[Mb-civic] Guardian Unlimited: Rebuff for Bush on UN envoy

[harry.sifton at sympatico.ca]

harry spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk

Rebuff for Bush on UN envoy
Republican senator attacks outspoken hawk's track record and warns US has to improve image abroad
Julian Borger in Washington
Friday May 13 2005
The Guardian


President George Bush yesterday suffered a significant rebuff over his choice of John Bolton, an outspoken hawk, as America's envoy to the UN, when a Republican senator broke ranks and opposed the nomination. 

George Voinovich said the appointment of a gruff unilateralist would do nothing to improve America's battered image abroad. His strongly-worded opposition denied Mr Bolton the endorsement of the Senate's powerful foreign relations committee and threw his future into doubt.  

Without a recommendation from the committee, the nomination was yesterday sent to the whole Senate for a decision. The Republicans hold a 10-vote majority there, but victory is not guaranteed.  

Other Republican moderates could join Senator Voinovich, or the Democrats could wield a filibuster, making speeches until the allotted time for debate expires. In either case, the administration could ultimately be forced to withdraw the candidate and nominate an alternative.  

Even if Mr Bolton wins the vote on the Senate floor, Mr Bush's failure to win a clear endorsement for his nominee from the Republican-controlled foreign relations committee - despite a campaign of sustained pressure on waverers - has demonstrated the limits on his power, even after his election victory in November.   

Yesterday's committee vote, after unusually prolonged hearings, also reflected a sense of unease among moderate Republicans about Washington's shortage of friends in the world.  

In explaining his opposition to Mr Bolton, Mr Voinovich repeatedly returned to America's image abroad and the nominee's reputation for browbeating those who disagreed with his hawkish views.  

"Today, the United States is criticised for what the world calls arrogance, unilateralism and for failing to listen and to seek the support of its friends and allies," the Ohio Republican said. "There has been a drastic change in the attitude of our friends and allies ... I discovered this last November   when I was in London with people in the parliament there."  

Acknowledging that the administration had promised to repair the diplomatic damage of the past four years, Mr Voinovich added: "But what message are we sending to the world community when ... we have sought to appoint an ambassador to the UN who himself has been accused of being arrogant, of not listening to his friends, of acting unilaterally, of bullying those who do not have the ability to properly defend themselves?  

The senator's mention of his London visit was not the only time British views entered into yesterday's debate. The committee's chairman, Richard Lugar, read out a letter of support for Mr Bolton from Lady Thatcher. "A capacity for straight talking rather than peddling half-truths is a strength and not a disadvantage in diplomacy, particularly in the case of a great power like America," she wrote.  

The committee vote on Mr Bolton's nomination had been postponed for a month to hear testimony from various officials who had clashed with the former assistant secretary of state.  

Republicans outnumber Democrats on the committee by 10 to eight, but Mr Voinovich's defection created a deadlock. That could have sunk the nomination, but he said he was not "so arrogant" to impose his views on his colleagues.  

He said the nomination   should go forward, but without a recommendation from the committee.  

A Democratic official said yesterday his party's strategy would now be to encourage other Republicans to defect and join Mr Voinovich. "The challenge for Democrats is not to lose any of the 45 votes on our side," the official said.  

The senate official mentioned senators Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson as possible Democratic defectors.  

He predicted that there would be disagreement inside the party over whether to use a filibuster, a controversial weapon that some Democrats want to reserve for use against conservative nominees for appointments to the country's highest courts. 

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited