Wonder If Blair Will Turn His Administration Loose On TV As Revenge

If this happened here, there wouldn't be enough Condis, Dicks, Rummies and Scotts to fight this back. Here's what having guts looks like, in case you forgot (Okay, stop giggling at the headline and read the story, dammit):

British diplomats turn on Blair

More than 50 former senior British diplomats have denounced Tony Blair's "doomed" policies on the Middle East and Iraq and criticised his close alliance with US President George Bush, in an unprecedented assault on the British Prime Minister's standing.

The 52 former envoys, including former ambassadors to Syria, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Nations, sent a joint letter to Downing Street condemning Britain for "abandoning" peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians and for invading Iraq without an exit strategy.

The diplomats, many of whom are likely to still reflect thinking at the British Foreign Office, called on Mr Blair to re-consider his recent support for Israel's plan to keep settlements on the West Bank while withdrawing from Gaza, despite US backing.

They described the new Israel-US plan as "one-sided and illegal, which will cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood", and attacked Britain's apparent abandonment of the so-called "road map" towards a peaceful settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.

"This abandonment of principle comes at a time when, rightly or wrongly, we are portrayed throughout the Arab world as partners in an illegal and brutal occupation in Iraq," the diplomats wrote.

"The conduct of the war in Iraq had made it clear that there was no effective plan for the post-Saddam settlement.

"We feel the time has come to make our anxieties public, in the hope that they will be addressed in Parliament and lead to a fundamental reassessment."