U.S. Role

The U.S. and the U.N.
This week, the independent commission investigating the United Nations-run oil-for-food program in Iraq said it had "no evidence" of "improper influence of the secretary-general in the bidding selection process" though it did find that an top assistant to Annan had shredded potentially important documents. While the oil-for-food scandal and subsequent investigation have been generating the most media attention, there is another story unfolding about who will become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "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 BBC News reports (Ex-US diplomats round on Bolton). In the 1997 book Delusions of Grandeur: The United Nations and Global Intervention, John Bolton's chapter, "The Creation, Fall, Rise, and Fall of the United Nations," strongly criticizes the U.N. and argues for reform: "The U.N. was an admirable concept when conceived; it has served our purposes from time to time; and it is worth keeping alive for future services. But it is not worth the sacrifice of American troops, American freedom of action, or American national interests." Can you see why his nomination might be a bit controversial?

posted by Joel @ 2:03 PM