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Hi All, FYI 1) Dissident Diplomats Speak on San Francisco Public Radio 2) Letter of Resignation by John H. Brown, Foreign Service Officer Best andreas ------------------------------------ 1) Dissident Diplomats Speak on San Francisco Public Radio http://commondreams.org/news2003/0313-01.htm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 13, 2003 8:28 AM CONTACT: Working Assets Radio Matt Martin at 415. 595-0069 Dissident Diplomats Speak on San Francisco Public Radio Thursday, March 13, 10am John Brady Kiesling and John H. Brown Speak Together for the First Time on Working Assets Radio KALW 91.7 FM 10-11 AM PT SAN FRANCISCO - March 13 - After 20 years of service to diplomacy and civil debate, John Brady Kiesling, a senior U.S. diplomat based in Athens, Greece, resigned from his post in protest over the Bush administration's policy on Iraq. In an impassioned letter ( http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0227-13.htm )to his boss, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Kiesling said the Bush administration was involved in "a systematic distortion of intelligence" and "a systematic manipulation of public opinion" not seen since the days of Vietnam. Just a week later, a second career diplomat, John H. Brown, followed suit. He too wrote ( http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0312-11.htm to Secretary of State Powell: "I a joining my colleague John Brady Kiesling in submitting my resignation from the Foreign Service (effective immediately) because I cannot in good conscience support President Bush's war plans against Iraq." The two men will meet for the first time, live, on Thursday, March 13, on Working Assets Radio on KALW (91.7 fm) and answer listener questions. "Working Assets Radio with Laura Flanders" is produced by the Working Assets company of San Francisco and broadcasts live, Monday-Friday, 10-11 am, on KALW (91.7fm) and on the internet. For more information, call Senior Producer Matt Martin at 415. 595-0069, or visit www.workingassetsradio.com. "Working Assets Radio" - PUTTING THE PUBLIC BACK IN PUBLIC RADIO. --------------------------- 2) Letter of Resignation by John H. Brown, Foreign Service Officer http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0312-11.htm To: Secretary of State Colin Powell March 10, 2003 Dear Mr. Secretary: I am joining my colleague John Brady Kiesling in submitting my resignation from the Foreign Service (effective immediately) because I cannot in good conscience support President Bush's war plans against Iraq. The president has failed: --To explain clearly why our brave men and women in uniform should be ready to sacrifice their lives in a war on Iraq at this time; --To lay out the full ramifications of this war, including the extent of innocent civilian casualties; --To specify the economic costs of the war for ordinary Americans; --To clarify how the war would help rid the world of terror; --To take international public opinion against the war into serious consideration. Throughout the globe the United States is becoming associated with the unjustified use of force. The president's disregard for views in other nations, borne out by his neglect of public diplomacy, is giving birth to an anti-American century. I joined the Foreign Service because I love our country. Respectfully, Mr. Secretary, I am now bringing this calling to a close, with a heavy heart but for the same reason that I embraced it. Sincerely, John H. Brown Foreign Service Officer --------------------------------------- John H. Brown, a Princeton PhD, joined the Foreign Service in 1981 and has served in London, Prague, Krakow, Kiev, Belgrade and, most recently, Moscow. A senior member of the Foreign Service since 1997, he has focused his diplomatic work on press and cultural affairs. Under a State Department program, he has, up to now, been an Associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, where he was assigned in August 2001. _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk