Ex-US diplomats urge voters to snub Bush

The group of 26 former diplomats and military officials, including appointees of former Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, plan to issue an open statement on Wednesday criticising Bush's foreign policies.

"We just came to agreement that this administration was really endangering the United States," said William Harrop, a former ambassador to Israel under the previous Bush administration.

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The signers are a mix of Democrats and Republicans, Harrop said. They include Jack Matlock and Arthur Hartman, two former ambassadors to the former Soviet Union during the 1980s.

Also in the group are several other former ambassadors and retired military officials, the group said.

Signers of the statement are concerned that the administration has undermined US leadership in the world and alienated US allies, Harrop said.

As an example, Harrop cited the decision to launch the war in Iraq without sufficient international support.

"Our view is that the President Bush administration has chosen American domination of the world as in our best interest," Harrop said.

"We don't think that's going to work."

Harrop said the group was not aligned with Bush's Democratic challenger in the November election, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. "But we want an alternative and that's the alternative," Harrop said.

AFP adds: US lawmakers said they may move to speed up the release of a US Senate report critical of the CIA's performance on Iraq, and accused the intelligence agency of foot-dragging to slow release of the document.

The 400-page classified report, described by officials as presenting a broad indictment of the Central Intelligence Agency's performance on Iraq was written by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

An unclassified version of the report was to be made public this month, but CIA officials vetting the document reportedly said it may take weeks before they complete their review.