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Blair's woes deepen as mutiny staged over Iraq and Israel
(Ben Russell, The Independent, 27 April 2004)
Tony Blair was facing a severe crisis of confidence in his foreign policy yesterday after an unprecedented attack from dozens of the most senior figures in the British diplomatic service. . . . The letter from 52 former ambassadors and heads of mission who held the most senior postings in the Foreign Office, lambasted Mr Blair for abandoning his principles over the road-map to peace in the Middle East and criticised the United States-led coalition in Iraq for failing to plan for the post-Saddam era. . . . In a damning verdict on Mr Blair's special relationship with President George Bush, they called for a "fundamental reassessment" of British policy towards the White House and the Middle East, urging Mr Blair to exert real influence over American policy as "a matter of the highest urgency". . . . Signatories include former ambassadors to Baghdad and Tel Aviv, and senior figures who served in postings including Moscow, Brussels and the United Nations. . . . "Never has government policy been so controversial. It is an indication of our serious concern that what is probably the biggest such collective group has gone straight to government in this way." . . . The former diplomats said they had "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". . . . Doug Henderson, the former defence minister, said: "These are the guys on the ground with a lot of experience of dealing with critical issues. We would be well advised to listen to their views very carefully." Tam Dalyell, the Father of the Commons, added: "I fully support the 52 diplomats. This is unprecedented. In my 41 years as an MP I have never seen such a move. They can't be dismissed as ex-diplomats, it's a great deal more serious than that." . . . Robin Cook, the former foreign secretary, backed the diplomats. He told Channel 4: "There was a bargain offered at the time that if we supported Bush's invasion of Iraq then he would press for peace in the Middle East on the road-map. Now he has broken that commitment, instead he has taken sides with Sharon and that, I think, is what motivates the comments we see about the Middle East within this letter."

posted by LoZo 5:40 PM