John Bolton

John Robert Bolton, (born November 20, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American political figure and diplomat. On March 7, 2005, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to become the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Biography

Bolton was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He received a B.A. in 1970 and a J.D. in 1974 from Yale University. Though Bolton supported the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the National Guard (and wore his uniform in a 1970 Yale guide book picture [1]) and did not serve in Vietnam. He wrote 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).

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.

WMD

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 bio-weapons 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.

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'".[18] 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. [19] He also "won widespread praise for his work establishing the Proliferation Security Initiative [20], a voluntary agreement supported by 60 countries" [21]

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." [22] In response, a North Korean spokeman said "such human scum and bloodsucker is not entitled to take part in the talks." [23] American Democrats came to North Korea's side in this confrontation, angrily denouncing Bolton, as well. In a recent article, North Korea's ambitions for nuclear weapons were described in detail by a defector. [24] It states that the leadership "poured all its resources into developing nuclear weapons," while some of it citizens are "Starving ... have been publicly executed for stealing food and have died of malnutrition in labor camps."[25]Critics argue that Bolton's record of allegedly politicizing intelligence will harm U.S. credibility with the United Nations[26]which has many current problems. [27] [28]President Bush wants the organization reformed and said he wants John Bolton because he "can get the job done at the United Nations." [29]

Other

According to the Washington Post (cited in Alternet [30]), Bolton repeatedly withheld information from Secretary Colin Powell and at least once from Secretary Condoleezza Rice. This included a failure to advise Rice before her European trip on the unpopularity of Bolton's campaign to oust Mohamed El Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the United Nations. Bolton is also said to have pushed to have the fake claim about Saddam's supposed Niger uranium put into the president's 2003 State of the Union Address, and to have pushed for reduced funding for the Nunn-Lugar program to halt the proliferation of nuclear materials [31].

Bolton has also led the Bush administration's opposition [32] on constitutional grounds [33]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 sign exempt hi

Nominee for Ambassador to the UN

On 7 March 2005 he was nominated as US Ambassador to the United Nations, but as of 26 May his nomination has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. After strong initial support from Republicans but heavy opposition by Democrats, Bolton has steadily lost support from Republicans. In fact, Senator George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) circulated a letter urging his Republican colleagues not to vote for Bolton. [34] Democrats have threatened to filibuster his vote, and the vote has now been delayed until at least May 31, 2005, after the Memorial Day long weekend.

View of the United Nations

Bolton has been a strong critic of the United Nations for much of his political career. In a 1994 Citizens for Global Solutions forum 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."[35] 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." [36] 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."[37]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" [38] Old American Century has online video footage of some of his comments on the United Nations.

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." [39]

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."[40] 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.[41]

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

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. Since then, Democrats, with the threat of a filibuster, have postponed his vote to at least May 31, after a Memorial Day recess in the Senate. 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." [42]

On 28 April The Guardian 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." [43] However Rich Lowry points out that "During the same four-year period, other State Department officials made roughly 400 similar requests." [44]

On May 11 Hustler publisher Larry Flynt 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. [45]

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 Democrat Filibuster

On Thursday May 26, 2005, the Senate Democrats postponed the vote on John Bolton's UN nomination. The Republicans failed to gain enough Democrat 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 McClelland, 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." [46]

External links

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