Helen Thomas:

WASHINGTON -- America is at a crossroads that will determine the foreign policy direction of the United States for decades to come.

At stake is whether the muscle-flexing neo-conservative presidential advisers who aim to transform the Middle East by force will be returned to power.

Even though his stated reasons for invading Iraq -- the notorious weapons of mass destruction and the alleged link between Saddam Hussein and Islamic terrorists -- have proved unfounded, President Bush continues to defend the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Of course, he is trying to make the best of a horrible situation because it would be virtually impossible for a president to admit a colossal blunder of such tragic dimensions.

In a Labor Day speech, saying the war was "right for America then and right for America now," Bush appears to have adopted the old tactic that if you keep saying the same thing over and over, people will begin to believe it. Madison Avenue is based on that principle.

Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic challenger, has called the Iraq war the "wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." In that assessment, Kerry has the strong support of a group of retired veteran diplomats and military commanders. The group of 40 calls itself "Diplomats & Military Commanders for Change."

These specialists in foreign policy and national security maintain that a "regime change" is in order for this country to get back on track and restore its great prestige in the world.

The group includes Democrats and Republicans -- and many of them voted for Bush four years ago.

They came together in a common cause, distressed that the United States is pursuing polices that have "endangered national security and misled the people on the Iraqi war."

These former government officials say that Bush has "manipulated uncertain intelligence" to justify the invasion of Iraq and "it is time for a change."

They are impressive because they have no special ax to grind except to express their deep concerns over where the country is headed.

Kempton Jenkins, a retired veteran diplomat, stressed that Foreign Service officers are "literally trained to be non-partisan." As a result, they rarely oppose a president in public.

He said members of the group have no ties to Kerry. In fact, Jenkins said he voted for Bush and applauded his decision to attack Afghanistan, which harbored members of the al Qaida network. But he drew a line when Bush "veered off to invade Iraq."

Jenkins said that a U.S. "regime change is necessary because we believe the current administration cannot hope to rebuild our reputation around the world."

While Iraq would rank last on a one-to-10 scale of imminent threats, Jenkins said Pakistan -- which has nuclear weapons -- "is sitting on a powder keg." If anything happened to its pro-West leadership, an extremist government could result in terrorists taking over.

He also expressed concern over the administration's hawkish approach to Iran and urged more diplomacy to persuade the mullahs not to push for nuclear weapons development.

"The nation is in more danger than in the Cold War," he added.

In a statement, the diplomats and military commanders said that Bush administration policies "led the United States into an ill-planned and costly war from which exit is uncertain."

They said America is feared and distrusted around the world like no other time. '

No American would question the ultimate right for the United States to act in its own interest, they explained, but added "responsible leadership would not turn to unilateral military action before diplomacy has been thoroughly explored."

Iraq is not a sideshow, although the presidential candidates may be more focused on other issues such as the economy. But Americans must know that their Nov. 2 vote is crucial to the question of whether the United States opts for continual war or peace in the Middle East.

Copyright 2004 Hearst Newspapers