July 31, 2005

Bush to defy Senate and send his man to the UN
Sarah Baxter, Washington



FRUSTRATED by five months of wrangling and recriminations,
President George W Bush is expected to appoint John Bolton as ambassador
to the United Nations this week in defiance of Democrat senators and
critics in his own party.
The appointment of the plain-speaking diplomat, who once said
the United Nations could lose 10 floors without anybody noticing, is
likely to be announced before Bush leaves on Tuesday for his ranch in
Crawford, Texas.



Bush intends to exercise rarely used constitutional powers to
confirm his choice of ambassador while the Senate is on its August break
after Bolton failed to win the approval of enough senators for a
straightforward vote. The "recess appointment" would allow Bolton to serve
until January 2007 when the current session of Congress ends.

Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, said: "It's
a critical time to be moving forward on this. The United Nations will be
having their general assembly meeting in September and it's important that
we get our permanent representative in place."

Bolton's staunch defence of American interests has won him
friends among neoconservatives, who consider it a badge of honour that he
has irritated countries in the so-called "axis of evil". Iran has called
Bolton "rude and undiplomatic"; a North Korean spokesman described him as
"human scum" and a "bloodsucker" after he branded Kim Jong-il a tyrant.

But other Republicans wonder whether it is wise to send as
ambassador to the UN a man who said in 1994: "There is no such thing as
the United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally
can be led by the only real power left in the world and that is the United
States."

Trent Lott, a senior Republican senator, said a recess
appointment would represent a "thumbing of the nose" at the Senate, which
would weaken Bolton at the UN.

"Everybody up there will know, in a tough job, that he was not
confirmed," Lott said. "It's a bad choice and I would recommend against
it. But I think they're going to do it and they'll have to live with the
consequences."

Republican disquiet deepened when Colin Powell, the former
secretary of state, let it be known that he did not approve of Bolton's
style of diplomacy.

During confirmation hearings Bolton, a former undersecretary
for arms control, was accused of twisting intelligence and bullying staff
who disagreed with him.

However, he is considered a favourite of ***** Cheney, the
vice-president, because of his conservatism and hawkish views on foreign
policy.

Any doubts that Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, may
have had about Bolton were publicly shelved last week, when she said
America would not be without leadership at the UN at a crucial time for
the embattled organisation.

"John is a tough diplomat," she said. "He has been critical at
times of some of the operations of the UN. But frankly, there are reasons
to be critical of some of the operations at the United Nations."

This week promises fresh revelations about the discredited
Iraq oil-for-food programme, which has bedevilled the UN and its
secretary- general, Kofi Annan.

An independent inquiry into the corruption scandal is expected
to release an interim report on Friday.

One of the most persistent critics of the UN, Senator Norm
Coleman, who chairs a congressional inquiry into the oil-for-food
programme, said last week that the controversy over Bolton's likely
appointment would soon become irrelevant.

The bottom line, he said, was that Bolton had the confidence
of the president. "He will speak for the president of the United States.
He will speak for America."





July 31, 2005

Bush to defy Senate and send his man to the UN
Sarah Baxter, Washington



FRUSTRATED by five months of wrangling and
recriminations, President George W Bush is expected to appoint John Bolton
as ambassador to the United Nations this week in defiance of Democrat
senators and critics in his own party.
The appointment of the plain-speaking diplomat, who once
said the United Nations could lose 10 floors without anybody noticing, is
likely to be announced before Bush leaves on Tuesday for his ranch in
Crawford, Texas.



Bush intends to exercise rarely used constitutional
powers to confirm his choice of ambassador while the Senate is on its
August break after Bolton failed to win the approval of enough senators
for a straightforward vote. The "recess appointment" would allow Bolton to
serve until January 2007 when the current session of Congress ends.

Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, said:
"It's a critical time to be moving forward on this. The United Nations
will be having their general assembly meeting in September and it's
important that we get our permanent representative in place."

Bolton's staunch defence of American interests has won
him friends among neoconservatives, who consider it a badge of honour that
he has irritated countries in the so-called "axis of evil". Iran has
called Bolton "rude and undiplomatic"; a North Korean spokesman described
him as "human scum" and a "bloodsucker" after he branded Kim Jong-il a
tyrant.

But other Republicans wonder whether it is wise to send
as ambassador to the UN a man who said in 1994: "There is no such thing as
the United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally
can be led by the only real power left in the world and that is the United
States."

Trent Lott, a senior Republican senator, said a recess
appointment would represent a "thumbing of the nose" at the Senate, which
would weaken Bolton at the UN.

"Everybody up there will know, in a tough job, that he
was not confirmed," Lott said. "It's a bad choice and I would recommend
against it. But I think they're going to do it and they'll have to live
with the consequences."

Republican disquiet deepened when Colin Powell, the
former secretary of state, let it be known that he did not approve of
Bolton's style of diplomacy.

During confirmation hearings Bolton, a former
undersecretary for arms control, was accused of twisting intelligence and
bullying staff who disagreed with him.

However, he is considered a favourite of ***** Cheney,
the vice-president, because of his conservatism and hawkish views on
foreign policy.

Any doubts that Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of
state, may have had about Bolton were publicly shelved last week, when she
said America would not be without leadership at the UN at a crucial time
for the embattled organisation.

"John is a tough diplomat," she said. "He has been
critical at times of some of the operations of the UN. But frankly, there
are reasons to be critical of some of the operations at the United
Nations."

This week promises fresh revelations about the
discredited Iraq oil-for-food programme, which has bedevilled the UN and
its secretary- general, Kofi Annan.

An independent inquiry into the corruption scandal is
expected to release an interim report on Friday.

One of the most persistent critics of the UN, Senator
Norm Coleman, who chairs a congressional inquiry into the oil-for-food
programme, said last week that the controversy over Bolton's likely
appointment would soon become irrelevant.

The bottom line, he said, was that Bolton had the
confidence of the president. "He will speak for the president of the
United States. He will speak for America."



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C2089-1715045%2C00.html

July 31, 2005

Bush to defy Senate and send his man to the UN
Sarah Baxter, Washington

July 31, 2005

Bush to defy Senate and send his man to the UN
Sarah Baxter, Washington