Bolton quits as UN ambassador

[KashifAsrar]

Bolton quits as UN ambassador



Another Defeat: Bush Ends Efforts To Have Him Confirmed By The Senate


Washington: Unable to win Senate confirmation, UN ambassador John Bolton will step down when his temporary appointment expires within weeks, the White House said on Monday.
Bolton’s nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several Republicans. Senator Lincoln Chafee, a moderate Republican who lost in elections November 7 that swept Democrats to power in both houses of Congress, was adamantly opposed to Bolton.
Critics have questioned Bolton’s brusque style and whether he could be an effective public servant who could help bring reform to the UN.
President Bush, in a statement, said he was “deeply disappointed that a handful of US senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate”.'
“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,” Bush said.
“This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation.”
Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, said Bolton’s departure could be a turning point for the administration. “With the Middle East on the verge of chaos and the nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea increasing, we need a United Nations ambassador who has the full support of Congress and can help rally the international community to tackle the serious threats we face,” Kerry said. He said it was an opportunity for Bush to nominate an ambassador “who enjoys the support necessary to unite our country and the world and who can put results ahead of ideology”.
Bush gave Bolton the job temporarily in August 2005, while Congress was in recess. Under that process, the appointment expires when Congress formally adjourns, no later than early January.
The White House resubmitted Bolton’s nomination last month. But with Democrats capturing control of the next Congress, his chances of winning confirmation appeared slight. The incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Senator Joe Biden, said he saw “no point in considering Bolton’s nomination again”.
While Bush could not give Bolton another recess appointment, the White House was believed to be exploring other ways of keeping him in the job, perhaps by giving him a title other than ambassador. But Bolton informed the White House he intended to leave when his current appointment expires, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.
Bush planned to meet with Bolton and his wife later on Monday at the White House. AP

 

[Keysersoze]

I remember an interview Bolton did with a Journalist (John Pilger) a few years back. Pilger is known for having views that are diametrically opposed to the neocon way of thinking. The thing that struck me was (when he thought the camera was off) the bile with which he talked to Pilger afterwards. Accusing of being a Communist etc etc.

Good riddance I say.........

 

[KashifAsrar]

Bolton: Hawkish envoy whose style alienated many



United Nations: John Bolton, who resigned as US envoy to the United Nations on Monday, gets high marks for his spirited promotion of Washington’s interests but his abrasive style alienated many and undermined his effectiveness, diplomats say.
Accepting Bolton’s resignation, US president George W Bush said: “We’re going to miss you...You’ve been strong in your advocacy for human rights and human dignity.” (What a joke... Kashif) The US leader also credited the envoy for making the case for UN reforms, helping secure passage of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear programmes as well as for pushing for a robust UN peacekeeping force in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Bush had appointed Bolton on August 1, 2005 while the US Congress was in recess, after his nominee was rejected by the Senate following a bruising confirmation battle. The US leader again resubmitted his nomination last month but Democrats, set to take control of Congress in January, made it clear that they would continue to block it.
On arrival here, Bolton, a former undersecretary of state for arms control, was dogged by a reputation as a unilateralist hardliner lacking in diplomatic skills and an unabashed UN basher. In a 1994 speech at the liberal World Federalist Association, he said that “if the UN secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”
“I think Ambassador Bolton did the job he was expected to do,” UN chief Kofi Annan, with whom Bolton has had a testy relationship, said on learning of his imminent departure. “It is important that the ambassadors work together, that the ambassadors understand that to get concessions, they have to make concessions, and that they need to work with each other for the organisation to move ahead,” Annan pointedly said. AFP