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April 12, 2005
Bolton Bewilders Boxer
ashington, D.C. (WitNit Newswire) -- President Bush's nominee to be U.N. ambassador spent much of the day defending his own controversial statements and caustic criticism of the United Nations in a speech a decade ago.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) played a three-minute video clip in which Bolton said that "there's no such thing as the United Nations," and that if 10 floors of the 38-story U.N. headquarters building were eliminated, "it wouldn't make a bit of difference."
Boxer told the committee, "I'm bewildered by this nomination. I am bewildered that a Bush Administration official would actually tell the truth about the United Nations. How can we approve of diplomats telling the truth? Where would the U.N. be today if we actually allowed the truth about it to get out?"
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said, "Yes, this is a bewildering nomination. I wouldn't be surprised if the undersecretary of state publicly mentioned how the United Nations allows Saddam'a Iraq and Kaddafi's Libya to chair the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee. Bolton is a loose cannon. What if he starts actually pointing out that Kofi Annan must have known about the Oil for Food Scandal? This nomination is outrageous."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) also expressed her bewilderment: "I'm bewildered at the Senators' bewilderment. This Administration is constantly bewildered over how to succeed in Iraq. They failed with the war, they failed with the election, and now they are failing with..." An aide interrupted the Congressperson, who then continued, "And Mr. Bolton clearly is a threat to international security. This nomination is therefore a threat to our national security. Homeland security should be notified."
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) added, "Mr. Bolton has proven that he is a weapon of mass destruction! He is a nuclear time bomb! He will destroy all the good work the U.N. has accomplished in the last 60 years."
Asked to give examples of the U.N.'s accomplishments, Sen. Kennedy replied, "That's a right-wing question! It's a conspiracy! Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney have destroyed the peace in this world! I remember when President Carter and Yassar Arrafat won the Nobel Peace Prize for their accomplishments in the Middle East...President Clinton should have won one too! These are the men who are the real peacemakers in the world!"
Senator Boxer told Bolton directly, ""You have nothing but disdain for the U.N. You can dance around it. You can run away from it. You can put perfume on it."
Bolton replied, "Well, actually I did put a little Brut on it. Perhaps next time I will try Hai Karate."
Meanwhile, Bush Administration officials ignored the bewildering array of criticisms and continued methodically doing the daily work of building democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Posted by witnit at April 12, 2005 6:45 PM
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