U.S. Diplomat Quits Over Bush's Pursuit of Iraq War

WASHINGTON — A political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Athens has resigned because of President Bush's "fervent pursuit of war with Iraq," the State Department confirmed Thursday, expressing regret over his decision.

In his letter to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, diplomat J. Brady Kiesling said that Bush's policies are "driving us to squander the international legitimacy that has been America's most potent weapon" for the past century.

The letter was quoted by the New York Times. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed that Powell had received a letter from Kiesling.

Kiesling, a diplomat for two decades, had postings in the Middle East, Armenia and Greece.