John Bolton has resigned as US ambassador to the UN. Bush was, obviously, disappointed.
President Bush today accepted the resignation of John R. Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, expressing deep disappointment that “a handful” of senators had blocked his confirmation last year.
“It is with deep regret that I accept John Bolton’s decision to end his service in the administration as permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations when his commission expires,” Bush said in a statement released by the White House.
“I am deeply disappointed that a handful of United States Senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate,” Bush added. “They chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation.”
Senate Democrats disputed Bush’s characterization and urged him to nominate a replacement who has broad bipartisan and international support.
As all of you know, I think that Bolton did a – generally – good job. Negotiating with regimes like that of Iran is, in my opinion, absolutely useless. Sometimes one should stop being diplomatic in the traditional meaning of the word.
However, one should never, never insult or ‘just’ ignore (potential) allies. Potential allies are all those regimes that are not extreme. This means that the majority of countries in the world are ‘potential allies’. To turn potential allies into true allies, (traditional) diplomacy is the only effective tool. As such, I can understand that some people might believe that Bolton is not the best man for the job.
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