[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 73 (Monday, June 6, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6094-S6095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




NOMINATION OF JOHN BOLTON TO BE UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED 
                                NATIONS

  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, I will be voting against the nomination 
of John Bolton to be Ambassador to the United Nations.
  When the President first nominated Mr. Bolton for this position, I 
expressed deep disappointment and concern. First, because of his 
repeated expression of disdain for the organization. But, more 
importantly, because Mr. Bolton is as responsible as any member of the 
administration for the needless confrontations with the rest of the 
world and for the international isolation that plagued President Bush's 
first term and for the shaky credibility we carry today. At a time when 
we need to be strengthening our alliances and making full use of 
international institutions to achieve our foreign policy goals, sending 
Mr. Bolton to the United Nations sends the exact wrong message. I do 
not accept his view that the U.N. is a vehicle to be used by the U.S. 
``when it suits our interests and we can get others to go along.'' 
Diplomacy in most people's minds requires attention to more than just 
coalitions of the willing.
  Over the past month, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has 
uncovered a pattern of behavior on the part of Mr. Bolton that has only 
confirmed my concerns. Most disturbing to me is the evidence of Mr. 
Bolton's troubled and confrontational relationship with our 
intelligence community.
  In speeches and testimony, he has appeared to stretch the available 
intelligence to fit his preconceived views. On three separate 
occasions, he tried to inflate language characterizing our intelligence 
assessments regarding Syria's nuclear activities. He sought to 
exaggerate the intelligence community's views about Cuba's possible 
biological weapons activities. His track record, on these and other 
matters, was so bad that the Deputy Secretary of State made an 
extraordinary order--that Mr. Bolton could not give any testimony or 
speech that was not personally cleared by the Deputy Secretary or the 
Secretary's chief of staff.
  He also dampened critical debates among professionals on important 
policy issues by retaliating against analysts who presented a different 
point of view than his own. For example, on three occasions over a 6 
month period, he sought to remove a midlevel analyst who disputed the 
language he tried to use about Cuba. The proliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction is a serious matter. I would not criticize Mr. Bolton 
for asking intelligence analysts hard questions about proliferation 
issues, nor should policy makers refrain from challenging the 
assumptions of those analysts. But Mr. Bolton was doing something far 
different. He made it clear that he expected intelligence analyses that 
conformed with his preconceived policy views. Rather than welcome 
contrary intelligence analyses as essential to an informed debate, he 
retaliated against those who offered contrary views.
  Mr. Bolton's approach to those around him has been harshly criticized 
by those who have worked with him. Larry Wilkerson, the chief of staff 
for Secretary Powell, called him a ``lousy leader.'' Carl Ford, former 
head of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, 
referred to Mr. Bolton as a ``quintessential kiss-up, kick-down sort of 
guy.''
  This is not the person we need at the United Nations. Good diplomacy, 
like good business, relies on a great team and a good leader. Good 
leaders listen. They listen to their troops, they make reasoned 
decisions, they take responsibility, and they build the respect and 
loyalty of their staff. Management by fear is a recipe, in both public 
service and the private sector, for getting only the information that 
you want to hear. Shoot the messenger and other messengers will not 
volunteer to deliver the bad news. And I submit that Mr. Bolton has 
developed a reputation for shooting the messenger.

[[Page S6095]]

  We must begin to learn the lessons of Iraq. It should be more than 
clear by now that our national interests are damaged when policy makers 
bend intelligence. And we should all understand by now that accurate, 
objective intelligence requires analysts who are free to offer 
differing views. We face serious threats, from international terrorism 
to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We have serious 
foreign policy concerns to address, from genocide to global climate 
change. Protecting our national security interests demands policymakers 
who seek objective intelligence on these and other challenges. Given 
his track record, John Bolton is clearly not that policymaker.
  Another lesson of Iraq is the critical importance of American 
credibility. The inaccurate presentations made by our Government to the 
international community have done serious damage to our interests. If 
we are to gain the active support of other nations in confronting 
common threats such as terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, we 
will need to convince those nations of our views. To do so, we will 
need their trust. This challenge is especially complicated at the 
United Nations, where Secretary of State Colin Powell gave what turned 
out to be an almost entirely inaccurate presentation on Iraq, and where 
the administration dismissed all alternative views, including those of 
UN inspectors. Mr. Bolton is not the person to repair this damage. His 
record makes it extremely unlikely that he could rebuild our 
credibility in the international community in its most visible forum--
the U.N.
  The nomination of John Bolton is a lost opportunity for this 
administration to regain American leadership at the United Nations. It 
is also dangerous. Failure to gain support in the UN for our policies 
puts us at unnecessary risk. Simply put, we cannot afford an 
ineffective Ambassador at the United Nations.

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