Why Bolton is not the right American for the UN job (Keith Suter)

President George W. Bush's assault on the United Nations has continued with his nomination of John Bolton as the next United States Ambassador to the UN. This is not a good omen.

Bolton, a lawyer educated at Yale, is described by the US International Relations Centre as the Bush Administration's "designated treaty killer". He led the campaign to withdraw the Clinton Administration's signature of the Rome Treaty for the International Criminal Court, and to stop the creation of a proposed treaty to verify the biological weapons treaty. He has also opposed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. <snip>

First, it is a further evidence of United States alienation from the UN and what it stands for. The President has nominated someone who is antagonistic to multilateral diplomacy. No doubt there are many governmental positions for which Bolton's style of rugged individualism would be appropriate but the UN position is not one of them. <snip>

The other implication for the UN of Bolton's appointment is that its political work will continue to die from the process of 1000 cuts. The UN Charter has an elaborate system for maintaining international peace and security, but the system has hardly been used. <snip>

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10115056

is one of the most dangerous men on earth. Although very few things surprise me at this point in life, the fact that Bush would attempt to promote him to UN Ambassador does. This will serve to make more people of good will around the globe question the motives of this administration. It will also make the world a more dangerous place.

They cannot back off, they cannot adjust, they cannot adapt.
There is no room for any error to be acknowledged and dealt with.
They have a little fantasy world all built up and it will be
protected until the end. Circle the wagons and pass the ammunition.

It's an aggressiveness, and a hostility, that is making the world far less stable. And as I say that, I recognize that is their goal.

What do you make of him?