PRESS RELEASE
One Hundred Retired U.S. Diplomats Support P5+1 Deal in Open Letter
Aug. 13, 2015 (EIRNS)—Over 100 retired U.S. ambassadors and other diplomats have signed an open letter to President Obama, giving their support to the P5+1 deal. The list of ex-diplomats includes almost all of the living former U.S. ambassadors to the Middle East, along with other senior American diplomats, including former Deputy Secretaries of State. The letter was initiated by the Iran Project, founded by Thomas Pickering, Paul Pillar, and Frank Wisner, among other American diplomats and intelligence officials.
The letter endorsed the P5+1 deal, asserting that if properly implemented, it would "effectively arrest" Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon. While acknowledging that the agreement was not perfect or risk-free, the signers strongly backed its endorsement by the US Congress, and asserted that Congress must be a full partner of the administration in overseeing its successful implementation.
Among the many prominent signers are: Barbara Bodine, Stephen Bosworth, Nicholas Burns, James Collings, Edwin Corr, Ryan Crocker, John Gunther Dean, Chas Freeman, Robert Gallucci, Robert Gelbard, Marc Grossman, Thomas Hughes, James Jones, Theodore Kattouf, Daniel Kurtzer, Bruce Laingen, William Luers, Princeton Lyman, Jack Matlock, Richard Murphy, Robert Pelletreau, Thomas Pickering, Anthony Quainton, Francis Ricciardone, Stapleton Roy, William Vanden Heuvel, Nicholas Velliotes, Edward Walker, Melissa Wells, Philip Wilcox, Molly Williamson, and Frank Wisner.
