WP: Policy Shifts Felt After Bolton's Departure From State Dept.

[Pirate Smile]

Policy Shifts Felt After Bolton's Departure From State Dept.

By Peter Baker and Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, June 20, 2005; Page A02

For years, a key U.S. program intended to keep Russian nuclear fuel out of terrorist hands has been frozen by an arcane legal dispute. As undersecretary of state, John R. Bolton was charged with fixing the problem, but critics complained he was the roadblock.

Now with Bolton no longer in the job, U.S. negotiators report a breakthrough with the Russians and predict a resolution will be sealed by President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an international summit in Scotland next month, clearing the way to eliminate enough plutonium to fuel 8,000 nuclear bombs.

The prospective revival of the plutonium disposal project underlines a noticeable change since Bolton's departure from his old job as arms control chief. Regardless of whether the Senate confirms him as U.N. ambassador during a scheduled vote today, fellow U.S. officials and independent analysts said his absence has already been felt at the State Department.

Without the hard-charging Bolton around, the Bush administration not only has moved to reconcile with Russia over nuclear threat reduction but also has dropped its campaign to oust the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and made common cause with European allies in offering incentives to Iran to persuade it to drop any ambitions for nuclear weapons.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/19/AR2005061900697.html

[tmooses]

1. Well, now we know what he's qualified to do-be an obstacle to

achieving peace.

[punpirate]

2. This truly begs the question...

... who in the Bush administration is pushing so hard for him to become UN ambassador, where he could potentially do much more damage than he's been able to do in lower levels of government?

Um, think I answered my own question. Cheney.

[DURHAM D]

6. Has to be Cheney - he has a bunker. The rest of the world

can die as long as he has a "fraide" hole. Fraide is Kansas slang for root cellar.

[Zorro]

8. Borowitz has Cheney's and Bolton's number

http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=1154&srch=

[FloridaPat]

3. Except Russia thinks the US is funding the Chechnian "terrorists".

Remember how they got quit unfriendly after the school take-over? The US behind it was my first thought. I think most of the terrorsts acts around the world are US backed.

[Coexist]

4. well, well, well...

imagine that.

[Bozita]

5. So, after Bolton leaves the UN, progress will be made

Why not skip this added step?

Bolton is no fucking diplomat. He's the elementary school bully that nobody can work with.

Kiss-up and kick-down. He's that kinda guy.

[comradebillyboy]

7. did bolton keep colin powell's balls locked in his wall safe?

more evidence that powell was a dupe and front man wielding litte actual power at state. condi may be a liar neocon bitch, but she would not tolerate bolton. thats why the un appointment, cuz condi kicked his sorry ass out of the state department.

[ngGale]

9. What a great resume' Bolton has...

sure a way to solve an age old problem. Fire the man! :eyes:

[progressoid]

10. Thats EXACTLY why they want him in the UN

Somebody in the WH finally figured out that he was fucking things up and said, "hey, maybe we can actually use his incompetence to further our neo-fascist ways"

"How about the UN?!?!"

"Ya, he could fuck things up real good there!"

[Supersedeas]

11. a positive change without Bolton--impossible, it's outrageous

[whosinpower]

12. I GET IT!

My god - it is so typical of Bushco.

Bolton goes in and makes things 1000 times worse at the UN.
Then quietly leaves......and the UN is SO happy he is gone - that they go forward with UN reforms that Bushco wants.

You see - Bushco cannot see progress without pain. Simple as that.

Think about it. Didn't the same thing happen with Libya and its WMD? Wasn't Bolton the tie that binded any progress until he was forced aside?