ZPD: Bolton to the UN by Royal Decree

Bush appoints John Bolton United States' ambassador to the United Nations

John R. Bolton: Anger Management's Poster Boy

August 1, 2005

Background
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Article Two of the United States Constitution recess appointments John R. Bolton

In a televised press statement at 14:00 UTC today, President of the United States George W. Bush announced that he was appointing John R. Bolton to the position of the United States' ambassador to the United Nations.

Stating that Mr. Bolton had received support from "a majority of Senators", but had been "unfairly denied the up-or-down vote that he deserved" by the "delaying tactics of a few", Mr. Bush announced that the post had stood vacant for long enough during what he termed "a war", and that he was "exercising his constitutional authority" to make the appointment.

"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform," Bush said during an announcement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Bolton appeared with him and spoke briefly. "I am profoundly grateful and deeply humbled," Bolton said. "It will be a distinct privilege to be an advocate for America's values and interests at the U.N."

The President can make an appointment without the approval of the Senate while the Congress is in recess, but the term of such a "recess appointment" expires at the end of the Congressional session. The next session begins January 3, 2007.

Objections

The move comes despite a letter to the President last week saying that Mr. Bolton was "not truthful" while answering questions before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in March, and should not be given a recess appointment. The New York Times reports the letter was signed by 36 senators -- 35 Democrats and one Independent.

Some senators, including Republicans, have raised questions regarding Mr. Bolton's history of criticizing the United Nations, his treatment of subordinates, and over charges that he has tried to influence intelligence assessments to conform to his views, the Times reports.

During confirmation hearings, Republican Senator George Voinovich described Bolton as "the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be." Because of Voinovich's opposition, Bolton's nomination was sent to the floor of the Senate without a recommendation.

Reactions

"At a time when we need to reassert our diplomatic power in the world, President Bush has decided to send a seriously flawed and weakened candidate to the United Nations," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "The reason Bolton is being recess appointed is because the president chose to stonewall the Senate. Mr. Bolton could have had his up or down vote had President Bush given senators the information they needed. Instead, Bolton arrives at the United Nations with a cloud hanging over his head."

"The president has done a real disservice to our nation by appointing an individual who lacks the credibility to further U.S. interests at the United Nations. I will be monitoring his performance closely to ensure that he does not abuse his authority as he has in the past," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.

"We will work with him as the ambassador and representative of the president and the government," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. "We look forward to working with him, as I do with the other 190 ambassadors".

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, praised the president for using his authority "to end the obstruction against John Bolton." Cornyn said, "This is an important position and it's critical that it not remain vacant any longer. Bolton is exceptionally well qualified to fill this role at this time."

Related stories

• "U.S. Senator Voinovich allows Bolton nomination to pass to full Senate vote". Wikinews, May 12, 2005

Sources

Original reporting
This article contains first-hand journalism by a Wikinews Reporter. See the talk page for details.
Original reports are translated in the Wikinews Original Reporting Translation Network (WORTNET).

• "Bush Appoints Bolton to U.N. Job". FOX News, August 1, 2005
• "Bush Appoints Bolton as U.N. Envoy, Bypassing Senate". New York Times, 1 August 2005
• "President Appoints John Bolton as Ambassador to the United Nations". The White House, 1 August 2005
• "White House announcement of appointment of John Bolton as U.N. Ambassador". The White House, 7 March 2005

Biography

Bolton was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, graduating in 1966. Bolton then attended Yale University, from where he received a B.A. in 1970 and a J.D. in 1974. Bolton was a supporter of the Vietnam War, enlisting in the National Guard (and wearing his uniform in a 1970 Yale guide book picture [1]). Bolton did not serve in Vietnam, writing in his Yale 25th reunion book "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost," [2]but at his graduation in 1970, while other "student speakers compared the United States to pre-Nazi Germany" Bolton "sounded a contrarian theme." [3]

From 1983 to 1985, Bolton was an associate at the Washington office of Covington & Burling (he returned to the firm again from 1993 to 1999). Bolton was also a partner in the law firm of Lerner, Reed, Bolton & McManus. [4][5]

Between 1997 and 2000, Bolton served pro bono as an assistant to James Baker in Baker's capacity as Kofi Annan's personal envoy to the Western Sahara [6]. Before joining the George W. Bush administration, John Bolton was Senior Vice President for Public Policy Research at the American Enterprise Institute.

