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59 American ex-diplomats oppose Bolton
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-29 09:17
Challenging the White House, 59 former American diplomats are urging the
Senate to reject John R. Bolton's nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations.
"He is the wrong man for this position," they said in a letter to Sen.
Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Indiana
Republican has scheduled hearings on Bolton's nomination for April 7.
"We urge you to reject that nomination," the former diplomats said in a
letter dated Tuesday.
![John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations nominee, speaks after being introduced by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the State Department in Washington March 7, 2005. The nomination surprised many U.N. diplomats and upset Democrats in Congress, who had hoped for a less contentious choice as the U.S. representative at a time of tense U.N.-Washington relations. [Reuters]](xin_390302290920548193617.jpg)
John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations nominee, speaks after being introduced by US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice at the State Department in Washington March 7, 2005. The
nomination surprised many U.N. diplomats and upset Democrats in Congress,
who had hoped for a less contentious choice as the U.S. representative at
a time of tense U.N.-Washington relations.
[Reuters/file] | The ex-diplomats have served in
both Democratic and Republican administrations, some for long terms and others
briefly. They include Arthur A. Hartman, ambassador to France and the Soviet
Union under Presidents Carter and Reagan and assistant secretary of state for
European affairs under President Nixon.
Others who signed the letter include James F. Leonard, deputy ambassador to
the U.N. in the Ford and Carter administrations; Princeton N. Lyman, ambassador
to South Africa and Nigeria under Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and
Clinton; Monteagle Stearns, ambassador to Greece and Ivory Coast in the Ford,
Carter and Reagan administrations; and Spurgeon M. Keeny Jr., deputy director of
the Arms Control Agency in the Carter administration.
Their criticism dwelled primarily on Bolton's stand on issues as the State
Department's senior arms control official. They said he had an "exceptional
record" of opposing U.S. efforts to improve national security through arms
control.
But the former diplomats also chided Bolton for his "insistence that the U.N.
is valuable only when it directly serves the United States."
That view, they said, would not help him negotiate with other diplomats at
the United Nations.
Adam Ereli, the State Department's deputy spokesman, responded: "He is a
great nominee. We hope he will be confirmed. And we look forward to his getting
to New York to do the nation's business."
Bolton, who rarely muffles his views in diplomatic nuance, was nominated
March 7. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described him as "a tough-minded
diplomat" with "a proven track record of effective multilateralism."
Bolton promised to work closely with members of Congress to advance President
Bush's policies and said his record demonstrates "clear support for effective
multilateral diplomacy."
Approval of the nomination requires a majority vote from the Senate
committee, which has 10 Republicans and 8 Democrats.
In the letter, the former diplomats praised Bush's efforts at the start of
his second term to improve relations with European allies and with the United
Nations.
It is for that reason, they said, "we write you to express our concern" with
Bolton's selection.
They ticked off a number of treaties they said Bolton had opposed and said he
had made "unsubstantiated claims" that Cuba and Syria were working on biological
weapons.
Also, they said Bolton had worked as a paid researcher for Taiwan and
supported recognition of it as a sovereign state, and said he was skeptical of
U.N. peacekeeping operations.
"Given these past actions and statements, John R. Bolton cannot be an
effective promoter of the U.S. national interest at the U.N.," the former
diplomats concluded. "We urge you to oppose his nomination."
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