Of all the casualties of the past election, the loss of John Bolton as our UN ambassador is the one that I regret the most. To have had a plain spoken person advocating first for what’s best FOR AMERICA on the world stage during the last year or so has been refreshing indeed. Unfortunately, the Senate confirmation that eluded Mr. Bolton while the GOP was in charge was rendered utterly impossible with the Demoocratic takeover and he duly ended his quest for permanancy in the position.
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While Bolton may not be the UN ambassador any longer, he still is very much alive and well. Pamela Geller Oshry of Atlas Shrugs had an opportunity to be part of a small group that met with now "private citizen" Bolton. Her posting of Bolton’s discussion and thoughts on a wide array of issues gives an inkling of the viewpoint he brought to the table as he represented our country. Consider Bolton’s answer and insight when asked what he thought about the new UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon’s reaction to the execution of Saddam Hussein in comparison to what his predecessor’s might have been:
When asked about the execution of Saddam Hussein he said, well this is basically a matter of decision for each member state. That’s a dramatic change from his predecessor who opined on every moral issue that came his way. To me this is not a question of whether you favor the death penalty or oppose the death penalty this is a question of the proper role of United Nations and more particularly the proper role of the Secretary General. I think Ban Ki Moon is right. It is a decision for each government, each UN member whether they favor the death penalty or don’t.[..]I have no doubt if Kofi Annan was still the Secretary General he would have criticized the Iraqis for employing the death penalty and given a little speech on the international rule of law and so on and so forth. I thought this was a very positive sign….. because of the recognition it expresses about his proper role and the role of the UN. He is the Secretary General. He should be a servant of the member states. It’s an intergovernmental organization. We tell the Secretary what to do and the Secretary should then carry it out. They’re not some independent decision making authority with their own legitimacy and power.
Wow! Can you imagine a diplomat speaking in this fashion about the practically sainted Kofi Annan? No wonder the Dems so despised Bolton. The only silver lining in all this is that Bolton’s departure has coincided with Annan’s. It seems as though Mr. Bolton is showing a degree of muted enthusiasm for the potential change on some positions shown by the new Secretary General. Maybe the UN will improve. Probably not, though. Regardless, go read the post and follow the link to the mp3 of the entire talk.