During the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, he served in several positions within the State Department, the Justice Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He is the former executive director of the Committee on Resolutions in the Republican National Committee.[7]

Bolton served as

• Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs at the Department of State (1989–1993);
• Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice (1985–1989);
• Assistant Administrator for Program and Policy Coordination, USAID (1982–1983); and
• General Counsel, USAID (1981–1982).[8][9]

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (2001), [10] and was a member of the Council on National Policy in 1988.[11][12]

Under the administrations of G.W. Bush, Bolton has been the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (since 11 May 2001) and nominated as US Ambassador to the UN (7 March 2005).

Bolton, raised a Lutheran, but in many ways identifies himself as a Jew, has been a prominent participant in many neoconservative lobbying groups such as the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and the Committee for Peace and Security in the Gulf (CPSG).

Undersecretary of State for Arms Control

Bolton has served as the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security since being sworn in on May 11, 2001.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Bolton was instrumental in derailing a 2001 bio-weapons conference in Geneva convened to endorse a UN proposal to enforce the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. "U.S. officials, led by Bolton, argued that the plan would have put U.S. national security at risk by allowing spot inspections of suspected U.S. weapons sites," [13] despite the fact that the US claims not to have carried out any research for offensive purposes since 1969. The US's failure to support the plan ensured it would be meaningless, and to this day there is no practical enforcement mechanism against the spread of biological weapons.

Ironically, Bolton in 2002 accused Cuba of transfers of biological weapons technology to rogue states and called on it "to fully comply with all of its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention." [14] According to a Scripps Howard News Service article, Bolton "wanted to say that Cuba had a biological weapons capacity and that it was exporting it to other nations. The intelligence analysts seemed to want to limit the assessment to a declaration that Cuba 'could' develop such weapons." [15] Bolton attempted to have the chief bioweapons analyst in the State Department's bureau of intelligence and research and the CIA's national intelligence officer for Latin America reassigned. Under oath at his Senate hearings for confirmation as Ambassador, he denied trying to have the men fired, but seven intelligence officials contradicted him. [16] Ultimately, "intelligence officials refused to allow Bolton to make the harsh criticism of Cuba he sought to deliver," [17] and were able to keep their positions. Bolton claims that the issue was procedural rather than related to the content of his speech, and that the officers behaved unprofessionally, but neither official worked under him.

Also in 2002, Bolton is said to have flown to Europe to demand the resignation of Jose Bustani, head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and to have orchestrated his removal at a special session of the organization. The United Nations' highest administrative tribunal later condemned the action as an "unacceptable violation" of principles protecting international civil servants. Bustani had been unanimously re-elected for a four-year term—with strong US support—in May 2000, and in 2001 was praised for his leadership by Colin Powell. [18]

Diplomacy

According to an article in The New Republic he has been highly successful in pushing his agenda, but his bluntness has won him many enemies. "Iran's Foreign Ministry has called Bolton 'rude' and 'undiplomatic'".[19] In response to critics, Bolton states that his record "demonstrates clear support for effective multilateral diplomacy." Bush administration officials have stated that his past statements would allow him to negotiate from a powerful position; "It's like the Palestinians having to negotiate with [Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon. If you have a deal, you know you have a deal," an anonymous official told CNN. [20] He also "won widespread praise for his work establishing the Proliferation Security Initiative [21], a voluntary agreement supported by 60 countries" [22]

He was part of the State Department's delegation to six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program in 2003. He was removed from the delegation after describing Kim Jong Il as a "tyrannical dictator" of a country where for many, "life is a hellish nightmare." [23] In response, a North Korean spokeman said "such human scum and bloodsucker is not entitled to take part in the talks." [24] American Democrats argued that Bolton's words at the time were undiplomatic and endangered the talks. Critics argue that Bolton's record of allegedly politicizing intelligence will harm U.S. credibility with the United Nations[25]which has many current problems. [26] [27]President Bush wants the organization reformed and said he wants John Bolton because he "can get the job done at the United Nations." [28]

Bolton supporters have maintained their opinion that Bolton is an aggressive and loyal representative of America who will see to it that it receives less bullying from the U.N.

Allegations of Cooking Intelligence at the State Department

Greg Thielmann, of the State Department's Bureal of Intelligence and Research (INR) was assigned as the daily intelligence liaison to Bolton. Thielman stated to Seymour Hirsch that, "Bolton seemed troubled because INR was not telling him what he wanted to hear ... I was intercepted at the door of his office and told, 'The Undersecretary doesn't need you to attend this meeting anymore.'"

