A
ARIEL BOLUDOVSKY
Guest
Bolton to the U.N.
Washington gets the ambassador it needs--and so does Turtle Bay.
WSJ.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
Can anyone beyond the Beltway recall what the Bolton drama was about
beyond yelling at a few bureaucrats? Deciding yesterday that it was past
time to get on with the serious work of confronting the U.N.â€s manifest
problems, President Bush used his recess-appointment power to send John
Bolton to Turtle Bay. That should be good news for anyone with a good-
faith interest in reforming the U.N., now at perhaps the most critical
moment in its 60-year history.
The post had been vacant for six months. Senate Democrats, under the â
€leadership†of Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, have prolonged and thwarted
every attempt to hold a vote on Mr. Bolton, who of course would have been
confirmed had his name reached the Senate floor. No wild accusation was
ever proved, other than that he sought the removal of two intelligence
analysts for incompetence and insubordination. Notably, both the 9/11
Commission and Robb-Silberman Commission said policy makers have a
responsibility to question and challenge intelligence analysts.
Senators Biden and Dodd ostentatiously demanded that the Administration
let them see confidential intelligence intercepts relating to Mr. Boltonâ
€s testimony on Syrian weapons of mass destruction. These same Senators
agreed that Mr. Boltonâ€s testimony was accurate. And they knew that
intercepts had been reviewed by the Intelligence Committeeâ€s two ranking
Senators, who said they showed nothing of import. But this reality check
didnâ€t stop them from pressing a filibuster.
Mr. Bush now faces crocodile shouts of outrage for having bypassed the
Senate, but the appointment is an entirely appropriate use of his
constitutional authority to staff the government. Nor has he shown
himself willing to abuse the appointment power, unlike the most recent
Democratic President.
The most bitterly fought case of the Clinton years was the nomination of
Bill Lann Lee as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Mr. Lee was
given a hearing. But when it became clear that he would be defeated on
the floor of the Republican-controlled Senate, it was Democrats who
blocked a vote.
In response, Mr. Clinton decided against a recess appointment that would
expire at the end of that Congress. Instead, he named Mr. Lee as â
€acting†Assistant Attorney General, which allowed him to serve until
the end of Mr. Clintonâ€s term. Democratic Senator Robert Byrd protested,
and even Mr. Clinton admitted this wasnâ€t â€entirely constitutional.â€
With the circus behind him, Mr. Bolton has a lot to keep him occupied
between now and January 2007, when his appointment expires. We like the
bipartisan blueprint for U.N. reform put forward in June by former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.
They call for a permanent independent oversight board to prevent future
corruption scandals like Oil for Food, the creation of a democracy caucus
within the U.N., and more effective security mechanisms to deter future
Rwanda-style genocides.
Meanwhile, legislation conditioning Americaâ€s $500 million a year in
dues on U.N. reform is barreling through Congress and could result in
another U.S. withholding of funds along the lines of Jesse Helmsâ€s
famous boycott. This is probably one reason Mark Malloch Brown, the U.N.
Secretariatâ€s chief of staff, told us earlier this year that he was
enthusiastic about Mr. Boltonâ€s pending ambassadorship. The Bush
emissary, he said, would be an effective ambassador from the U.N. to
Washington.
Also rapidly reaching a crisis state are the investigations into the Oil
for Food program. More breakthroughs are expected soon, and it may not be
long before the new U.S. Ambassador is called upon to negotiate a
successor to Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Mr. Boltonâ€s recent State Department experience in exposing the A.Q.
Khan arms network in Pakistan and in persuading Libya to give up its arms
program should prove especially helpful in shaping the U.N.â€s role in
battling the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The Proliferation
Security Initiative he helped engineer and run has proved more effective
than any other multilateral organization in stopping the flow of WMD.
Ambassador Bolton said yesterday that he is committed to making the U.N.
â€a stronger, more effective organization.†After his past half-yearâ€s
experience with the U.S. Senate, we trust that he at least has some sense
of the institutional challenge ahead.
Washington gets the ambassador it needs--and so does Turtle Bay.
WSJ.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
Can anyone beyond the Beltway recall what the Bolton drama was about
beyond yelling at a few bureaucrats? Deciding yesterday that it was past
time to get on with the serious work of confronting the U.N.â€s manifest
problems, President Bush used his recess-appointment power to send John
Bolton to Turtle Bay. That should be good news for anyone with a good-
faith interest in reforming the U.N., now at perhaps the most critical
moment in its 60-year history.
The post had been vacant for six months. Senate Democrats, under the â
€leadership†of Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, have prolonged and thwarted
every attempt to hold a vote on Mr. Bolton, who of course would have been
confirmed had his name reached the Senate floor. No wild accusation was
ever proved, other than that he sought the removal of two intelligence
analysts for incompetence and insubordination. Notably, both the 9/11
Commission and Robb-Silberman Commission said policy makers have a
responsibility to question and challenge intelligence analysts.
Senators Biden and Dodd ostentatiously demanded that the Administration
let them see confidential intelligence intercepts relating to Mr. Boltonâ
€s testimony on Syrian weapons of mass destruction. These same Senators
agreed that Mr. Boltonâ€s testimony was accurate. And they knew that
intercepts had been reviewed by the Intelligence Committeeâ€s two ranking
Senators, who said they showed nothing of import. But this reality check
didnâ€t stop them from pressing a filibuster.
Mr. Bush now faces crocodile shouts of outrage for having bypassed the
Senate, but the appointment is an entirely appropriate use of his
constitutional authority to staff the government. Nor has he shown
himself willing to abuse the appointment power, unlike the most recent
Democratic President.
The most bitterly fought case of the Clinton years was the nomination of
Bill Lann Lee as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Mr. Lee was
given a hearing. But when it became clear that he would be defeated on
the floor of the Republican-controlled Senate, it was Democrats who
blocked a vote.
In response, Mr. Clinton decided against a recess appointment that would
expire at the end of that Congress. Instead, he named Mr. Lee as â
€acting†Assistant Attorney General, which allowed him to serve until
the end of Mr. Clintonâ€s term. Democratic Senator Robert Byrd protested,
and even Mr. Clinton admitted this wasnâ€t â€entirely constitutional.â€
With the circus behind him, Mr. Bolton has a lot to keep him occupied
between now and January 2007, when his appointment expires. We like the
bipartisan blueprint for U.N. reform put forward in June by former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.
They call for a permanent independent oversight board to prevent future
corruption scandals like Oil for Food, the creation of a democracy caucus
within the U.N., and more effective security mechanisms to deter future
Rwanda-style genocides.
Meanwhile, legislation conditioning Americaâ€s $500 million a year in
dues on U.N. reform is barreling through Congress and could result in
another U.S. withholding of funds along the lines of Jesse Helmsâ€s
famous boycott. This is probably one reason Mark Malloch Brown, the U.N.
Secretariatâ€s chief of staff, told us earlier this year that he was
enthusiastic about Mr. Boltonâ€s pending ambassadorship. The Bush
emissary, he said, would be an effective ambassador from the U.N. to
Washington.
Also rapidly reaching a crisis state are the investigations into the Oil
for Food program. More breakthroughs are expected soon, and it may not be
long before the new U.S. Ambassador is called upon to negotiate a
successor to Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Mr. Boltonâ€s recent State Department experience in exposing the A.Q.
Khan arms network in Pakistan and in persuading Libya to give up its arms
program should prove especially helpful in shaping the U.N.â€s role in
battling the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The Proliferation
Security Initiative he helped engineer and run has proved more effective
than any other multilateral organization in stopping the flow of WMD.
Ambassador Bolton said yesterday that he is committed to making the U.N.
â€a stronger, more effective organization.†After his past half-yearâ€s
experience with the U.S. Senate, we trust that he at least has some sense
of the institutional challenge ahead.
