John Bolton And Dubbyuh's Foreign Policy...or Lack Thereof

The real fight over John Bolton's nomination rally doesn't have so much to do with Bolton himself, although you really wouldn't know it given the storm of controversy his nomination has generated. According to Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, the real fight is over the Administration's unilateralist foreign policy. And Bolton would simply be the cat's-paw for the Administration in pursuit of those policies.

Dubbyuh could, as he did recently, travel abroad and preach of the wonders and glories of democracy, and then return home and pursue economic and political policies detrimental to nascent democracies. John Bolton, staunch supporter of US dominance in the world, is the man for the job. And he reflects many of the attributes of this Administration.

Like the Administration, Bolton has a history of discouraging criticism. Like the Administration, Bolton's disdain for the UN is absolute. Also, like the Administration, he has tried to spin intel and facts to fit policy. In 2002 he made accusations about Cuba and bio-weapons development that went far beyond anything presented by CIA analysts and he attempted to have the analyst who questioned him on the matter fired. Also in 2002, as well as 2003, he made statements regarding Syria's development of "unconventional weapons" that were rejected as "exaggerated" by the CIA.

Meanwhile, Colin Powell is working quietly behind the scenes of this three-ring circus. While not actively opposing Bolton's nomination, he is talking to Republican maderates, doubtless recounting the rear-guard action he had to fight against Bolton during his time at the State Department. And it was known at the time that Dick Cheney had Bolton installed at State to "...derail the multilateralists...".

Despite Bolton's history, the fight in the Senate over his nomination really has little to do with that history. It is a referendum on the foreign policy of the Bush administration...a unilateralist, isolationist policy which has led us to the straights our country is in today. And given the Administration's scorched earth tactics in these political battles, it will get uglier before all is said and done.