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=ATC&showDate=13-Mar-2003&segNum=&NPRMediaPref=RM

You'll need a Real Player or the MS Windows equivalent to listen.