The Reviews Are In: John Bolton Is Failing At the United Nations
The Reviews Are In: John Bolton Is Failing At the United Nations
Last year, Sen. George Voinovich eloquently made the case against the nomination of John Bolton, stating, “I’m afraid that his confirmation will tell the world that we’re not dedicated to repairing our relationship or working as a team.†Voinovich now intends to support Bolton, but his original concerns turned out to be well-founded.
In just over a year at the U.N., Bolton has managed to offend many U.S. friends and allies, demonstrating that he’s an ineffective diplomat:
Greece’s U.N. Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis: “He is not an easy man to get close to. … Some people have the possibility to build consensus. Others operate in other ways.”
Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Baali, after a disagreement with Bolton: “The U.S. stand that ‘you take it or you leave it is not helping the Security Council, and is not helping the cause of peace in the Middle East.’â€
Peru’s U.N. Ambassador Oswaldo de Rivero: “He lives in another world, with this belief that he is morally superior and the U.S. is more moral than all the countries around the world. It is a pity.”
Michael Doyle, former special adviser to Kofi Annan: “Sometimes he [states U.S. policy] in a manner that is grating. But it is the policy that is most of the problem, even though the personality doesn’t help.â€
An ambassador with close ties to the Bush administration: “My initial feeling was, let’s see if we can work with him, and I have done some things to push for consensus on issues that were not easy for my country. … But all he gives us in return is, ‘It doesn’t matter, whatever you do is insufficient.’ … He’s lost me as an ally now, and that’s what many other ambassadors who consider themselves friends of the U.S. are saying.â€
A European diplomat: “A lot of us wonder what his real agenda is. First, we think maybe he wants things to fail because then he can say, ‘We cannot reform this place.’ The other question is, does he really reflect the position in Washington? That is always the question: Is it Bolton or is it Washington?â€
But Bolton is undeterred by all the criticism, claiming to have the support of New York City cab drivers and ordinary people on the street. “Hey Ambassador Bolton, you’re doing a great job,†Bolton claims they tell him. “Give ‘em hell.â€
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106 Responses to “The Reviews Are In: John Bolton Is Failing At the United Nations”
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Such a wonderfully representative Ambassador. We should all be so proud to have him represent our nation.
He embodies the views of the Cheney/Bush Admistration perfectly.
All hail !!!
July 24th, 2006 at 12:42 pmIsn’t it obvious? Unnamed European diplomat gets it:
Our conservative Aministration hates the UN, all that it stands for, and the fact that they have to pay lip service to it at all.
July 24th, 2006 at 12:46 pmCaption contest: Dear UN, I can crush you with my bare hands
July 24th, 2006 at 12:48 pmdont matter who America has for a UN ambassador with Bush behind the wheel
July 24th, 2006 at 12:51 pmFACT
In fact monkey with multiple choice questions could do a far far better job than Bush or bolten
Greece, Algeria, Peru? Who gives a rat’s behind? Bolton has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his TIMELY work again Iran’s nuclear program within the UN, so those statements from 3rd world countries carry no weight.
July 24th, 2006 at 12:51 pmWhat a great website !
Very funny to read you from where i live…Brussels (Belgium).
Best regards !
Cheers.
Reno
July 24th, 2006 at 12:52 pmThere is not one cab driver that has ever said anything positive to John Bolton, I am sure of that. The last time Bolton probably listened to anything a cab driver said was on his way to Plato’s Retreat in the late 70s.
Plus, why would John Bolton deign to step into a NYC taxi, what with all those “brown people” driving them. Please, Bolton in a cab? You’ve got a better chance of catching me in a Bush campaign t-shirt.
We’re not stupid, John Bolton, but you certainly are a tool.
July 24th, 2006 at 12:53 pmSince we get to use anonymous sources I wanted to add one: “Bolton has done a yeoman’s job attempting to get the un to live up to it’s responsibilities. While his record is not perfect he has done an extraordinary job trying to keep the un relevant and on topic with respect to the world today. If you still think somehow this makes him unqualified to perform the duty of Ambassador, perhaps we might think of dismissing the entire un organization and save a ton of money in the process.†A U.S. Citizen
July 24th, 2006 at 12:54 pmone would hope that everyone with a brain would make this promise to themselves:
any democratic senator who votes for bolton’s nomination is dead to me, and i will never support them for public office again
there has to be an establishment of some red-line rules whose breaking is unacceptable. having this half-witted evil miscreant represent the united states should be one of them.
July 24th, 2006 at 12:57 pmHere’s the basic question. Bolton was sent to the UN to reform it, right? Well how, precisely, has he been successful in that endeavor? Bolton supporters: please tell us how he has not simply made things worse.
July 24th, 2006 at 12:58 pm5# nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and winning are two different things
July 24th, 2006 at 12:58 pmThe problem is Bolten refuses to Sign international treaties and obey them; stop putting yourselves above international law and the international community.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:00 pm#1, Exactly! Bolton is the true and honest face of America as she stands.
This excerpt from a NYT article shows how Bolton works “with†the UN:
“Mr. Bolton that day burst into a packed committee hall, produced a cordless microphone and began to lecture envoys from developing nations about their weakening of a proposal to tighten management of the United Nations, his chief goal.
Gaveled to silence, he threw up his hands and said, “Well, so much for trying something different.—
Link to article.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:02 pmJason,
But 3rd world countries are some of our biggest allies in the war on “terrrr”, so why discredit them now? Because they didn’t get your okay to bad mouth your hero?
You can’t brag about your allies on one hand, then chastise them on the other, unless you keep changing the rules as the game moves along… Which seems to be the only card the Right continues to play.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:05 pm1. As to cab driver support, just ask how they feel about diplomats evading parking tickets. Any NY driver will come to resent all diplomats for the generally perceived abuse of privilege.
2. As to Voinovich, the pictures with the goat must be pretty amusing.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:06 pmall those negative reasons lister - why the neoCONs love him…
July 24th, 2006 at 1:07 pmthey are all jerks…
listed
July 24th, 2006 at 1:07 pmHow dare Bolton try to get the UN to start meetings on time! How dare he try and get people to talk rather than read scripted speeches all day! How dare he propose resolutions that actually name countries that have offices for terrorist organizations! How dare he hold one on one meetings with every country!
He may be an ass, may be difficult to work with, but the linked articles paint a pretty different picture than what TP wanted to.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:08 pmI hope to get some share host.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:12 pmHow dare Bolton try to get the UN to start meetings on time! How dare he try and get people to talk rather than read scripted speeches all day! How dare he propose resolutions that actually name countries that have offices for terrorist organizations! How dare he hold one on one meetings with every country!-mikep
That’s all well and good Mike, but what the articles indicate is that he hasn’t been successful at accomplishing any of these things. The bottom line is that he’s not a very skilled diplomat.
Diplomacy isn’t about telling other people how stupid they are. It’s about getting people to see why they share common interests with your country. Please show us how Bolton has been successful in this regard. Simply trying isn’t adequate. It’s clear he’s been ineffectual.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:14 pmThe problem is Bolten refuses to Sign international treaties and obey them; stop putting yourselves above international law and the international community.
Comment by Time Capsule
You are right about Bolton being a neocon jerk. But wrong about him signing international treaties. He does not have that authority.
When you aren’t attacking Americans on this site, you actually come across like an expert on Middle East. Perhaps you could straighten out an arguement I am having down at the bar with a bunch of rednecks: is it true that farting is a recongnized National sport in Iran or not? I say no.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:16 pmWasn’t Bolton the guy who said “There’s no such thing as the United Nations. If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference†right before becomming UN ambassador? Maybe they should move his office out of one of those ten stories in the building and into a cardboard box in an alley. Bolton is as qualified to be a UN ambassador as an arsonist pyromaniac is qualified to be a fire fighter.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:19 pmIn just over a year at the U.N., Bolton has managed to offend many U.S. friends and allies, demonstrating that he’s an ineffective diplomat…
Making Bush look not quite so bad by contrast — the most obvious reason to keep him there.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:22 pmWho the HELL cares what the rest of the world thinks about John Bolton? He is doing what the US should have done years ago, cleaning up the corrupt UN.
He is a great person to be there for the USA.
What we need is to get out of the UN altogether and then kick them out of New York.
They can set up shop in Beruit and be near the people they support and like.
you loons will never understadnt hat the United Nations is the PROBLEM, not the solution. It fials at everythng it tries and is a corrupt and obsolete organization.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:24 pm22. whether a sport or not I try not to stimulate my neurons in such a groteque manner
July 24th, 2006 at 1:24 pmThe UN is a non issue for bushco….when you believe that it’s your right to use military force to obtain the results you desire, then the UN only is simply a stumbling block. It doesn’t matter if we had the most respected, intelligent, diplomat in the universe representing the USA…. cheney and company give the marching orders…and bolton knows how to represent everything bush/cheney believe and want. The only way to improve international relationships is to change the bush/cheney regime.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:28 pmThe only way to improve international relationships is to change the bush/cheney regime.
Comment by Southwest Bob
Correct me if I’m wrong, Bob, this is that is most intelligent thing I have read all day.
My own posts not withstanding, of course.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:32 pmhe talks to people on the street?!?!?! of all the BS that this administration has been throwing at us, this is by far the most blatant. Think any of El Presidente’s cadre talks to normal people? I’d love to meet them!
July 24th, 2006 at 1:32 pmcepan, why are you advocating isolationism? The UN represnts the promise of a unified world where free countries can talk openly aboutinternational law and human rights. If we left the UN then we would be an isolationist nation. What would that say about us as a country? That we know better than everyone else on earth?Giving the finger to the rest of the world will only cause more international anti-american sentiment and provoke more wars and conflicts. Oh wait, I forgotthat as a conservative, more war is what you want.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:33 pmIs it just me or does Bolton cultivate a kind of Hitlerian appearance? The moustache, the scowl, the harshly cut hair sweep….
July 24th, 2006 at 1:41 pm#24 Comment by Cepan — July 24, 2006 @ 1:24 pm:
When you say EVERYTHING, that means EVERYTHING, even relief programs, health programs and EVERYTHING that the UN does to make the world a better place to live. Given the choice between the UN and bushco helping to make the world a better place, I think I’ll go with the UN. Bushco hates the UN because going to war isn’t the first choice to solve problems.
BTW, be careful, “. . .if failure at everything it tries. . .” means an organization is corrupt and obsolete, then you’ve just describer bushco.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:45 pmyou loons will never understand hat the Bush Cheney cabal is the PROBLEM, not the solution. It fail’s at everythng it tries and is a corrupt and obsolete organization.
Comment by Cepan
July 24th, 2006 at 1:46 pmWhen I read the quotes about Bolton, most of them just referred to “him” or “he”, leaving me to imagine the quotes were about Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. The quotes fit them all. Bolton is just part of the whole PNAC package. The only way these guys know to “fix” something, from Iraq to the UN, is to destroy it! And, they want to “fix” America the same way.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:46 pmWasn’t this the reason he was nominated for the job in the first place? Many people don’t like the UN, don’t agree with it’s agenda and don’t see the need for it. I think that our present administration includes some of these folk. I saw this nomination as the thinly veiled opportunity to complete the wall that has slowly been built between the USA and the UN. It follows that a government that won’t follow it’s own rules when they become inconvenient would not want to recognize or submit to the authority of another regulating body. I think that the UN is seen largely at a pawn or tool to be used occasionally.
We are might. We are right. All our might says we are right. No other can arrogantly take this stance but us, because… we are right.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:47 pmyou loons will never understadnt hat the United Nations is the PROBLEM, not the solution. It fials at everythng it tries and is a corrupt and obsolete organization.
There is some merit to the idea that the UN is obsolete. That it is corrupt is hardly surprising, and as a discussion item a pointless distraction. If corruption where a barrier to governance, we wouldn’t have a government anywhere, least of all in the United States with it’s state of the are 18th century system:-)
To educate you a little on your point that the UN fails at everything it does. This is an hysterical overstatement, but with a sizeable chunk of truth in the middle. The UN certainly fails at a lot of what it does.
However, this is because the UN is hamstrung with a ludicrous and deeply undemocratic decison making structure. At the very least the vetoes, and the idea of “permanent” security council members has to be revamped significantly. A little population based weighting wouldn’t go amiss either.
Steps to improve things :
1) Remove the veto.
2) Remove the permanent members.
3) Reconstitute the secuity council with at least 50% of the global population represented, all continents and give India and China votes commensurate with their populations.
The problem with this vastly superior, and infinitley more democratic arrangement is that the US would be consistently voted down on practically every decision it tries to get through.
That in a nutshell is why the UN fails so often, it suits the US as a whipping boy and to change the rules to make it work would be much to inconvenient and restrictive. Still want to reform the UN?
July 24th, 2006 at 1:47 pm#8 Funny.
It only takes a couple simple things to “make the U.N. relevant”. Support it. Respect the international community. Send an actual diplomat, not another Ugly American. Work with it, not against it. Quit trying to undermine its leadership when it doesn’t agree with GWB. Stop trying to use the U.N. as a tool when it fits that purpose.
The rest of the world is not as stupid as GWB and his minions think they are, and don’t like being pissed on.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:49 pmI couldn’t watch that man speak, like watching a ventriliquist act with himself as the sockpuppet — that mustache only makes it stranger to watch. His voice is also oddly out of sync
The one lipped walrus stage act.
July 24th, 2006 at 1:52 pmYes Bolton is obviously a miserable failure at the UN > everybody expected that but Bush!
July 24th, 2006 at 2:03 pm#5, a Nobel Peace prize nomination means nothing to the committee if the person who nominated him is a lowly NYC cab driver.
And I have to wonder if the cab drivers like him ‘cos they think he’s Captain Crunch.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:05 pmJohn Bolton has done an excellent job diplomatically (!!) presenting the case of the US at the UN. The fact he has not dropped his drawers, slurped his soup, or “played the game” of the crooks and incompetents at the UN is in his favour. If all of the countries TP notes (and provided “evidentiatry” links to) dislike Bolton - he MUST be doing a GREAT job!! (Most likely not as good a job as John Kerry, who said he would have never let the Mid-East hostilities happen - but almost as good….)
July 24th, 2006 at 2:16 pmJohn Bolton has done an excellent job diplomatically
That is such terrible nonsense. He has acheived nothing of any merit, and blocked and frustrated the very reform that would improve decision making.
He is universally loathed, and in a multi national situation, this means you cannot be anything but ineffectual, which of course he is.
On the other hand, if by excellent you mean “sand in the gearbox of the international community” well then certainly, job well done.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:19 pm#35 - Brian - You have some great Ideas - from your keyboard to God’s ears! If we “remove the permanent members” - can the US be removed FIRST!!! I think we should really expand on your globalization plan - let’s move the UN to India or Australia….
July 24th, 2006 at 2:21 pmIn case I was unclear. It is my belief that they do not want to “reform” the UN at all. They want to scrap it entirely. Every effort seems bent in this direction. If it appears uselessly deadlocked, hamstrung by delays, impotently inactive this nice makes the case for obsolescence
July 24th, 2006 at 2:21 pmBrian - If you and the rest of the global diplomatic community LIKED him - I’d be WORRIED….
July 24th, 2006 at 2:23 pmI can only pray liberals are dumb enough to fight him. We will paint you in the same corner as the UN - unable to provide for the security of America.
Why are liberals so DUMB? We will take your hatred for America and choke you with it on election day.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:34 pmHe may be recognized as a failure in his mission, but he is a darling to Bush&Co. I expect he will be approved.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:38 pmWonder why they’re doing this confirmation hearing in August, when his term doesn’t expire until January? Could it have something to do with Republican control?
Peru’s U.N. Ambassador Oswaldo de Rivero: “He lives in another world, with this belief that he is morally superior and the U.S. is more moral than all the countries around the world. It is a pity.â€
Sadly, most of US citizens believe in this superiority.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:39 pmBolton takes taxis? I don’t think so.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:40 pmYosemite Sam travels around town on his Bush burro.
No, Marie - Bolton has had one recess appointment and must be confirmed by the Senate to extend. (Thinking in the startegy/conspiracy box as often as you appear to, let me assure you there was no 2nd shooter at the Grassy Knoll, Bobby didn’t kill Marilyn,and Bushco. is not trying to blow up the world so Marie goes to limbo.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:45 pmliberals HATE fascist like BUSH adminstration. This has nothing to do with hating
America - you idiot. Big difference. Although I must say I do despise you.
a-hole poster #44.
at least you get to post your difference of opinion here, I tried to post on
right wing websites - no opposing view permitted there.
Bolton is no diplomat. UN is no panacea - but bullying is not going anywhere.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:46 pmUN is uselss unless you need sanctions agains Korea. You right wing automotons
should make up your mind.
Bolton has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his TIMELY work again Iran’s nuclear program within the UN, so those statements from 3rd world countries carry no weight.
Comment by Jason M. Hendler — July 24, 2006 @ 12:51 pm
Oh, you mean Nobel Prizes like Kissinger
Kissinger favored the maintenance of friendly diplomatic relationships with anti-Communist military dictatorships in the Southern Cone and elsewhere in Latin America, and approved of covert intervention in Chilean politics. He has been accused of complicity and encouragement in the atrocities committed by the Argentine military junta. Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon requested that Kissinger answer questions about matters relating to these humans rights abuses, but the US State Department rejected this petition
III World countries are what make rich your country so shut up, parasite.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:49 pmI don’t think that the majority of the people or the criminals that represent this nation care one bit. The Empire of the Secret State of America are on their own and have told the world to “shove it”. The SSA does what it wants, when it wants. It’s history is filled with lies of high values when in reality the country has been undermining other nations since 1898 to fill the coffers of mutinational banks and corporations while leaving the people fat, satisfied and ignorant of it’s activities. The majority of it’s people like it that way as few if any could face the reality of a mass murdering militaristic plutocracy that has been expanding it’s empire for the sake of the wealthy while the media treats them to the leadership’s mushroom management style of keeping the usefull idiots in the dark while feeding them lot’s of bullshit.
July 24th, 2006 at 3:01 pmBrian - If you and the rest of the global diplomatic community LIKED him - I’d be WORRIED….
Comment by mighty aphrodite — July 24, 2006 @ 2:23 pm
The tone of your comments is jocular, and this is generally fine, but not in this situation. The US represents 5% of the global population, whom no longer produce anything that the rest of the world actually needs. Worse than that, a gradual dislocation is occuring where the rest of us are pushing for more energy efficient devices and vehicles, alternate energy sources and a generally less energy intensive economy.
The market for such products is taking off, and even China and India are addressing their pollution and energy inefficiency aggressivley.
When global warming becomes utterly incontrovertible, after another decade of unilateral american foreign policy, and as the rest of the global economy detaches from the US and sells and buys from each other, where will you be then?
The US will have no friends, and many bitter enemies. The British for all their faults of empire, had largely mended all their fences, and built bridges before it all dissolved.
You urgently need to wake up. With the US onboard the world will globalise and homogenise that much faster and more smoothly. With the US fighting against it at every turn, it’s going to happen anyway, and when it does the the US will simply be a corner of the world universally despised. It may already be too let to change that, but you seemed so clueless, I thought you should know.
July 24th, 2006 at 3:09 pmBolton must be confirmed by the Senate to extend his term — but it isn’t over until January. If they wait until November, there may be more democrats and therefore, he might not succeed.
July 24th, 2006 at 3:51 pm45 Suck
July 24th, 2006 at 4:09 pmYou have absolutely no evidence, nor can you, that any of us “hate America” because you can’t read our hearts. As for me, I love my country and lovingly correct, chastise, and redirect her whenever she violates the principles and values that she was raised with (Constitution, laws, etc) in the same way that I corrected the daughter I loved and raised. If you can’t add something useful to the discussion, beyond this “hate” mantra, you are not aiding democracy.
Brian - We haven’t had any friends in the world for a very long time - except when they need something from us - like $$$$ or a floating hospital. I would like to see the world treat each other civilly - but we don’t need to be your “best friends”. But people pleasers seem to want everyone to love them….
July 24th, 2006 at 4:13 pmI would like to see the world treat each other civilly - but we don’t need to be your “best friendsâ€.
Comment by mighty aphrodite — July 24, 2006 @ 4:13 pm
Sure no argument there. Thats not what we are talking about, it surely can’t have escaped you that the US has taken a unilateral stance on many serious issues? I’m guessing you are all for that and think it’s fine, but it isn’t.
The US is currently to the world, what the biggest meanest war lord is to Somalia, an obstruction to unity for all the same selfish, greedy and moronic reasons that unity has always been rejected in the past. Yet, despite the war lords humans nonetheless manage to muddle into ever larger, more internally peaceful aggregations.
Global governance, is the logical path for humans. Since the first tribal spat, we have aggregated into larger and larger groups.
It’s simply a question of working out the details, and keeping the regressives (the US appears to have been disproportionately blessed in this regard) among us from panicking.
When we finally get there, the US will have long been exposed as the major stumbling block to a just and sensible world. For a very long time Americans, will be loathed for what they failed to do, and how they obstructed this phase of human development.
That of course is of we are lucky. The bad scenario is an increasingly violent and extreme world, where eventually the tanks of some future Zukov come crashing into an American Berlin. Then of course the logic of global governance will be compelling, but I expect very few of us will be alive to see how it turns out.
July 24th, 2006 at 4:30 pmbut I expect very few of us will be alive to see how it turns out.
Comment by Brian Coughlan — July 24, 2006 @ 4:30 pm
How do you get up in the morning with such an attitude? The world loved Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter because they were weak and could easier take advantage of. No one likes you when you stand your ground and do the right thing for your own country. You, like many of your liberal friends, I believe hate America and everything it stands for. I for one hope Bolton wins confirmation and I would love to see the dems try to filibuster this one again because its not going to work.
July 24th, 2006 at 4:44 pm#58
July 24th, 2006 at 5:25 pmgetting us into an unecessesary war, costing us thousands of lives and BILLIONs of dollars while wiping out a multi trillion dollar surplus and replacing it with a multi trillion dollar deficit while causing most of the world to hate us
helps us how?
I know Grampa can get confused. But the topic is about Bolton’s performance at the UN. Remember Gramps?
If Bolton would just throw a stapler at Kofi, things would be alright.
July 24th, 2006 at 5:54 pmIt is dumb to put a person in the UN who has always been against the UN. It’s arrogant to think that one person will “reform” the UN. Recess appointment? Because it was known he was not good for the job.
July 24th, 2006 at 5:57 pmThe world now realizes that the US is a Bush-over.
July 24th, 2006 at 6:53 pmAny surprise here? The dickhead could not get confirmed in the Senate, so Bushitler used the backdoor recess appointment. See the results.
July 24th, 2006 at 7:07 pmHard to believe that someone that hates the U.N. and feels that it is a joke would make a rotten ambassador to the U.N. After all everyone else on the planet is stupid. They are just Disney characters there for the enjoyment of Americans. The repugnacans will lead us straight to hell.
July 24th, 2006 at 7:38 pm#64: We are already in a world of shit. eta to hell ; 6 years ago.
