Members of the 26-strong group of Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change:

Avis T Bohlen, President Bush's former assistant secretary of state for arms control
Adm William J Crowe, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under President Reagan and ambassador to UK under President Clinton; has endorsed John Kerry
Jeffrey S Davidow, President Bush's former ambassador to Mexico
William A DePree, ex-ambassador to Bangladesh
Donald B Easum, ex-ambassador to Nigeria
Charles W Freeman, ex-ambassador to Saudi Arabia
"I think we will in time come to be very ashamed of this period in history"

William C Harrop, President Bush Senior's ambassador to Israel
Arthur A Hartman, ex-ambassador to Soviet Union and France
Gen Joseph P Hoar, commander in chief of US Central Command under Bush Sr; supports John Kerry
H Allen Holmes, ex-special operations chief
Robert V Keeley, ex-ambassador to Greece and Zimbabwe
Samuel W Lewis, ex-ambassador to Israel
Princeton N Lyman, ex-ambassador to South Africa
Jack F Matlock, ambassador to the USSR under President Reagan and President Bush Senior
Donald F McHenry, ex-ambassador to the UN
Gen Merrill A McPeak, former Air Force chief of staff; supports John Kerry
George E Moose, ex-African affairs chief
David D Newsom, former acting secretary of state
Phyllis E Oakley, ex-intelligence and research chief
"Today we see that structure crumbling under an administration blinded by ideology and a callous indifference to the realities of the world around it"(. . .)"Never before have so many of us felt the need for a major change in the direction of our foreign policy."

James Daniel Phillips, ex-ambassador to Africa
John E Reinhardt, ex-ambassador to Nigeria
Gen William Y Smith, ex-deputy commander in chief, US European Command
Ronald I Spiers, ex-senior UN official and ambassador to Pakistan
Michael Sterner, ex-ambassador in Middle East
Adm Stansfield Turner, CIA director under Carter; has endorsed John Kerry
Alexander F Watson, ex-assistant secretary of state for Inter-American affairs