Undiplomatic Revolt
I've been dragged back to "active service" with The Daily Telegraph for a day to take a look at the Foreign Office. ...
Diplomatic discretion cast aside to criticise 'failing policies'
The Daily Telegraph 4 August 2006
Britain's diplomats, trained for years in the virtues of discretion and obedient service, are in an unprecedented state of rebellion over Tony Blair's policies in the Middle East.
In recent days there have been signs of disagreement between the Prime Minister and the Foreign Office, an ambassador's warning about civil war in Iraq has been leaked and now one of Britain's best known former diplomatic heavyweights has accused Mr Blair of doing "more damage to British interests in the Middle East than Anthony Eden, who led Britain to disaster in Suez".
Sir Rodric Braithwaite, formerly British ambassador to Moscow and the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, issued a more withering personal criticism of Mr Blair and his foreign policy than the divided Tory opposition could ever muster.
Writing in the Financial Times, Sir Rodric compared the Prime Minister to "a frayed and waxy zombie straight from Madame Tussauds... programmed to spout the language of the White House in an artificial English accent".
He continued: "Stiff in opinions, but often in the wrong, he has manipulated public opinion, sent our soldiers into distant lands for ill-conceived purposes, misused the intelligence agencies to serve his ends and reduced the Foreign Office to a demoralised cipher because it keeps reminding him of inconvenient facts.
"He keeps the dog, but he barely notices if it barks or not. He prefers to construct his "foreign policy" out of self-righteous soundbites and expensive foreign travel."
Separately, Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya, accused Mr Blair of "bias towards Israel" in its military campaign against Hamas and Hizbollah.
Writing in The Guardian's internet edition, he said: "There is little indication that he [the Prime Minister] has grasped the horror of what is happening in Gaza and Lebanon; still less that he is aware that Lebanon today is a repeat of what happened when Israel invaded last time.
"This is in strong contrast with the empathy he shows for Israelis who feel that their existence is under threat from their neighbours, a feeling that is real enough but which in terms of experience of suffering and death simply does not match the horrors that Palestinians and Lebanese have lived through in the last generation."
It is difficult to gauge how far such sentiments are shared among other diplomats, whether serving or retired.
Mr Miles, for instance, has been unable to repeat his publicity coup of two years ago, when he gathered the signatures of 52 former diplomats telling Mr Blair that his policies in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were "doomed to failure".
Israeli officials, who have an acute interest in observing the state of the Foreign Office and Downing Street, say they have not detected a significant split between Mr Blair and the major foreign policy officials dealing with the Middle East.
Still, Mr Blair admitted there were "people within the system", as well as ministers, who disagreed with his policy.
Leaked Government memos have highlighted senior officials' concerns at the lack of post-war planning in Iraq, and warnings that the invasion would radicalise Muslims in Britain.
In private, senior British officials sometimes voice criticism. One said recently he could not remember a time when the West's strategic position was weaker than it is today.
Another compared the embattled position of the Army in Iraq to its situation in Palestine in 1947, when it was unable to stop the war between Jews and Arabs and withdrew from the country.
After the invasion of Iraq, one senior official explained: "This Government is made up entirely of doves and one hawk - and the hawk is the Prime Minister."
This situation is little changed today.
Diplomatic discretion cast aside to criticise 'failing policies'
The Daily Telegraph 4 August 2006
Britain's diplomats, trained for years in the virtues of discretion and obedient service, are in an unprecedented state of rebellion over Tony Blair's policies in the Middle East.
In recent days there have been signs of disagreement between the Prime Minister and the Foreign Office, an ambassador's warning about civil war in Iraq has been leaked and now one of Britain's best known former diplomatic heavyweights has accused Mr Blair of doing "more damage to British interests in the Middle East than Anthony Eden, who led Britain to disaster in Suez".
Sir Rodric Braithwaite, formerly British ambassador to Moscow and the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, issued a more withering personal criticism of Mr Blair and his foreign policy than the divided Tory opposition could ever muster.
Writing in the Financial Times, Sir Rodric compared the Prime Minister to "a frayed and waxy zombie straight from Madame Tussauds... programmed to spout the language of the White House in an artificial English accent".
He continued: "Stiff in opinions, but often in the wrong, he has manipulated public opinion, sent our soldiers into distant lands for ill-conceived purposes, misused the intelligence agencies to serve his ends and reduced the Foreign Office to a demoralised cipher because it keeps reminding him of inconvenient facts.
"He keeps the dog, but he barely notices if it barks or not. He prefers to construct his "foreign policy" out of self-righteous soundbites and expensive foreign travel."
Separately, Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya, accused Mr Blair of "bias towards Israel" in its military campaign against Hamas and Hizbollah.
Writing in The Guardian's internet edition, he said: "There is little indication that he [the Prime Minister] has grasped the horror of what is happening in Gaza and Lebanon; still less that he is aware that Lebanon today is a repeat of what happened when Israel invaded last time.
"This is in strong contrast with the empathy he shows for Israelis who feel that their existence is under threat from their neighbours, a feeling that is real enough but which in terms of experience of suffering and death simply does not match the horrors that Palestinians and Lebanese have lived through in the last generation."
It is difficult to gauge how far such sentiments are shared among other diplomats, whether serving or retired.
Mr Miles, for instance, has been unable to repeat his publicity coup of two years ago, when he gathered the signatures of 52 former diplomats telling Mr Blair that his policies in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were "doomed to failure".
Israeli officials, who have an acute interest in observing the state of the Foreign Office and Downing Street, say they have not detected a significant split between Mr Blair and the major foreign policy officials dealing with the Middle East.
Still, Mr Blair admitted there were "people within the system", as well as ministers, who disagreed with his policy.
Leaked Government memos have highlighted senior officials' concerns at the lack of post-war planning in Iraq, and warnings that the invasion would radicalise Muslims in Britain.
In private, senior British officials sometimes voice criticism. One said recently he could not remember a time when the West's strategic position was weaker than it is today.
Another compared the embattled position of the Army in Iraq to its situation in Palestine in 1947, when it was unable to stop the war between Jews and Arabs and withdrew from the country.
After the invasion of Iraq, one senior official explained: "This Government is made up entirely of doves and one hawk - and the hawk is the Prime Minister."
This situation is little changed today.
posted by Anton La Guardia at 9:25 pm
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