Breaking on MSNBC: Danforth resigns as UN Ambassador

[maddezmom]

Danforth Resigns as U.S. Ambassador to U.N.


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (news - web sites), has resigned, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.


The official gave no reason for the resignation, although many jobs in the Bush administration are changing hands as President Bush (news - web sites) prepares for his second term.


Danforth has only held the position since June, after his predecessor, John Negroponte, left the job to become U.S. ambassador to Iraq (news - web sites).

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&ncid=584&e=1&u=/nm/20041202/pl_nm/bush_danforth_dc


Thanks to cal04 for the link:
~snip~

And, in a third development, U.N. Ambassador John Danforth submitted his resignation, an official said. Danforth had taken the post last June
~snip~

Danforth had been mentioned as a successor to Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), but Bush picked Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites). Danforth plans to retire.


Danforth, 68, a Republican former Missouri senator, has been tapped by presidents of both parties as a troubleshooter. He led a Clinton-era investigation of the Waco Branch Davidian affair, and Bush named him special envoy for peace in Sudan. Danforth took over at the United Nations (news - web sites) when Bush's first ambassador, John Negroponte, resigned this year.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20041202/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/bush_cabinet

[MaryH]

1. whoa - what's that all about?

8. EXPLANATION--

1) BUSH and Repubs attacked Kofi Annan
2) Even BRITAIN defended Annan
3) Bush attacked Annan again
4) Our UN ambassador, Danforth, resigned immediately.

[hlthe2b]

2. I thought he just got that 'gig'.............WHAT GIVES?

[0007]

17. Jealousy perhaps that Condi was appointed Secretary of State?

[lovuian]

3. That didn't last long!!!

Goodbye So long we really hate to see you GOOO!!!

[Leilani]

4. Maybe he didn't like the Republican jihad

against Kofi Annan?

[Bleacher Creature]

5. Wow -- he did just get the gig.

He was supposed to be going places in the Bush Administration -- to the extent that he was mentioned as a possible replacement for Powell.

If this is true, I might start believing the theory that they know that something big is coming. Please let it be a high crime and misdemeanor!!!

[coreystone]

6. A protest against the world community for their support of Annan, or....

maybe he has some intergrity.....stay "tooned"!!


:silly:

[Jane Austin]

46. I think John Danforth does have some integrity.

I think he is and was well-respected by people in both parties.

I have no idea why he was chosen to shepherd Clarence Thomas through the approval process.

My guess is that he had such integrity that he was the only one who could move that slime through the process.

He probably did it to help get a minority on the bench.

Anyway, I couldn't see him as somebody who would be associated with the Bush Cartel, so I'm glad he's out. It's our loss, but he's too good for that bunch.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. Well this is odd.

Condoleezza Rice has not assumed her post yet. Perhaps she is already going to be out?
or
Maybe he was really hoping for a better gig then a UN Ambassador?
or
I don't know what the heck is up.

9. SPEAKING of INVESTIGATIONS and Condi, what happened here--

http://www.ideamouth.com/politics/

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Why I do hope your not implying that little Condi was in the know!

Big Daddy Bush would not be happy with that, little Condi already said that memo was historical in nature. Move along now.

Excellent graphs and coverage you have there! I was impressed. :)

[Old and In the Way]

23. Very interesting site.

Greed is always the softspot for criminals.

Did Card ever respond to your FOIA request?

[cal04]

10. Danforth Resigns as U.S. Ambassador to U.N

John Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has resigned, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6983157
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&u=/ap/20041202/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/bush_cabinet&printer=1

[Rose Siding]

12. Maybe Bush doesn't intend to replace him?

Would the US dare not to have a UN ambassador? :scared:

Thanks for the link, cal. The orig post leads to the Kerik story.

[KDLarsen]

14. I don't think so..

.. after all, who would then be there to veto all the resolutions against Israel?

[joanski01]

13. Oh, man. Shit is flying

fast and furious. I hope he is resigning because he doesn't want to be a part of this corrupt government.

