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 16^th, 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