Date published: 2005/03/29
The BBC says:
Fifty-nine former US diplomats have written to the chairman of a key Senate committee in protest at the nomination of John Bolton as ambassador to the UN.
The diplomats, who served under both Republican and Democrat presidents, described Mr Bolton, a known critic of the UN, as "the wrong man" for the job.
They urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to block his appointment.
Mr Bolton served as under-secretary of state responsible for arms control during President Bush's first term.
Chief among the objections was Mr Bolton's stated view that the UN "is valuable only when it directly serves the United States".
In addition, Mr Bolton was criticised for his record as US arms control supremo.
He had an "exceptional record" of undermining potential improvements to US national security through arms control, the diplomats complained.
Among the most senior signatories was Arthur Hartman, former ambassador to France and the Soviet Union under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan and assistant secretary of state for European affairs under President Richard Nixon.
Nothing will come of this of course. Bolton is a friend of Bush, and that is all that counts with the White House and the Republican Party that runs Congress. The Bolton nomination shows what Bush really thinks of the rest of the world. There is no point trying to reason with these people, they have no desire to be reasonable. The rest of the world should treat the US as a pariah state until civilised politicians once more take up the reigns of power in Washington (if that ever happens). Until then build up your military, because the current US administration is a threat to anyone and everyone who dares to disagree.
_________________________________________________________
All material not included from other sources is copyright cambridge2000.com.
For further information or questions email: info [at] cambridge2000 [dot] com
(replace "[at]" with "@" and "[dot]" with ".").