Bolton Mania Reaches New Heights (or Depths)

It's this kind of unhinged, hysterical rhetoric that makes the Amercian right-wingers Blog for Bolton campaign such a farce.

Via Atlas Shrugs:

Another Jew hating, Israel bashing resolution passed by the corrupt world body that ignores the Islamic Jihad of the Khartoum Government in Sudan, ignores the oppression of non Muslims in Muslim countries, ignores the mad ravings of Islamic Iran bent on annihilating the West, ignores the brutal killings in Indonesia, ignores their own peace keepers' acts of child rape and slavery - but the light unto nations? That is what they wish to extinguish.

Lies. All of those situations have been addressed by the UN.

On Friday, the UN passed a resolution that condemned the shelling earlier in the month at Beit Hanun:

The little village was shelled yesterday, eight days after Israeli tanks had arrived there early on the morning of Nov. 1—part of what the military called "Operation Autumn Clouds," designed to stop the frequent firing of Qassam rockets from the citrus groves around the town. Over the next six days, fighting left at least 52 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead. The tanks pulled out two days ago, but shortly after dawn, a barrage of Israeli shells rained down on a house in the town, killing 18, many of them children. "There were dead bodies piled on top of each other," recalled one resident, Zaher Jarad. "They were in pieces. I carried one body four times."

The IDF called it a 'mistake'.

Bolton and the Israeli hothead ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman both had tantrums after the resolution was passed, not unexpectedly of course since the US has been busy vetoing every resolution against Israel and the Israeli government has a decades long history of ignoring resolutions. Canada abstained on the latest resolution - a policy shift that has not gone unnoticed as it lines itself up with the US and Australia in backing Israel.

In the meantime, even though Bolton's nomination as UN ambassador is dead in the water thanks to Republican Lincoln Chafee who will not vote for it in committee, right-wingers continue to think they can somehow pressure other members of the senate committeee to support him. If they're so concerned about having Bolton back at the UN, they should be calling the White House instead since his nomination was blocked the last time around because they refused to release classified documents related to his possible confirmation. Instead, they're spreading lies about the work the UN is doing using the worst kind of hysterical rantings while they hang onto the idea that Bolton is the second coming and that his strong arm tactics actually amount to something nearing actual diplomacy and they're doing it in exactly the same way Bolton's been doing his job: by having immature tantrums. No wonder they like the guy so much.

If they truly believe that Bolton is their 'light unto nations' that will save the UN, Israel and the United States, they obviously have very low standards for what or who would serve as their saviour.

The United States ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, warned member states against approving the proposal, saying it would undermine the organization's relevance.

"Such a decision will only strengthen the widespread doubts regarding the UN, and lead many to conclude that the global organization cannot fulfill a role in the region," said Bolton.

Wrong. The reason nothing's happening in the region is because the US Road Map has been abandoned and Olmert has been propped up by the US without question. And what that shows is the growing US irrelevance when it comes to finally achieving peace in the Middle East. Bolton needs to be turfed and Rice needs to get serious about real progress. It's time for a change. Since most Democrats favour the US's policies towards Israel, that shift won't be happening any time soon but the least they can do is to confirm a better ambassador to the UN who doesn't practice diplomacy by threats and tantrums.