Is this good for anybody
I personally feel this appointment is typical of the Bush administratrion when it wants to send a big FU to some organization like the UN.
If you read Molly Ivens book "Bushwacked" you would note that Bush appointed a Christian Fundamentalist Non-Doctor as the US representative to the World Health Organization. FU WHO!
Look what we are sending to the UN as ambassador. FU UN!!!
Bush Nominates Weapons Expert as Envoy to U.N.
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: March 8, 2005
WASHINGTON, March 7 - President Bush on Monday chose John R. Bolton, a blunt-spoken conservative known for his sharp skepticism of the United Nations and international diplomacy, as the new American ambassador to the world organization.
Administration officials said his appointment would strengthen efforts to hold the United Nations to effective standards. But the nomination brought expressions of concern from many diplomats speaking on the condition that they not be identified by name or country, many of whom noted that Mr. Bolton had been scathing in his criticism of the United Nations.
"He is a tough-minded diplomat, he has a strong record of success and he has a proven track record of effective multilateralism," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the State Department in making the announcement. "Through history, some of our best ambassadors have been those with the strongest voices, ambassadors like Jeane Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan."
Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations, informed by Ms. Rice of the appointment on Monday morning, said through a spokesman that he looked forward to working with Mr. Bolton.
Mr. Bolton, 56, is a lawyer who has worked in federal government, mostly in the State Department, for most of the past 25 years. For the past four, he has served as under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs. Now, his elevation would put him in perhaps the most visible diplomatic job outside that of Ms. Rice.
As examples of his record on diplomacy, Ms. Rice cited the Treaty of Moscow, which reduces nuclear warheads while permitting an antimissile system; nuclear negotiations with Libya; and the Proliferation Security Initiative, which seeks to interdict the shipment of dangerous arms.
The nomination brought strong praise from many Republicans and conservatives. "He's been our man at the State Department," said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, adding that he used to joke that Mr. Bolton was in charge of the department's "American desk."
Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, called Mr. Bolton an "outstanding candidate" for the United Nations job. Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, expressed caution, however.
"We need alliances, we need friends," he said of the United Nations, adding that while reforming the organization was important, "To go up there and kick the U.N. around doesn't get the job done."
Even within the Bush administration, some said they were surprised that Mr. Bolton, who only last fall angered a room full of diplomats when he spoke disdainfully of the European effort to negotiate with Iran, was picked for such a sensitive job.
While the diplomats and administration insiders who raised questions did so anonymously because of the sensitivity of the nomination, in the Senate, where he will have to be confirmed, Democrats publicly criticized the appointment. Some Republicans predicted that he might have difficulty winning confirmation.
"This is a disappointing choice and one that sends all the wrong signals," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader.
Mr. Bolton, a former protégé of Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, once said that "if the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference" and that "there's no such thing as the United Nations."
An aide to one ambassador at the United Nations Security Council said his boss considered the nomination "a disaster," but he added: "The real question is what is Bolton's mission. Does he come here to attack the institution, or does he really come here to help the U.N.?"
Within the administration, Mr. Bolton was known as the State Department's chief skeptic about efforts to negotiate an end to the twin crises posed by Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs. He has also criticized any effort to work with the International Criminal Court.
If you read Molly Ivens book "Bushwacked" you would note that Bush appointed a Christian Fundamentalist Non-Doctor as the US representative to the World Health Organization. FU WHO!
Look what we are sending to the UN as ambassador. FU UN!!!
Bush Nominates Weapons Expert as Envoy to U.N.
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: March 8, 2005
WASHINGTON, March 7 - President Bush on Monday chose John R. Bolton, a blunt-spoken conservative known for his sharp skepticism of the United Nations and international diplomacy, as the new American ambassador to the world organization.
Administration officials said his appointment would strengthen efforts to hold the United Nations to effective standards. But the nomination brought expressions of concern from many diplomats speaking on the condition that they not be identified by name or country, many of whom noted that Mr. Bolton had been scathing in his criticism of the United Nations.
"He is a tough-minded diplomat, he has a strong record of success and he has a proven track record of effective multilateralism," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the State Department in making the announcement. "Through history, some of our best ambassadors have been those with the strongest voices, ambassadors like Jeane Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan."
Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations, informed by Ms. Rice of the appointment on Monday morning, said through a spokesman that he looked forward to working with Mr. Bolton.
Mr. Bolton, 56, is a lawyer who has worked in federal government, mostly in the State Department, for most of the past 25 years. For the past four, he has served as under secretary of state for arms control and international security affairs. Now, his elevation would put him in perhaps the most visible diplomatic job outside that of Ms. Rice.
As examples of his record on diplomacy, Ms. Rice cited the Treaty of Moscow, which reduces nuclear warheads while permitting an antimissile system; nuclear negotiations with Libya; and the Proliferation Security Initiative, which seeks to interdict the shipment of dangerous arms.
The nomination brought strong praise from many Republicans and conservatives. "He's been our man at the State Department," said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, adding that he used to joke that Mr. Bolton was in charge of the department's "American desk."
Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, called Mr. Bolton an "outstanding candidate" for the United Nations job. Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, expressed caution, however.
"We need alliances, we need friends," he said of the United Nations, adding that while reforming the organization was important, "To go up there and kick the U.N. around doesn't get the job done."
Even within the Bush administration, some said they were surprised that Mr. Bolton, who only last fall angered a room full of diplomats when he spoke disdainfully of the European effort to negotiate with Iran, was picked for such a sensitive job.
While the diplomats and administration insiders who raised questions did so anonymously because of the sensitivity of the nomination, in the Senate, where he will have to be confirmed, Democrats publicly criticized the appointment. Some Republicans predicted that he might have difficulty winning confirmation.
"This is a disappointing choice and one that sends all the wrong signals," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader.
Mr. Bolton, a former protégé of Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, once said that "if the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference" and that "there's no such thing as the United Nations."
An aide to one ambassador at the United Nations Security Council said his boss considered the nomination "a disaster," but he added: "The real question is what is Bolton's mission. Does he come here to attack the institution, or does he really come here to help the U.N.?"
Within the administration, Mr. Bolton was known as the State Department's chief skeptic about efforts to negotiate an end to the twin crises posed by Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs. He has also criticized any effort to work with the International Criminal Court.
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