Friday - November 10, 2006

Another Casualty

Well, they have knifed Donald Rumsfeld and he’s gone. Now it looks like John Bolton will be the next to go in the fallout from the election. President Bush is trying to line up legislation that he wants to enact before the Donks come to town in full force in January and confirming John Bolton is on the list. We all realize that after that date, there will be no chance of anything getting done in Washginton.

Bipartisanship? Cooperation? Don’t make me laugh. The Democrats have already proven in 2000 and 2004 that they are sore losers. Now that they have finally won one, expect to see even more and worse obstructionism. Sore losers always turn out to be vindictive, hateful winners. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go after Dick Cheney next. Anything is possible with this bunch.

For now though, it looks like John Bolton will retire after December. That sucks on a grand scale. Bolton has been a good man to have at the UN and has done an admirable job for the last few years. His only sin is that Lincoln Chafee dislikes him. Which makes the Democrats happy. As for the rest of us, we are indeed screwed without proper oversight and protection of American interests at the snake pit of the UN ....

_{Olle Johansson - Sweden}

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Bolton May Not Return As U.N. Envoy
_{(WASHINGTON POST) - Friday, November 10, 2006}

Key lawmakers said yesterday they would block the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, all but killing chances for him to remain in the post past December. For nearly 20 months, President Bush has tried, unsuccessfully, to get Bolton confirmed in a job he has held since August 2005. Bolton then received a recess appointment after not getting enough support in the Senate.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and its presumed chairman when the Democrats take control of the Senate in January, said yesterday that Bolton’s nomination is “going nowhere.” “I see no point in considering Mr. Bolton’s nomination again in the Foreign Relations Committee because, regardless of what happens there, he is unlikely to be considered by the full Senate,” Biden said in a statement.

The White House had hoped Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R.I.), a moderate Republican who earlier raised questions about Bolton and the administration’s policies in the Middle East, would support Bolton after the election. But Chafee lost his seat Tuesday.

“On Tuesday, the American people sent a clear message of dissatisfaction with the foreign policy approach of the Bush administration,” Chafee said in a statement. “To confirm Mr. Bolton to the position of U.N. ambassador would fly in the face of the clear consensus of the country that a new direction is called for.” Chafee said Bolton lacks the “collaborative approach” needed to make the United States “the strongest country in a peaceful world.” Without Chafee’s support, Republicans on the committee do not have enough votes to recommend Bolton’s confirmation.

Bolton’s recess appointment is set to expire at the end of December, when the current Congress goes out of session. With only a few months remaining, the White House tried again to get Bolton confirmed during the summer. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee came to the administration’s aid, lobbying heavily for Bolton’s nomination. It persuaded several Democrats to support Bolton but the nomination was snagged by Chafee.

Yesterday, a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the administration had explored options for keeping Bolton at the United Nations. A second recess appointment is not possible, but officials considered making Bolton an “acting ambassador.” But the official, who would discuss internal deliberations only on the condition of anonymity, said none of the options is appealing, especially given the strong opposition shown by the Democrats, who are poised to take over Congress.

If there is no confirmation, “we assume he’ll probably resign,” the official said. Several administration officials speculated that Zalmay Khalilzad, the ambassador to Iraq, could be a candidate to replace Bolton.

Posted by The Skipper     on 11/10/2006 at 09:54 AM   
Filed Under: • Politics • United-Nations •  
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