There's no such thing as the United Nations

[wind.talker]

Friday, March 11, 2005

 

Bush makes wrong choice for U.N.

 

By HELEN THOMAS

HEARST NEWSPAPERS

 

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's decision to send hard-liner John Bolton to represent the United States at the United Nations carries this clear message: Expect more tough talk from the United States.

 

What can Bush have been thinking?

 

The president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made recent trips to Europe to extend an olive branch to old allies and friends who have become estranged because of the administration's belligerent policies.

 

Bolton's appointment makes me wonder if the administration's recent peace-making was merely a line touted strictly for public consumption.

 

The surprise selection of Bolton as the chief U.S. diplomat at the United Nations is a sorry leap backward. Bolton, a former senior vice president of the American Enterprise Institute -- a think tank that serves as the half-way house for conservatives waiting for their next job in a Republican administration -- had been serving as undersecretary of state for arms control.

 

Conservatives were delighted with his nomination. Danielle Pletka, an AEI colleague, said it was "great news" and added "this could not be a more fun nomination."

 

Bolton has never disguised his antipathy for international agreements. He once declared, "There's no such thing as the United Nations."

 

He told a World Federalist Association conference in 1994, "If the U.N. Secretariat building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

 

In announcing the appointment, Rice said Bolton "is a tough-minded diplomat. He has a strong record of success and a proven track record of effective multilateralism." She also praised his ability to "get things done."

 

Bolton has been confrontational and abrasive in dealings with Iran and North Korea. He also has been playing with fire by advocating an independent Taiwan, a spiel that has riled China.

 

During the period of 1994-96, Bolton was paid $32,000 by the Taiwan government for writing three treatises on U.N. membership.

 

His hardline approach won plaudits from the American Conservative Union. ACU chairman David Keene once referred to Bolton as "our man at the State Department" and joked that Bolton was in charge of the "American desk" in the department.

 

It's pretty clear that Rice did not want the domineering Bolton as her No. 2 at the department. She instead chose Robert Zoellick, the milder former trade representative, to serve as deputy secretary.

 

Bolton's style is to flaunt U.S. superpower military status and to lay down the law to other nations: Our way or the highway. A diplomat he is not. The old cliche "A bull in a china shop" comes to mind.

 

North Korean officials have been so angered by Bolton's high-handed rhetoric that they refuse to negotiate with him. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to ease the situation by sending other envoys to the Asian negotiations.

 

Bolton will succeed the gentle John Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri, and will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

 

Senate Majority leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., called Bolton an "outstanding candidate" for the U.N. job.

 

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Democratic leader, said it was "a disappointing choice and one that will send all the wrong signals."

 

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was silent on the subject.

 

Lugar's spokesman said the senator had urged Rice to consider candidates for the U.N. post who would have "wide support" and would help build a "consensus on foreign policy."

 

No one thinks that job description fits Bolton.

 

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., was more pointed in his skepticism about Bolton's selection.

 

"We need alliances, we need friends," Hagel said. "To go up there and kick the U.N. around doesn't get the job done."

 

Bolton said Monday that he "would roll up my sleeves" in carrying out U.S. policies to reform the United Nations.

 

His heavy hand and dictatorial style will also have to be reformed if he wants to succeed in the international organization.

 

Helen Thomas is a columnist for Hearst Newspapers. E-mail: helent@hearstdc.com. Copyright 2005 Hearst Newspapers.

 

THE WRONG CHOICE, PERIOD! EXPECT MORE ANTI-AMERICANISM AT THE U.N.