President Bush has picked a new UN Ambassador…someone who is blunt-spoken, someone who has been a pointed critic of the UN in the past.
No, Daniel Patrick Moynihan is no longer with us. But Bush’s appointment of Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton first closer to the Moynihan model than the Adlai Stevenson model:
President Bush has chosen Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, a longtime critic of the United Nations and a hard-liner on Taiwan-China relations and arms control, to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced today.
Bolton is an experienced diplomat and government official, having held high posts in three Republican administrations, starting with Ronald Reagan’s. He has drawn criticism from Senate Democrats for his strong conservative views and his unvarnished expression of them.
Given the fact that the administration’s foreign policy hinges on a war against terrorism and the right to pre-emptive strikes, it actually is not surprising that Bush would pick Bolton. More:
Rice recognized Bolton’s outspokenness today as she announced the appointment. “Some of our best ambassadors” to the United Nations have been those with “the strongest voices,” Rice said.
Bolton said at the announcement, “Close cooperation and the time-honored tradition of frank communication is central to achieving our mutually held objectives.” He continued, “The United Nations affords us the opportunity to move our policies forward together with unity and purpose.”
It’s the “frank communication” that probably has many UN diplomats going down to CostCo to get a case of Tylenol. And this:
Bolton has publicly advocated Taiwan’s membership in the United Nations and other positions opposed by key Security Council members. He has led U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court, which enjoys broad support at the United Nations.
Bolton led the administration’s campaign to prevent Iran and North Korea from enhancing their nuclear weapons capabilities. He spearheaded the administration’s unsuccessful attempt to deny a third term to Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Unless there’s some major skeleton in his closet, Bolton will be confirmed. And reporters covering the UN beat may actually have some of their stories on the front page again……
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.