Other

According to current and former coworkers, Bolton withheld information that ran counter to his goals from Secretary of State Colin Powell on multiple occasions, and from Powell's successor Condoleezza Rice on at least one occasion. [29]

Bolton is alleged by Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman to have played a role in encouraging the inclusion of claims that Iraq attempted to procure yellowcake uranium from Niger in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address[30](pdf). These claims were based on documents later found to be forged [31]. Waxman's allegations are difficult to confirm as they are based on documents that have not been cleared for public release[32](pdf). He also pushed for reduced funding for the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program to halt the proliferation of nuclear materials [33].

Bolton has also led the Bush administration's opposition [34] on constitutional grounds [35]to the International Criminal Court, placing heavy pressure on many countries to sign agreements with the US to exempt Americans from any possible prosecution by the Court; around 70 have signed such agreements so far.

Nominee for Ambassador to the UN

On March 7, 2005 Bolton was nominated to the post of US Ambassador to the United Nations by President George W. Bush, but he was never confirmed by the Senate. Bolton's nomination initially received strong support from Republicans but faced heavy opposition from Democrats due initially to concerns about his strongly expressed views on the United Nations, and later, alleged actions while at the State Department.

Holding a 10-8 majority in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (tasked with vetting ambassadorial nominees), the Republican leadership hoped to send Mr. Bolton's nomination to the full Senate with a positive recommendation. Concern among some Republicans on the committee however prompted the leadership to not risk losing such a motion and to instead send the nomination forward with no recommendation. In the full Senate, Republican support for the nomination remained uncertain, with the most vocal Republican critic, Ohio Senator George V. Voinovich, circulating a letter urging his Republican colleagues to oppose the nomination [36]. Democrats insisted that a vote on the nomination was premature, given the resistance of the White House to share classified documents related to Bolton's alleged actions. The Republican leadership moved on two occasions to end debate, but because 60 votes are needed to end debate, they were unable to muster the necessary votes with only a 55-44 majority in the body. (An earlier agreement between moderates in both parties to prevent filibustering of nominees related only to judicial nominees, not ambassadorships.)

View of the United Nations

Bolton has been a strong critic of the United Nations for much of his political career. In a 1994 Global Structures Convocation hosted by the World Federalist Association (now Citizens for Global Solutions), he stated, "There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States."[37] He also stated that "The Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories. If it lost ten stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference." [38] Interestingly enough, both Bolton's opponents and supporters use the same video of his remarks at the 1994 event in support of their efforts.

When pressed on the statement during the confirmation process, he responded "There's not a bureaucracy in the world that couldn't be made leaner." [39]Despite these comments, in a paper on US participation in the UN, John Bolton stated "the United Nations can be a useful instrument in the conduct of American foreign policy" [40]

A member of the Project for the New American Century, Bolton was also one of the signers of the January 26, 1998 PNAC Letter sent to President Clinton urging him to remove Saddam Hussein from power using US diplomatic, political and military power. The letter also stated "American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council." [41]

Senate Confirmation Hearing

Day 1

On April 11, 2005, The Senate Foreign Relations Committee reviewed Bolton's qualifications. Bolton said that he and his colleagues "view the U.N. as an important component of our diplomacy" and will work to solve its problems and enhance its strengths.

Republican committee chairman Richard Lugar of Indiana criticized Bolton for ignoring the "policy consequences" of his statements, threatening diplomacy "simply to score international debating points to appeal to segments of the U.S. public opinion or to validate a personal point of view." The committee's top Democrat, Joe Biden of Delaware compared sending Bolton to the UN to sending a "bull into a china shop," and expressed "grave concern" about Bolton's "diplomatic temperament" and his record: "In my judgment," Biden said, "your judgment about how to deal with the emerging threats have not been particularly useful."

Meanwhile, the Republican George Allen of Virginia said that Bolton had the "experience," "knowledge," "background," "and the right principles to come into the United Nations at this time," calling him "the absolute perfect person for the job."

Russ Feingold, a Democrat on the committee from Wisconsin, asked Bolton about what he would have done had the Rwandan genocide occurred while he was ambassador to the United Nations, and criticized his answer—which focused on logistics—as "amazingly passive."

According to Newsday, Lincoln Chafee a Republican from Rhode Island "may be pivotal for Bolton's nomination."[42] His initial remarks were cautiously favorable: "You said all the right things in your opening statement," he said. Chafee has stated that he will probably support Bolton "unless something surprising shows up."

