The nomination of John Bolton, the man George Bush picked to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is in trouble. His former subordinates are in open revolt. His old superior, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, is quietly spreading the word that Bolton is not right for the job. The thoughtful Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – like Sen. Chuck Hagel – express reservations.
Although the Senate is holding more hearings on the nomination, we already have a clear sense of Bolton. An arrogant man of ultra-conservative views, he’s been named to represent the U.S. at an institution for which he has utter contempt. He is a “kick down, kiss up” sort of guy, a former colleague at the State Department testified.
At the U.N., he’ll hold the developing nation representatives in high disregard. He’ll rail at the U.N. bureaucracy, rant about its finances, and scold the delegates. It is hard to think of a man less suited to represent the U.S. at this time in this institution.
The Bush administration spent its first term senselessly alienating allies. “Old Europe” – led by Germany and France – now openly makes itself a counterweight to the U.S. The Asian nations increasingly understand that China is the rising power, not the U.S.
Bolton’s response would be: “Who gives a wit?” “There is no United Nations,” Bolton once said.
This perspective is truly wrong-headed. The U.S. has the greatest stake in building a vibrant international community, guided by the U.N., that can provide legitimacy for international action and help share the burdens.
In the war on terror, we have an enormous stake in building a global consensus against terrorists and reasserting the rule of law. We need aggressive global cooperation in pursuing terrorist cells. We desperately need global consensus around nuclear weapons proliferation and an end to weapons development.
If the U.N. didn’t exist, we would have to invent it.
So, why John Bolton?
Under Bush, the strength of the U.S. is rapidly eroding. We are the world’s largest debtor, now borrowing $2 billion a day. Our trade deficit sets new records each year. Our financial community worries about the possible collapse of the dollar, and the global recession, if not worse, that is likely to follow.
So for Bush it becomes important for the U.S. to talk loudly, even if the stick it carries is made increasingly by companies abroad with money barrowed from abroad.
Give someone like John Bolton a platform at the U.N. to express our contempt for the weaker and poorer nations of the world. That will make many feel better in the U.S., even as we sink deeper and deeper into debt.