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| International-UN-NGOs |
| John Bolton |
| 2005-03-09 |
| Highlights & Quotes John Bolton , George W. Bush's undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, is the administration's designated treaty killer. Since his nomination (which was opposed by Secretary of State Colin Powell), Bolton's reputation as a rabid opponent of international agreements and loose-lipped critic of foreign regimes has become the stuff of legend, at times hampering the State Department's ability to undertake negotiations. In July 2003, during the run up to the six-nation talks with North Korea, Bolton described Korean head of state Kim Jong Il as a "tyrannical dictator" of a country where "life is a hellish nightmare." North Korea responded in kind, saying that "such human scum and bloodsucker is not entitled to take part in the talks. ... We have decided not to consider him as an official of the U.S. administration any longer nor to deal with." The State Department sent a replacement for Bolton to the talks. (5) Bolton 's penchant for going off half-cocked extends well beyond North Korean issues. Some notable examples: * At a 1994 panel discussion sponsored by the World Federalist Association, Bolton claimed, "There's no such thing as the United Nations," saying that ''If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.'' (8) * During the July 2001 global U.N. conference on small arms and light weapons, Bolton told delegates that the United States was not only opposed to any agreement restricting civilian possession of small arms, it also didn't appreciate "the promotion of international advocacy activity by international or non-governmental organizations." Bolton 's delegation was accompanied by that distinguished American NGO the National Rifle Association. (7) * In 1998, when he was senior vice president of the American Enterprise Institute, Bolton described the International Criminal Court (ICC) as "a product of fuzzy-minded romanticism [that] is not just naïve, but dangerous." (6) * Bolton told the Wall Street Journal that signing the letter informing the U.N. that Washington was renouncing the Rome Treaty to create the ICC "was the happiest moment of my government service." (6) * Regarding efforts to add a verification proposal to the bioweapons convention, Bolton told colleagues in 2001, "It's dead, dead, dead, and I don't want it coming back from the dead." (6) |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #18 LH, remember that the National Security Advisor has very little staff and NO power over State, DOD etc. other than through the POTUS. At State you see Condi free to lead. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-03-09 8:24:35 PM |
| #17 Gotta disagree a bit Mrs. D. California's an absolute disaster and Dr. Rice would be well-advised to stay far away. On the other hand it's the perfect job for Arnold as his political upward mobility is limited. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-03-09 8:18:32 PM |
| #16 She was a very successful provost at Stanford. The stakes may not have been as big, but the egos were. The contrast with NSC shows me she is an executive, not a staffie. She should get Bush to talk Ahnuld into getting in the Senate and then she should run for Gvoernor. She needs the seasoning. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-03-09 3:25:34 PM |
| #15 Mrs D - As to Condi's abilities as a bureaucratic manipulator, yes, shes proving better than I expected. I admit to underestimating her. She's certainly doing a better job at State so far, then she did at NSC. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-03-09 3:04:07 PM |
| #14 It's pretty funny - the leftist website that put out these quotes has a whole list of conservatives profiled, almost like the graduating classes of Soviet academies used to be profiled. You gotta love these guys - instead of going after our real enemies, they go after the people who are going after our real enemies. What a bunch of wankers. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-03-09 3:01:05 PM |
| #13 You're just figuring that out? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-03-09 2:40:32 PM |
| #12 this gets Bolton out State, and lets Rice put one of her own in, while making Bolton the UNs problem, instead of Condis. These folks are smarter than they look. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-03-09 2:36:27 PM |
| #11 A trackback to Medienkritik's take on this topic made reference to "Jacqhard Chiroeder". I got a good laugh out of that. :) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-03-09 2:33:31 PM |
| #10 Matt - I say go for it! Too bad somebody won't ask Bush about this idea at a press conference.... :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-03-09 2:23:26 PM |
| #9 The NYT's lead editorial is devoted to trashing Bolton, which shows to go you what a good choice Bush made. The editorial then mockingly suggests that maybe Bush's next appointment will be Rummy to negotiate a new set of Geneva Conventions. A capital idea, says I. |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-03-09 11:25:15 AM |
| #8 Karl Rove is probably working overtime to crank out press releases (on letterhead titled: Bush Haters United) exposing this Evil Bolton stuff, ... and the press is falling for it. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-03-09 10:19:40 AM |
| #7 President Bush has sent a strong message to the UN by nominating Bolton to the post of UN Ambassador. Are people offended by the blunt statements of Mr. Bolton, or are they offended by the truth? Heh heh. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-03-09 8:43:24 AM |
| #6 Ditto, Phil_b. I'm afraid the President is going to fall for it. Let's hope Bolton can straighten him out in time. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-03-09 8:40:04 AM |
| #5 Lets hope that it signals a switch to opposition to LOST (Law of the Sea Treaty) which would vastly increase UN powers, bueachracy, taxes, etc. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-03-09 6:14:02 AM |
| #4 Lets hope that it signals a switch to opposition to LOST (Law of the Sea Treaty) which would vastly increase UN powers, bueachracy, taxes, etc. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-03-09 6:13:45 AM |
| #3 I especially like his defense of the right to keep and bear arms. The UN has long been tried to force all nations to disarm their citizens. Bolton's public, objective assessment of NoKo is cherry on the self-defense cake. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2005-03-09 3:18:59 AM |
| #2 Yup, the points above sound like a perfect resume. |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2005-03-09 2:51:54 AM |
| #1 Have I mentioned today how perfect a choice this guy is? For a Yalie lawyer he didn't turn out half bad. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-03-09 2:47:44 AM |