According to an Associated Press story on the hearing, "[t]hree protesters briefly interrupted the proceedings, standing up in succession with pink T-shirts and banners, one reading: 'Diplomat for hire. No bully please.'"

On the whole, Bolton "displayed not the slightest bit of energy, one way or the other, when discussing the challenges facing international organizations," according to Fred Kaplan of Slate Magazine.[43]

Day 2

On April 12, 2005, the Senate panel focused on allegations discussed above that Bolton pressured intelligence analysts. "I've never seen anybody quite like Secretary Bolton. ... I don't have a second, third or fourth in terms of the way that he abuses his power and authority with little people," former State Department intelligence chief Carl W. Ford Jr., said, calling Bolton a "serial abuser." Ford contradicted Bolton's earlier testimony, saying: "I had been asked for the first time to fire an intelligence analyst for what he had said and done."

Lugar, who criticized Bolton at his April 11 hearing, said that the "paramount issue" was supporting the president's nominee. He conceded that "[b]luntness may be required," even though it is not "very good diplomacy."

Chafee, the key member for Bolton's approval, said that "the bar is very high" for rejecting the president's nominees, suggesting that Bolton would make it to the Senate.

Erosion of Republican Support

Wikinews has a related story:

U.S. Senator Voinovich allows Bolton nomination to pass to full Senate vote

On April 19, Democrats, with the unexpected support of Senator George V. Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, forced Senator Lugar to delay the committee vote on Mr. Bolton's nomination until May. The debate concerning his nomination raged in the Senate prior to the Memorial Day recess. Two other Republicans on the Foreign Relations Committee, Senators Lincoln Chafee and Chuck Hagel, also expressed serious concerns about the Bolton nomination.

Asked on April 20 if he was now less inclined to support the nomination, Mr. Chafee said, "That would be accurate." He further elaborated that Mr. Bolton's prospects were "hard to predict" but said he expected that "the administration is really going to put some pressure on Senator Voinovich. Then it comes to the rest of us that have had some reservations."

On April 22 the New York Times and other media reported that Bolton's former boss, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, is personally opposed to the nomination and had been in personal contact with Republican Senators Chafee and Hagel. This development was interpreted as a further rift between Powell and the Bush Administration. Reuters reported, also on April 22, that a spokesman for Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said that the Senator felt the committee "did the right thing delaying the vote on Bolton in light of the recent information presented to the committee." [44]

On 28 April The Guardian, a radical, anti-US newspaper published in the UK, reported that Powell was "conducting a campaign" against Bolton because of the acrimonious battles they had had whilst working together, which among other things had resulted in Powell cutting Bolton out of talks with Iran and Libya after complaints about Bolton's involvement from the British. It added that "The foreign relations committee has discovered that Bolton made a highly unusual request and gained access to 10 intercepts by the National Security Agency... Staff members on the committee believe that Bolton was probably spying on Powell, his senior advisers and other officials reporting to him on diplomatic initiatives that Bolton opposed." [45] However Rich Lowry points out that "During the same four-year period, other State Department officials made roughly 400 similar requests." [46]

On May 11 Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, who once offered a considerable reward for any dirt on Bob Barr, published allegations that Bolton had forced his first wife, Christina Bolton, to engage in group sex at Plato's Retreat, a New York sex club popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. [47]

Also on May 11 Newsweek reported allegations that the American position at the 7th Review Conference in May 2005 of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty had been undercut by Bolton's "absence without leave" during the nomination fight, quoting anonymous sources "close to the negotiations".

The Democrats' "Filibuster"

On Thursday, May 26, 2005, the Senate Democrats postponed the vote on John Bolton's UN nomination. The Republican leadership failed to gain enough Republican or Democratic support to pass a cloture motion on the floor debate over Bolton, and minority leader Harry Reid conceded the move signalled the "first filibuster of the year." The Democrats claim key documents regarding Bolton and his career at the Department of Defense are being withheld by the Bush administration. Scott McClellan, White House press secretary, responded by saying, "Just 72 hours after all the good will and bipartisanship (over a deal on judicial nominees), it's disappointing to see the Democratic leadership resort back to such a partisan approach." [48]

The failure of the Senate to end debate on Bolton's nomination provided one surprise for some: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) voted against cloture for procedural reasons. [49] (Although a tearful Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) has spoken out against confirming Bolton, calling him "the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be", he voted for cloture.) Senator John Thune (R-SD) voted to end debate but announced that he would vote against Bolton in the up-or-down vote as a protest against the government's plans to close a vital military base (Ellsworth) in South Dakota.