July 24th, 2006 at 7:52 pm“The Reviews Are In: John Bolton Is Failing At the United Nations”
================================
The problem with this statement is the failing part. Bolton is not failing; he is doing exactly what Bush and the republicans want him to do. They couldn’t care less about the UN or reforming it. Their ultimate goal is to dismantle it.
July 24th, 2006 at 8:10 pmBrian, the diplomat notes, “it surely can’t have escaped you that the US has taken a unilateral stance on many serious issues?” - of course it hasn’t escaped me - Each country has to take into account it’s best interests and if the rest of the neighbourhood likes it - wonderful (!) - if negotiations can reach compromises - terrific!! But a vcountry which didn’t didn’t consider it’s own interest, would be considered idiots.
July 24th, 2006 at 8:51 pmThe guy could at least trim up the ol’ stache, jeez, what’s he got in there? Some turkey left over from Thanksgiving he’s savin’?
July 24th, 2006 at 10:03 pmNo, For Truth! No trimming! Please consider the quality of the mustache rides…
July 24th, 2006 at 10:51 pmHere is a great video with Pat Buchanan, a conservative, slamming Israel’s reckless and heinous behavior. I was touched….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jFZDbDyinw
July 24th, 2006 at 11:44 pmThe “he lives in another world”, when people say that about you that’s an indicator of madness. It says it all about Republicans. It’s really a disease that inhabits the minds of Republicans it’s called Psychopathic Personality Disorder.
July 24th, 2006 at 11:49 pmI do not understand why Republicans love to be represented by people that act like total assholes:
Bush
Cheney
Bolton
Tony Snow
July 25th, 2006 at 12:28 amEach country has to take into account it’s best interests and if the rest of the neighbourhood likes it - wonderful (!) - if negotiations can reach compromises - terrific!! But a vcountry which didn’t didn’t consider it’s own interest, would be considered idiots.
Comment by mighty aphrodite — July 24, 2006 @ 8:51 pm
Interests can multi-faceted, long term and complex. Getting the best spread and combination of win-win takes thought and effort. Bush and Boltons entire attitude is regressive.
Considered co-operation is always the better option, and yet that is only the choice for them when all other options are clearly disastrous, and sometimes not even then, and they’ve been backed into a corner.
Their foreign policy is superficial, reactionary, violent and hysterical. It can be summed up as the “Give me that banana or I’ll thump you” policy. Even the lesser primates make a more coherent effort to co-operate.
July 25th, 2006 at 1:11 amWhat can we do besides talk about this terrible nomination? I, for one, have DONE something, put his mug on a piece of bread, toasted it, sprayed with polyurathane for preservation, framed it, and listed an ebay ad BOLTON IS TOAST, which allowed me to have a platform for public awareness. I hope it works. I don’t know what else a citizen can do other than contact our Senators and write opinions where we can. Thank you.
July 25th, 2006 at 2:11 amWhen even the ‘Rubber Stamp Republicans’ wouldn’t confirm his nomination, it seemed pretty clear that Bolton was the LEAST qualified person for the job, and BushCo’s determination to make sure he got it, no matter what. Like every other choice they make, it is about getting what they want, not about what is best for America, and the rest of the world. And if they can destroy it at the same time, even better for them. Once BushCo is gone, hopefully we can repair all of the damage they have done, at least diplomatically. I did like the comments of the Diplomats about Bolton. They were very… diplomatic. ;)
July 25th, 2006 at 3:58 amAmbassador John Bolton failing?
July 25th, 2006 at 8:35 amR U high?
Brian, Thank you for clarifying that all the “give” should come from the US and all the “get” should be directed to our poor benighted neighbours. As a higher level primate, I’m sure you won’t be happy until you and your global “neighbours” have all the bananas and then throw the peels our way for us to clean up….
Busy day….
July 25th, 2006 at 12:04 pmShut up Mighty
July 25th, 2006 at 12:34 pmFor Truth
no, you shut up, “For Truth”
July 25th, 2006 at 8:42 pmBrian Coughlan
Their foreign policy is superficial, reactionary, violent and hysterical …
Bush and Boltons entire attitude is regressive.
Hey Brian, put that in a freezer, you might need it againg when Condy takes thw White House.
July 25th, 2006 at 8:46 pm[…] While John Bolton has certainly proven to be an ineffective diplomat by souring relations with U.S. allies, his proponents claim that he deserves a permanent placement at the U.N. due to his record on the job. Heritage writes, “Over the past year, Bolton has proven a forceful advocate of American interests.” […]
July 27th, 2006 at 9:48 amA public advocate for the United States
By Alan Dershowitz
Published July 28, 2006
As a liberal Democrat, I listened carefully to the opposition voiced by many Democratic senators to the nomination of John Bolton as our chief representative to the United Nations. Mr. Bolton has been representing us at the United Nations since August. During the current Middle East crisis, I have been able to listen for myself to what Mr. Bolton has been saying at the United Nations.
