Bolton survives a crucial vote for UN bid

John Bolton

WASHINGTON - John R. Bolton, President George W. Bush's sharp-elbowed nominee to become UN ambassador, survived a cliffhanger Senate committee vote this week after renewed criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, leaving the final confirmation decision to the full Senate.

The Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-8 along party lines to advance Bolton's nomination without the customary recommendation that the Senate approve it. The procedural move spared Bush outright defeat in the Republican-led committee but still represented an embarrassing setback early in his second term.

The pivotal vote came from Republican Senator George Voinovich, who said Bolton was a sometime bully whose short fuse would have had him fired in the private sector.

"This is not behaviour that should be endorsed as the face of the United States to the world community at the United Nations," Voinovich said.

"It is my opinion that John Bolton is the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be."

Voinovich, a former governor of Ohio with a fierce streak of independence, made it clear he would vote with his nine Republican colleagues only on condition that the panel made no explicit recommendation of Bolton. In a vote of the full Senate he would vote against the nomination, he said.

Voinovich stressed that he had no personal quarrel with Bolton, a vehement critic of the UN and controversial for his brusque and domineering style.

He was simply the wrong man for the job, the Ohio senator said. "America can do better."

It was not clear when Bolton's nomination would come to the Senate floor. Republicans hold a 55-44 majority, making confirmation likely. But Democrats may still try to block a final vote.

The White House predicted eventual victory despite Voinovich's harsh assessment and weeks of tumult over whether Bolton abused subordinates, stretched government intelligence to fit a preconceived ideology or misled the Senate committee.

In a statement that ignored the committee's action forwarding the nomination without a recommendation, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was pleased it was moving to the full Senate for consideration.

Rice said she believed from the outset that Bolton was the "right man for this challenging assignment, and I hope the Senate will now move quickly to confirm him so that he can begin his work at the United Nations".

Public misgivings among four of the panel's 10 Republicans held up the Bolton vote for three weeks, and the White House launched a full-throated lobbying campaign.

In the end, only Voinovich broke Republican ranks.

The committee's chairman, Republican Senator Richard Lugar, gave point-by-point answers to many of the allegations against Bolton, such as instances when he may have improperly pressured or retaliated against government analysts who disagreed with him.

Even that lengthy defence of Bolton carried an asterisk, however.

"Secretary Bolton's actions were not always exemplary," Lugar said.

'A BULLY' 

JOHN R. BOLTON, 56, has been the top US diplomat for countering arms proliferation as Undersecretary of State for arms control and international security since May 2001. He advocated a hard line against Iran, North Korea and other states feared by Washington to be developing nuclear weapons. He also led US efforts to enlist more than 60 nations in a programme to interdict illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction.

Democrats have focused their opposition to Bolton's nomination on complaining about his management style. They say he has tried to coerce intelligence analysts to conform to his hard-line views, had a chilling effect on the intelligence community and bullied subordinates.

Bolton, who has vowed to improve UN accountability and push reforms to eliminate overlapping programmes and mandates, is a longtime critic of the United Nations. "The [UN] Secretariat building in New York has 38 storeys. If it lost 10 storeys, it wouldn't make a bit of difference," he said in 1994.

- Reuters and Independent