On June 20, 2005 the Senate voted again to pass cloture. The vote failed 54-38, six votes short of ending debate. That marked an increase of two "no" votes, including the defection of Republican Voinovich, who switched his previous "yes" vote and urged President Bush to pick another nominee (Democrats Mark Pryor, Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson voted to end debate both times). Some speculated that Bush would install Bolton via recess appointment; the appointment would expire in 2007. On June 21, Frist expressed his view that attempting another vote would be pointless, but later that day, following a lunch at the White House, changed his position, saying that he would continue to push for an up-or-down vote.

On July 13, President Bush again called for an up-or-down vote, and Democrats insisted they would grant his request if he gave them the information they sought, information to which they were not legally entitled access, some of it being classified. Further, no nominee for any position by any President has ever in the past been required to produce such documents.

Accusations of Perjury

On July 28, 2005 it was revealed that a statement made by Bolton on forms submitted to the Senate was false. Bolton indicated that in the prior five years he had not been questioned in any investigation, but in fact he had been interviewed by the State Department Inspector General on July 18, 2003 as part of an investigation into the sources of pre-war claims of weapons of mass destruction evidence in Iraq. After insisting for weeks that Bolton had testified truthfully on the form the State Department reversed itself, stating that Bolton had simply forgotten about the investigation.

Recess Appointment

On August 1, 2005, President Bush officially made a recess appointment of Bolton, installing him as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on a temporary basis. The Bolton recess appointment will last until 2007. During the announcement, Bush said, "This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform." Democrats criticized the appointment and Republican Sen. George Voinovich, whose opposition originally stalled a vote on the nominee, said Bolton would lack credibility in the U.N. because he lacked Senate confirmation. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "We look forward to working with him as I do with the other 190 ambassadors and we will welcome him at a time when we are in the midst of major reform. I think it is the president's prerogative, and the president has decided to appoint him through this process."

External links

• John R. Bolton - SourceWatch
• State Department biography
• Resume from the American Enterprise Institute
• Announcement of Nomination of John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the UN
• The Creation, Fall, Rise, and Fall of the United Nations John Bolton's chapter from the Cato Institute book, Delusions of Grandeur: The United Nations and Global Intervention

News articles

• Goldberg, Ross and Sam Kahn. "Bolton's conservative ideology has roots in Yale experience", Yale Daily News, April 28, 2005.
• Knowlton, Brian. "Bush picks a hawkish skeptic as UN envoy", International Herald Tribune, March 8, 2005.
• Slavin, Barbara and Bill Nichols. "Bolton a 'guided missile'", USA Today, December 1, 2003.
• Charles J. Hanley. "Bolton Said to Orchestrate Unlawful Firing", Associated Press, June 4, 2005.
• Barbara Slavin. "Woman accuses Bolton of harassment", USA Today, April 20, 2005.

Commentary (favorable)

• Gaffney, Frank J. Jr. "A Bolt of Good Sense" National Review, March 8, 2005.
• Kristol, William. "Bolton's the One" Weekly Standard, March 18, 2005.
• Novak, Robert. "Bush's pick misunderstood by many" Chicago Sun-Times, March 14, 2005.
• Prince, Cathryn J. "Tough-talking Bolton: just what the UN needs" Christian Science Monitor, March 10, 2005.
• "Right man for UN job" New York Daily News, March 8, 2005.

Commentary (critical)

• Citizens for Global Solutions. "Stop Bolton Campaign Site", March 12, 2005.
• Corn, David. "Bush Gives the UN the Finger" The Nation, March 7, 2005.
• Gonzales, Gabriel Espinosa. "The Dubious Career of John Bolton: The Latest Mad Man at Foggy Bottom" Counterpunch, December 16, 2004.
• Harding, James. "Choice of Bolton shows US mood" Financial Times, March 7, 2005.
• Ritter, Scott. "Sleepwalking to Disaster in Iran" Al Jazeera, March 30, 2005.
• Williams, Ian. "Bush's Perverse UN Pick" The Nation, March 8, 2005.
• Whitney, Mike. "John Bolton and the Road to Tehran", March 15, 2005

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Will this wake up the zombies, will it distract people from asking Bush to fire the traitor Rove? If there was any doubt the puppet boy king had an evil streak - it should be ended now. - ZPD

Will America pay attention?