Fw: Proposed UN Ambassador Signals Shift Back to Unilateralism

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie"
To: "Miriam Vieni"
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 2:34 PM
Subject: FCNL: Proposed UN Ambassador Signals Shift Back to Unilateralism

"There's no such thing as the United Nations....If the UN
secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit
of difference."

This is a direct quote from the John Bolton, the man President Bush has
nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. This
nomination raises serious questions about whether recent actions by the
Bush administration that seemed to indicate a shift to a more
multilateral foreign policy have been accurately interpreted. Bolton,
who served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and
International Security in the first Bush administration, is an advocate
of unilateral U.S. military action, an opponent of arms control, and
previously an advocate for withdrawal of U.S. funds from the UN. The
Senate Foreign Relations Committee must take a long, hard look at John
Bolton to determine whether he is the right choice to represent the
United States at the UN.

During his time in and out of government, Bolton has consistently taken
positions that undermine the United Nations and other forms of global
cooperation to prevent deadly conflict. At a 1994 panel discussion
sponsored by the World Federalist Association, Bolton made the
statement quoted at the top of this message. When the Bush
administration failed to persuade the UN to back the invasion of Iraq,
John Bolton observed that it was "further evidence to many why
nothing more should be paid to the UN system."

Bolton told the Wall Street Journal that signing the letter informing
the UN that the United States was removing its signature from the Rome
Treaty to create the International Criminal Court "was the
happiest moment of my government service." The Senate must try to
discover why the Bush administration nominated someone who has
repeatedly expressed his contempt for the United Nations to lead the
U.S. mission to the world body.

Will working with the UN force Bolton to be more diplomatic or is this
nomination a signal that the Bush administration plans a shift in
diplomatic strategy at the UN? The performance of Bolton as Under
Secretary of State over the last four years suggests the latter.

During his first term, President Bush used Bolton to deliver blunt
messages. For example, Bolton's harsh rhetorical statements directed at
North Korea's leadership often seemed timed to sabotage potential
diplomatic breakthroughs. When England, France, and Germany tried to
engage the U.S. in developing a carrot-and-stick approach to negotiate
an end to Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, Bolton refused to
participate arguing that, "I don't do carrots." Bolton also
falsely claimed that Cuba was developing biological weapons - a charge
that was not substantiated by any evidence and that was challenged by
experts.

Global problems require global responses. The United Nations serves an
essential role in the current age of escalating, politically motivated
mass murders, global warming, the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS,
and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In announcing the nomination
of Bolton, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice aptly noted the
existence of a "challenging agenda" before the UN and said it
"must play a critical role as it strives to fulfill the dreams and
hopes and aspirations of its original promise."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning hearings on the
nomination of John Bolton in early April. Please urge senators to
question how the appointment of an official with a long history of
disdaining the United Nations can help that body to meet the pressing
challenges it faces in the years ahead.

Quotes from John Bolton are on FCNL's web site:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/NXMVEIPUMS/LYOEEIPVCP/

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