My public service to educate you idiots

[ivehadit]

EDITOR'S NOTE: What follows is a letter of

resignation written by John Brady Kiesling, a member of Bush's

Foreign Service Corps and Political Counselor to the American

embassy in Greece. Kiesling has been a diplomat for twenty

years, a civil servant to four Presidents. The letter below,

delivered to Secretary of State Colin Powell, is quite

possibly the most eloquent statement of dissent thus far put

forth regarding the issue of Iraq. The New York Times story

which reports on this remarkable event can be found after

Kiesling's letter. - wrp

Go to Original

t r u t h o u t | Letter

U.S. Diplomat John Brady Kiesling

Letter of Resignation, to:

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell

ATHENS | Thursday 27 February 2003

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.

John Brady Kiesling

Go to Original

U.S. Diplomat Resigns, Protesting 'Our Fervent

Pursuit of War'

By Felicity Barringer

New York Times

Thursday 27 February 2003

UNITED NATIONS ¯ 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.

The diplomat, John Brady Kiesling, the political

counselor at the United States Embassy in Athens, said in

his resignation letter, "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."

Mr. Kiesling, 45, who has been a diplomat for

about 20 years, said in a telephone interview tonight that he

faxed the letter to Secretary of State Colin L, Powell on

Monday after informing Thomas Miller, the ambassador in

Athens, of his decision.

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."

Louis Fintor, a State Department spokesman, said

he had no information on Mr. Kiesling's decision and it was

department policy not to comment on personnel matters.

In his letter, a copy of which was provided to

The New York Times by a friend of Mr. Kiesling's, the

diplomat wrote Mr. Powell: "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."

His letter continued: "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."

It is rare but not unheard-of for a diplomat,

immersed in the State Department's culture of public support

for policy, regardless of private feelings, to resign with

this kind of public blast. From 1992 to 1994, five State

Department officials quit out of frustration with the Clinton

administration's Balkans policy.

Asked if his views were widely shared among his

diplomatic colleagues, Mr. Kiesling said: "No one of my

colleagues is comfortable with our policy. Everyone is moving

ahead with it as good and loyal. The State Department is

loaded with people who want to play the team game ¯ we have a

very strong premium on loyalty."

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107,

this material is distributed without profit to those who

have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included

information for research and educational purposes.)

© Copyright 2002 by TruthOut.org

I H I

[georgym]

nice letter, but:

A) there's no need to be obnoxious

Dialectics graced us with this a week ago, so you're 1) slow , and 2) dumb

[tunnelbandit]

I didn't read that...

[ghhhhhost]

on the other hand i

a) respect him for posting it

agree with his thread title

c) could read this over and over and over...

[djqwest]

this shits boring....

[Crackorn]

1. Who are you?

2. Who cares?

[maximman]

Originally posted by Crackorn

1. Who are you?

2. Who cares?

1. What does it matter who he is? It shouldn't take away from the message.

2. It's not exactly YOUR PSA now is it? You just copy and pasted something.

[Crackorn]

Oh, it takes away from the message BIG TIME.

[maximman]

Originally posted by Crackorn

Oh, it takes away from the message BIG TIME.

Please read my 2nd point. He didn't state anything. He just copy and pasted a direct source, followed by an article from a VERY well respected publication.

So, what does it matter who he is?

[cubbie78]

Great for Kiesling...although this resignation is such garbage. If you want to resign because you don't agree with the policy, that fine. But don't hide behind the american public. Where was his resignation during the Kosovo? The american majority did not want their boys to die fighting in the Balkans. But he didn't resign then because he agreed with the actions. Our government leaders should not be swayed by public opinion considering 50% of american's can't even pick out their state on a map, let alone the less than 20 percent that know their state senators. The best leader, would put the public's best interest above all. Kiesling is a coward for hiding behind the public opinion, not stating the truth which is that he does not agree with the current foreign policy.

I'm not saying that I agree with the policy either. In fact I think Iraq is a bad idea right now. All I am saying is that I try to stay as up-to-date as possible, however I know that all the information I receive is through politically influenced mediums. (TV, newspaper...etc.) I just hope that our leaders are making the best decisions possible with the information they have (that we might not) and that they get our boys back home safely as soon as possible.

[ivehadit]

Originally posted by gmccookny

nice letter, but:

A) there's no need to be obnoxious

Dialectics graced us with this a week ago, so you're 1) slow , and 2) dumb

a--there's every need in the world.

b--i dont read the boad every minute of every day so 1) I didn't know 2) dont give a fuck 3) stfu 4) i shit out more intelligent crap than the whole of a grown man likening himself to a smurf.

to Crackorn

please stfu already. those two lines are tired as hell. stay ignorant, my man.

to ghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhost and maximman: thank you

and to cubbie - good point

I H I

[georgym]

Originally posted by ivehadit

a--there's every need in the world.

b--i dont read the boad every minute of every day so 1) I didn't know 2) dont give a fuck 3) stfu 4) i shit out more intelligent crap than the whole of a grown man likening himself to a smurf.

to Crackorn

please stfu already. those two lines are tired as hell. stay ignorant, my man.

to ghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhost and maximman: thank you

and to cubbie - good point

I H I

Hi cool guy

So you go by the initials IHI, huh? more like P.U.S.S.Y. to me

Just realize that if you're gonna act like a fool, you're gonna be treated like one.

So why don't you stfu and leave the intelligent discourse to us

[ferris2]

fuckin diplomats..they park wherever they want and nothing gets done about it.

i know its OT but it gets me so mad when im in the city and i see a diplomat parked in a fire zone or right in front of a hydrant and know nothing will be done about it.

also, i heard that they just caught a couple of diplomats from iraq taking photos of possible spots for terrorist attacks. they were not arrested but were sent out of the country. is this true?

[Crackorn]

AN angry, angry man. (who should use his original screen name)

[ivehadit]

Originally posted by gmccookny

Hi cool guy

So you go by the initials IHI, huh? more like P.U.S.S.Y. to me

Just realize that if you're gonna act like a fool, you're gonna be treated like one.

So why don't you stfu and leave the intelligent discourse to us

Sorry to interrupt the extremely important 'smurf rhetoric' that passes as conversations at your local MENSA chapter, which I'm SURE that you are a member of.

I pass gas that is more welcome that your idtiot ramblings. Please felch my smurfy ass and bash yourself in the smurfy face.

I H I