www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Focus/GH03Dh02.html
John Bolton, who has been described as a 'walking diplomatic time bomb,' speaks at the White House Monday after George W Bush bypassed the Senate to make him US ambassador to the United Nations. REUTERS President George W Bush's appointment of United Nations critic John Bolto n to be US ambassador to the world organization was an in-your-face gest ure, to Congress and to the global community. It comes at a sensitive time on Capitol Hill, where Bush needs the suppor t of senators for his nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. Internationally, it comes during a new round of fragile six-nation talks in Beijing aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambiti ons. Bolton's depiction in 2003 of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a tyrant contributed to Pyongyang's boycotting of an earlier round of talk s Bolton was undersecretary of state at the time. The new ambassador arrived in New York Monday with built-in handicaps. And he starts out as a lame duck, allowed to serve only until January 2007 under terms of th e constitutional provision Bush invoked to install him. But the job and the times were too important to wait, Bush said as he use d his authority to make appointments during a congressional recess, bypa ssing the Senate. Nearly all presidents have used this power, usually to fill minor posts although President Dwight D Eisenhower initially fille d three Supreme Court vacancies this way. In Bolton's case, Republicans blamed partisan politics for Democratic del aying tactics that blocked the nominee, noting a majority of the Republi can-run chamber supported him. Democratic leaders blamed the White House for failing to release documents they said were important for the Senat e's consideration. Bush, displaying his own streak of stubbornness, refused to back down. Dispatching Bolton, a conservative who has been repeatedly critical of th e UN in the past, to claim the US seat in the United Nations was confron tational on its face. John Bolton is a walking diplomatic time bomb an d he's proved that over his career. The fact that he could not get confi rmed by the Senate tells the rest of the world this isn't the best we co uld do,'' said Robert Boorstin, who served on the National Security Coun cil in President Bill Clinton's administration. What will be noticed is the contrast between Bolton and Jack Danforth, who was a tremendously good UN ambassador at a very, very difficult time ,'' Boorstin said. The post had been vacant since Danforth, a Republican and former senator from Missouri, retired in January. In September, the UN is expected to consider a wide-ranging series of ref orms, and administration officials said it was important to have Bolton on the job before then. The UN is wrestling with several proposals to expand the Security Council 's permanent membership from its current five. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said no US decision on expansion ha s yet been made - other than for Japan to get a seat. At the Capitol, Bush's use of the recess-appointment authority for a nomi nee who had failed to win Senate confirmation was sure to raise the ire of senators, who take their advice and consent'' role seriously - part icularly members of the opposition party.
Copyright 2005, The Standard, Sing Tao Newspaper Group and Global China G roup. No content may be redistributed or republishe d, either electronically or in print, without express written consent of The Standard.
|
http://csua.com/feed/