John Bolton

Fire of Liberty

Well, it seems the newspapers throughout America have had their say about the appointment of Under Secretary of State Bolton as US Ambassador to the UN. Take a look at these headlines:
"Signal behind Bolton's nomination to UN Post," (Christian Science Monitor), "U.N. envoy nominee known for tough talk," (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), "Bush nominates controversial Bolton for UN ambassador job," (Detroit Free Press), "UN Critic is Bush pick for ambassador," (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). From this small sampling, you can get a common view that Secretary Bolton is a harsh critic of the UN. If you've seen anything on the UN you should know they need some toughness in the darkened halls of the UN. What, with the various crooks and tyrants sitting on the Human Rights Commission and its various scandals like Oil For Food, Sexual Harassment, and UN officials raping girls in Congo, maybe they do need a readjustment by Bolton. While Bolton might seem gruff before the general viewer, he still is interested in restoring some order to the manic house on Turtle Bay. Just look at what he said yesterday in his acceptance speech:

"I have consistently stressed in my writings that American leadership is critical to the success of the U.N., an effective U.N., one that is true to the original intent of its charter's framers."

Yeah, the MSM and various Democrats have already demurred the choice of Mr. Bolton a slap to diplomacy and to the World community. Just check out this article in The New York Sun on the mixed emotions that the Secretary Bolton's nomination elicited. I especially love Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick's advice to Secretary Bolton. Like Mr. Bolton, Mrs. Kirkpatrick was a great critic of the UN before she served as a great champion for the US under President Reagan. Anyway her advice is pretty good, have a look:

"My advice to him is to stand for what he believes in," Ms. Kirkpatrick said in an interview. "It is harder in the U.N. than other places. There are many people that are sort of not so serious in the United Nations. But I told John I had learned more about the world there than any other place."

Along with Mrs. Kirkpatrick's advice Mr. Bolton also has the backing of Frank J. Gaffney Jr., who has written a wonderful piece on Mr. Bolton in today's edition of NRO. In fact, Gaffney has presented a good amount ammo for Secretary Bolton's supporters in his confirmation hearings. The best supporter seems to be Tim Wirth, an former Democratic Senator and UN offical who is currently the president of the UN Foundation, a Ted Turner sponsored group. According to Wirth:
“

"In the past, Mr. Bolton has been tough on the UN; we hope that if he is confirmed by the Senate, he will be an advocate for improving the vital U.S.-UN relationship, and for helping the UN to achieve its many complex missions, ranging from global health to advancing democracy, strengthening human rights and forging stronger global environmental standards, caring for refugees and feeding millions of disaster-stricken people. The UN needs the support of the U.S. both to sustain its mission, and to reform itself for the demands of the 21st century.”"

From the looks of it, the nomination will be fun. I wish Secretary Bolton, Good Luck!!!