Bush Moves to Appoint John Bolton to United Nations, Signaling Contempt
for the International Community
Commentary
~ March 3, 2005: George Bush’s choice to appoint John
Bolton as the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations is a new
low for a president who is used to dragging his belly in the trenches
of bad decisions.
Bolton, currently undersecretary of state for arms
control and international security, is an caustic critic of the
UN who has repeatedly expressed utter contempt for its role in the
world.
Bolton has described the UN as "a great rusting
hulk of a bureaucratic superstructure ... dealing with issues from
the ridiculous to the sublime," and has even argued that the
United States has no legal obligation to pay its UN dues.
Originally a protege of Jesse Helms, the isolationist
former Republican senator from North Carolina, Bolton has repeatedly
torpedoed efforts to bring peace and security to the world. He led
the Bush administration's pullout from the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty, he destroyed an international protocol to control biological
weapons, he smashed an international agreement to limit the sale
and trafficking of small arms and is the loudest voice that persuaded
Bush to pull out of the treaty on the International Criminal Court.
His modus operandi is a go-it-alone U.S. policy of dealing with
global issues. His attitude is the United States should lead the
world no matter how bad its decisions, even if it means leading
the world over the abyss of self destruction.
The Boston Globe reported yesterday that Bolton also
has a consistent record of seeking to thwart diplomatic resolution
of nuclear proliferation threats from North Korea and Iran; opposing
the UN civil administration missions in East Timor and Kosovo; and
arguing against the existence of any ''right of humanitarian intervention
to justify military operations to prevent ethnic cleansing or potential
genocide."
Bolton is not the right man to represent the United
States at the United Nations. Through this myopic and obnoxious
move, Bush is demonstrating once again his own complete disdain
for both the United Nations and the rule of international law at
precisely the time when he should be advocating for both. The world
is now in a period of extreme international uncertainty –
a condition that is the direct result of consistently incoherent
and ill-advised Bush foreign policy initiatives.
Commentary
~ March 3, 2005: George Bush’s choice to appoint John
Bolton as the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations is a new
low for a president who is used to dragging his belly in the trenches
of bad decisions. 