DIPLOMATS, MILITARY LEADERS EXPRESS VOTE OF NO-CONFIDENCE IN BUSH

A group of 27 former diplomats and military officials from the United States signed a harshly worded letter condemning the Bush administration for its unilateral ways.

The group accuses the administration of a "cynical campaign to persuade the public that Saddam Hussein was linked to al Qaeda and the attacks of Sept. 11," according to The Washington Post.

Among the retired officials signing the statement were Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan and U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James's under President Bill Clinton, and Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, named by President George H.W. Bush to lead U.S. forces in the Middle East.

The participants also include a pair of former ambassadors to the Soviet Union, two former ambassadors to Israel, two former ambassadors to Pakistan and a former director of the CIA.