Published March 8, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) — John R. Bolton, a tough-talking arms control official who rarely muffles his views in diplomatic niceties, was chosen yesterday by President Bush to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
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Senate Democrats immediately assailed the nomination, arguing that it didn’t make sense for the president to pick a diplomat who has sometimes been critical of the world body at a time when mending fences with the international community was imperative. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev.), said Bolton’s selection sent “all the wrong signals.”
Anticipating a possible fight over confirmation — in 2001, Bolton was approved for his current post over the opposition of 43 Democratic senators — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, “Through our history some of our best ambassadors have been those with strong voices.” She mentioned former U.N. ambassadors Jeanne Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
In his tenure, Bolton has angered officials in North Korea and China with his hard-edged approach. In fact, the Pyongyang government, furious with his comments, refused to negotiate with him.
Bolton, whose career has included posts in the administrations of President Reagan and the first President Bush, promised to work closely with members of Congress to advance Bush’s policies and said his record demonstrated “clear support for effective multilateral diplomacy.”
Mindful that he, like the president, has sometimes questioned the relevance of the United Nations, Bolton said, “Working closely with others is essential to ensure a safer world.”
Rice praised the international organization as she announced Bolton’s selection.
“The United States is committed to the success of the United Nations, and we view the U.N. as an important component of our diplomacy,” she said.
She said Bolton “knows how to get things done,” citing his work in nullifying a U.N. resolution that equated Zionism, the philosophic underpinning of a Jewish state, with racism, and in organizing 60 countries to curb the spread of dangerous weapons.
