The president has nominated John Bolton to be the new ambassador to the United Nations. American Progress reports the nominee has a long history of, well, hating the body he is being asking to represent the US at:
Bolton has harshly disparaged the United Nations in the past. In 1994, for example, he charged, "There's no such thing as the United Nations," saying that ‘'If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.'' Four years later, he attacked the international body again, saying, "many Republicans in Congress - and perhaps a majority - not only do not care about losing the General Assembly vote but actually see it as a ‘make my day' outcome. Indeed, once the vote is lost, and the adverse consequences predicted by the U.N.'s supporters begin to occur, this will simply provide further evidence to many why nothing more should be paid to the U.N. system."
There is broad support for the United Nations among mainline Christians. We see the international body as a critical forum for resolving international conflicts. The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, recently said:
The National Council of Churches USA joins people of goodwill throughout the world in celebrating the promise of the United Nations and affirming the goals of peace and justice the U.N. embodies .
Our faith calls us to community with all people and nations. That requires much dialogue, respect for others, and the courage to listen, learn and overcome prejudice. Such community also requires shared commitments and agreed-upon rules of behavior as expressed in international law and practiced within institutions such as the U.N.
While reform of the U.N. may be needed – and is proceeding – we must remember that reform is meant to help the U.N. become even more effective in addressing the needs of the people of the world. At a time when our nation and world are yearning for peace and reconciliation, we urge you to voice your support for the U.N. and the multi-lateral cooperation it represents.
Bolton's nomination has drawn immediate fire from supporters of the UN. Inter-Press Service reports:
”This is like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse,” said Heather Hamilton, vice president of programmes for Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS), formerly the World Federalist Association, who called Bolton the ”Armageddon nominee”.
The Armageddon allusion was to Bolton's long-time loyalty to former ultra-right Sen. Jesse Helms who, on retiring from public life, described Bolton as ”the kind of man with whom I would want to stand at Armageddon, if it should be my lot to be on hand for what is forecast to be the final battle between good and evil in this world.”
”His nomination sends the exactly the wrong message to the world about the Bush administration's willingness to work with other countries and in multilateral institutions. There's no one who has a greater track record of offending other countries, including our closest allies,” she said.
The United States Senate should immediately reject the nomination of Mr. Bolton. This should be a bi-partisan rejection.
For those looking for updated information on the UN visit the new blog http://undispatch.com – sponsored by the United Nations Foundation.
