I got this in e-mail from the MoveOn PAC a few months ago and it upset me. I watched the film Hotel Rwanda around the same time and it made me think about the same thing: how little regard the first world has for the rest of the world.
Dear MoveOn member,
It’s a little like nominating a felon to be police chief. Yesterday, President Bush nominated John Bolton, one of the most active opponents of U.S. multilateralism and diplomacy, to be ambassador to the U.N. But Bolton doesn’t believe in international law, or in the U.N. In 2000, Bolton said, “If I were doing the Security Council today, I’d have one permanent member [the United States] because that’s the real reflection of the distribution of power in the world.” And he’s gone on record saying that all international laws are invalid, meaningless attempts to constrict American power.
The whole idea of the U.N., of course, is that it’s a place for the world community to work together on the problems that face us all. And at a time when we need other nations’ goodwill and cooperation to deal with the mess in Iraq and to fight al Qaeda, confirming an inflammatory unilateralist like John Bolton as our ambassador to the rest of the world is a terrible idea. Even Republicans on the Foreign Relations committee in the Senate are nervous–according to the New York Times, Senator Lugar, who chairs the committee, advised Secretary of State Rice not to nominate Bolton.
If all the Democrats and one Republican on the Senate’s Foreign Relations committee vote against Bolton’s nomination, it’ll stop there. But the committee will vote soon, and your Senator alone could make the difference. Please take a moment to call Senator Lugar at the number below today and ask him to oppose the nomination of John Bolton as U.N. Ambassador.
Here’s Senator Lugar’s number:
Senator Richard Lugar
DC Phone: 202-224-4814After you call, please help us track the volume of calls by reporting your call here:
http://www.moveonpac.org/boltoncalls.html?id=5201-2330674-ye7CS9Byot6CGR1GbgnuAQ
Bolton’s take on foreign policy is so far out of the mainstream, he even makes Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly look pretty good. Here’s an excerpt from their 1999 conversation on “The O’Reilly Factor”:
O’REILLY: And I find it difficult to stand by and watch another Cambodia, another Rwanda, unfold. And I believe the United States has a responsibility here.BOLTON: Let me ask you this, Mr. O’Reilly. How many dead Americans is it worth to you to stop the brutality?
O’REILLY: I don’t think I would quantify that because…
BOLTON: I think you have to quantify it. I think if you don’t answer that question…
O’REILLY: … I think if you’re going to be a superpower…
BOLTON: … you’re ducking the key point that the commander in chief has to decide upon before putting American troops into a combat situation. We are now at war with Serbia. And the president has to be able to justify to himself and to the American people that Americans are about to die, or may well die, for a certain specific American interest.
[edit]
BOLTON: I believe…
O’REILLY: … I do not believe in standing by while people are slaughtered.
BOLTON: … Our foreign policy should support American interests. Let the rest of the world support the rest of the world’s interests.
If John Bolton is confirmed as U.N. ambassador, he’ll be one of the primary links with the international community. Please call your Senator today and ask him to vote against John Bolton as U.N. Ambassador.
Sincerely,
–Eli Pariser
March 11, 2005
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC