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Bolton Slated to Become U.N. Ambassador
U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 7). Rice cited as examples of Bolton’s diplomatic achievements the 2002 Moscow Treaty, which requires the United States and Russia to reduce their stockpiles of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 2,200 each by the end of 2012; negotiations with Libya leading to its renunciation of weapons of mass destruction; and the Proliferation Security Initiative, a multilateral effort which seeks to interdict illicit weapons shipments, according to the New York Times. Bolton has been openly critical of the United Nations. He has remarked that “if the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference” and “there’s no such thing as the United Nations.” In 2003, Bolton called North Korean leader Kim Jong Il a “tyrannical dictator” of a country where “life is a hellish nightmare.” Pyongyang in turn refused to deal with Bolton, labeling him “human scum.” While Bolton was “confrontational and in your face,” according to one administration official, many critics agreed he was effective. “He can be very persuasive,” said the official. “The question is whether at the U.N. he will stay in his lane. A lot of policies don’t necessarily get made in New York.” Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said Bolton was an “outstanding candidate.” Fellow Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (Neb.), however, was more reserved. “We need alliances, we need friends,” he said. “To go up there and kick the U.N. around doesn’t get the job done.” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar told the White House that his panel would consider Bolton’s nomination quickly and fairly, the Times reported. The committee has 10 Republicans and eight Democrats, making it difficult to say whether it might block the appointment. Democrats criticized the nomination. “This is a disappointing choice and one that sends all the wrong signals,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) (Steven Weisman, New York Times, March 8). “This is just about the most inexplicable appointment the president could make,” said Senator John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). “If the president is serious about reaching out to the world, why would he choose someone who has expressed such disdain for working with our allies?” (Sonni Efron, Los Angeles Times, March 8). Bolton’s nomination was “a disaster,” said one ambassador at the U.N. Security Council, the New York Times reported. “The real question is what is Bolton’s mission. Does he come here to attack the institution, or does he really come here to help the U.N.?” the ambassador’s aide added (Weisman, New York Times, March 8). Some U.S. nonproliferation experts have accused Bolton of exaggerating intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to make a case for U.S. action against countries such as Cuba and Iraq, according to the Los Angeles Times. Bolton said he never misused intelligence and has defended his “zero tolerance” policy toward WMD threats to U.S. civilians (Efron, Los Angeles Times, March 8).
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