[David Zephyr]

15. Well Now We Know Who Will Be Replacing Rehnquist on the SCOTUS: Danforth!

Anti-abortion advocate, John Danforth.

Also, I guess this pretty much lets us know that Rehnquist is dying and needs to be replaced quickly. Danforth's sudden resignation is a clear signal to me that he's putting his house in order for a rapid announcement from the White House of his nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States and possibly to be Chief Justice.

Danforth and the Bush family are very old friends.

Say hello to Chief Justice John Danforth.

Say goodbye to a woman's right to govern her very own body and reproductive organs.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

18. I'm very sorry to say

you may have just hit the nail on the head. I really hope not, but it would make sense.

[David Zephyr]

19. I'm Certain.

and equally sorry as well.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

40. Maybe not... what about NSA job?

[Isere]

21. Oh, merde!

You may be right.....
But wouldn't Bush want to appoint someone who is a bit younger? One point in his favor is that the Dems would be reluctant to filibuster Danforth.
.

My main memory of him was his dogged support for the nomination of Clarence Thomas. Now they could be bench buddies. Urp!

[blm]

29. Oh geez, DZ...you're probably right.

.

[David Zephyr]

31. I wish I wan't, but afraid I am.

:-(

[Just Me]

16. Who among us volunteers to be a part of this fascist regime?

:cry:

[Tempest]

20. Danforth openly critical of Annan at a time when Boosh needs the U.N.

Bush needs U.N. support for sanctions against Iran, and Danforth put it in jeopardy when he was openly, and brutally critical of Annan.

[Merlin]

22. Danforth, despite his pro-Life views, is an honorable man.

That's why I think this goes more to something to do with personal objections to disreputable neocon practies.

Further, he'll NEVER be put on SCOTUS by Bush. Danforth is a trust buster. That's how he got famous.

[FormerOstrich]

25. really???

I just happened to run across this the other day. I initiated some research about Danforth when there was discussion of him becoming involved with Enron. Here are some items I had saved.

SEN. JOHN DANFORTH (R-MO)
On October 29, 1993, Sen. Danforth purchased between 100,000 and 200,000 dollars worth of stock in Bell Atlantic. This is the day after the Senate started their hearing on the anti-trust implications of the proposed Bell Atlantic/TCI merger.

Two weeks earlier (October 15, 1993), the national media ran a number of stories about Congress' growing concerns over the proposed Bell Atlantic/TCI merger. The Washington Post quoted Sen. Metzenbaum as saying he was considering legislation that would block the Bell Atlantic/TCI deal. Metzenbaum said, "They're going to be in a position to drive out other companies in the market and that's bad for consumers." Sen. Danforth, on the other hand, was quoted as saying that telephone companies SHOULD be able to enter the cable television business.

On June 14, 1993, Sen. Danforth purchased between 2,000 and 30,000 dollars worth of stock in Raytheon (i.e., Patriot Missiles).
On the same day (June 14), the House introduced H.R. 2401: DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FY94 (Became Public Law 103-160).

http://www.motherjones.com/coinop_congress/stock_congress/john_danforth.html


Danforth Plant Science Center Is Focusing On Research To Improve Human Condition
30-Oct-2001 St Louis Post-Dispatch
Virginia Baldwin, Gilbert

In some ways, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center resembles a private research university.
But unlike Harvard or Washington University, the Danforth Center has no athletic fields, no course schedules, no graduation.

Nor does it have many of the financial resources of a university. It has no tuition, no alumni who can be hit up for contributions, and its endowment is little more than a fund-raising plan.

It is, instead, an independent, nonprofit, research institution -- similar to the much larger Scripps Research Institute in San Diego or the Stowers Institute for Medical Research that recently opened in Kansas City. Those centers do medical research.

Roger N. Beachy, Danforth Center director, believes the Center may be unique among U.S. independent nonprofit research institutions, because it focuses solely on plant research as a way to improve the human condition.

Independent research centers forge alliances with universities and corporations and receive government grants, but they operate independently and seek ways to transfer research into practice, often through the marketplace.

On Friday, the Danforth Center will open its new building at 975 Warson Road in Creve Coeur. The opening marks a new chapter in the 3-year-old organization, bringing its scattered scientists and staff under one roof

How it started

In spring 1998, Monsanto Co., the Missouri Botanical Garden, Washington University and the University of Missouri at Columbia announced plans for a plant science research center.


In August of that year, the University of Illinois joined the academic partners, and the Monsanto Fund and Danforth Foundation joined as financial supporters. The center was named for the late Donald Danforth, a former chairman of Ralston-Purina and the father of former U.S. Sen. John C. Danforth, R-Mo., and Dr. William H. Danforth, former chancellor of Washington University.

John Danforth said at the time that the name was a fitting tribute to the man whose "mission was to feed the world."

The center was launched and the building constructed with a blend of non-profit, corporate, academic and government contributions:

* Monsanto Co. donated land worth $11.4 million.

* The Monsanto Fund, a nonprofit foundation, donated $50 million. Of that, $40 million was donated through the Missouri Development Finance Board, for which the foundation received $20 million in tax credits that it sold to 26 buyers for an average price of 95 cents on the dollar.

* The Danforth Foundation donated $60 million (including $5 million in annual operating funds through 2008). Of that, $10 million was donated through the center to the Missouri Development Finance Board, for which the Center received $5 million in tax credits. The center then sold those credits to two contributors for 95 cents on the dollar and used that money as well.

http://www.biotechknowledge.monsanto.com/biotech/knowcenter.nsf/ID/AE36EAE228392AB606256AF5004CD81D?OpenDocument

He asked rhetorically,
"If we spy for military security, why shouldn't we spy for
economic security?"(4) Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) echoed
those sentiments, contending, "Economic intelligence is
going to be increasingly important to our country."(5)

The premise of Turner, Danforth, and others appears to
be that international economic competition inherently poses
a national security threat. Such an unwarranted assumption
betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of economics and will
distract U.S. intelligence agencies from their proper func-
tion: gathering information on genuine security threats. It
could also lead to an unhealthy and potentially corrupt
relationship between those agencies and American corpora-
tions. Finally, it has the potential to poison relations
with other democratic capitalist countries.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-185es.html

[Merlin]

41. You convinced me. I was wrong.

The Mother Jones piece is devastating. I assume they are getting their information from Danforth's personal disclosures, and that it is solid.

Back when he was AG of MO, he did bring an action against realtors and title companies for violating federal laws and price fixing. I was impressed with that.

But this MJ evidence is repugnant. We truly do have a coin-operated Congress.

[Benhurst]

35. No honorable man would have signed on to be the Bush Crime

Family's hit man at the United Nations in the first place.

Good riddance! It will be interesting to see what low-life goon Shrub picks to replace him.


:spank: edited to correct typo

[KansDem]

49. "low-life goon.." How about his father, George H W Bush?

He has experience as he's a former US Ambassador to the UN. Why not? The Bush Family run this country anyway (with the help of the Saudis), so why not put Poppy in the position?

[Merlin]

42. I withdraw this statement. Danforth is NOT an honorable man.

FormerOstrich brought new evidence to my attention in a post above.

[Career Prole]

24. Perhaps in a show of bipartisanship

shrub will appoint Zell Miller as our new U.N. ambassador...a born diplomat.

"Is dueling allowed in yore country, you heathen sumbitch?"

[bunny planet]

43. LOL then

:cry:

[Career Prole]

44. I beg forgiveness, milady.

No Zell, so no tears! :)

[buddysmellgood]

26. Everyone is leaving because they know the election will be overturned.

No one want the stink of fraud and treason on their hands.

[coreystone]

27. NBC Nightly News Just Reported that Danforth will be leaving Public

life. ??


:eyes:

[Rowdyboy]

28. Danforth is 68 and often voted against the death penalty in the senate

No way will Bush put him on the supreme court.

[kath]

30. Isn't Danforth one of the main people we have to "thank" for Clarence

Thomas's appointment to the Supreme Court?

If so, fuck him!