On the basis of his performance, I have become a Bolton supporter. He speaks with moral clarity. He is extremely well prepared. He is extraordinarily articulate. He places the best face on American policy, particularly in the Middle East during this crucial time.
During the late 1960s, I worked closely with our then-representative to the United Nations, Arthur Goldberg. Goldberg gave up his lifetime seat on the Supreme Court in order to serve at the United Nations in an effort to end the war in Vietnam. He was hopeful that he could make a greater contribution to his country at the United Nations than on the high court.
He too was our representative during a critical period in the Middle East. It was Ambassador Goldberg who helped draft the famous Resolution 242, which has served as the basis for Mideast peace efforts since 1967.
During the 1970s, Daniel Patrick Moynihan served with distinction in that position. He too stood up to the enemies of the United States and other democracies, such as Israel. When, during his term, the General Assembly introduced its most overtly bigoted resolution equating Zionism with racism, it was Mr. Moynihan who fought tirelessly, if ultimately futilely, against its passage. He continued to identify rampant anti-Semitism as the scourge of the United Nations until his death three years ago.
Now, there’s John Bolton, who follows in that tradition with distinction. Were he not to be confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at this crucial juncture it would send a powerful message to the international community that Senate Democrats do not stand behind our policy in the Middle East. It would be seen as undercutting American policy toward Israel. Even if that were a misunderstanding, it would have a devastating impact on the world’s perception of America’s solidarity with Israel.
Following his nomination, Senate Democrats asked the White House to release documents prepared under Mr. Bolton’s supervision during his tenure working for the administration. The president ultimately released some of the documents for senior Democrats to review, albeit with redactions. I agree with the demand by the Democrats and wish the Bush administration would be more forthcoming, but I believe that it would be a mistake at this time for the Democrats to hold the Bolton nomination hostage to this dispute. The senators have had a year to observe and evaluate Mr. Bolton directly on his performance as our ambassador. They can intelligently vote based on what he has done at the United Nations and not based on documents related to his role as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.
What remains of last year’s nomination battle, though, is what I suspect to be the real reason that some Democrats oppose the Bolton nomination. That is, they felt uncomfortable with Mr. Bolton’s oft-expressed and blunt skepticism over the United Nations’ legal and moral authority. Mr. Bolton can even, at times, come off as “contemptuous of the U.N.,†in Sen. Barbara Boxer’s words.
But Mr. Bolton is right to be skeptical, and all the great U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations — from Adlai Stevenson to Arthur Goldberg to Pat Moynihan to Jeane Kirkpatrick — have shared that skepticism. Mr. Bolton is absolutely justified in pushing for reform of the notoriously corrupt and inefficient bureaucratic structure in Turtle Bay. As he once said, “If member countries want the United Nations to be respected … they should begin by making sure it is worthy of respect.â€
Most importantly, Mr. Bolton understands that his job is to represent the United States and our interests to the world, and not the other way around. When The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank chided Mr. Bolton for “disparaging the very organization he would serve,†the Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto promptly corrected him by saying, “the American ambassador to the U.N. is supposed to serve America, not the U.N.â€
I have observed Mr. Bolton’s performance with regard to Israel and its conflicts with Hezbollah and Hamas. On many other fronts he has proved himself a staunch advocate of freedom and human rights — specifically in Sudan, North Korea and Cuba. Some critics have argued that Mr. Bolton is better in his public role as advocate than in his behind-the-scenes role as conciliator. But at this point in history, the United States needs a public advocate who can further its case in the court of public opinion. No one does that better than John Bolton.
Alan Dershowitz is a professor of law at Harvard.
July 30th, 2006 at 11:50 pmhttp://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-253.html
U.N. ‘peacekeepers’ rape women, children
Posted: December 24, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
With the United Nations already under fire for the Oil-for-Food mega-scandal and other corruption, sensational allegations of rampant sexual exploitation and rape of young girls and women by the U.N.’s so-called “peacekeepers” and civilian staffers in the Congo is dragging the global body’s reputation to an all-time low.
In a new report referring to the widespread sex scandal as “the U.N.’s Abu Ghraib,” the London Times provides some specific examples, including:
A French U.N. logistics expert in the Congo shot pornographic videos in his home, in which he had converted his bedroom into a photo studio for videotaping his sexual abuse of young girls. When police raided his home, the man was allegedly about to rape a 12-year-old girl sent to him in a law enforcement sting operation. As the Times reported, a senior Congolese police officer confirmed the bed was surrounded by large mirrors on three sides, with a remote control camera on the fourth side.
