And mostly not Democrats, either; most were appointed during Republican administrations. They are coming out tomorrow to speak out and make Americans aware that despite the non-stop PR campaign to make Bush sound like a foreign policy genius, he is, in fact, the worst and most dangerous president in terms of foreign policy, perhaps the worst in American history. They will enunciate to the American people, whom they formed careers serving, that Bush’s foreign policy has been an abysmal, miserable failure. “What has caused us to speak out in what could be seen as a partisan or political way is simply our deep, deep concern about the future security of the United States,” one of the group already announced.

While most are not endorsing Kerry outright, the group, “Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change” are certainly telling people that they should absolutely not vote for someone with a record like Bush’s. One member said:

“Ever since Franklin Roosevelt, the U.S. has built up alliances in order to amplify its own power. But now we have alienated many of our closest allies, we have alienated their populations. We’ve all been increasingly appalled at how the relationships that we worked so hard to build up have simply been shattered by the current administration in the method it has gone about things.”

And this is coming from Reagan’s appointee to the ambassadorship to the Soviet Union, Jack F. Matlock, Jr. Finally, hopefully, there will be serious recognition of the massive blunders and trashing of foreign policy and America’s standing in the world committed by the Bush 43 administration.

This is not the first time for something like this–52 former British diplomats and government officials criticized Blair for supporting Bush, saying his policies in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were “doomed to failure.”

The list of American officials making their announcement tomorrow includes former ambassadors to the Soviet Union (two of them, both Reagan’s), Israel (again, two), Britain, France, Greece, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Mexico, Nigeria (two), Bangladesh, Zaire, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Czechoslovakia, Burundi, Pakistan, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Nations.

Former political, military or intelligence officials include those holding the rank of: director of the CIA, secretary of state, chairman of the joint chiefs, commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, deputy commander in chief of the U.S. European Command, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, two former assistant secretaries of Defense, and the chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Committee. There are also 5 assistant secretaries of State, 2 deputy assistant secretaries of State, and an undersecretary-general of the United Nations.

Bush’s people are apparently waiting to see exactly what they say before the inevitable trashing of these guys, though some Republicans are already trying to dismiss this impressive arsenal of foreign policy expertise as not “sufficiently well-known.” Let’s see how well that plays.

Here is the list of signatories as provided by the L.A. Times:

Avis T. Bohlen — assistant secretary of State for arms control, 1999-2002; deputy assistant secretary of State for European affairs 1989-1991.

Retired Adm. William J. Crowe Jr. — chairman, President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Committee, 1993-94; ambassador to Britain, 1993-97; chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1985-89.

Jeffrey S. Davidow — ambassador to Mexico, 1998-2002; assistant secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, 1996

William A. DePree — ambassador to Bangladesh, 1987-1990.

Donald B. Easum — ambassador to Nigeria, 1975-79.

Charles W. Freeman Jr. — assistant secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs, 1993-94; ambassador to Saudi Arabia, 1989-1992.

William C. Harrop — ambassador to Israel, 1991-93; ambassador to Zaire, 1987-1991.

Arthur A. Hartman — ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1981-87; ambassador to France, 1977-1981.

Retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar — commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, overseeing forces in the Middle East, 1991-94; deputy chief of staff, Marine Corps, 1990-94.

H. Allen Holmes — assistant secretary of Defense for special operations, 1993-99; assistant secretary of State for politico-military affairs, 1986-89.

Robert V. Keeley — ambassador to Greece, 1985-89; ambassador to Zimbabwe, 1980-84.

Samuel W. Lewis — director of State Department policy and planning, 1993-94; ambassador to Israel, 1977-1985.

Princeton N. Lyman — assistant secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, 1995-98; ambassador to South Africa, 1992-95.

Jack F. Matlock Jr. — ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1987-1991; director for European and Soviet Affairs, National Security Council, 1983-86; ambassador to Czechoslovakia, 1981-83.

Donald F. McHenry — ambassador to the United Nations, 1979-1981.

Retired Air Force Gen. Merrill A. McPeak — chief of staff, U.S. Air Force, 1990-94.

George E. Moose — assistant secretary of State for African affairs, 1993-97; ambassador to Senegal, 1988-91.

David D. Newsom — acting secretary of State, 1980; undersecretary of State for political affairs, 1978-1981; ambassador to Indonesia, 1973-77

Phyllis E. Oakley — assistant secretary of State for intelligence and research, 1997-99.

James Daniel Phillips — ambassador to the Republic of Congo, 1990-93; ambassador to Burundi, 1986-1990.

John E. Reinhardt — professor of political science, University of Vermont, 1987-91; ambassador to Nigeria, 1971-75.

Retired Air Force Gen. William Y. Smith — deputy commander in chief, U.S. European Command, 1981-83.

Ronald I. Spiers — undersecretary-general of the United Nations for Political Affairs, 1989-1992; ambassador to Pakistan, 1981-83.

Michael Sterner — deputy assistant secretary of State for Near East affairs, 1977-1981; ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, 1974-76.

Retired Adm. Stansfield Turner — director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1977-1981.

Alexander F. Watson — assistant secretary of State for Inter-American affairs, 1993-96; deputy permanent representative to the U.N., 1989-1993.