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Diplomats for a
Nonpartisan Foreign Service
In the face of massive danger, over 1100 American
Foreign Service officers recently volunteered for the
145 openings in our embassy and other diplomatic offices
across Iraq. Former Foreign Service officers Ambassador
L. Paul Bremer and now Ambassador John Negroponte agreed
to take on perhaps the single most dangerous position in
the world as head of the
U.S.
effort in
Iraq. When the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
were devastated by terrorist bombings in 1998, Foreign
Service officers emerged from the rubble and kept doing
their work.
President Bush and President Clinton knew, as their
predecessors learned, that they could trust the Foreign
Service to serve them without regard to party. This
trust has been hard won as a number of Presidents have
come to office distrusting the Service, convinced of a
political bias – most often based on loyal service to
the outgoing administration.
The undersigned have held responsible positions for the
planning and execution of American foreign and national
security policy in Republican and Democratic
administrations; fifteen of us were career Foreign
Service officers. Clearly former diplomats and military
officers as individuals have the right, even the
responsibility to participate in the political life of
our country, and a number have gone on to hold elected
office, including in Congress. Others have been called
back to duty as political appointees. They have done so
as individuals, not as spokesmen for their profession,
and this is as it should be. To do otherwise we believe
risks undermining the confidence of our elected leaders
in the professionalism and integrity of our foreign and
military services.
On June 16th, as the current presidential
campaign went into high gear, a group calling itself
“Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change” issued a
statement attacking the Bush Administration’s foreign
policy and established a website and organization to
defeat President Bush in November.
Their unprecedented political statement elicited
considerable comment in both the American and foreign
press about supposed disenchantment in the career
diplomatic and military services with the current
administration. The impression that this created, that
there is consensus among experienced diplomats and
military officers about this administration’s policies,
is simply wrong. Among the signers of our statement are
supporters of this administration’s policies and those
who are critics. “Diplomats and Military Commanders for
Change” also stimulated at least two other campaigns
among former career officers – one explicitly for
President Bush and the other for Senator Kerry.
A core principle and deeply held tradition of our
foreign and military services is now at risk. A
president must be able to count on the career services
to remain above the political fray, provide
disinterested advice, and faithfully execute decisions
taken.
We are immensely proud of the current generation in our
Service and cannot remain silent while their
professional integrity is put at risk. Across the globe,
in circumstances of great danger and difficulty, we are
the front line of America’s interests. As the walls of
the entrance to the State Department attest, even more
ambassadors have been killed in the line of duty than
flag officers since the Vietnam War. Under Secretary
Powell’s leadership, the morale and loyalty of the
Foreign Service are high.
Whoever is elected this November must be able to count
on the unquestioned, passionate commitment to
nonpartisanship by the professionals of the foreign and
uniformed services of the United States. We are
confident the candidates for election this November – of
whichever party – will respect and appreciate our
determination that our career services remain and be
seen as truly apolitical, in the best interests of our
country.
The Honorable Michael
H. Armacost
Ambassador to Japan, 1989
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, 1984
Ambassador to the Philippines, 1982
The Honorable Thomas
D. Boyatt
Ambassador to Columbia, 1983
President of the American Foreign Service Association,
1971
The Honorable Everett
Ellis Briggs
Ambassador to Portugal, 1990
Special Assistant to the President, 1989
Ambassador to Honduras, 1986
Ambassador to Panama, 1982
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American
Affairs, 1980
The Honorable Frank
C. Carlucci
Secretary of Defense, 1987
Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs, 1986
Ambassador to Portugal, 1975
The Honorable
Lawrence S. Eagleburger
Secretary of State, 1991
Deputy Secretary of State, 1988
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, 1982
Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, 1981
Ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1977
The Honorable Charles
Hill
Executive Secretary of the State Department and
Executive Assistant to the Secretary, 1983
The Honorable Max M.
Kampelman
Ambassador to the Conference on Security and Cooperation
in Europe,
1987
Counselor to the Department of State, 1985
Ambassador and Head of the U.S. Delegation to the
Negotiations with the USSR on Nuclear and Space Arms,
1985
The Honorable Henry
A. Kissinger
Secretary of State, 1973
Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs, 1969
The Honorable George
Landau
Ambassador to Venezuela, 1982
Ambassador to Chile, 1977
Ambassador to Paraguay, 1972
The Honorable Melvyn
Levitsky
Ambassador to Brazil, 1994
Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics
Matters, 1989
Executive Secretary of the Department of State, 1987
Ambassador to Bulgaria, 1984
The Honorable
Patricia Gates Lynch
Chairman of the Board of the Association for Diplomatic
Studies and Training, 1998
Ambassador to Madagascar and the Islamic Republic of the
Comoros, 1986
The Honorable John
Norton Moore
Co-Chairman of the United States/USSR talks on the Rule
of Law, 1990
Ambassador to the United Nations Conference on the Law
of the Sea and Deputy Special Representative of the
President, 1973
Counselor on International Law to the Department of
State, 1972
The Honorable
Langhorne A. Motley
Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs,
1983
Ambassador to Brazil,1981
The Honorable Mark
Palmer
Ambassador to Hungary, 1986
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Soviet Union
and Eastern Europe, 1982
The Honorable William
T. Pryce
Ambassador to Honduras, 1993
Special Assistant to the President and NSC Senior
Director for
Western Hemisphere,
1989
Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the
OAS, 1988
The Honorable J.
Stapleton Roy
Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and
Research, 1999
Ambassador to the Republic of
Indonesia,
1995
Ambassador the People’s Republic of
China,
1991
Executive Secretary of the State Department and Special
Assistant to the Secretary, 1989
Ambassador to Singapore, 1984
The Honorable Harry
W. Shlaudeman
Ambassador to Brazil, 1986
Ambassador to Argentina, 1980
Ambassador to Peru, 1977
Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs, 1976
Ambassador to Venezuela, 1975
The Honorable George
P. Shultz
Secretary of State, 1982
Secretary of the Treasury, 1972
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 1970
Secretary of Labor, 1969
The Honorable Joseph
J. Sisco
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, 1975
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South
Asian Affairs, 1968
Assistant Secretary of State for International
Organization Affairs, 1964
The Honorable Helmut
Sonnenfeldt
Counselor of the Department, 1974
The Honorable Edward
S. Walker, Jr.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near East/North Africa,
2000
Ambassador to Israel, 1997
Ambassador to Egypt, 1994
Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
1992
Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, 1990
The Honorable Frank
Wisner
Ambassador to India, 1994
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, 1993
Under Secretary of State for International Security
Affairs, 1992
Ambassador to the Philippines, 1991
Ambassador to Egypt, 1986
Ambassador to Zambia, 1979
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