U.N. officials are worried that the scandal, which already has netted 150 allegations of sex crimes by U.N. staffers, will explode if the pornographic videos and photos, now on sale in Congo, becoming public
“It would be a pretty big problem for the U.N. if these pictures come out,” one senior official told the Times.
Two Russian pilots paid young girls with jars of mayonnaise and jam to have sex with them, the report adds.
U.N. “peacekeepers” from Morocco based in Kisangani – a secluded town on the Congo River – are notorious for impregnating local women and girls. In March, an international group probing the scandal found 82 women and girls had been made pregnant by Moroccan U.N. staffers and 59 others by Uruguayan staffers. One U.N. soldier accused of rape was apparently hidden in the barracks for a year.
Congo’s Minister of Defense Maj.-Gen. Jean Pierre Ondekane told a top U.N. official that all U.N. “peacekeepers” in Kisangani would be remember for would be “for running after little girls,” the Times reported.
And at least two U.N. officials – a Ukrainian and a Canadian – have been forced to leave the African nation after getting local women pregnant.
Most of the sexual abuse and exploitation, says the report, involves trading sex for money, food or jobs. However, some victims say they were raped, but later given food or money to make the incident appear to have been consensual – “rape disguised as prostitution.”
U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno told the London paper: “The fact that these things happened is a blot on us. It’s awful. What is important is to get to the bottom of it and fight it and make sure that people who do that pay for what they have done.”
Despite the fact that the U.N.’s sexual code of conduct is prominently displayed on U.N. facilities Congo – forbidding sex with prostitutes or women under 18 – the U.N. continues to hand out free condoms to “peacekeepers” to protect them from AIDS.
The U.N. has promised to investigate and prosecute the widespread allegations. But, as WND reported last month, the global organization is not known for its forthrightness and candor in such internal investigations. The agency has been criticized for ignoring evidence or wrongdoing in the past – including accusations of rape and murder by “peacekeepers.”
In fact, previous revelations of peacekeeping abuses have only been revealed by news organizations. Such was the case in Cambodia in the early 1990s and later in Somalia, Bosnia and Ethiopia.
“I am afraid there is clear evidence that acts of gross misconduct have taken place,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan admitted. “This is a shameful thing for the United Nations to have to say, and I am absolutely outraged by it.”
Annan said the allegations concerned a small number of U.N. personnel and promised to hold those involved accountable.
“I have long made it clear that my attitude to sexual exploitation and abuse is one of zero tolerance, without exception, and I am determined to implement this policy in the most transparent manner,” Annan said.
But Jordan’s Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein, a special adviser to Annan and who led one investigative team, said in a confidential report obtained by The Times: “The situation appears to be one of ‘zero-compliance with zero-tolerance’ throughout the mission.”
The new charges of rape and pedophilia by U.N. troops and workers in Congo are not the first scandal involving U.N. workers and troops in Africa.
Former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s tenure was marked by scandalous charges that he played a leading role in supplying weapons to the Hutu regime that carried out a campaign of genocide against the Tutsi tribe in 1994.
As minister of foreign affairs in Egypt, Boutros-Ghali facilitated an arms deal in 1990, which was to result in $26 million of mortar bombs, rocket launchers, grenades and ammunition being flown from Cairo to Rwanda. The arms were used by Hutus in attacks which led to up to a million deaths. The role of Boutros-Ghali, who was in charge at the U.N. when it turned its back on the killings in 1994, was revealed in a book by Linda Melvern. In “A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda’s Genocide,” Boutros-Ghali admits his role in approving an initial $5.8 million arms deal in 1990, which led to Egypt supplying arms to Rwanda until 1992. He says he approved it because it was his job as foreign minister to sell weapons for Egypt.
Back in 1997, there were reports Belgian U.N. troops roasted a Somali boy. A military court reportedly sentenced two paratroopers to a month in jail and a fine of 200 pounds for the offense.
Another Belgian soldier reportedly forced a young Somali to eat pork, drink salt water and then eat his own vomit. Another sergeant was accused of murdering a Somali whom he was photographed urinating upon. Another child, accused of stealing food from the paratroopers’ base, died after being locked in a storage container for 48 hours. Fifteen other members of the same regiment were investigated in 1995 for “acts of sadism and torture” against Somali civilians.
The pattern of abuse was not confined to Belgian troops. Belgium was actually the third country in the peacekeeping group to charge troops with serious crimes against Somali citizens — including rape, torture and murder. In 1995, a group of Canadian paratroopers were investigated for torturing a Somali to death and killing three others.
Gruesome photos were published in a Milan magazine of Italian soldiers torturing a Somali youth and abusing and raping a Somali girl. Paratroopers claim they were specifically trained in methods of torture to aid interrogation. According to one witness, Italian soldiers tied a young Somali girl to the front of an armored personnel carrier and raped her while officers looked on.
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