The latest bad news on would-be U.N. ambassador John Bolton comes from all the way across the pond, where British Foreign Secrtary Jack Straw is said to have complained in late 2003 to his then counterpart Collin Powell, about Bolton, who was Powell's deputy in charge of arms control. The British apparently were so bugged by Bolton and his overwrought negotiating position on Iran, that they convinced the American government to freeze Bolton out of the negotiations that ultimately led to the U.S. arms deal with Libya.
Newsweek reported, in its May 2 edition, that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained about Bolton to then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in November 2003. Citing a "former Bush administration official who was there," Newsweek said Straw told Powell that Bolton -- Powell's undersecretary for arms control and international security -- was making it impossible to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.
According to the official, Newsweek reports, Powell then turned to an aide and said, "Get a different view on [the Iranian problem]. Bolton is being too tough." Newsweek said British officials "at the highest level" persuaded the White House to keep Bolton off the negotiating team that ultimately convinced Libya to give up its nuclear program.
Bolton was unwilling to support a compromise under which the United States would drop its goal of regime change in favor of "policy change" in exchange for Libya's disarmament, the magazine reported.
...hang on, wasn't Bolton's supposed masterminding of the deal to get Libya's Khaddafi to give up his WMD supposed to be a central justification for making him U.N. ambassador? Awaiting a word on that from Rich Lowry and the other guys at National Review who've been making that case on the talk show circuit (the NRO boys are currently in full mouth froth over Powell's hand in the unraveling Bolton nomination). Even without the Newsweek revelations, other analysts have expressed serious doubts that Bolton had any hand in Libya's change of heart. Arms Control Wonk linked to a particularly scathing one in March.
How much longer can Bolton hang on? Well, he's a tough guy -- a kiss-up, kick-down sort of bloke. Maybe he can chase a few Senate aides around the cloakroom, hurling obscenities and see what happens...
If Mr. Mustache is supposed to be judged on the basis of how we're doing on proliferation, his nomination isn't worth a warm bucket of spit.
Random, uncsolicited advice:
Just a thought: Maybe the president should throw the world (and the Dems) a real curveball and nominate his father as Bolton's replacement. The elder Bush would sail through confirmation, the switch would seize the cable headlines for a couple of days and push Bolton, and maybe even DeLay, off center stage for a minute, and papa's got direct job experience, having held the post before (plus credibility in the Arab world, where he makes oh so much cash, that Dubya couldn't buy with the help of all his daddy's friends and benefactors). Of course, the looneys on the hard right hate Bush 41's guts... but hey, Dubya doesn't have to run for reelection, so who cares?
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
