The Disinformation Campaign is ON! (Was: Ambassador Says Critical Letter Is Hoax)

Reuters ^ | 7/15/02 | Reuters

[jriemer]

Ambassador Says Critical Letter Is Hoax

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. ambassador told the State Department Tuesday that a letter attributed to him and critical of career diplomats was a hoax, a U.S. official said.

"The ambassador has said the letter is a complete fake and does not reflect his views," said a State Department official, who asked not to be named. The State Department will make a formal statement later Tuesday, he added.

The Washington Times, which published the letter as though it were from Stephan Minikes, ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, withdrew the text from its Web site.

The letter said many career diplomats at the State Department were disloyal to the Bush administration.

[jriemer]

This is the second truly false statement attributed to the Bush adminstration in two weeks. This time the Washington Times is being used as the rube to push the "story". I do not have a copy of the fake letter; however, someone on FR could post it.

Someone's really trying hard to embarass the Bush administration by any means necessary and reaching deep in the dirty trick bag.

[jriemer]

More attempted dirty tricks...

[Support Free Republic]

Hi

[Dog]

Was it posted on FR this morning??

You happened to know the tile of this article in the Washinton Times??

[Mo1]

The Washington Times, which published the letter as though it were from Stephan Minikes, ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, withdrew the text from its Web site.

OK ... who is fed the letter to the WT?

[Dog]

Mo was this posted this morning ??

[Beck_isright]

"The letter said many career diplomats at the State Department were disloyal to the Bush administration."

Gee, the State Department has such a long history of loyality to the Constitution and Capitalism since the 50's. I'm so shocked and saddened to see that statement. </sarcasm way off...Let's all sing "The Internationale" together now

[Dog]

Here it is ....I found it at Reuters..

U.S. Ambassador Slams 'Disloyal' Career Diplomats Tue July 15, 2003 11:30 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. ambassador based in Vienna would like to fire many of the career diplomats on his staff for disloyalty to the Bush administration, according to a letter he published on Tuesday.

Stephan Minikes, ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, also attacked assistant secretaries of state who are career diplomats, calling them "true survivors ... in the jungle of political opportunism."

"If I had the authority and freedom to fire and hire staff based on their loyalty to this administration's democratically elected policy positions rather than based on their tenure as bureaucrats, mine would be a significantly different staff," Minikes, a political appointee, wrote in the Washington Times.

Minikes was joining a debate, initiated largely by former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, over whether U.S. diplomats serve the interests of the Bush administration.

Gingrich has accused diplomats of backing Middle East dictators, coddling the corrupt and undermining the policies of President Bush by appeasing foreign governments.

Minikes said: "I find on a daily basis a discomfort among many of them with implementing the president's desire to lead by principle, and instead, a self-defeating reliance on doing things the same old way, based on the false presumption that everyone's and every state's view has equal value."

"At the OSCE, many on my staff consider the principles that drive French or Russian foreign policy mischief to be as legitimate, in a relativistic way, as the tried-and-true American values that drive everything I do and say as ambassador. It is shameful," he said.

Minikes reports to Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones, a career diplomat in charge of policy toward Europe and Eurasia. Jones happened to be in Vienna on Tuesday, a State Department official said.

There was no immediate comment from the office of Secretary of State Colin Powell, who made a point when he took office in 2001 of maintaining many career diplomats in senior positions.

At least three U.S. diplomats resigned earlier this year, all citing reasons including opposition to U.S. policy toward Iraq.

[Mo1]

I don't know .. I haven't really had a chance to read many articles today

[mystery-ak]

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate RATS!......this election year, we ain't seen nothing yet.

[jriemer]

I looked everywhere and couldn't find the letter either on-line or in FR.

The letter itself is an obvious smear at the unwitting Ambassador and the Bush Administation at large for appointing such a supposed barbarian.

[Howlin]

Gee, why was it withdrawn. It looks like the truth........LOL.

[Dog]

See post 8..

[cake_crumb]

"The letter said many career diplomats at the State Department were disloyal to the Bush administration"

Well, Minikes may not have wrote it, but the statement is true enough

[swheats]

It's time to close the State Department, in the interest of "cutting big government" and allow the Defense Dept or other agency take up diplomacy.

[Mo1]

OK .. who is Stephan Minikes?

Either he is doing a major CYA or someone is planting a bunch of false letters/document out there

[jriemer]

The time stamp on the "Hoax" Ambassador Letter Reuters story is Tue July 15, 2003 12:26 PM ET

The original time stamp on the Ambassador Letter Reuters story is Tue July 15, 2003 11:30 AM ET

What are the odds that anyone will see a retraction from Reuters?

[Dog]

Someone is trying to discredit this man.....why? It isn't like he heads an important office.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

NEVER FORGET


...WHY did the CLINTONS tell us that they were not soft on Terrorism during the 1990's...

...when they had refused 3 Offers to extradite OSAMA bin LADEN from the Sudan to a U.S. Trial that would have stopped the Sept. 11th Attacks from coming down on all of us in advance..?


NEVER FORGET

[Dog]

Stephan Minikes