The
focus temporarily is on Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a frequently unfathomable
maverick Republican, as the days dwindle down for this Congress to
permit John Bolton to continue as U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations. But Bolton's two-year struggle to get confirmed can be
directly traced to a determined Democratic senator and the vengeful UN
secretariat.
Senate Republican Whip Mitch McConnell sat down Tuesday for a
heart-to-heart talk with Chafee, pleading with him to permit Bolton's
nomination to reach the Senate floor. The reason Chafee is in this
pivotal position can be attributed to Sen. Christopher Dodd's fierce
open opposition to Bolton, and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's
stealthy sabotage, executed by his deputy, Mark Malloch Brown.
John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during the
United Jewish Communities International Lion of Judah Conference,
Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Bolton's ordeal provides a cautionary tale for any foreign
policy conservative who wants to serve his country in Washington.
Nobody can deny Bolton's intelligence and vigor in a lifetime devoted
to public service. Nor can anybody deny that Bolton has been faithful
to the program of any president he served even when official policy
conflicted with his own views. But those views have caused him no end
of trouble.
Indeed, some of Bolton's colleagues in the State Department
(where he was an under secretary in George W. Bush's first term) were
backstabbing when the president named him UN envoy. Bolton's overriding
defect was his anti-Castro views, which collided with Dodd's goal of
"normalizing" relations with Communist Cuba. Dodd was able to mobilize
Democratic colleagues in a deadlock -- creating demand for executive
branch documents involving Bolton.
Republican Sen. George Voinovich did not like Bolton's blunt
answers to his Democratic antagonists in last year's Foreign Relations
Committee hearings. He unexpectedly voted against Bolton but permitted
the nomination to reach the floor without recommendation. That did not
help find the 60-vote supermajority to cut off a Dodd-managed
filibuster.
Bolton's vigorous UN performance under a recess appointment
made Aug. 1, 2005, when the Senate was not in session, convinced the
fair-minded Voinovich to change his position. But Sen. Chuck Hagel,
second ranking Republican on Foreign Relations and a thoughtful critic
of Bush administration foreign policy, indicated he might drop his
support and vote no when Bolton again came up for confirmation. In a
conversation with Hagel after Labor Day, Bolton won a yes vote.
So, Bolton was set for a favorable committee roll call on
Sept. 7, when it became clear that the White House had misread Chafee
in believing it had his vote for Bolton. The president's political team
had gone all out for Chafee, who was fighting for his political life in
the Sept. 12 Rhode Island Republican primary. Nevertheless, Chafee
informed Chairman Richard Lugar he could not support Bolton, and Lugar
cancelled the committee meeting.
Chafee's avowed complaint, laid out in a letter to Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice, had nothing to do with Bolton's performance
at the UN. Chafee complained that U.S. Middle East policy under Bush
tilted too much toward Israel, and demanded an answer before he would
discuss Bolton's nomination.
Although the Bush administration generally answers letters
from Capitol Hill with glacial speed, Rice immediately responded to
Chafee. The senator, however, was in no hurry to get back to Washington
from Rhode Island after his renomination. Thus, McConnell waited a week
before pressing Chafee Tuesday to support Bolton (as he did last year)
or at least permit the nomination to go to the Senate floor. The
outcome of the meeting was not divulged.
Dodd still lies in wait, hoping to filibuster Bolton again,
but he does not appear to have the votes this time. AIPAC, the
pro-Israel lobby, now backs Bolton, and the usually partisan Democrat
Sen. Charles Schumer has indicated he will change his vote from last
year and vote for cloture to end debate.
Bolton's confirmation for another two years at the UN would be
bad news for the secretariat. According to UN sources, Malloch Brown
has been stirring up anti-Bolton sentiment with his fellow ambassadors,
who in turn have contacted senators. Bolton has demanded reform at the
UN, and that has not made him popular with the world organization's
bureaucrats. They would like nothing better than to give this
conservative diplomat his comeuppance.
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