John Bolton's role as US ambassador

Appointment of John Bolton as ambassador to the UN

Appointment of John Bolton as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

The recent appointment of John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the UN by President Bush through the use of "recess appointment" powers has evoked heated debate. As could be expected, the debate is divided along partisan lines; while the right-conservatives are delighted at the appointment, the left-liberals are appalled. The majority of the international community is far from thrilled but most countries have refrained from any official reaction. This paper explains "recess appointment" powers of the President as outlined in the U.S. Constitution, discusses Ambassador Bolton's qualifications for the position, analyzes whether the appointment was a "good" use of the recess powers, and finally, gives a personal viewpoint / assessment on the "recess appointment" power.

Recess Appointment

Recess appointments are authorized by Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution which states: "The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the end of their next Session." The framers had included this provision in the U.S. Constitution since they had anticipated that vacancies of important government officers such as Ambassadors, Public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court and District Courts, could fall vacant during a recess of the Senate. As clearly stated in the law, the Senate must ratify the appointment by the end of the next session [emphasis added], or the position becomes vacant again ("What is a Recess Appointment?" 2005).

Ambassador Bolton's Qualification for the Appointment

As far as academic qualifications and experience are concerned, there is no doubt that John Bolton carries all the credentials for the position of U.S. ambassador to the UN. He has attended Yale University, one of the most prestigious schools in the country, from where he got his B.A. In 1970 and his degree of J.D. In 1974. ("John R. Bolton," 2005)

Bolton worked as an associate for the law firm of Covington & Burling from 1983 to 1985, and later became a partner in Lerner, Reed, Bolton & McManus. He served as an assistant to James Baker when he was the personal envoy of Kofi Annan from 1997 to 2000. He was Senior Vice President for Public Policy Research at the conservative think-tank, American Enterprise Institute. He has held several offices under the Bush I, and Reagan administrations. He was Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs at the Department of State from 1989-1993, Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice from 1985 to 1989, Assistant Administrator for Program and Policy Coordination at the USAID in 1982-83. (Ibid)

In the current U.S. administration, Bolton has been the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security since May 11, 2001 and was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to the UN on March 7, 2005. In his capacity as the U.S. Undersecretary of State, Bolton has played a key role in preventing a 2001 bio-weapons conference in Geneva from endorsing the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention for Arms Control and International Security on the grounds that the endorsement "would have put U.S. national security at risk by allowing spot inspections of suspected U.S. weapons sites." (Ibid.) He has also been a leading proponent of supranational internationa institutions such as the International Criminal Court. As an example, he placed heavy pressure on many countries to sign agreements with the U.S. To exempt Americans from any possible prosecution by the Court. While participating in the six-party talks on North Korea's Nuclear Program in 2003, he described the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il as a "tyrannical dictator" and was removed from the delegation for his undiplomatic outburst.

Was Bolton's Appointment as Ambassador to the UN a "good" use of the Recess Power?

John Bolton's appointment is indeed a "good" choice if the U.S. administration intends to further antagonize the world community after its unilateral disregard for international opinion in invading Iraq. Bolton has a "distinguished" record for showing undisguised contempt for the United Nations. In a 1994 speech before the World Federalists, Bolton proclaimed, "The (U.N.) Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories. If it lost ten stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference," (Slavin and Nichols, 2003). He has the well-earned reputation of being the "a hawk's hawk in the Bush administration" (Corn, 2005). For instance, when the Bush administration did not get UN's backing for its war in Iraq, Bolton observed that was "further evidence to many why nothing should be paid to the UN system." (Ibid.)

Officials who have worked under him, invariably describe Bolton as a bully. At his confirmation hearings in the Senate, a former colleague accused Bolton of harassing an intelligence analyst who challenged his findings on biological weapons in Cuba and called Bolton a "classic kiss-up, kick-down kind of guy." (Bosco, 2005) Questions have even been raised about his integrity: he received payments from a $100 million secret Taiwan government slush fund and submitted pro-Taiwan testimony to Congress in the 1990s without revealing he was a paid consultant to Taiwan. (Corn, 2005)

Of course, once the President had decided to nominate John Bolton as the Ambassador to the UN, the best way to do so was by using the "recess appointment" power since there was strong opposition to the move in the Senate. The Democrats had resorted to filibustering and even some Republicans had reservations about his appointment. The before joining the Bush administration. Attempts to end the debate had failed on two occasions as the Republicans failed to secure the required number of votes to end filibuster. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee had also refused to endorse his candidacy ("John R. Bolton," 2005).

What Do you Think About the Recess Appointment Power?