Popular Pressure Prompts Bolton's Resignation
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UNITED NATIONS, Dec 4 (OneWorld) - Continued pressure from the nation's leading civil society organizations and consistent Senate opposition forced President George W. Bush to back down from his decision to reappoint John Bolton as the top U.S. diplomat at the United Nations.
Aware that he had no chance of winning Senate confirmation, the controversial U.S. envoy to the UN told Bush Monday that he intended to quit his current job, which he obtained on a temporary basis last year while Congress was in recess. Hours later, the White House said Bush had "reluctantly" accepted Bolton's decision to step down at the end of the current Congressional session next month. Despite strong objections from the Senate, which will be dominated by Democrats in January, Bush had made it clear that he was determined to rename Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the UN. The White House's decision is being seen by some analysts as another example of public pressure impacting the way the United States engages the world. Last month similar forces compelled Bush to accept the resignation of his Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, the architect of the occupation of Iraq and the so-called global war on terror. "Last month's elections demonstrated that Americans want the United States to be more than a superpower; they want us to be super partners, too," said Don Kraus, executive vice president of Citizens for Global Solutions, a Washington, DC-based citizens group that was at the forefront of lobbying efforts against Bolton's renomination. Bolton was appointed to the UN post by Bush in March 2005 after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee refused to endorse his nomination and deferred his case to the Senate for its consideration. The Senate went into recess without deciding the matter. Since his appointment, Bolton, a self-styled ultra-nationalist, who once declared there was "no such thing" as the United Nations, has drawn scathing criticism from opponents who believe that his feverish ideas in support of unilateralism and abrasive style in diplomacy have tarnished the United States' image in the eyes of the outside world. Bolton has also been one of the most hawkish Bush administration officials who championed the cause of cleansing Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction and justified the military invasion of that Middle Eastern nation. On Monday, after accepting the resignation, Bush said he was "deeply disappointed that a handful" of senators were blocking Bolton's confirmation. Bush could have attempted to sidestep the Senate, like he did in the past, but observers say this time it would have been virtually impossible given the current political atmosphere in Washington. In addition to Senate opposition, Bush likely would have faced legal challenges to his authority on Bolton's renomination under those circumstances, according to experts on U.S. constitutional law. Both civil society advocates and politicians from the Democratic Party said they were hopeful Bush's decision to withdraw Bolton's renomination would prove a turning point for his administration. "Now, the president has an opportunity to reach across party lines and move boldly in a new direction," said Kraus, urging Bush to nominate a new UN ambassador who "can help to return the United States to the partnership-driven, consensus-building, and problem-solving approach that characterized its first 60 years of relations with the UN." Former presidential candidate and senator John Kerry offered similar advice to Bush, saying the situation now presents an opportunity to nominate an ambassador "who enjoys the support necessary to unite our country and who can put results ahead of ideology." Kraus and other critics say many of the United States' close friends have lost confidence in its ability to act in good faith, noting that over the past two years, the U.S. approach to negotiations on UN reforms was to threaten financial doom if other nations did not go along with it. Refraining from such threats, they think, will tamp down much of the hostility and will help to rebuild trust among long-standing allies. "If the Bush administration wants others to hear its complaints," said Kraus, "it has to demonstrate that it is a credible interlocutor on UN reforms. Giving other countries some credit for their contributions also wouldn't hurt." Knowledgeable sources in Washington say among those likely to be considered for the top U.S. diplomatic position at the UN are: Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, outgoing senator Mike DeWine, U.S. ambassador in Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, outgoing representative Jim Leach, and current U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN Alejandro Wolff. |
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