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In the last
month, the Republican presidential nominee has suggested he
might not defend NATO allies if they did not spend more on
defense, appeared to invite Russia to hack the emails of
Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and suggested he might
accept Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
"These are disgraceful statements that betray our longstanding
values and national interests embraced by presidents of both
parties," said the open letter first reported by The Washington
Post.
Most of the 37 who signed the letter appear to be Democrats,
including Madeleine Albright and Leon Panetta, respectively
former secretaries of state and defense, but others served under
Republican presidents and lawmakers.
Among these, John Bellinger was State Department legal adviser
for former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Randy
Scheunemann, a neoconservative political operative, was foreign
policy advisor to Republican John McCain’s presidential
campaign.
Other signatories included former career diplomats Tom
Pickering, Bill Burns, Nicholas Burns and Marc Grossman, all of
whom served as undersecretary of state for political affairs,
effectively the third-ranking U.S. diplomat.
The letter is the latest in a series from former national
security officials dismayed at the thought of a Trump
presidency. In March, more than 90 Republican foreign policy
veterans, including former Deputy Secretary of State Robert
Zoellick, signed a letter pledging to oppose Trump and saying
his proposals would undermine U.S. security.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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