John R. Bolton

John Robert Bolton, (born November 20, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American political figure and diplomat. He is the current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Undersecretary of State for Arms Control {{NPOV-section}}

Bolton has served as the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security since being sworn in on May 11, 2001. In this role a key area of responsibility was the prevention of proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Related Topics:
May 11 - 2001 - Weapons of Mass Destruction

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Bolton also led the Bush administration's opposition http://www.cspan.org/Search/basic.asp?ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&BasicQueryText=john+bolton+keynote on constitutional grounds http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-311.htmlto the International Criminal Court, placing heavy pressure on many countries to sign agreements with the US to exempt Americans from any possible prosecution by the Court; around 70 have signed such agreements so far.

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Weapons of mass destruction

Bolton was instrumental in derailing a 2001 bio-weapons conference in Geneva convened to endorse a UN proposal to enforce the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. "U.S. officials, led by Bolton, argued that the plan would have put U.S. national security at risk by allowing spot inspections of suspected U.S. weapons sites," http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-11-30-bolton-usat_x.htm despite the fact that the US claims not to have carried out any research for offensive purposes since 1969. The US's failure to support the plan ensured it would be meaningless, and to this day there is no practical enforcement mechanism against the spread of biological weapons.

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Also in 2002, Bolton is said to have flown to Europe to demand the resignation of Jose Bustani, head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and to have orchestrated his removal at a special session of the organization. The United Nations' highest administrative tribunal later condemned the action as an "unacceptable violation" of principles protecting international civil servants. Bustani had been unanimously re-elected for a four-year term?with strong US support?in May 2000, and in 2001 was praised for his leadership by Colin Powell. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR2005060500182.html

Related Topics:
Jose Bustani - Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - Colin Powell

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He also pushed for reduced funding for the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program to halt the proliferation of nuclear materials http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/21841/.

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Diplomacy

According to an article in The New Republic he has been highly successful in pushing his agenda, but his bluntness has won him many enemies. "Iran's Foreign Ministry has called Bolton 'rude' and 'undiplomatic'".http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040329&s=kaplan032904 In response to critics, Bolton states that his record "demonstrates clear support for effective multilateral diplomacy." Bush administration officials have stated that his past statements would allow him to negotiate from a powerful position; "It's like the Palestinians having to negotiate with Ariel Sharon. If you have a deal, you know you have a deal," an anonymous official told CNN. http://cnn.com/2005/US/03/07/bolton/ He also "won widespread praise for his work establishing the Proliferation Security Initiative http://www.state.gov/t/np/rls/other/34726.htm, a voluntary agreement supported by 60 countries" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4327185.stm

Related Topics:
The New Republic - Iran - Prime Minister - Ariel Sharon - CNN

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He was part of the State Department's delegation to six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program in 2003. He was removed from the delegation after describing Kim Jong-il as a "tyrannical dictator" of a country where for many, "life is a hellish nightmare." http://washingtontimes.com/world/20030804-111212-6491r.htm In response, a North Korean spokeman said "such human scum and bloodsucker is not entitled to take part in the talks." http://washingtontimes.com/world/20030804-121425-6611r.htm American Democrats argued that Bolton's words at the time were undiplomatic and endangered the talks. Critics argue that Bolton's record of allegedly politicizing intelligence will harm U.S. credibility with the United Nationshttp://slate.msn.com/id/2116567/which has many current problems. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1413501,00.html http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,153452,00.htmlPresident Bush wants the organization reformed and said he wants John Bolton because he "can get the job done at the United Nations." http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive/2005/Apr/29-239439.html

Related Topics:
North Korean nuclear program - Kim Jong-il

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Use of intelligence

Bolton appears to have tried to spin intelligence to support his views and political objectives on a number of occasions. Greg Thielmann, of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), was assigned as the daily intelligence liaison to Bolton. Thielmann stated to Seymour Hersh that, "Bolton seemed troubled because INR was not telling him what he wanted to hear ... I was intercepted at the door of his office and told, 'The Undersecretary doesn't need you to attend this meeting anymore.'" According to current and former coworkers, Bolton withheld information that ran counter to his goals from Secretary of State Colin Powell on multiple occasions, and from Powell's successor Condoleezza Rice on at least one occasion. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61304-2005Apr17.html

Related Topics:
Spin - Greg Thielmann - Seymour Hersh - Secretary of State - Condoleezza Rice

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In 2002 Bolton accused Cuba of transfers of biological weapons technology to rogue states and called on it "to fully comply with all of its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,52049,00.html According to a Scripps Howard News Service article, Bolton "wanted to say that Cuba had a biological weapons capacity and that it was exporting it to other nations. The intelligence analysts seemed to want to limit the assessment to a declaration that Cuba 'could' develop such weapons." http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=BOLTON-04-11-05&cat=WW Bolton attempted to have the chief bioweapons analyst in the State Department's bureau of intelligence and research and the CIA's national intelligence officer for Latin America reassigned. Under oath at his Senate hearings for confirmation as Ambassador, he denied trying to have the men fired, but seven intelligence officials contradicted him. http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/21841/ Ultimately, "intelligence officials refused to allow Bolton to make the harsh criticism of Cuba he sought to deliver," http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=BOLTON-04-11-05&cat=WW and were able to keep their positions. Bolton claims that the issue was procedural rather than related to the content of his speech, and that the officers behaved unprofessionally, but neither official worked under him.

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Bolton is alleged by Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman to have played a role in encouraging the inclusion of claims that Iraq attempted to procure yellowcake uranium from Niger in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union Addresshttp://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20050301112122-90349.pdf(pdf). These claims were based on documents later found to be forged http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_timeline_of_the_2003_invasion_of_iraq&general_topic_areas=africaUraniumClaim. Waxman's allegations are difficult to confirm as they are based on documents that have not been cleared for public releasehttp://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20050301112122-90349.pdf(pdf).

Related Topics:
Henry Waxman - Attempted to procure yellowcake uranium from Niger - State of the Union Address

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Bolton was also wrong in June 2004 congressional testimony in claiming that Iran was lying about enriched uranium contamination: "Another unmistakable indicator of Iran's intentions is the pattern of repeatedly lying to ... the IAEA, ... when evidence of uranium enriched to 36 percent was found, it attributed this to contamination from imported centrifuge parts." The IAEA later determined from detailed isotope analysis that the uranium contamination was indeed from imported contaminated Pakistani equipment http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082201447.html.

Related Topics:
Iran - Enriched uranium - Isotope - Pakistani

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