[annerevere]

33. His record is not perfect, and why should it be?

All these litmus tests! I agree with the posters who believe he is an honorable man.

He's human. If voting for Thomas is the worst thing he's done, then that's not much at all.

[maddezmom]

32. reuters link updated;

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - John Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (news - web sites), has resigned after less than six months in the job, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.



Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri, wanted to give President Bush (news - web sites) a chance to move in a different direction now that a new team was coming in following Bush's re-election on Nov. 2, U.S. sources said.


Some former colleagues noted that Danforth, a moderate in a conservative administration, had expressed frustration in recent speeches in his home state about not being more of an independent actor and having to check with Washington.


The news came as a "complete surprise," a U.S. official said.



http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&ncid=1276&e=1&u=/nm/20041202/pl_nm/bush_danforth_dc

[snippy]

34. Probably forced out for refusing to worship the LordGodBush. n/t

[maddezmom]

36. wonder if he went against * wishes..ICC & Massacre Probe Concerns U.S.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 1 -- The Bush administration Wednesday sought to head off a European initiative to obtain Security Council support for an International Criminal Court role in investigating war crimes in Burundi. The move came one day after an influential U.N. panel proposed that the 15-nation council take an active role in backing investigations into atrocities by the world's first permanent war crimes court.

The Burundian government appealed to the tribunal to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for the Aug. 13 massacre of more than 150 Congolese refugees in Gatumba, Burundi. Britain, France, Germany and Spain -- the council's four European members -- sought the inclusion of a provision endorsing Burundi's request in an otherwise routine resolution calling for the extension of the U.N. mission in Burundi until June 2005.


The Bush administration opposes the global court on the grounds that it might conduct frivolous prosecutions against U.S. troops and officials engaged in military operations around the world. European governments insist that the court will target only the world's worst mass murderers.

The United States agreed to support the resolution extending the U.N. mission only after the language was watered down to address American concerns that it would have encouraged and authorized U.N. investigators to cooperate with the international court.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26902-2004Dec1.html

[bin.dare]

37. "target only the world's worst mass murderers" i.e. USA

100K+ in Iraq,
bushco knows what the score is.

[Swamp Rat]

38. OH FUCK!!! I'll bet this bastard wants a Supreme Court position!

Well girls, I'm ready to march with you for your right to choose. If this son-of-a-lizard gets to be Chief of the SC, say good bye to your right to govern your own body.

:grr:

[Rose Siding]

39. Don't think so- the WP piece has more details

snip>
Members of Danforth's staff said that they were stunned by his decision to return to St. Louis. "I didn't see it coming," one U.S. official said. But other administration officials said that Danforth was viewed as having a single strength -- his expertise on Sudan -- and that there was no future for him.

Danforth said in a recent interview that while he "admired" Bush and considers him a friend, they never had a close personal relationship and they rarely spoke while he was serving as U.N. ambassador. "I've known his family more than I've known him," Danforth said.

Danforth, an Episcopal minister, told Bush in a resignation letter dated Nov. 22 that he and his wife decided to return to private life "after a lot of thought and prayer."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29353-2004Dec2.html

[Swamp Rat]

45. thanks for the WP reference

I find it hard to believe an Episcopal minister would take such a hard line against women. The ones I've met were pro-choice.

[muriel_volestrangler]

47. kick

[Rose Siding]

48. WA Times says it's because he didn't get the State post, "reportedly"

In a continued administration exodus before Mr. Bush begins his second term next month, John C. Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, yesterday announced his resignation after less than six months on the job, reportedly because he did not win the nomination to become secretary of state.
........
Mr. Danforth, 68, took the post as U.N. ambassador in June, after his predecessor, John D. Negroponte, was named ambassador to Iraq. Mr. Danforth had been mentioned as a successor to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, but Mr. Bush picked National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Yesterday, Mr. Danforth released his letter of resignation — dated Nov. 22, just six days after Miss Rice was named to the State Department post. The letter stated Mr. Danforth's desire to "return to private life" after Jan. 20, when Mr. Bush will be inaugurated for his second term.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20041202-115310-9067r.htm